[Build] Advice on my first build

[eranno]

Hello,

I'm building my first NAS, and I could use some help with the planning.

I gonna use it only for backup, both Windows and Mac machines. Here is the list of hardware parts I'm thinking about:

Mobo asus F2A85-M FM2
CPU AMD 740
CASE Lian Li PC-Q025
Corsair 8 GB Ram kit CL9
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3TB or WD Red for NAS 24/7 WD30EFRX drives x 4
PSU Seasonic 430W S12II-430 120mm 6*SATA, 8-pin EPS , PCI-E 6-pin
Maybe add Intel NIC EXPI9301CT

Will this work? any changes needed?

Also, few more questions:

1. I'm planning to use raid 5. The Asus MB has onboard raid controller. Will it function properly with FreeNAS?
Maybe I should use ZFS instead? as long as I keep reading on the forum it looks more stable and reliable.

2. I never used a NAS before, and as I understand in order to back up my MAC machines I will have to use Time Machine. Now, If I'm using 4 HDs with Raid 5 configuration, will the NAS appear as 1 big storage space with aprox. 8.4 TB of space? How do I configure it do so?

3. Do I need to add the Intel NIC of the onboard lan controller will be alright?

4. The reason for going AMD and not Intel is that the AMD chipset has 7 Sata 3 (6Gbps) ports, which keeps the need of adding a PCI Sata card. But honestly, I build many computers but never AMD. Is it good and stable as Intel machine?

Any suggestions will be welcomed.

Thanks
Eran

 

[jgreco]

1) The "onboard RAID controller" is often a software RAID, supported only by Windows. Even if it is a hardware RAID, it is probably a bad idea to try to use it. ZFS is kind of big and lumbering in some ways, but is also pretty awesome at doing its own version of RAID.

2) Assuming a ZFS pool, you could share it as a single share, but multiple shares (one per host for time machine, then another for shared files) has advantages such as being able to control the amount of space you allocate to each function.

3) The hamsters that push bits in and out of that Realtek ethernet might get tired or quit now and then, or they might be fine. Hard to know. Nobody complains about the Intel ethernets, though, even the mere desktop adapters are very good with FreeNAS.

4) SATA3 has relatively little value; your average hard drive cannot max out a SATA2 port. Do not obsess over SATA3. As for AMD vs Intel, we used to be an AMD shop here dating way back to the 386, but mid-2000's we started seeing significant issues with some of the AMD stuff (not necessarily AMD's fault). For example, with a Supermicro Intel board, you get good Intel ethernets built-in. With some AMD boards, you get random Realtek ethernets and generic SATA chipsets.

So a question for you to ponder is this: adding together the cost of your motherboard, CPU, and an Intel ethernet, that's about $200. Not too bad. But you could get a server-grade board like the Supermicro X9SCM-B ($154) and an Intel Xeon ($varies) for only maybe a hundred bucks more than your solution, and end up with ECC protection for your system as well (highly recommended for ZFS).

 

[eranno]

Thanks for your reply.

I also read your other post about building a quality solid machine, and you do have a point there. I guess I can sacrifice the speed of Sata 3 for more reliable machine.

So, what do you say about this build:


MBD-X9SCL-B
Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1220
Ram: 16G Samsung ECC 1.35V
Case Ippon 39550 3U
Seasonic P-660 660W (Modular) 55A / 12V Single Rail
need to find some low profile cpu cooler
OS drive Patriot Xporter XT Rage 8GB USB 2.0
Hard drives: 4 x 3TB. Still don't know what to choose between Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3TB and WD Red for NAS 24/7 WD30EFRX
I just have a better experience with Seagate, but I see that those "Red" HD's are dedicated for NAS... what do you say?

Motherboard: I can't buy the model you specified here, but this one looks close enough.
Also, I see is has 2 Intel Gigabit ports - is it good enough so I don't need to add extra PCI card?

Thanks again

 

[jgreco]

No idea about the case. Look at the Supermicro options for heatsinks if you are going into a rackmount case. For that matter, the Supermicro cases are nice too.

The Seagates will be hotter but faster (also beware that Seagate is introducing 5900RPM drives to replace the 7200's). The WD Reds have better NAS features and I suspect a better warranty. For backups, I would imagine either one would be fine, but the Seagates would have an edge for primary storage use.

The X9SCL is a great board. We have some of the plus version. The primary controller, the 82579, is (IIRC) a low-end server-grade controller. The secondary controller, the 82574L, is actually the SAME controller that's on the EXPI9301CT (a high end desktop controller). You'd have to spend a large amount of money to get a better selection of controllers onboard.