Budget TrueNAS server

[mariof]

Hi all,

For the past two years I have been running my Free/TrueNAS under Proxmox as a VM with 16GB RAM on a Asrock Rack EP2C602-4L/D16 powered by 2 x Intel Xeon SR0KK E5-2660 V1 2.2GHz with 64 ECC RAM. The VM uses two 4TB IronWolf disks (passthrough) in a mirrored mode.
The TrueNAS is used purely as a NAS storage for Plex, Nexcloud and general SMB/NFS storage for various needs, also acts as a backup for my Proxmox VM's.
I don't use features such as Virtual Machines or Jails.
I would like to offload the TrueNAS VM onto a separate dedicated server. I have a Fractal Design Node 304 Black Mini ITX Case which I want to use for the new server build.

Here is my initial build list:

• Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Black Mini ITX Case (owned)
• Motherboard: J4105-ITX (No ECC and max 8GB - should I be worrried?)
• CPU: Intel Celeron J4105, 4x 1.50GHz, 4 MB Cache, 10 W TDP (Builtin)
• RAM: Crucial CT2K4G4SFS824A 8 GB Kit (4 GB x2) (DDR4, 2400 MT/s, PC4-19200, Single Rank x8, SODIMM, 260-Pin)
• PSU: (Undecided, needs some help)
• Storage: I would like to add 2 additional 4TB IronWolf drives so the total would be 4x4TB

The server will run 24x7 and I may need additional NIC for my Proxmox backups.

 

[Inxsible]

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Black Mini ITX Case (owned)

Having owned one of those, I will say that it looks good but is very cramped especially when you pack it up with 6 drives. Not much space for cable management etc. But you already have it -- so might as well use it.

Motherboard: J4105-ITX (No ECC and max 8GB - should I be worrried?)

Since you don't already own this, it might be worthwhile trying to get a used mini-ITX board. I used a Tyan S5533 with a Pentium G3240 for over 5 years without a single issue. Board had 6 SATA ports too so all drives were covered without having to add a HBA. But I had to run the OS off of a USB -- but it didn't cause any problems for me. Another option is one of the Supermicro Atom SoC boards.

CPU: Intel Celeron J4105, 4x 1.50GHz, 4 MB Cache, 10 W TDP (Builtin)

This would depend on your board choice obviously -- but I had no issues with the Pentium running file server duties and even 3 jails with Couchpotato, Transmission and Emby.

PSU: (Undecided, needs some help)

I put in a Corsair CS450M semi modular in it and it was plenty sufficient. 80+ Gold rated as well.

Storage: I would like to add 2 additional 4TB IronWolf drives so the total would be 4x4TB

Ironwolfs do run a bit hot. I had 6TB Ironwolfs in there and they got toasty at about 42-44 degrees C

The server will run 24x7 and I may need additional NIC for my Proxmox backups.

That would mean a PCIe card -- which means that you might have to forego the 5th and 6th drive depending on how big your PCIe card is. -- and even more cable management hell. A server board with dual NICs would be better as you wouldn't need any additional cards.

 

[mariof]

Thank you for your help. I think I will have to increase my budget a bit and purchase a bit more expensive MB with dual NIC. I have found a used ASRock Rack C236 WSI for a good price however everything else is more expensive that I initially thought. So that will no longer be a budget NAS server .
The PSU you mentioned Corsair CS450M I can barely find any second hand one. Do you know what is the difference between CS Series and CV Series?

 

[Inxsible]

The PSU you mentioned Corsair CS450M I can barely find any second hand one

I bought it new when I was building that NAS and it was 80+ Gold rated. You don't have to use the exact same PSU. Any other ATX PSU should work. Modulars will be better because your case (Node 304) is already small... so only putting in the required cables will allow you to have more space for cable management. The CS450M was a semi-modular --- with the motherboard power cables being non-removable from the PSU -- which is fine because you'd need that cable anyway.