4-Bay Mini-ITX Build

[Lindsay Horner]

Hi, I would be very grateful if people could run an eye over this setup, and give me some thoughts...

Case: In-Win IW-MS04-01 4-Bay ITX NAS with 265W Flex PSU
MB: Asus P11C-I + IPMI module
CPU: Core i3-9300F + Noctua NH-L9i cooler
RAM: 1X Samsung 16GB 2666 MHz ECC DDR4 (M391A2K43BB1-CTD)
Storage HDD: 4X 8TB Toshiba N300 in a RAIDZ2 zpool
Storage SSD: 2X Samsung 860 EVO 1 TB SATA 2.5 in mirrored zpool
Boot Storage: 2X SanDisk SDCZ430-032G-G46 Ultra Fit 32 GB (mirrored)
Network: Intel X520-SR1 Single Port SFP+

Main use:
HDDs: Backups of my workstation, and storage of archived projects.
SSDs: Storage of often-used assets (video, image sequences, installers etc).

I work as a 3D animator, so deal with a lot of large image sequences that can be 10-50GB each (10-100MB per frame) as well as large simulation caches that can be 50-200GB each (100MB-1GB per frame). I make backups of my workstation once a day (around 1-1.5TB total, probably 50GB of changes per day max) and store archived projects on the NAS (around 50-100GB each). I don't intend to work off the HDD storage, but I would work off the SSDs occasionally to access assets.

Secondary uses:
Plex server, music only. Unfi controller. Occasional Ubuntu VM.

The project archive is replicated off-site as well. I've done a fair bit of reading on mirrored vdevs vs RAIDZ2 and decided Z2 sounds easier and will have nearly the same throughput, although I maybe have got that wrong!

I realise I won't saturate the 10GbE link but I already have the network in place. The workstation is using NVMe SSDs and has 10GbE.

Space on my desk is limited hence the smaller case and ITX motherboard. I'm currently using a Qnap 2-bay NAS and would like to keep a similar-ish footprint and noise-level (I realise this one will probably be a bit louder). I suspect my current CPU/MB specs may be overkill, but I also want to keep this for a good few years. Suggestions on reducing power usage/noise are more than welcome! 5400RPM HDDs maybe? Celeron? Would I be better off with a 4 core Atom processor? (A2SDi-4C-HLN4F or similar)

Thanks in advance, Lindsay.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Hi @Lindsay Horner, looks like a great start to a build. Below is my opinion on certain aspects of it.

Case: In-Win IW-MS04-01 4-Bay ITX NAS with 265W Flex PSU

I think this case might have a hard time keeping your drives cool. That single fan is more likely to pull most of its air through those side intakes rather than through the front of the case. This means you'll end up with warmer drives. Maybe not the end of the world; there is some evidence showing that humidity has a larger impact on drive health vs temperature. Still, Fractal Design Node 304 is a very similar case which has fans in front of your drives to help push air over them; if you were interested in considering it.

RAM: 1X Samsung 16GB 2666 MHz ECC DDR4 (M391A2K43BB1-CTD)

You may consider getting a 32GB stick, if you ever think you'll want the max of 64GB this board supports. That way, if you upgrade you won't be tossing a 16GB stick.

Boot Storage: 2X SanDisk SDCZ430-032G-G46 Ultra Fit 32 GB (mirrored)

Many folks are booting off of cheap small SSDs nowadays just because they are way way more reliable than USB sticks and quite cheap.

The project archive is replicated off-site as well. I've done a fair bit of reading on mirrored vdevs vs RAIDZ2 and decided Z2 sounds easier and will have nearly the same throughput, although I maybe have got that wrong!

What about RAIDZ2 will be easier than the mirror vdevs? Are you referring to the setup or something else?

The project archive is replicated off-site as well.

Glad to read this. FreeNAS is not a replacement for a backup. :)

5400RPM HDDs maybe?

I would definitely do this; it will keep your drives and case cooler.

Suggestions on reducing power usage/noise are more than welcome! . . . Celeron? Would I be better off with a 4 core Atom processor? (A2SDi-4C-HLN4F or similar)

For the CPU, a more powerful CPU will typically not consume TONS more power than a less powerful one when both are at idle. When running at full-tilt the more powerful CPU will consume more power, yes, but that is because you'd be using it in a way that demands that compute power. Going with a super low power consumption CPU might seem like huge power savings; but I suspect you'll notice the performance drop more than the power savings.

 

[Lindsay Horner]

Thanks @PhiloEpisteme, thats all very helpful info. The Node 304 looks great, and as a bonus is cheaper than the other case I was considering.

Lindsay

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Glad it was helpful. Feel free to post a build report when you've got your rig assembled and running. Folks are often looking for small footprint builds like this.

 

[BR14]

Suggestions on reducing power usage/noise are more than welcome! 5400RPM HDDs maybe? Celeron? Would I be better off with a 4 core Atom processor? (A2SDi-4C-HLN4F or similar)

More powerful CPU should do the work faster and thus return to idle sooner, so the effect on total power consumption is not obvious. 5400 rpm vs 7200 make more sense ( and for less money.)