BUILD 6 x 3TB first time build

[Mguilicutty]

From the wd pdf spec its lighter,

Sorry OP, this is probably way off topic, but according to the spec sheets just quoted, the Reds also have a higher host to drive transfer rate (145MB/s vs 110 MB/s), use less power than the Greens in standby and R/W modes, have a 3 vs a 2 year warranty as well as higher operating temperature tolerance(70c vs 60c). The Reds are quieter as well. I'm sticking with the Reds for now, hopefully in three years I'll be upgrading them to 9TB Reds... :)

 

[russnas]

Its alright the discussion is about hdds,

more efficient so it will produce less heat, performance and warranty is a plus, reading about its mean time between failures with 35% increase over standard drives, which is better overall for raids,

Seagate also has nas drives which will be my next drive.

 

[sheepdot]

I'm looking at the ST4000VN000 4TB drives. I know this must be answered somewhere, but they keep saying "for 1 to 5 bays." Does that matter in a software RAID environment?

I've decided I'm going with 11 drives + 1 spare.

 

[russnas]

it doesnt matter, you will be fine,

 

[Z300M]

I'm looking at the ST4000VN000 4TB drives. I know this must be answered somewhere, but they keep saying "for 1 to 5 bays." Does that matter in a software RAID environment?

I've decided I'm going with 11 drives + 1 spare.

My guess is that they say "1 to 5" because 5-drive bays that pack that number of drives into a fairly small space are fairly common. The NAS-specific drives run cooler because of the lower speed and also are allegedly designed to minimize vibrational feedback (just as Seagate argued for their "enterprise" drives vs. their "desktop" drives in a White Paper several years back).

 

[sheepdot]

Well, I built the system with 6 4TB WD Red disks (on sale from newegg). I suppose I bought an overpowered PSU, since I bought a Seasonic rated for 450W. At spinup, this unit only hits 137 VA according to my kill-a-watt. At idle it sits at around 70 VA. My plan is to eventually add another 6 drives to the system.

Does anyone have experience with this cyberpower UPS? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030SL08A/?tag=ozlp-20
It just needs to run long enough to shut the system down after a power failure.

Thanks for all the feedback thus far.

 

[russnas]

i got a overpowered psu 450 watts for 80watts spinup, its wasn't practical getting one under 400watts in my area, alot of them are also OEM and not being 80-plus certification

i havent gotten a UPS yet, i accidentally switched my power off while it was in idle and was lucky it was alright, but in a raid it would be different, i would look for the replacement battery , read the reviews from that link,

 

[jonnn]

I'm going to custom wire a Dell RM112 for my setup. Outstanding PSU for low power efficiency for a NAS.

 

[Mr_N]

Had a quick read and dont think anyone has mentioned this yet, but since the docs dont recommend volumes with more than 11 drives, if your going to go with 12 i'd suggest making 2x6 drive raidz2 volumes with the pool striped across them, and if you want to expand in the future just add another 6 drive raidz2 volume to expand the pool :)
You get the added bonus of increase IOPs from the striping compared with 1 large volume where the file is likely being read/written to one drive only.

as for the ssd, for the OS it would be very much a waste given how freenas operates, some people may use a mirrored ssd volume for the ZIL but that would only provide benefits in limited areas of which your unlikely to venture given the purpose you mentioned.

 

[gpsguy]

The OP said "I've decided I'm going with 11 drives + 1 spare." That's only 11.

The spare could reside in the server or a drawer.

but since the docs don't recommend volumes with more than 11 drives, if your going to go with 12...

 

[Mr_N]

ahh yes i missed that was going off memory of the first post

 

[sheepdot]

Had a quick read and dont think anyone has mentioned this yet, but since the docs dont recommend volumes with more than 11 drives, if your going to go with 12 i'd suggest making 2x6 drive raidz2 volumes with the pool striped across them, and if you want to expand in the future just add another 6 drive raidz2 volume to expand the pool :)

I ended up buying 10 drives; 6 in the volume, 4 sitting in a drawer. Mostly because of purchase limits on the newegg sale. My plan is to stripe an additional six drives into the pool when it is time to buy another 4 drives.
The only thing I have to worry about now is picking out a UPS.

 

[RichTJ99]

Does anyone have experience with this cyberpower UPS? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030SL08A/?tag=ozlp-20

How did the UPS work out? I am looking for something in that price range as it will only be connected to the freenas box.