Budget NAS Build. Efficent?

[brianfarmer]

Hello there,
Im currently trying to setup an TrueNAS home server. I dont want to spend that much money, so i wanted to use old hardware.
Im unsure if thats an good idea, since i also want it to be kinda power efficient.
Currently im thinking about buying:

- MB: Supermicro X10SLL-F
- CPU: Intel Core i3-4360
- RAM: 32GB DDR3L-1600 ECC Unbuffered 1.35V
- HDD: 4 x 4TB WD RED PRO
also an cheap ssd for caching.

Would that be good? I dont really wanna update it in the next few years.
I mainly want to use the NAS to store VM images from my ProxMox Cluster, movies/music and just files.

Would this setup be sufficient?

 

[Chris Moore]

Hello there,
Im currently trying to setup an TrueNAS home server. I dont want to spend that much money, so i wanted to use old hardware.
Im unsure if thats an good idea, since i also want it to be kinda power efficient.
Currently im thinking about buying:

- MB: Supermicro X10SLL-F
- CPU: Intel Core i3-4360
- RAM: 32GB DDR3L-1600 ECC Unbuffered 1.35V
- HDD: 4 x 4TB WD RED PRO
also an cheap ssd for caching.

Would that be good? I dont really wanna update it in the next few years.
I mainly want to use the NAS to store VM images from my ProxMox Cluster, movies/music and just files.

Would this setup be sufficient?

I think you would run out of storage too soon. I guess it depends on how much data you have to store. When I started out, I had a pool of 4x 1TB drivs and ended up replacin those a couple years later with 2TB drives, which I ended up replacing a couple years later with 4TB drives. The pool of 4TB drives was 6 drives in RAIDz2 and when I needed more space, I added a seconf vdev of 6 more drives. Still rolling with that, but it is getting pretty close to full. Full is 80%, because performance really tanks after that... I have already bought the next drives I will use, but I have not had time to puild the new pool so I can migrate my data over.

 

[brianfarmer]

I think you would run out of storage too soon. I guess it depends on how much data you have to store.

How much storage would you suggest? I thought 16 or 20 TB would be enough for start. Also what do you think about the Hardware in general?
Would it be sufficient?

 

[Arwen]

You list 4 x 4TB disks but not how you would configure them. That makes a difference in speed for VMs, if they are running live on the TrueNAS. If not, and the VMs are just backups, then you can use RAID-Z1 or -Z2.

But, never the less, with 4 x 4TB disks you would not have have 16TBs of usable storage. Either:

• 12TB, (minus another 20% for free space), for RAID-Z1
• 8TB, (again minus another 20% for free space), for RAID-Z2 or Mirrors

If you are running VMs live on TrueNAS, 32GBs is a bit light in memory. Depends on the amount of VMs, and what they do.

Further, a SSD for cache is not clear for your usage. A L2ARC cache device really wants you to max out your memory first. And a SLOG is only good for NFS & zVols used for external VMs. Plus, SLOGs have special requirements, high writes, power protection, and preferably mirrored.

 

[brianfarmer]

If you are running VMs live on TrueNAS, 32GBs is a bit light in memory. Depends on the amount of VMs, and what they do.

I already have a Proxmox cluster and wanted to run the VMs with the NAS as an NFS drive.
RAID-Z1 sounds good to me. I don't have that crucial files. If so I got them backed up in an online cloud.

I'm most curious about the MB and CPU. Because they are very old.

Is the SSD cache even needed in this use case?

 

[Chris Moore]

Is the SSD cache even needed in this use case

I would say no, because the small benifit doesn't ofset the risk if a "normal" SSD fails.

I'm most curious about the MB and CPU. Because they are very old.

The hardware is fine. Look at my signature for my configuration, it is even older. You probably want more RAM, because ZFS uses RAM for cache to accelerate the system performance.

How much storage would you suggest

It is really dependent on how much you expect to use it. I found that my storage consumption was greater than expected. Try to project how much you will need five years from now because growing the pool is more painful if you dont do it right. Seagate Exos drives (in my experience) are very reliable and have a five year warranty. If you invest in them now, you can expect them to still be working six years later. The storage array I manage at work has a bunch that are seven years old and still going strong. Just keep them cool and they will last.

 

[brianfarmer]

Seagate Exos drives

IronWolf or IronWolf Pro?

You probably want more RAM, because ZFS uses RAM for cache to accelerate the system performance.

32gb won't be enough? I'm not going for the most beast of a system. I thought 64gb would be overkill. And too expensive. Also the MB and CPU I chose are capped to 32GB.

 

[Chris Moore]

Also the MB and CPU I chose are capped to 32GB.

Well, you would have to go with what you can, won't you? The first NAS that I built, The max RAM the board would support was 48GB, and I maxed it out to get the best performance. Now I have a board that supports more RAM, but I am still only using 128GB. It is beneficial, but not a requirement. Speed is the only difference. I plan to build a new and improved system in the early part of next year, but I am just too busy with my new job to even think about it right now. I already have a new system board, processor, RAM and hard drives and just don't have the time to put it together.

 

[brianfarmer]

Thanks a lot for all the anwsers. I finished my build the other day and its working perfectly. :) I had a few problems with the System losing connection at high load. But i just switched the lan port and now its working like a charm. Right now 32Gb ram is plenty for me. Maybe i will update in the far future. But my needs are met.
Thanks again for all the replied.