BUILD Build a freeNAS for home use

[Harilal K M]

Hi Guys,

Am being searching and googling the web to build a home NAS. Actually am planning to build a small NAS about 500Gb space to store my photos and videos. I lost most of them from my WD external HDD and being able recover some of them. So i plan to build a small NAS.

The problem is , frankly am a AMD fan . :) . When i first checked the website it says it need only a 64bit pc with 8GB ram . So i planned a AMD , because it's low cost and performance wise i like them . this is my spec:

Code:

CPU : AMD A4-4000 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor
MOBO; Gigabyte GA-F2A55M

But after gone through the forum i found out may be this won't work with freeNAS.

After hardware recommendations.reading this i am bit more confused. I think may i could use any intel dual core cpu but the problem is gigabyte and asus mobo use realtek nic. I think that won't work well with freenas. So please help me to build a budget one.

USE: I am not intend to use 24x7 . Plan to use about 1-2 hr a day, coz it's home build an i need to use while am at home.

 

[anodos]

Hi Guys,

Am being searching and googling the web to build a home NAS. Actually am planning to build a small NAS about 500Gb space to store my photos and videos. I lost most of them from my WD external HDD and being able recover some of them. So i plan to build a small NAS.

The problem is , frankly am a AMD fan . :) . When i first checked the website it says it need only a 64bit pc with 8GB ram . So i planned a AMD , because it's low cost and performance wise i like them . this is my spec:

Code:

CPU : AMD A4-4000 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor
MOBO; Gigabyte GA-F2A55M

But after gone through the forum i found out may be this won't work with freeNAS.

After hardware recommendations.reading this i am bit more confused. I think may i could use any intel dual core cpu but the problem is gigabyte and asus mobo use realtek nic. I think that won't work well with freenas. So please help me to build a budget one.

USE: I am not intend to use 24x7 . Plan to use about 1-2 hr a day, coz it's home build an i need to use while am at home.

The important thing to get is a CPU and motherboard that support ECC. Here is a list of intel CPUs that support ECC: http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced?ECCMemory=true&MarketSegment=DT

As far as motherboards go, make sure that you get a server one rather than a desktop one (once again to make sure ECC is properly supported).

 

[marbus90]

You can still use AMD. https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-checklist-dos-and-donts.24623/
http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/motherboard/Opteron3000/SR56x0/H8SML-iF.cfm
combined with an Opteron 3350 HE could do the trick. However, there are no reports on that board.

If you want to go for supported/common hardware, the C2550 CPU or a Socket 1150 /C22x Chipset build starting with a Core i3 might be best bet.

For 500GiB of Data you don't need many HDDs. My personal recommendation would be to pick 3x 500GB 2.5" and put them in a raidz1 or 4 disks in a z2. They still can saturate GBE. Also: always have a backup.

Personally I'm stuck with an AMD desktop system with windows - it crashes randomly. However, this same exact system ran Debian for 130 days under full load (BOINC) without crashing once.

 

[cyberjock]

Not to bash AMD yet again, but the CTO of iXsystems has made it pretty clear that AMD is not a particularly smart decision for FreeNAS. If I were you I'd take his advice seriously as he is the deciding factor on where FreeNAS goes in the future. He's got good connections throughout the FreeBSD community, and his advice should be worth it's pixels in gold.

Read this thread: https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...-when-booting-9-3-from-usb.24728/#post-153471

 

[marbus90]

Not to be branded as AMD fanboy, but to be honest: that's all consumer stuff they're talking about. The Supermicro uses the server chipset with an Opteron, which seems to be a completely new design with AES-Support on the AM3-Socket. What do we do about people with consumer intel hardware and realtek nics? We're pointing them to your guide.

Still, I wouldn't buy it if I couldn't send it back for a full refund.

 

[cyberjock]

Sure, that might be what they (they being NOT ixsystems), but jkh is not talking about desktop stuff. He's talking *all* AMD based stuff. Across the board AMD based systems have made bad servers with FreeBSD. 9.3 is having very special problems with AMD based systems. It would suck particularly hard, but I'm expecting 10.x to really be anti-AMD when we get to it. And at that point I'll be telling people that are upset to "suck it up buttercup". It's never been a secret that AMD wasn't a good choice for FreeBSD/FreeNAS.

 

[Harilal K M]

@cyberjock @marbus90 So it would be wise to build it in intel cpu. I have one more doubt. I plan to build on intel dual core cpu, but gigabyte and asus motherboards use realtek ethernet . The list says it's not good to use realtek . So am i nee dto use intel motherboard?

