FreeNAS Backup Server

[marocas]

I everyone!

Im an manager and I have almost 7tb of very important and critical information in Synology NAS with 2 8Tb Seagate NAS (before Ironwolf brand name) in RAID 1

Now Im looking to build a Backup Server with FreeNAS that make backup of my synology and snapshots of my servers.

I have an old machine with these specs:

Mobo - Tyan S7012
CPU - 2xXeon E5620
Memory - 48Gb DDR3-1066 ECC
Drives - 2xSeagate NAS 4Tb (from my old configuration of Synology NAS), 1 8gb kingston USB stick for the FreeNAS to run

Now, my questions...

I read somewhere that 2 CPU its not a good configuration for FreeNAS is this true?

The mobo have only 6 SATA2-3Gbps, so I need an HBA Card, please help me choosing one.

I was thinking in buy 2 8tb Seagate Archive Drives for inicial backup of my Synology NAS and buy more of these drives as needed/as I have money to buy it. I read that this drives are not good, but they are quite cheap and for my purpose they wont going to have a lot of usage, its just to write and write overagain and just in case of need I am going to read the backup's

I also read that the ZFS file system need 1gb of RAM for each terabyte of disk size, is this true? Im I going to be limited to 48 tb? Just because if I want to have multiple backups of the same file (from different dates) I will consume a little more space them the real usage file server .

Another think, I took like 10 years to create 1tb of files, them I bought the Synology NAS with 4 tb of storage, that I filled in less than 3 years, now, one year latter Im with almost 7tb, so the usage will probably grow up fast...

I read that the drive for the OS should have at least 32Gb, Im using an 8Gb USB stick, is that bad?

 

[danb35]

I read somewhere that 2 CPU its not a good configuration for FreeNAS is this true?

Not at all; FreeNAS works just fine on multi-processors.

The mobo have only 6 SATA2-3Gbps, so I need an HBA Card, please help me choosing one.

You only list two disks above; why would you need an HBA? But if you do, the LSI 9211-8i is the go-to choice around here.

I also read that the ZFS file system need 1gb of RAM for each terabyte of disk size, is this true?

Yes and no. That's a rough rule of thumb, and above 16-32 GB of RAM, it becomes very flexible.

I read that the drive for the OS should have at least 32Gb, Im using an 8Gb USB stick, is that bad?

I'd say anything above 32 GB for the boot device would be overkill. I wouldn't want smaller than 8 GB, but that size should be fine for the foreseeable future.

 

[MatthewSteinhoff]

1. Most people are aiming for low power consumption and FreeNAS isn't especially CPU-hungry (unless you are using it for something other than NASing). So, an extra CPU is wasted for the most part. A single CPU with a higher clock rate will likely perform better than a pair of CPUs with a lower clock rate even if the two CPUs together are technically more powerful.

2. Any LSI-based HBA will work great. Check the hardware guide for examples.

3. SMR drives have been used with FreeNAS but that is a rarity and I can't comment as to if they are a good idea.

4. Once you have over 16GB RAM, the rule-of-thumb becomes a lot more flexible. This is especially true when FreeNAS has low concurrency. With 48GB RAM in this usage case, I can't imagine you'll have any problems no matter how much disk you put online.

5. Not bad. Just potentially limiting. At this point, I wouldn't use an 8GB stick. The price difference between 8GB and 16-32GB is nothing and having a bit extra elbow room is a good thing.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Stux]

This machine should make a fine backup target, as long as you are okay with its power consumption

 

[marocas]

Hi again!

Im thinking in configure it such form that it power's on and off automatically when is to make backup.

I can use only one processor, I believe this motherboard doesnt care both CPU to work, is that better?

I need an HBA card because I want to grow as needed and this motherboard only have 6 SATA2-3Gbps connections.