BUILD 24U FreeNAS Build - Your feedback is welcome!

[SweetAndLow]

Thank you very much for taking the time to try and stress test your setup! And how gratifying for you that you ran out of clients before the system even reached 50% - very nice!

Given how many people here use Plex on their FreeNAS, I would have thought that reports on various systems would be really useful, especially for people building something new. Perhaps I should start a new "How much Plex transcoding can your FreeNAS setup support?" thread?

I think plex says that for every 1080p steam you need 2000 points in passmark. That doesn't quite line up with my experience but it's a good starting point.

 

[fn369]

Help, please!

Has anyone got any thoughts on this 'ready to go' server on eBay, please?

At around $2,000 (including Rail Kit), it's a lot more expensive than the deal that @danb35 managed to snag, but it seems to tick all the boxes, and I think it would be worth it to me if it really would cover my needs, and saved me having to actually build it:

Integrated IPMI 2.0 and KVM with dedicated LAN
36 BAYS (I have learned my lesson!)
Intel i350 Dual Port Gigabit NIC
Additional Expansion Slots to cover 10GbE networking (1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 | 1x PCI-E 3.0 x8 | 1x PCI-E 2.0 x4)
E5-1650 v2 (the cost of electricity here is absurd (I already pay $800 per month), so on reflection I think it's sensible to stick to the E5-1600 series, rather than go all out with one of the E5-2600s!)

*** I'm slightly concerned about the RAID controller. Would I need to change it? If so, would this be a difficult job (for a never built a computer before person)?

*** Do you see any other potential problems with this particular server?


SUPERMICRO 847E16 E5-1650V2 3.50GHZ 32GB 450GB 15K SAS

Server Type: SUPERMICRO SUPERCHASSIS 847E16 SELLER REFURBISHED SERVER
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO X9SRI-F SINGLE SOCKET MOTHERBOARD
Processors: INTEL XEON 6 CORE PROCESSOR E5-1650V2 3.50GHZ 12MB CACHE 130W(ADDITIONAL PROCESSOR CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE)
Memory: 8 X 4GB MEMORY (SUPPORTS UP TO 512GB MEMORY, 8 DIMM SLOTS)
Hard Drive: 450GB 15K RPM 3.5 INCH SAS HARD DRIVE (ADDITIONAL HARD DRIVE CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE)
Drive Bays: 36 X 3.5 INCH LFF DRIVE BAYS, 24 IN FRONT PLUS 12 IN THE REAR
Raid Controller: LSI 9265-8I RAID CONTROLLER
Networking: EMBEDDED 1GB DUAL PORT NETWORK ADAPTER
Slots: 7 LOW PROFILE EXPANSION SLOTS
Fans: 7 X 8 CM HOT-SWAP COOLING FANS
Power Supply: 2 X 1400W HIGH EFFICIENCY REDUNDANT POWER SUPPLIES (REDUNDANT AND HIGHER VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLIES AVAILABLE)
Dimensions: 4U RACK 7 X 17.2 X 27.5 INCHES (178 X 437 X 699 MM) 80LBS MAXIMUM
Rail Kit: NO RAIL KIT INCLUDED (OPTIONAL RAIL KIT AVAILABLE FOR AN ADDITIONAL $175)

 

[fn369]

I think plex says that for every 1080p steam you need 2000 points in passmark. That doesn't quite line up with my experience but it's a good starting point.

Thank you. Yes, I'd read that too, but I've never see "passmark" quoted. I am sure this will cause eyes to roll, but is it the same as "CPU mark"?

 

[SweetAndLow]

I don't think that raid card is going to work. https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...i-megaraid-sas-9265-8i-raid-controller.28577/

That eBay server seems OK. It's a little old for my tastes and a little expensive. I would have to do the math to see if it makes sense.

 

[fn369]

I don't think that raid card is going to work. https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...i-megaraid-sas-9265-8i-raid-controller.28577/

Thanks for your feedback, and for the link. Do you know if swapping it out for an IBM M1015 card be as simple as "swapping it out for an IBM M1015 card"? ;--0

That eBay server seems OK. It's a little old for my tastes and a little expensive. I would have to do the math to see if it makes sense.

OK, thank you. If not ideal, I'll forget it. By the way how can you tell how old it is??? It seems to fall under @cyberjock's recommended 4U chassis...
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

 

[jgreco]

Thank you very much for taking the time to try and stress test your setup! And how gratifying for you that you ran out of clients before the system even reached 50% - very nice!

Given how many people here use Plex on their FreeNAS, I would have thought that reports on various systems would be really useful, especially for people building something new. Perhaps I should start a new "How much Plex transcoding can your FreeNAS setup support?" thread?

