A little help for a new build.

[pix]

Hello people.

I've been wondering the forums for a few weeks looking for info on a new freenas build.
In the past I built a (nas4free) system using spare parts i had around. this pc has been my media storage server for over 6 years now. 1tb of usable space with 4 hdds of various sizes. As you can imagine it's a complete waste of energy and heat output just for 1tb.

It turns out I lucked out that everything in that spare box worked and hasn't given me any problems. However, I would like to expand now and get atleast a 4-6TB NAS server going with FreeNAS and I am TOTALLY lost on how to pick my parts. I keep looking at build threads and adding a new mobo and chip to my 'wishlist' every few hours. I think it's easier if maybe some of the more experience users could point me in the right direction. I have read threads and the stickies (especially the one suggesting not to buy anything when it's voted against).
specifically this thread:
http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/so-you-want-some-hardware-suggestions.12276/
and the first line convinced me to ask for help.


Here are my needs.

XBMC server

• 1080p 10bit anime mkv streaming (i don't want any transcoding. I do this manually most of the time anyways).

I put that as the only reference since that is about as hard as streaming can get. files are usually in the 500-1.5 GB range (I don't know if file size matters when streaming from a FreeNAS system)


My receiving end is a 1st gen AppleTV with OpenELEC which I have taken out the wifi card and put in a HIDEF decoding broadcom card into.

with nas4free I have NO issues streaming live action HIDEF mkv.
All this runs over NFS.

I know the ATV is outdated but that's another htpc build on another date.


my budget is about $1200 USD (less disk space with room to grow if the budget exceeds this) and if I can get it I'll get ECC ram since it's recommended across the boards. (I do care about data loss. I run SAN enterprise level stuff at work. ironically it's not as hard to piece out a SAN and hardware solution as it is a home NAS solution :p )

smb/CIFS will be used minimally to stream to 2 windows boxes in the house (simultaneously). everything i have for me (linux desktop and ATV) will be connecting via NFS.

I would like to not go full size ATX if at all possible. noise and heat are a concern as I already have another box under my desk that compiles android nightlies and the heat output gets crazy. If I can get a more size / aesthetically pleasing NAS built then I could put it on top of my desk.


Sorry for the long winded post but I like to be thorough when asking for help.

I'll of course continue to look through threads and such (I like to educate myself even when asking for help so that I can understand what's going on). Maybe with recommendations it would help me to better see what I can't seem to grasp yet on NAS building for specific purposes :)

If I've overstepped in anyway please let me know and i'll retract whatever shouldn't be in this OP.

 

[cyberjock]

You really won't find anyone here willing to build you a system. My advice is to mimmick someone's build that does work. My setup is in my noob guide, and if you go with a G2020 you can save some cash. Just don't use the G3220 for things like transcoding with Plex and that CPU should do you very well for a few years.

 

[beemaster]

You also could have a look at C2750D4I motherboard with built-in Atom CPU. Here is the thread http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/atom-c2558-a1srm-2558f-freenas-compatibility.17462/
This is a small mini-ITX board with 12 SATA ports, Intel NICs, and 8-core Intel Atom. There is also 4-core Atom version, C2550 which is about $100 cheaper.

Please note: I am giving you this advise mainly because I am interested in this motherboard myself. I have absolutely no experience with it. I just want more people to try it out before I could buy it. Like some other member of this forum said "Find some sucker to try it out" :)

Anyway, good luck with your build! And don't rush to buy anything. Spend some time reading forums. For example I recently read a very nice article on how to chose USB flash which is used to boot freenas. The guy ended up buying industrial grade usb vertical flash SLC module Transcend TS2GUFM-V. The article is in russian http://habrahabr.ru/post/214803/ but maybe you can use google translate.

 

[Windreaper]

I ended up ordering the same flash memory for my NAS build as there weren't too many SLC options available. While you can just stick the module in a vacant USB header I ended up making an adapter since the USB2 header on AsRock E3C226D2I is in a bad location. I guess it would be easier to use cheap usb sticks and keep replacing them as they fail but it's more fun this way.

 

[beemaster]

I guess it would be easier to use cheap usb sticks and keep replacing them as they fail but it's more fun this way.

Definitely it's more fun!
I just checked your motherboard. USB header placement really sucks so I understand why you had to make an adapter:

There is zero millimeter space between it and SATA port.
I checked another AsRock motherboard, which I am excited about - C2550D4I.
Do you think that Transcend USB module will fit there?

 

[pix]

Sorry for the late reply I've been too busy this past week to respond to the people who took the time to reply to my thread.
cyberjock: I wasn't looking for anyone to build me a system but rather any suggestions to help go in the right direction with just a media storage / server. Especially with the SMB/CIFS cpu threads discussion.

I did look at the build you posted in the ECC vs. NON-ECC thread. I am currently looking at a few boards and desperately trying to make sure they support ECC (pcpartpicker doesn't have this category listed in it's filters unfortunately)

thank you all for your help.

