Complete newbie tasked with setting up a NAS solution for a small business, need advice.

[nj4ck]

I haven't used them, but @Mirfster says they're pretty reasonable. Here's a thread discussing them: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/ode-to-the-dell-c2100-fs12-ty.43665/.

Better than I would have expected, actually. And you're 90% full?

89% right now, although I'd expect that to dip down into the 70s next week. It's been busy the last few weeks and we've only just started cleaning up.
What could I do to limit fragmentation on the new NAS? Is ZFS just not suitable for our purposes?

 

[danb35]

What could I do to limit fragmentation on the new NAS?

Lots of drive space.

Is ZFS just not suitable for our purposes?

Depends. If you're going to try to skimp on resources, it probably isn't.

 

[nj4ck]

Lots of drive space.

Depends. If you're going to try to skimp on resources, it probably isn't.

Hm. I'll have a talk with my boss tomorrow, see what kind of budget he's willing to give me. Maybe I won't have to skimp on resources, but my guess is I probably will. What other options do I have, besides ZFS?

 

[Stux]

I've been told that resilvering an array without having a backup is risky, which is why I've been holding out on replacing the dead drive, even though I've got a replacement already waiting to be installed. Since we still stand to lose one more drive in our raidz2 array before the situation really becomes critical, I've decided not to replace the drive until the new NAS is up and running and we have a backup. Let me know if you'd recommend otherwise.

Wrong way of looking at it. Rebuilding the failed disk when you still have a disk of redundancy is the safe way to do it. When that other disk fails, that's when you refresh your backup before replacing.

Since you don't have s backup to refresh, replace the disk asap.

 

[Stux]

I haven't used them, but @Mirfster says they're pretty reasonable. Here's a thread discussing them: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/ode-to-the-dell-c2100-fs12-ty.43665/.

Better than I would have expected, actually. And you're 90% full?

Could be why it got so slow. ZFS starts using a slower algorithm to find available blocks once you get to 90% full.

 

[Stux]

If you're editing off it maybe you should go with mirrors.

Still 8x4TB disks only gets you 16TB. With given how full your array is is where you need to be.

 

[Mirfster]

Wow, that's incredibly cheap. I was looking into getting a proper server rack, this looks just right. How's the noise on those? We don't have a dedicated server room, so I wouldn't want it sounding like a jet engine.

If you follow my instructions, the server is very quiet. So much that it should be at or below 60db (which is equivalent to a normal conversation volume). As stated in my thread I have multiple servers (at least 3 or more at any given time) running in a closet that is a makeshift server room and use speakerphone constantly without any issues.

As others have stated, get your current setup fixed and grab one (or two) servers and get the data protected. The C2100/FS12-TY Servers are ~$400.00 w/shipping; but since you are overseas it will be more. In that case, simply check EBay to see if you can find one that is similarly configured (take note to go over the details I mentioned in my thread to be certain). *** Avoid the 24 bay model unless you are willing to spend a lot on 2.5" drives and it comes with the drive trays...

I have a customer that has two of these right now and they don't have a proper Server Rack either. They are going to get this remedied; but right now I have the servers actually sitting on top of each other. However, I did place a couple of ~3" slats between them with rubber feet (easy to buy peel and stick rubber feet and stick it on the wood slats) which allows ventilation between the Servers.

TBH, the biggest cost to any solution is the actual hard drives. Running solely on a ASRock C2550D4I is pretty risky right now considering all the issues seen lately. If your boss is concerned about cost, consider what the price will be when things got to pot and no none can get to the data anymore...

 

[MtK]

If you follow my instructions, the server is very quiet. So much that it should be at or below 60db (which is equivalent to a normal conversation volume). As stated in my thread I have multiple servers (at least 3 or more at any given time) running in a closet that is a makeshift server room and use speakerphone constantly without any issues.

As others have stated, get your current setup fixed and grab one (or two) servers and get the data protected. The C2100/FS12-TY Servers are ~$400.00 w/shipping; but since you are overseas it will be more. In that case, simply check EBay to see if you can find one that is similarly configured (take note to go over the details I mentioned in my thread to be certain). *** Avoid the 24 bay model unless you are willing to spend a lot on 2.5" drives and it comes with the drive trays...

I have a customer that has two of these right now and they don't have a proper Server Rack either. They are going to get this remedied; but right now I have the servers actually sitting on top of each other. However, I did place a couple of ~3" slats between them with rubber feet (easy to buy peel and stick rubber feet and stick it on the wood slats) which allows ventilation between the Servers.