The real problem is that there are multiple variables to be considered, including what the bit rate of the original stream is. Transcoding MKV ripped from Blu-ray into 1080p is going to be much more intensive than some other things.

 

[fn369]

The real problem is that there are multiple variables to be considered, including what the bit rate of the original stream is. Transcoding MKV ripped from Blu-ray into 1080p is going to be much more intensive than some other things.

That's an extremely good point, thank you, and one that I'd overlooked!

 

[jgreco]

Help, please! :)

Has anyone got any thoughts on this 'ready to go' server on eBay, please?

The big thing to note about the 847's is that the back set of drives runs at LEAST a little warmer, and if you're not in an environmentally controlled ("cool") room when you're running the thing, that is a bit of a strike against it.

At around $2,000 (including Rail Kit), it's a lot more expensive than the deal that @danb35 managed to snag, but it seems to tick all the boxes, and I think it would be worth it to me if it really would cover my needs, and saved me having to actually build it:

Integrated IPMI 2.0 and KVM with dedicated LAN
36 BAYS (I have learned my lesson!)
Intel i350 Dual Port Gigabit NIC
Additional Expansion Slots to cover 10GbE networking (1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 | 1x PCI-E 3.0 x8 | 1x PCI-E 2.0 x4)
E5-1650 v2 (the cost of electricity here is absurd (I already pay $800 per month), so on reflection I think it's sensible to stick to the E5-1600 series, rather than go all out with one of the E5-2600s!)

*** I'm slightly concerned about the RAID controller. Would I need to change it? If so, would this be a difficult job (for a never built a computer before person)?

Remove two screws on the sides of the cover (these can be left out if you wish). Push two buttons on the top while sliding the top backwards.

Carefully examine plastic air shroud to familiarize yourself with where it sits (little tabs will fit into certain places in the chassis). Pull up and remove it.

Reach in and depress tabs on the SAS multilane cable to release, pull gently up to disconnect cables.

Unscrew bracket screw on LSI 9265-8i. Gently pull up to remove card. Requires some minor fiddling.

Insert replacement crossflashed M1015 into slot, being very gentle. Requires some minor fiddling and mind the "very gentle." Replace screw in bracket.

Insert SAS multilanes in M1015. Gently until "click" and a gentle tug doesn't cause them to come back out.

Replace air shroud.

Replace top.

Test.

*** Do you see any other potential problems with this particular server?

Pretty damn expensive. The choice of the X10SRi also reduces the number of slots that you have for expansion. But the X9SR* boards are solid stuff and there's nothing horribly wrong with it that I can spot. Does it maybe come with drives or something, that you could ask the seller to keep and reduce the price?

 

[jgreco]

Thank you. Yes, I'd read that too, but I've never see "passmark" quoted. I am sure this will cause eyes to roll, but is it the same as "CPU mark"?

Passmark is just another benchmark. Google their web site. I prefer Geekbench. Basically all the various benchmarks allow you to look up a given CPU and get "numbers" that you can loosely compare. Don't take them TOO seriously, but they're better than nothing.

 

[jgreco]

By the way how can you tell how old it is???

Supermicro X9 is roughly 2011-2013 era. X10 is roughly 2014-2015. X11 is roughly 2016. (from memory)

 

[fn369]

The big thing to note about the 847's is that the back set of drives runs at LEAST a little warmer, and if you're not in an environmentally controlled ("cool") room when you're running the thing, that is a bit of a strike against it.

Noted, thank you. I'm planning on putting whichever server(s) I end up with in a UCoustic 9210 enclosure, in my home office with air-conditioning, but I don't think that's what you mean by "environmentally controlled"!

Remove two screws on the sides of the cover (these can be left out if you wish). Push two buttons on the top while sliding the top backwards.

Carefully examine plastic air shroud to familiarize yourself with where it sits (little tabs will fit into certain places in the chassis). Pull up and remove it.

Reach in and depress tabs on the SAS multilane cable to release, pull gently up to disconnect cables.

Unscrew bracket screw on LSI 9265-8i. Gently pull up to remove card. Requires some minor fiddling.

Insert replacement crossflashed M1015 into slot, being very gentle. Requires some minor fiddling and mind the "very gentle." Replace screw in bracket.

Insert SAS multilanes in M1015. Gently until "click" and a gentle tug doesn't cause them to come back out.

Replace air shroud.

Replace top.

Test.

Thank you again, it's good to know that it shouldn't be beyond the wit of man (or even, a witless man!) if

Pretty damn expensive. The choice of the X10SRi also reduces the number of slots that you have for expansion. But the X9SR* boards are solid stuff and there's nothing horribly wrong with it that I can spot. Does it maybe come with drives or something, that you could ask the seller to keep and reduce the price?

