1ST FreeNAS build - Somewhat compact 16 drive (22 drive?) NAS.

[xyz-cases]

I'm currently gathering parts for my first FreeNAS build ever. So far these are the components I've gathered.

1 x SUPERMICRO MBD-X8DTT-F Motherboard.
1 x ATX PSU 24Pin + CPU 8Pin Female To 20Pin Male power Cable For Supermicro X8DTT
2 x Intel Xeon Quad Core 2.4Ghz E5620 Processor CPU SLBV4 matched pair
12 x 4GB Kingston Memory DDR3 PC3-10600 1333 240Pin ECC Unbuffer 2Rx8 KVR1333D3E9S/4G - 48 GB Total.
1 x Adaptec ASR-71605 16-Port 6G SAS/SATA PCIe x8 3.0 Raid Controller for HDD SSD 1Gb Cache Raid 0,1,1E,5,6,10,50,60, HBA IT mode
1 x Adaptec PMC AFM-700 CC Kondensator Cache Batterie Backup für Adaptec Raid Controller inkl. Kabel
4 x Amphenol SFF-8643 SFF 8643 to 4 SATA fan out cable,8643 Host to 4 SATA target 1m

Images of the hardware can be found here: https://imgur.com/a/u6KGROv

I also got my hands on two HP Z400 workstations "complete" without RAM and harddrives in case something with my preferred hardware above doesn't work as expected

So far I'm a whopping 285$ into this build so I still have some money to spend on drives etc :D

I'm currently looking for some panel-mounted SATA-with-power plug, like this:

If someone knows where to find them, please tell me where! I can't find them available for consumers anywhere.
I want to make something like this backplane for my custom build case (currently designing it.)

For a HDD-cage solution like one or two rows of this:

I also have a "stupid" question. My HBA will support 16 x HDDs and my motherboard has 6 x Sata ports.
Can I make one big 22-drive volume? Am I "limited" to one 16-drive volume and one 6-drive volume?
Or can I only use just one of them?

Like I said I'm new to this and I've just started educating myself in the ways of FreeNAS.

 

[DrKK]

I also have a "stupid" question. My HBA will support 16 x HDDs and my motherboard has 6 x Sata ports.
Can I make one big 22-drive volume? Am I "limited" to one 16-drive volume and one 6-drive volume?
Or can I only use just one of them?

You can make a 22-drive volume. It's just that some will come from drives "adaN" (SATA) and some from "daN" (HBA). You can mix and match that all day if you wanted to.

Of course, none of us would recommend that you make a 22-drive *single* vdev volume. But, something like having two RAID-Z3 11-drive vdevs into one big volume, that's a possibility. 25-35% redunancy for general purposes is a good number, and 11-drive RAID-Z3's are in that zone.

 

[DrKK]

Also, I literally spent like 45 minutes trying to find those panel-mount SATA connectors you pictured, and failed.

Then I realized, one would almost never want such a thing, thus, it is no surprise it's hard to find. :)

 

[xyz-cases]

You can make a 22-drive volume. It's just that some will come from drives "adaN" (SATA) and some from "daN" (HBA). You can mix and match that all day if you wanted to.

Of course, none of us would recommend that you make a 22-drive *single* vdev volume. But, something like having two RAID-Z3 11-drive vdevs into one big volume, that's a possibility. 25-35% redunancy for general purposes is a good number, and 11-drive RAID-Z3's are in that zone.

Thank you for answering. That was what I thought, I just didn't find a definitive answer when looking for it. I was thinking of making a 22 drive volume with two "spares" if this was possible. That would make my NAS 40 TB with cheap 2 TB drives while having two spares. I've never had a hard drive fail on me yet and that's with regular consumer drives.

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[xyz-cases]

Also, I literally spent like 45 minutes trying to find those panel-mount SATA connectors you pictured, and failed.

Then I realized, one would almost never want such a thing, thus, it is no surprise it's hard to find. :)

Yeah so far I've only found oem-retailers with a minimum order of 100 pcs. I'm still trying to find someone willing to sell me fewer.

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[Arwen]

@xyz-cases, we highly recommend reading the ZFS for noobs guide, (I don't have a link, sorry). It's as @DrKK said, you can have quite a few disks, and yes 22, in a single ZFS pool. Even from different HBAs. It's that you don't want that many in a single vDev, (virtual device). So, these work, but depend on what you are looking for;

3 x 7 disk RAID-Z2, with free slot for backup disks or disk replacements
2 x 11 disk RAID-Z3
10 x 2 disk Mirrors, with 2 free slots for backup disks or disk replacements
11 x 2 disk Mirrors
2 x 10 disk RAID-Z2, with 2 free slots for backup disks or disk replacements

We don't recommend very "wide" RAID-Zx vDevs, as they can have performance issues.

If you tell us your use case, we may be able to suggest what may work better for you.

