Can I re-purpose my old computer into a FreeNAS

[Lymen]

Hello everyone! I am super new to NAS and in the process of building a new Video Editing/Gaming computer and want to know if my old "gaming" comp can be converted for NAS use. I want to use the NAS to store all the video data that I created and if possible work the data right from the NAS.

I tried figuring it out by reading the "Links in Will it FreeNAS? **Required Reading for This Sub-Forum**" and "Will it FreeNAS?: Check it Before You Wreck It" posts but am a little confused.

Current Computer Specs:

• Case - Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower
• MB - ASRock Z68 Extreme4
• CPU - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz
• RAM - 2x CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 for 16GB in total.
• PSU - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX
• SSD (Boot) - OCZ Technology 128GB Vertex 4
• HHD(s) - I would be purchasing 6TB WD Reds or SG Ironwolfs. If I can get this to work, I’d am thinking of 3 to 5 drives in RAID 5. But not 100% sure if that’s the best raid setup.

I would greatly appreciate your assistance or advice. IF it’s crap, then let me know. I was looking to spend around $1k, including the drives. I’d rather spend the few extra bucks on something like “Synology DS1817 Diskless System Network Storage, 4 x Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Hard Drive” or just an get a Diskless System and add my own HHDs.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[pro lamer]

a little confused

Have you read this https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/ ?

EDIT: My noob's thought: this motherboard https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z68 Extreme4/index.asp#CPU supports Xeons but doesn't support ECC...

work the data right from the NAS

IIRC 10Gbit LAN is recommended - I've seen it somewhere in these forums recently...

Is your i7 QuickSync equipped? I am considering, for my own, a separate rig for transcoding and a separate one as a NAS...

 

[Inxsible]

MB - ASRock Z68 Extreme4

You will need to add in an Intel i340 or i350 card since the board only has Broadcom LAN

CPU - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz

No ECC on the board or the CPU -- but that's ok. FreeNAS runs fine without ECC.

HHD(s) - I would be purchasing 6TB WD Reds or SG Ironwolfs.

This is what confuses me to no avail. People will use non-ECC hardware, but for the HDDs they will spend the extra money on "NAS" drives. Desktop drives work fine too. Many users use them here. With WD Green/new Blue -- you have to disable the spin-down using wdidle, but that is trivial. Seagate desktop drives work without issue as well.

 

[Lymen]

Thanks so much for the info. I checked out the Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC for noobs! post. Since it's just myself that needs access to the data. I don't think I need a NAS just yet. I am going to get a Seagate 8TB BarraCuda Pro for internal storage and do a local and cloud back up of the data. I will look into a building/buying NAS in the future.

 

[deafen]

if possible work the data right from the NAS

This depends on what kind of video you're working with and what your workflow looks like. Worst case: If you're ingesting raw, uncompressed footage straight to the NAS, you're saturating 1GbE with just 1080p@24. 4k@60 will saturate 10GbE.

It's far more likely that the video is compressed (e.g. mp4). Assuming you're doing NLE with something like Premiere or iMovie and just working with assets on the NAS, 1GbE is plenty; with a second-gen i7, you're far more likely to be CPU bound when rendering. Heck, I've done 1080p work over wifi without really feeling the pinch.

 

[Napalm]

I would say you don't need 10gbe connections. I mean damn - are you going to have other 10gb stuffs - no you probably won't.

As far as the brodcom comment - mine happens to work just fine. OH and worse I'm on an AMD system so you know that's just pure junk.

On the bits about ECC and NAS rated hard drives. I too use enterprise or NAS style drives. Mine are HGST - why do I use that vs basic desktop drives - the cost wasn't that much more the performance benefit was significant as the buffers are bigger - and the drives are meant to be run constantly. So yes spend that extra money on the drive and worry not about the ECC. There's a bit more cost to getting ECC to work right anyway.

editing right on the NAS - I wouldn't do that. I know it can be done etc etc. But why hamper yourself just because. Pull the files over to your power machine which I assume has some SSD in it - work your needs - move back one time. Or use a sync folder

 

[kdragon75]

I would say you don't need 10gbe connections. I mean damn - are you going to have other 10gb stuffs - no you probably won't.

As far as the brodcom comment - mine happens to work just fine. OH and worse I'm on an AMD system so you know that's just pure junk.

On the bits about ECC and NAS rated hard drives. I too use enterprise or NAS style drives. Mine are HGST - why do I use that vs basic desktop drives - the cost wasn't that much more the performance benefit was significant as the buffers are bigger - and the drives are meant to be run constantly. So yes spend that extra money on the drive and worry not about the ECC. There's a bit more cost to getting ECC to work right anyway.

editing right on the NAS - I wouldn't do that. I know it can be done etc etc. But why hamper yourself just because. Pull the files over to your power machine which I assume has some SSD in it - work your needs - move back one time. Or use a sync folder

Funny thing is from a data integrity standpoint I would prefer the ECC RAM. Let ZFS manage and heal the data if needed. Thats what its for. As always with that said, don't get "green" drives. Ever. As for the 10gbe, for a single point to point link you looking at $60 for cards and maybe $15 USD for the cable. It makes a huge difference when scrubbing footage and ingest/backup times.

Tip on the local storage, get matching drives and mirror them for a noticeable read boost. Just be sure to have backups... On a NAS... something Free?

 

[Chris Moore]

since the board only has Broadcom LAN

Broadcom is the company that makes many of the chip-sets in the actual network switches out in the world. They usually work just fine.

and worry not about the ECC.

That is foolish. If the data is corrupted in memory, it doesn't matter how good the drives are.

I would say you don't need 10gbe connections. I mean damn - are you going to have other 10gb stuffs - no you probably won't.

Once you try 10Gig, you never want to live without it. Even when it is slow, it is two or three times faster than 1Gb networking. It can be done on the cheap if the budget is tight. I built a switch using an old computer I had laying around and a bunch of network cards that I got off eBay for about $200.

I don't think I need a NAS just yet. I am going to get a Seagate 8TB BarraCuda Pro for internal storage and do a local and cloud back up of the data. I will look into a building/buying NAS in the future.

Even if you are going to go with local storage, which is fairly fast, you might want to have a NAS to give you local redundant storage instead of needing to go to a cloud service that you are paying a monthly fee to use. When you are ready, post up and someone here will give you advice.
While you are thinking about it, there are a lot of interesting links in my signature that you might want to check.