Building a Freenas server in Tunisia (Africa)

[Habloun]

Hi all,

I've been using Freenas for 4 years now, and I already lost my pool twice.
The first time was my mistake, the second was a hardware failure while I'm resilvering (RAID-Z1)...
My current server is a (G31 mobo + Core 2 duo E7300 + 2 Gigs DDR2 800Mhz + 4x 1 TB HDDs).

I want to build a robust NAS for home use. This time I'll be using better hardware (ECC RAM, etc..) and RAID-Z2.

The problem is: I'm in Tunisia, and it's impossible for me to ship hardware from international online websites (amazon, ebay). The only alternative is local market.

I looked for a Supermicro mobo, but unfortunately, I could not find one here in Tunisia.

Here is the link for a local shop: tunisianet.com.tn
I'm interested in the Dell PowerEdge T20, or maybe the HP ProLiant ML310e Gen8. Both come with only 4GB of RAM (I think ECC). I found a relatively cheap Samsung RAM : but I don't know if it's ECC, or even if it will work with the 2 systems.

Can anyone help me?

Amine

 

[anodos]

Hi all,

I've been using Freenas for 4 years now, and I already lost my pool twice.
The first time was my mistake, the second was a hardware failure while I'm resilvering (RAID-Z1)...
My current server is a (G31 mobo + Core 2 duo E7300 + 2 Gigs DDR2 800Mhz + 4x 1 TB HDDs).

I want to build a robust NAS for home use. This time I'll be using better hardware (ECC RAM, etc..) and RAID-Z2.

The problem is: I'm in Tunisia, and it's impossible for me to ship hardware from international online websites (amazon, ebay). The only alternative is local market.

I looked for a Supermicro mobo, but unfortunately, I could not find one here in Tunisia.

Here is the link for a local shop: tunisianet.com.tn
I'm interested in the Dell PowerEdge T20, or maybe the HP ProLiant ML310e Gen8. Both come with only 4GB of RAM (I think ECC). I found a relatively cheap Samsung RAM : but I don't know if it's ECC, or even if it will work with the 2 systems.

Can anyone help me?

Amine

ECC is an absolute must, and you should make sure you have 8GB RAM. Supermicro is generally recommended because it's well tested. Just try to get your hands on a server motherboard. Getting a host bus adapter (HBA) like the LSI 9211-8i rather than a raid card is a good idea. I've lived outside the west, and I'm usually able to find a merchant who imports tech items from Europe or the UAE. You should find someone who sells computer hardware and ask if they can get server parts for you (even if they don't have them in their store's inventory).

I've seen some threads saying the T20 works fine with FreeNAS, but that cooling is a problem. You might need to improve cooling. And, of course, add more RAM.