BUILD Building first FreeNAS

[GrandBleu]

Hi all,
I need advice/suggestion/recommendation on my list before ordering. I'd appreciate if anyone can comment on this post. My goal is building stable file storage server with 1 or 2 media streaming service running out of the box after assembly. I'm trying to avoid doing complex manual fix unless I have to such as flashing BIOS and etc. Let me know if there's anything that I should order differently.

CASE: Fractal Design R4
CPU: Intel i3-4330 (willing to go with E3-1230v2 or E3-1230v3 if it's worth the money of ~$40)
Motherboard: X10SLM+-F (due to difficulty to find online seller for X10SLL+-F in the States)
Memory: Crucial 2x8gb CT2kit102472BD160B
PSU: Seasonic G series SSR-550RM
HDD: 6 x WD 3TB (already purchased for RAIDZ2)

I don't think I need graphic card here, right? I'm planning to use default CPU cooler.

Motherboard + CPU is my primary concern and I'd like to have combo that works out of the box or with simple update if I need to. X10SL7-F is a bit over my budget.

Thanks.

 

[Jailer]

Both those boards have IPMI so no need for a graphics card. Both are available at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182823

 

[AltecBX]

Most ppl are going to recommend ECC memory and CPU out of the box. Once you get around why you need those two things, the rest of the peripherals are subject-able to the users in the FreeNAS community.

Link 1 - Hardware Recommendations
Link 2 - ECC memory

 

[GrandBleu]

Both those boards have IPMI so no need for a graphics card. Both are available at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182823

They both have '-O' at the end in model name. Are X10SLM+-F and X10SLM+-F-O same? What's the difference?

 

[GrandBleu]

Most ppl are going to recommend ECC memory and CPU out of the box. Once you get around why you need those two things, the rest of the peripherals are subject-able to the users in the FreeNAS community.

Link 1 - Hardware Recommendations
Link 2 - ECC memory

I read those links. The Crucial ram I posed is ECC ram. Is that incorrect?

 

[depasseg]

According to Intel, the i3 does not support ECC memory.
http://www.intel.com/support/proces...5.htm?_ga=1.108152453.666758978.1416448228#10

 

[Jailer]

I read those links. The Crucial ram I posed is ECC ram. Is that incorrect?

That is ECC RAM. It's the same thing I'm using in my build.

 

[Jailer]

According to Intel, the i3 does not support ECC memory.
http://www.intel.com/support/proces...5.htm?_ga=1.108152453.666758978.1416448228#10

The processor does, that link says that the desktop boards that it is typically used in do not.

 

[GrandBleu]

According to Intel, the i3 does not support ECC memory.
http://www.intel.com/support/proces...5.htm?_ga=1.108152453.666758978.1416448228#10

That's new to me. What about sticky post of https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...or-supermicro-x10-lga1150-motherboards.23291/ ? I thought CT2KIT102472BD160B (Two DIMMs) worked with i3-4330. I saw the ram in Ericloewe's signature as well. Should I go with E3-1230v2 or E3-1230v3 with X10SLM+-F then?

 

[diedrichg]

Intel Ark says the i3-4330 IS ECC compatible.

 

[Ericloewe]

Ok, time to clear up a few things:

Supermicro models with an -O at the end are just retail packaging. Bulk gets a -B.

So, a retail-packaged X10SLM+-F would be an X10SLM+-F-O.

All desktop Ivy Bridge and Haswell (and many Sandy Bridge) i3s support ECC, as per their ark pages.

 

[GrandBleu]

Thanks Jailer, diedrichg and Ericloewe! I clicked like button for you. I'm going to order i3-4330 with X10SLM+-F. It's going to be very similar to Ericloewe's spec which is what I've been having in mind from the beginning. :)

 

[marbus90]

If you don't plan on expanding to 12 HDDs, you might want to take a look at the Node 304 case with a 300-350W PSU. 550W are plain overkill and inefficient.

 

[sremick]

If you don't plan on expanding to 12 HDDs, you might want to take a look at the Node 304 case with a 300-350W PSU. 550W are plain overkill and inefficient.

The Node 304 is a beautiful case. I have all 6 drive bays populated and my 400W power supply is overkill (but it was the smallest wattage Seasonic Platinum).

 

[Roland]

Be aware that the Node 304 (mini-dtx/mini-itx) is not compatible with the X10SLM (micro-atx) boards. If you want such a case you need to move to the larger Node 804 case. For me personal the 804 is too big, so i'm thinking about the Arc Mini with a X10SLM board.

 

[GrandBleu]

I assembled all parts and ran Freenas from USB flash drive and I'm having network issue which I use wired connection. Getting below errors during boot.

freenas ntpd_initres[2269]: host name not found: 1.freebsd.pool.ntp.org
freenas ntpd_initres[2269]: host name not found: 2.freebsd.pool.ntp.org
...

After 10-15 minutes or so it finally go to screen with 11 options but saying below

You may try the following URLs to access the web user interface:
No configured interfaces were found. Try to do it manually.

Then, if I try to configure network interface by choosing 1) it gives me

choose 1) igb0 2)igb1

I'm stuck on what to do. Can I choose one? If so, which one? Should I change something in BIOS to disable onboard network device or something like that? Please help me.

 

[Fraoch]

I presume you have at least one of the ethernet ports connected. Does your switch show the connection is OK? How about the LEDs above the port on the motherboard?

You're aware there's actually 3 ethernet ports on this motherboard:

- one on the left, above two USB ports. This one is for IPMI only. If this is the only one you have connected, you won't have networking other than IPMI. This could be your problem.
- two towards the middle and right with a serial port on the right. These are the ones you want to use. igb0 is probably the one on the left, igb1 is the one on the right.

 

[GrandBleu]

I presume you have at least one of the ethernet ports connected. Does your switch show the connection is OK? How about the LEDs above the port on the motherboard?

You're aware there's actually 5 ethernet ports on this motherboard:

- one on the left, above two USB ports. This one is for IPMI only. If this is the only one you have connected, you won't have networking other than IPMI. This could be your problem.
- four towards the middle and right, stacked two by two, with a serial port on the right. These are the ones you want to use. igb0 is probably the one on the left, igb1 is the one on the right.

There're three network ports on the back. You're right. I was using the top one right beside two USB 3.0 ports. I pulled it out and inserted into one down right below two USB 2.0 ports and now it WORKS! I'm able to connect to Freenas web interface to configure. Fraoch you saved my holiday!! I really appreciate for your quick help. I clicked like for you.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[Fraoch]

You're welcome, enjoy!

Sorry I edited my post a bit there - the manual shows 5 ports total, but that's applicable to a different model.

BTW if you haven't played with IPMI yet, you're in for a treat. It's like magic. Connect that first port plus the networking one you're now using to a switch. Check your router to see which IP address it gets assigned and point your browser there just like the FreeNAS address.

 

[marbus90]

^ the IPMI is also shared with the first LAN Port, so no need to throw another cable.