Hi, I'm looking to put together a rack mount NAS ideally that fits into a 1U slot. Here are my requirements:
I came up with a relatively economical and capable build below (sans the SSD cost which drives things up) and would like some feedback/critique if there are items that could be improved.
Case : Athena Power RM-1UC138 Black 1.0mm SECC 1U Rackmount Server Case - $88.99
www.newegg.com
Board incl CPU - ASRock J5040-ITX Intel Quad-Core Processor J5040 Chipset Mini-ITX Motherboard.
I picked this one because of low TDP and 4 SATA slots which I could not find on many others.
PSU - PicoPSU-160-XT (mainly for noise reasons - will consider other internal PSUs if quiet)
NIC - Any number of 2.5Gbe that will fit in a X1 PCIe slot. Example below
Drives - 4x Samsung 870 QVO. Would probably run them in RAID 5 = 24TB of storage. Open to feedback here.
RAM - OWC 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC19200 DDR4 2400MHz SO-DIMMs Memory.
I'd like to have more than 8GB RAM if possible but I don't believe this board supports it.
I'm forgetting a few other accessories like case fans (Noctua), adapters, etc.
A few questions/thoughts:
- Where do I put a boot drive on a system like this? Can I use the Wi-Fi slot for a little SSD to boot from?
- 4 drives + multi gig Ethernet is proving to be a bit challenging. I have found plenty of boards with two SATA and a beefy PCIe slot. I can do a couple more M.2 in the PCIe slot or I can do 10Gbe but not both. I'm wondering if I need to size up from the Mini-ITX to get more slots for this build. I do want to be mindful of TDP though, a lot of the mainstream Intel Core/Xeon CPUs are quite power hungry and require lots of cooling.
- Is this CPU powerful enough to run Plex transcodes from time to time?
I also found an intriguing prebuilt from QNAP (QNAP TBS-464) that seems to fit the bill really well... but I'm not a fan of QNAP software so would need to be able to roll my own on a system like this.
Thoughts, criticisms and comments appreciated!!
- Rack-mounted - If I can do this in a 1U I'd rather do 1U. I could go to 2U if it's just not practical. It also has to fit in a 450mm deep rack. For that reason I'm looking at Mini-ITX or Flex-ATX form factor.
- Quiet - doesn't have to be silent but does have to be quiet. It's going in a network cabinet but near a living space and I don't want the thing to be screaming loud.
- All SSD - it seems doing it with 2.5" drives would be the most straightforward, I would love to do all NVME for speed/future proof but doesn't seem like many options.
- Multi-gig Ethernet - I would really love to do 10GB/s (either over fiber or copper) but I would settle for 2.5.
- Some transcoding capability - don't need a powerhouse CPU but would like to be able to do 1 or 2 4K streams on Plex with Intel QuickSync.
I came up with a relatively economical and capable build below (sans the SSD cost which drives things up) and would like some feedback/critique if there are items that could be improved.
Case : Athena Power RM-1UC138 Black 1.0mm SECC 1U Rackmount Server Case - $88.99
Athena Power RM-1UC138 Black 1U Rackmount Server Case - Newegg.com
Buy Athena Power RM-1UC138 Black 1.0mm SECC 1U Rackmount Server Case FlexATX Single (not included) 1 External 5.25" Drive Bays - Server Chassis with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!
Board incl CPU - ASRock J5040-ITX Intel Quad-Core Processor J5040 Chipset Mini-ITX Motherboard.
I picked this one because of low TDP and 4 SATA slots which I could not find on many others.
PSU - PicoPSU-160-XT (mainly for noise reasons - will consider other internal PSUs if quiet)
PicoPSU-160-XT with 192W Adapter Power Kit
picoPSU-160-XT is the toughest plug-in 12V ATX dc-dc power supply
www.mini-box.com
NIC - Any number of 2.5Gbe that will fit in a X1 PCIe slot. Example below
Drives - 4x Samsung 870 QVO. Would probably run them in RAID 5 = 24TB of storage. Open to feedback here.
RAM - OWC 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC19200 DDR4 2400MHz SO-DIMMs Memory.
I'd like to have more than 8GB RAM if possible but I don't believe this board supports it.
I'm forgetting a few other accessories like case fans (Noctua), adapters, etc.
A few questions/thoughts:
- Where do I put a boot drive on a system like this? Can I use the Wi-Fi slot for a little SSD to boot from?
- 4 drives + multi gig Ethernet is proving to be a bit challenging. I have found plenty of boards with two SATA and a beefy PCIe slot. I can do a couple more M.2 in the PCIe slot or I can do 10Gbe but not both. I'm wondering if I need to size up from the Mini-ITX to get more slots for this build. I do want to be mindful of TDP though, a lot of the mainstream Intel Core/Xeon CPUs are quite power hungry and require lots of cooling.
- Is this CPU powerful enough to run Plex transcodes from time to time?
I also found an intriguing prebuilt from QNAP (QNAP TBS-464) that seems to fit the bill really well... but I'm not a fan of QNAP software so would need to be able to roll my own on a system like this.
Thoughts, criticisms and comments appreciated!!