 

[cyberjock]

Did you read the hardware requirements thread? I'm guessing not... ;)

 

[Harilal K M]

@cyberjock actually am confused very much. I had followed read so many threads . The h/w recomendation you shared supports intel while i found out 2 more threads

1. https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/building-my-first-nas-box.12577/
2. https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/intel-nic-vs-realtek-nic-performance-testing.10325/

First one successfully build the nas on amd system and second one's nas works in real tek. FreeNas website states it need only a 64 bit processor and 8 GB RAM .
My requirement is simple , i need to replace my external HDD with some thing i can rely. As the external HDD failed couple of times, ithink it would better to build some budget NAS.So i choose freenas. Am not looking to build a server type ECC ram based big storage. I need about 500GB . Am going to use it for storage and torrents. Am occassional photgrapher , and i lost so many photos while my HDD failed . That's y i chose freenas.
I don't have a big budget. It's about 100$.

Now please some on help me, to build a budget NAS with freenas. Will FreeNAS will work with a low budget Amd/intel processor?

 

[cyberjock]

Your budget is far too small. At $100 you should just look elsewhere right now. The lowest end CPU we recommend is about $75. That's just for the CPU.

FreeNAS is not the solution you want for the pricepoint you are wanting.

To answer your question, we have stickies in the forum that have hardware recommendations. I give links and prices to exact parts. You'll find that $100 will buy a single stick of RAM or a CPU, but nothing else. Your budget is MUCH MUCH too small for FreeNAS. Give yourself $400 or so and you might be able to do a bootable system with zero hard drives, no case, and no PSU.

 

[marbus90]

$100 gets you an account at a backup service like backblaze.

FreeNAS doesn't magically heal files when the single HDD in the system breaks. For your HDD count a Dell T20 might be a nice choice, upgrade it yourself to at least 2 HDDs and probably add another 4GB ECC DIMM. Only then ZFS can protect your data. There aren't many recommended builds around for a lower price.

 

[AltecBX]

It's funny how AMD comes out to the market first with technology like 64bit processors (which Intel failed at first), HyperTransport, dual core, etc.. but gets supported the lease.

 

[Tywin]

It's funny how AMD comes out to the market first with technology like 64bit processors (which Intel failed at first), HyperTransport, dual core, etc.. but gets supported the lease.

AMD caught a lumbering Intel off-guard. Intel had dominated the market for so long that they had become complacent, and the innovation stagnant. AMD came along and shook everything up, and for a number of years, that was great. This forced Intel to re-evaluate their development roadmap, cue Core and the death of NetBurst, and bam, here we are today. AMD is great and I'm glad there is at least some competition, but Intel's in-house fabs and its massive resources to throw at R&D are very, very difficult to compete with toe-to-toe.

 

[AltecBX]

AMD caught a lumbering Intel off-guard. Intel had dominated the market for so long that they had become complacent, and the innovation stagnant. AMD came along and shook everything up, and for a number of years, that was great. This forced Intel to re-evaluate their development roadmap, cue Core and the death of NetBurst, and bam, here we are today. AMD is great and I'm glad there is at least some competition, but Intel's in-house fabs and its massive resources to throw at R&D are very, very difficult to compete with toe-to-toe.

+1
Plus they have a higher market share in the public market. I just hope with the growing market share of Nvidia, that they can come in and compete in the processor chip market. IT will bring down prices for all high end Intel base chips. I just hope it happens before Intel buys out Nvidia completely.

 

[cyberjock]

It's funny how AMD comes out to the market first with technology like 64bit processors (which Intel failed at first), HyperTransport, dual core, etc.. but gets supported the lease.

Being first doesn't mean much. Remember, when the AMD64 CPUs first came out there was no Windows OS to run them on. Intel wasn't planning to release their CPUs before there was a definitive market for it. Why release a CPU when there is only a very small market share for it. So Intel waited until the time was right. If I remember correctly they officially released their 64-bit CPUs about a month before the Windows XP x64 release was made.

AMD caught a lumbering Intel off-guard. Intel had dominated the market for so long that they had become complacent, and the innovation stagnant. AMD came along and shook everything up, and for a number of years, that was great. This forced Intel to re-evaluate their development roadmap, cue Core and the death of NetBurst, and bam, here we are today. AMD is great and I'm glad there is at least some competition, but Intel's in-house fabs and its massive resources to throw at R&D are very, very difficult to compete with toe-to-toe.