Two votes for "too expensive", thank you. From what I can tell, it comes with a single 15,000rpm 450GB drive, so not much room for reducing price. In the absence of any recommendations to "Go For It", I think best to remove from my 'Watched' list. Thank you for your invaluable feedback.

 

[fn369]

Passmark is just another benchmark. Google their web site. I prefer Geekbench. Basically all the various benchmarks allow you to look up a given CPU and get "numbers" that you can loosely compare. Don't take them TOO seriously, but they're better than nothing.

Once again, I feel foolish, but thank you for the hint. I hadn't understood that Passmark was software, and I was scouring Supermicro's website for results, rather than CPU Benchmark's. Here it is for anyone else for whom it might be useful:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net

 

[fn369]

Supermicro X9 is roughly 2011-2013 era. X10 is roughly 2014-2015. X11 is roughly 2016. (from memory)

Ah, of course! I thought @SweetAndLow was referring to the server chassis (847E16) Thank you!

 

[jgreco]

Noted, thank you. I'm planning on putting whichever server(s) I end up with in a UCoustic 9210 enclosure, in my home office with air-conditioning, but I don't think that's what you mean by "environmentally controlled"!

The point's that the warmer the air going into the front of the server is, it passes over one layer of drives and picks up heat, then that's what passes over the second (backside drives).

I've heard about those crazy enclosures before and I'm guessing it'd be great.

 

[fn369]

The point's that the warmer the air going into the front of the server is, it passes over one layer of drives and picks up heat, then that's what passes over the second (backside drives)

Noted, thank you. I was particularly interested in the 24 bay version, but this was the only 4U server I could find with E5-1650 CPU.

I've heard about those crazy enclosures before and I'm guessing it'd be great. :)

I'm seriously relieved that you don't have a horror story to share! Everything I found in my research points to them doing what they claim, but I've never seen one in real life, so it's a bit of a gamble...

 

[Mirfster]

I'm planning on putting whichever server(s) I end up with in a UCoustic 9210 enclosure, in my home office with air-conditioning

That thing looks pretty cool and pretty expensive. If you do get it please let us (at least me) know how it turns out and what it costs.

 

[jgreco]

Noted, thank you. I was particularly interested in the 24 bay version, but this was the only 4U server I could find with E5-1650 CPU.

What you might want to do is to take a look at some YouTube videos of people demonstrating how to build a computer from parts. There's a good amount of stuff "to know" and of course a lot of people who do "the wrong", but overall it isn't suuuuuuuuuper difficult to order a chassis, drop in a mainboard, hook up the cables, and put in the CPU and other parts.

I am absolutely not encouraging you to do it if you don't feel capable after watching other people do it. That's a path to a bad result. However, if you end up thinking "well it's an overwhelming thing if I look at the entirety but each step doesn't look that bad" ... you should at least ponder it. Plus you should check to see if you've got any friends/acquaintances you could bribe to help. Plus there's always the forum here. And I address many of the most common gotchas: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/building-burn-in-and-testing-your-freenas-system.17750/

I'm seriously relieved that you don't have a horror story to share! Everything I found in my research points to them doing what they claim, but I've never seen one in real life, so it's a bit of a gamble...

http://www.usystems.co.uk/sites/default/files/UCoustic 9210 cooling.pdf

Seems reasonable to me. Make sure you have someplace to dump the hot air and I expect it'd be very workable.

 

[fn369]

That thing looks pretty cool and pretty expensive. If you do get it please let us (at least me) know how it turns out and what it costs.

It's being shipped out of the UK on 29th... I ordered the 24U (that's the origin of this mistakenly named thread!) and I'll be sure to let you know what it's like. :)

 

[danb35]

I don't have much to add on that server you linked to, though note you may be able to sell the RAID controller for more than you'd pay for an M1015/9211-8i. I'm also not a big fan of the RAM being configured as 8 x 4 GB DIMMs, as that means you can't expand the RAM without removing the existing RAM.

The 1650 is a good processor, probably better than the 26xx parts in a single-socket configuration.

All in all, it seems like a good system, but it does seem a little expensive--though I think I did luck into an unusually good deal on mine. Note that they're offering a 5-year warranty, which could be nice.

I've found the last email I have from the seller of my system (about a month ago), and emailed him back to see if he currently has any 4U systems. I'll let you know what I hear back.

 

[jgreco]

It's being shipped out of the UK on 29th... I ordered the 24U (that's the origin of this mistakenly named thread!) and I'll be sure to let you know what it's like. :)

We can always fix the name of the thread. I'm not sure if you're able to as an ordinary user, but if not, just indicate what you'd like it to be and I'll make it so.