TBH, the biggest cost to any solution is the actual hard drives. Running solely on a ASRock C2550D4I is pretty risky right now considering all the issues seen lately. If your boss is concerned about cost, consider what the price will be when things got to pot and no none can get to the data anymore...

That's assuming they actually ship oversea (tried to ask the seller several time, for weeks, without a reply)

Also eBay might not he fruitful in this case, as the shipping cost is similar if not higher than the product price.

 

[danb35]

Sounds like another call for shipito.com or some other package forwarding service.

 

[MtK]

Sounds like another call for shipito.com or some other package forwarding service.

It's still ~$200 shipping (to EU), not including any additional taxes...

 

[danb35]

It's still ~$200 shipping (to EU), not including any additional taxes...

Far less than the >$700 reported by @BrutalRage in https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/freenas-ntfs-to-z-freenas-virgin.46243/. Yes, shipping on these machines will be expensive (I don't think that's avoidable, given their size and weight), but that's still going to total on the order of US$550 plus disks for a pretty capable FreeNAS server. I don't find much in EU on eBay, and what I do find is (1) set up for 2.5" disks, and (2) ridiculously expensive. Even accounting for the shipping, one of the C2100s from DFW seems like the price/performance winner.

 

[nj4ck]

If you're editing off it maybe you should go with mirrors.

Still 8x4TB disks only gets you 16TB. With given how full your array is is where you need to be.

Could you elaborate what exactly you mean by "go with mirrors" snd why that would be beneficial to editing off the NAS? AFAIK, a mirror is just an identical copy of the data in a different location, or am I missing something?
And honestly I think 16TB would probably be fine. We keep projects on the NAS for a year and then offload them onto the archive, which is scheduled to happen for about 3TB of data sometime next month. I doubt I'll be able to convince my boss to fork over the cash required for 20+TB + backups.

 

[MtK]

Could you elaborate what exactly you mean by "go with mirrors" snd why that would be beneficial to editing off the NAS? AFAIK, a mirror is just an identical copy of the data in a different location, or am I missing something?
And honestly I think 16TB would probably be fine. We keep projects on the NAS for a year and then offload them onto the archive, which is scheduled to happen for about 3TB of data sometime next month. I doubt I'll be able to convince my boss to fork over the cash required for 20+TB + backups.

Pay attention to the plural (not single) mirrorS.
You shoukd read a little bit about 'stripped mirrors'. There are tons of discussions and explanations about it (see also the signatures of users that point to stickies is various subjects).

 

[nj4ck]

If you follow my instructions, the server is very quiet. So much that it should be at or below 60db (which is equivalent to a normal conversation volume). As stated in my thread I have multiple servers (at least 3 or more at any given time) running in a closet that is a makeshift server room and use speakerphone constantly without any issues.

As others have stated, get your current setup fixed and grab one (or two) servers and get the data protected. The C2100/FS12-TY Servers are ~$400.00 w/shipping; but since you are overseas it will be more. In that case, simply check EBay to see if you can find one that is similarly configured (take note to go over the details I mentioned in my thread to be certain). *** Avoid the 24 bay model unless you are willing to spend a lot on 2.5" drives and it comes with the drive trays...

I have a customer that has two of these right now and they don't have a proper Server Rack either. They are going to get this remedied; but right now I have the servers actually sitting on top of each other. However, I did place a couple of ~3" slats between them with rubber feet (easy to buy peel and stick rubber feet and stick it on the wood slats) which allows ventilation between the Servers.

TBH, the biggest cost to any solution is the actual hard drives. Running solely on a ASRock C2550D4I is pretty risky right now considering all the issues seen lately. If your boss is concerned about cost, consider what the price will be when things got to pot and no none can get to the data anymore...

I know 60db isn't loud for a server, but I've got to consider that this thing will be sitting pretty much right next to a desk with someone working at it. Our offices are pretty cramped and honestly I can't even think of where to put up a server rack right now. I'm sure I'd find a place for it somewhere, but it would definitely be right next to someone working, so 60db may be a little too much. Are there any taller alternatives that accept larger fans? It looks like finding that particular server here in Germany might be very difficult anyway, so I wonder if there's any alternatives that are at least somewhat similar in price to performance and deliver slightly quieter noise levels. Would buying the hardware separately be an option? Server motherboards are pretty easy to find here and as long as I can find a case that shouldn't be a problem, right?

 

[nj4ck]

Pay attention to the plural (not single) mirrorS.
You shoukd read a little bit about 'stripped mirrors'. There are tons of discussions and explanations about it (see also the signatures of users that point to stickies is various subjects).

Ah, thanks. I'll look into it.