 

[Windreaper]

Definitely it's more fun!
I checked another AsRock motherboard, which I am excited about - C2550D4I.
Do you think that Transcend USB module will fit there?

Hard to say, looks like there would be just about enough room since the module is surprisingly flat.

You can always buy something like a USB header extension cable, though. Or buy a 2x5 pin female header (aka Asus Q-Connector) for peanuts from your local electronics shop.

 

[beemaster]

You can always buy something like a USB header extension cable, though.

Good to know. Thank you!

 

[Windreaper]

@OP: I would definitely consider either of those boards posted by beemaster. At least the E3C226D2I is confirmed working with FreeNAS in this thread: http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/mini-itx-c226-haswell-build.15371/. And I assume the Avoton boards work too, you'll probably find a build thread if you search the forums.

I guess the choice of board boils down to whether you want a Xeon or not. The quad-core Avoton should be more than adequate for serving files and streaming media. And it can support more RAM since Avoton CPUs don't suffer from the 8GB/stick limitation of current Intel low-end parts.

I'm currently building the following box for quite a similar use as yours. Still waiting for some parts, so can't make recommendations yet, but I'll post in the C226 thread once I get it up and running. I expect to have some trouble with the board, though.

Motherboard: AsRock E3C226D2I
CPU: Intel G3220
RAM: 2x Kingston KVR16E11/8
HDD: 4x 2TB WD Red
PSU: Seasonic G360
Case: Fractal Design Node 304
UPS: Eaton 5SC500i

 

[Yatti420]

Xeon will be overkill..

 

[Windreaper]

Xeon will be overkill..

Yes it would be, was speaking more in general terms since both boards are otherwise generously specced for a home server. The C2550 looks really attractive with the low power consumption and AES-NI, though. No idea how well the Marvell-controlled SATA ports would work with FreeNAS, though.

 

[pix]

Windreaper: I've duplicated your setup almost exactly. With the G3220 what are my limitations as far as SMB/CIFS (everything else will be connecting through NFS)


CASE: No idea yet.
HDD: I'm looking at getting atleast 4-8TB of space setup in a Raidz2 setup. I'll be starting at 4TB and expanding depending on how much of my library I can throw on there.
CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 or
CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 54W Dual-Core BX80646I34130
RAM: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ECC Unbuffered Server Memory Model CT2KIT102472BD160B
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C226 DDR3 1600/1333

Excluding a case and HDDs my subtotal is $568.96 USD if I go with the G3220 which is 1/2 price of the i3-4130.

Thoughts? case recommendations? The NAS will be sitting on top of my shell off the floor.

Again thanks for all the help.

 

[Windreaper]

The G3220 won't be a bottleneck. Consider the i3 if you need AES-NI for encryption.

 

[pix]

I won't be using any kind of encryption as this is strictly a file / media server (maybe occasionally for clonezilla backups). G3220 it is then :)
any aesthetically pleasing cases you might recommend? I was thinking a U-NAS case but I read in another thread that it was kind of difficult to get things situated in them, but I do like the hot swap caddies but that's not a deal breaker.

I'm thinking Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Arctic White Silent ATX Mid Tower Case.
I like the layout inside.

On a side note: I'm glad I decided to do research and search the forums and read all the great article cyberjock has. Why? because looking through neweggs 'wishlists' that people having posted with a freeNAS title I notice that there are lots of sub $300 builds using ram and boards and cpus that have no ECC protection. I mean I myself have 32GB of gskill ram on my main desktop but for freeNAS I don't mind splurging on the ECC ram.

 

[Windreaper]

The Define R4 is a good file server case (I've got an R2). It's a mid tower case and hardly small, though. So you might as well buy an ATX motherboard if you go that route.

As far as mini-ITX cases go, Fractal Design Node 304, Lian-Li PC-Q25, and Silverstone DS380 are stylist and suitable for a small file server.

 

[pix]

i'm going to go with the node-304. i didn't realize until late last night when i almost hit "order" that the Define R4 case for a full ATX board.

 

[pix]

Is there anything I need to do with Western Digital Reds before I put them into my build? I'd like to get atleast 5+ years out of my nas (currently have 7 going on an old jbod setup and no errors at all thus far. streaming almost 24/7). Again, thanks for all the help!

 

[joelmusicman]

I have the Node and if I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with the DS380 instead. With how tight all the ITX cases are, hotswap would be really nice to have.

 

[joelmusicman]

Is there anything I need to do with Western Digital Reds before I put them into my build? I'd like to get atleast 5+ years out of my nas (currently have 7 going on an old jbod setup and no errors at all thus far. streaming almost 24/7). Again, thanks for all the help!

Just use the WDIDLE tool and make sure they aren't parking the heads after something stupid like 8s. More info in the "Hacking" forum.

 

[Windreaper]

WD has published a tool specifically for the Red series:

http://support.wd.com/product/download.asp?groupid=619&sid=201&lang=en

I believe it's more or less identical in function to WDIDLE. 1 out of my 4 Reds needed the fix so I assume the problem is fixed in newer stock.