Actually, Intel fumbled with Netburst. Badly. Intel had a choice to make, use the Netburst technology to get what was expected to be "extremely high frequencies" (think 5Ghz+ on the 'low end') or look for a more efficient pipeline. Netburst was expected to scale to at least 10Ghz and back then it was all about clocks. Too many people in IT were ignorant of pipeline length and how it could affect speed. If you saw a 1Ghz and 1.2Ghz CPU, you'd just assume the 1.2Ghz was faster. Of course, we all know that was a lie. But back then it was the reverse.

If memory serves me right Intel actually scrapped an additional Netburst CPU release because Netburst just sucked at the end. The thermal envelopes were unacceptably high and the die sizes were unacceptably large.

Now the opposite is going on. AMD is making blunder after blunder. They're cutting costs in places they shouldn't be. They're having setbacks in fabrication, they're having setbacks in designs, they're short on cash and high on debt. And the guys at the top seem to be hellbent on bleeding the company dry until it dies. Meanwhile Intel has stepped up their game and had multiple wins in a row with recent chip releases. AMD is screwed without at least 2 or 3 of the following:

1. New guys at the top of the company
2. Intel blunders a CPU release
3. AMD has a very lucky streak with some new architecture
4. Intel loses some kind of lawsuit and has to pay a *serious* fine or other business setback as a result of the lawsuit
5. Infusion of cash so they can get back to designing quality CPUs without software doing the designing.

 

[AltecBX]

I can see some of those scenarios happen but not all. AMD will probably never go out of business as long as Intel is still around. In this environment, I don't think the market will ever let Intel become a monopoly.

As for Intel, their first 64bit chip was the Itanium. It sucked because it wouldn't run most 98% of x86 codes. AMD64 or x86-64 ran just fine and actually improved with their on chip memory controller. It can access much more memory than an 32-bit processor could.
In any-case, I think more developers should support the AMD platform more and balance out the field. If we don't, we are actually playing into Intel monopoly philosophy.

 

[Harilal K M]

I have a good experience related to AMD than Intel.We have couple of intel i3, dual-core and i5's in our office. We planned to purchase a AMD processor just for know the performance difference. We purchased FX-6300 , and it makes me a fan of AMD. The FX performed better than i5 at a cost of Intel dual core. So i tihnk , in cost/performance ratio AMD is a good choice.

 

[anodos]

. The FX performed better than i5 at a cost of Intel dual core. So i tihnk , in cost/performance ratio AMD is a good choice.

I prefer to keep religion and computers separate. AMD is good if you're using it in a desktop, but we're not talking desktops here. The goal is hardware support under FreeBSD and stability.

 

[cyberjock]

I can see some of those scenarios happen but not all. AMD will probably never go out of business as long as Intel is still around. In this environment, I don't think the market will ever let Intel become a monopoly.

Sorry, the world is not that altruistic.

As for Intel, their first 64bit chip was the Itanium. It sucked because it wouldn't run most 98% of x86 codes.

Hate to break it to you, but Itaniums were designed with the hope of ditching x86, so they weren't supposed to do x86 and be ultra fast or reliable at it. :P

AMD64 or x86-64 ran just fine and actually improved with their on chip memory controller. It can access much more memory than an 32-bit processor could.
In any-case, I think more developers should support the AMD platform more and balance out the field. If we don't, we are actually playing into Intel monopoly philosophy.

Developers go where the money is. And in the FreeBSD world, AMD is the antithesis of money. This forum is not about desktops, so don't bother trying to argue that side as that's not appropriate for this forum. Just look at how intensely unreliable AMD is with FreeBSD. Would *you* throw money at a platform that you can't even guarantee will boot up from one update to the next? If so, please send money my way. That is quite literally what you are trying to say people should do. Again, the world is not that altruistic.

 

[AltecBX]

Hate to break it to you, but Itaniums were designed with the hope of ditching x86, so they weren't supposed to do x86 and be ultra fast or reliable at it. :p

I always thought Intel came up with the Itanium chip to compete with AMD64 extensions; guess I was wrong. I myself have used and always used Intel chips. The only period I switched to AMD was in 2001-2004 period as the chips was less money and like I said they were was using 64 bit. At that time I was saving as much as I could to invest in other things. The platform performed great as my workstation.

Again I'm not saying that users should go out and buy AMD for server grade parts nor do I encourage it, all I'm saying is that developers should start supporting it a bit more. If they did, then developers can work out those kind of kinks like the OS not booting from an update. In the Linux world, the community is less motivated about money than they are in the enterprise world. And yes the world is not as nice but every platform has their problems, it's just up to those few individuals to make those changes happen.

But going back to the original post, you should follow cyberjock advice as he has experience with the FreeNAS. It's just like like any democracy, Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time. Just play by the rules and you'll have a smoother sail!