BUILD Current Hardware Review

[AEsuUf]

Hi All, New to FreeNAS and the Forum. I am scraping all my loose parts into a FreeNAS Build. Any review comments would greatly be appreciated.

i3-530
Gigabyte Mobo
8gb of ddr3-1066 (9-9-9-24)(non-ecc)
2-2tb drives HDDs (Raid 0)
3-500gb HDDs (Raid-0+1 or something between 3-5)(scratch disks)

This is for mainly file sharing, backups (windows and ubuntu), bittorrents, network printing, networked optical burner drive.
Eventually anything else cool I could use it for.

Questions
1. Is the hardware decent? Any upgrade recommendations (were to put the money)
2. What OS version should i use as it is a 32-bit CPU
3. Still vague on pools and datasets, any weblinks for tutorials or diagrams

 

[MrToddsFriends]

8 GB is the recommended minimum amount of RAM. So you could use this system for file sharing but not anything else when using FreeNAS. ECC RAM is highly recommended and this is something that cannot be reached per upgrade from your current hardware (as it affects CPU, RAM and motherboard).

http://doc.freenas.org/11/intro.html#hardware-recommendations

And, of course, your i3 is a x64 / 64 bit CPU as it is stated in the ark.intel.com product page you linked to (see "Instruction Set").

 

[danb35]

Is the hardware decent?

No, it really isn't, at least for use with FreeNAS. None of it is anywhere close to what's recommended, and your proposed disk layout doesn't sound like you're terribly concerned with data security in any event.

 

[AEsuUf]

your proposed disk layout doesn't sound like you're terribly concerned with data security in any event.

This proposed build is for home use and is from spare parts. I wasn't intending on buying a new board, cpu, and ECC ram. Do you have a budget suggestion?

And, of course, your i3 is a x64 / 64 bit CPU as it is stated in the ark.intel.com product page you linked to (see "Instruction Set").

Whoops, I missed that, Thanks

 

[danb35]

Do you have a budget suggestion?

Until recently, you could get the HPE Proliant ML10 for under $200, but that deal seems to have finally run out. The Dell PowerEdge T30 starts at $349, and should work fine once you add at least 4 GB of RAM. That's the least-expensive option I'm aware of.

 

[Zredwire]

Until recently, you could get the HPE Proliant ML10 for under $200, but that deal seems to have finally run out.

That deal has run out but there is still a pretty good HPE ML10 deal for $270. Just add at least 4GB more RAM (about $60) and it would work. It has an Intel G4400 processor but you can upgrade it later to an i3 or Xeon if you want. It is the same motherboard and processor I am using in my build. I don't have any jails or VM's and I have not seen the processor go above 35%.

Add: I just looked up the processors. It looks like the G4400 is probably more powerful than the i3-530. The G4400 has a Passmark of 3579 and the i3-530 is 2579. Passmark is not the end all but it is a way to compare different processors.

 

[AEsuUf]

That is USD with ugly shipping fees, so $270 becomes $380+. So I just want to tinker with FreeNAS with what i got. it will only be hosting for 2-3 machines. Isn't Raid 0 adequate? Is there anything I can add the the PCI Slots other than Ethernet ports to improve the system?

Eventually i will get a FreeNAS XL. No budget at the moment.

 

[danb35]

Isn't Raid 0 adequate?

How important is the data you'd be storing on this box? If a single disk in a striped pool fails, you'll lose all the data on that pool. If you're OK with that, then the striped pool is adequate. Most of us care more about our data than that.

That is USD with ugly shipping fees, so $270 becomes $380+.

So you aren't in the US? If you'd put something meaningful in your profile for your location, we might have realized that. If you are in the US, the $270 is with free shipping.

 

[AEsuUf]

How important is the data you'd be storing on this box? If a single disk in a striped pool fails, you'll lose all the data on that pool. If you're OK with that, then the striped pool is adequate. Most of us care more about our data than that.

Sorry, I miss spoke. Ya raid-1 for the 2-2tb & Raid-1+0 for 3-500gb

put something meaningful in your profile for your location

It is meaningful.

So there is no deal breaker for this ad-hock setup?

 

[Zredwire]

Sorry, I miss spoke. Ya raid-1 for the 2-2tb & Raid-1+0 for 3-500gb

Remember for RAID 1+0 (or Mirrored VDEv's) you need an even number of disk.

 

[MrToddsFriends]

Sorry, I miss spoke. Ya raid-1 for the 2-2tb & Raid-1+0 for 3-500gb

Please do yourself a favour and read the Terminology and Abbreviations Primer.

 

[AEsuUf]

Please do yourself a favour and read the Terminology and Abbreviations Primer.

Thanks Todd, read thru. will raid-0 the 500gb drives

 

[AEsuUf]

I don't have any jails or VM's

Do you think, with my chosen setup, i will have any issues running Jails or VMs?