FreeNAS 9.2 compatablity HBA

[sathesh]

Hi ,

We do have 3 assembled servers with IntelServer Board S2600CP, in which FreeNAS installed in one server and Debian OS installed in second server and ESXI installed in third server.And now i would like to connect this FreeNAS server directly to both the ESXI and Debian Server through 10Gbps supported HBA and 10 Gbps connectivity switch and 10Gbps Cables.

It will be very helpfull if you suggest with the switch model , cables and HBA model compatibility for my IntelServer Board S2600C and supports by FreeNAS.

Thanks in Advance.Looking forward your reply.

 

[jgreco]

An HBA is used to attach storage disks to a server. You appear to be inquiring about a network interface.

The Chelsio adapters such as the T420-CR are well-thought-of for use with FreeNAS. The Intel cards such as the X520-DA2 work well with ESXi. You can use twinax to connect them to each other or to a switch.

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/10-gig-networking-primer.25749/

 

[sathesh]

Hi Jgreco,

Thank Much for your reply,

Actually we running FreeNAS 9.2 and FreeNAS9.3 in two servers.And the motherboard model for both the server is Intel s3000ah. Could you please help me with the exact adapter model for this motherboard which supports 9.2 and 9.3 versions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mirfster]

Are we talking about Network Interfaces or HBAs now?

If it is Network Adapters, then @jgreco already let you know that in his reply.

Since you already have FreeNas running on these machines, I am not thinking you are asking about a HBA; unless you are wanting to add additional disks or connect to a JBOD...

 

[sathesh]

Hi Mirfster,

Thanks for your reply, and now we have decided to go for the procurement of 6 nos of Chelsio S320E and Twinax passive SFP+ cables.

And this chelsio S320E will be installed in our 4 servers and 2 freeNAS.

Now, could you please suggest us, the switch model to connect all my servers and FreeNas through Twinax passive SFP+ cables.

Or else shall i connect directly server to freeNas by Twinax Passive SFP+cables instead of connecting through Switch.

Kindly suggest.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jgreco]

You can connect directly, which has some problems, or you can find an inexpensive SFP+ switch like the Dell 8024F, the Netgear 10G stuff, etc. Usually setting up via SFP+ and twinax is very straightforward, but it is good to get a switch from somewhere that you could send it back if it turned out not to work for you.

 

[sathesh]

Thank Much Jreco.... Now we have purchased Dell N4032F switch and Chelsio S320E card.

And now , could you please advise , shall i need ZIL and L2ARC for better performance , as i am going to move all my VM's to this SAN.

And could you please give short not on , what is ZIL and L2ARC...

Request your help on this...Thanks

 

[gpsguy]

Please start a new thread and list detailed hardware details for your FreeNAS server. Let us how you'll be using it with your ESXi box, ie. iSCSI, NFS, etc.

jgreco might still be on vacation. Use this forum search to read some of his messages regarding ZIL and L2ARC - https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?search/2120285/&q=zil+l2arc&o=date&c[user][0]=115

 

[jgreco]

jgreco might still be on vacation.

Vacation, forum platform having troubles, weekend, other stuff, yeah, it's been a fun time lately.

 

[jgreco]

Thank Much Jreco.... Now we have purchased Dell N4032F switch and Chelsio S320E card.

And now , could you please advise , shall i need ZIL and L2ARC for better performance , as i am going to move all my VM's to this SAN.

And could you please give short not on , what is ZIL and L2ARC...

Request your help on this...Thanks

Well, the N4032F's a good switch, though I'm cursing at ours right now because the layer 3 functionality on one totally cut out (kept switching layer 2 without blinking though).

Make sure you test things in small scale before going all in, and your life will be much more pleasant. Ten gig is still a bit challenging to get working well.

 

[sathesh]

Thank Much Jgreco...

Could you please help me with how to configure SLOG and L2ARC in my FreeNAS. Can i buy a norml SSD to configure SLOG and L2ARC.

 

[jgreco]

Thank Much Jgreco...

Could you please help me with how to configure SLOG and L2ARC in my FreeNAS. Can i buy a norml SSD to configure SLOG and L2ARC.

No, you need a SLOG device with specific characteristics, or there's not much point.

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/some-insights-into-slog-zil-with-zfs-on-freenas.13633/

For L2ARC, you may pick an SSD that's 5-10x the size of your system RAM and that'll probably work out okay. Cheap SSD is good for L2ARC.

 

[sathesh]

Jgreco,

I have heard, while we sharing iscsi target for virtualization to store vm's, there will be no much impact on having SLOG device on freenas. Is it so? ....Kindly suggest and clarify... Thanks in advance...

 

[jgreco]

I don't know why you'd think that. If you configure the system for sync writes, which are desirable in the VM environment for maintaining consistency of your VM disks, then yes, SLOG is very important and has a substantial impact.

Go read https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/some-insights-into-slog-zil-with-zfs-on-freenas.13633/

 

[sathesh]

Hi Jgreco,

with your suggestions,now i have setup the 10g switch successfully for my both the freenas9.3 and freenas 9.2 boxes..And now i need a small clarification.I have added the iscsi target to my esxi. If added iscsi target from freenas 9.3 , it shows as SSD in my esxi, but if added from freenas 9.2, it shows as Non-SSD.Could you please clarify, why its happening like this. what will be the differenece in these both.and what i have to do to make it same for both the freenas.

Thanks in Advance.

Thanks &Regards,
A.Sathesh Kumar.

 

[jgreco]

9.3 includes a rewrite of the iSCSI subsystem to a new kernel based implementation that includes support for SCSI UNMAP. Since this can be useful in situations such as ESXi, there's an option you pick when defining the iSCSI extent that says "LUN RPM", which, if left as "SSD", will propagate to ESXi as SSD. In many cases, you may not want a datastore to show up as "SSD" in ESXi unless it is actually flash-backed, so in that case, you might need to make alternate arrangements for UNMAP support (I seem to recall there's a way to do it).