 

[xyz-cases]

@xyz-cases, we highly recommend reading the ZFS for noobs guide, (I don't have a link, sorry). It's as @DrKK said, you can have quite a few disks, and yes 22, in a single ZFS pool. Even from different HBAs. It's that you don't want that many in a single vDev, (virtual device). So, these work, but depend on what you are looking for;

3 x 7 disk RAID-Z2, with free slot for backup disks or disk replacements
2 x 11 disk RAID-Z3
10 x 2 disk Mirrors, with 2 free slots for backup disks or disk replacements
11 x 2 disk Mirrors
2 x 10 disk RAID-Z2, with 2 free slots for backup disks or disk replacements

We don't recommend very "wide" RAID-Zx vDevs, as they can have performance issues.

If you tell us your use case, we may be able to suggest what may work better for you.

I basically want to run a large file storage and a plex server. At least as a starting point.

I'll try and look for the ZFS for noobs guide, thanks for the tip

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[xyz-cases]

I'd basically want to build a Raid-Z2 pool with 22 drives, as far as I understand two drives could fail at the same time and my data would still be safe. With 2TB drives it would give me 40TB accessible right?

It's either that or if I can find something fun to do with 2 pools one
Raid-Z2 with 16 drives and one with 6 drives.

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[DrKK]

I'd basically want to build a Raid-Z2 pool with 22 drives, as far as I understand two drives could fail at the same time and my data would still be safe. With 2TB drives it would give me 40TB accessible right?

It's either that or if I can find something fun to do with 2 pools one
Raid-Z2 with 16 drives and one with 6 drives.

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Sir,

2 drives redunancy out of 22 drives, i.e., 10%, is something that zero senior people in this forum will recommend. None of us would *EVER* make a 22-wide vdev of any type, and if for some reason we would, it would never be a raid-Z2.

4 drives for redundancy is what I'd recommend at a minimum. Two 11-drive vdevs in RAID-Z2 each could be an acceptable minimum configuration that would make me grimace, but I would sign off on it.

 

[Stux]

1 x Adaptec ASR-71605 16-Port 6G SAS/SATA PCIe x8 3.0 Raid Controller for HDD SSD 1Gb Cache Raid 0,1,1E,5,6,10,50,60, HBA IT mode

Adaptec raid controller make me concerned. Verify it’s supported by FreeNAS.

I’d go with the 3x 7-way raidz2 personally.

Re backplanes... lianli makes back planes in 2 or 3 drive configs.

https://www.amazon.com/Lian-Li-BP3SATA-computer-case/dp/B00HVW26NY

No hot swap caps.

 

[Ericloewe]

Adaptec raid controller make me concerned. Verify it’s supported by FreeNAS.

I'll save you the trouble: It's not. Or rather, I assure you that it will not work reliably, if it works at all.

 

[xyz-cases]

Sir,

2 drives redunancy out of 22 drives, i.e., 10%, is something that zero senior people in this forum will recommend. None of us would *EVER* make a 22-wide vdev of any type, and if for some reason we would, it would never be a raid-Z2.

4 drives for redundancy is what I'd recommend at a minimum. Two 11-drive vdevs in RAID-Z2 each could be an acceptable minimum configuration that would make me grimace, but I would sign off on it.

Okay, thanks for the tip. Like I've said before, I'm completely new to this and no desision is final as it is right now. I'm learning tons of new things each day I'm reading about FreeNAS so please forgive me for asking "stupid" questions.

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[xyz-cases]

Adaptec raid controller make me concerned. Verify it’s supported by FreeNAS.

I’d go with the 3x 7-way raidz2 personally.

Re backplanes... lianli makes back planes in 2 or 3 drive configs.

https://www.amazon.com/Lian-Li-BP3SATA-computer-case/dp/B00HVW26NY

No hot swap caps.

I've seen threads about it being used with out problems, but I'm considering getting the LSI00244 9201-16i PCI-Express 2.0 x 8 SATA / SAS Host Bus Adapter Card. Just for peace of mind. I got the Adaptec with the battery after getting it recommended by a friend of mine who works with servers everyday. But I think he that he might have thought that FreeNAS used regular raid (1,5,6,10 and so on)

A 3 x 7-way Raid-Z2 with 2 TB drives would give me 3 pools of 10TB with 2 disks as spare in each pool right?

Yeah I've seen the Lian-Li back planes, and they are the best alternative I got so far. They come in 1,2 and 3 drive options. Corsair used to have a 4 drive option for their 800D case but I can't find the part in stock anywhere.


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[xyz-cases]

I'll save you the trouble: It's not. Or rather, I assure you that it will not work reliably, if it works at all.

People have have used it without problems here on the forums, but I'm strongly considering getting the LSi mentioned above. Would that be a better choice or would you recommend something else? Please keep in mind that my motherboard only have one Pci slot.

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[Ericloewe]

People have have used it without problems here on the forums

Name two. Every single Adaptec experience I've read has been negative.

Would that be a better choice or would you recommend something else?

You don't need to ask what my recommendations are, you can just read the hardware recommendations guide.

Please keep in mind that my motherboard only have one Pci slot

So use an SAS expander plus your favorite LSI SAS HBA.