Current NAS is dying/dead, want to replace with FreeNAS

[danb35]

That doesn't sound bad at all. Be sure to do a thorough burn-in on the disks (including the spare) before putting them into service, but it sounds like that should have you covered for a while.

 

[rmccullough]

danb35, Chris Moore, Ericloewe, rvassar thank you all for your assistance. It was extremely helpful.

 

[IQless]

Did you consider the noise that often comes with the 2U servers?

 

[Elliot Dierksen]

Did you consider the noise that often comes with the 2U servers?

Oddly enough, my experience has been that 2U servers are quieter than 1U servers. The reason being that the smaller fans in the 1U servers have to run faster to get the needed airflow. I refreshed my servers last year, and I would have done all 2U if I had it to do over again.

 

[danb35]

Oddly enough, my experience has been that 2U servers are quieter than 1U servers.

Not odd at all--but 4U servers are generally quieter yet.

 

[Chris Moore]

I refreshed my servers last year, and I would have done all 2U if I had it to do over again.

Last year I went from 3U servers to 4U servers for a couple reasons and the quieter operation was one, but I also wanted room for more drives. I can't fit enough drives in a 1U or 2U chassis and I only ever used 1U systems when I was building compute nodes for distributed processing. To me, for storage, the small chassis don't make sense.

 

[Elliot Dierksen]

Last year I went from 3U servers to 4U servers for a couple reasons and the quieter operation was one, but I also wanted room for more drives. I can't fit enough drives in a 1U or 2U chassis and I only ever used 1U systems when I was building compute nodes for distributed processing. To me, for storage, the small chassis don't make sense.

The 1U units are just compute units. They still generate more noise than the two 2U FreeNAS units. Now I need to decide if I can tolerate the noise of the HP D2600 and D2700 external bays. I guess it shouldn't surprise me the 25 x 2.5 or 12 x 3.5 needs some serious fans, but it still makes it a bummer when I sit in there and have to get on a conference call!

 

[danb35]

it still makes it a bummer when I sit in there and have to get on a conference call!

This is why my home server rack is moving out to the detached workshop shortly.

 

[Elliot Dierksen]

This is why my home server rack is moving out to the detached workshop shortly.

Yes, I saw the thread about fiber interconnections. I'll be looking for my invitation to the grand opening party!

 

[danb35]

To be fair, it isn't only noise, it's also heat. My home office/study is about 10° warmer than the rest of the house. That might be OK in the upper midwest, but not so much in coastal Georgia.

 

[Elliot Dierksen]

To be fair, it isn't only noise, it's also heat. My home office/study is about 10° warmer than the rest of the house.

Same issues in Central Florida. That is why my office has a separate ductless A/C unit.

 

[danb35]

That is why my office has a separate ductless A/C unit.

Two of those are going in the shop--a 3/4-ton unit in the server room, a 2-ton for the rest of the shop (both bought from FL, as it happens). I'll be installing those once the electrician finishes up.

 

[rmccullough]

Did you consider the noise that often comes with the 2U servers?

IQless, yes, I thought about the noise but I really have no way to tell if it is going to bug me.

I am hoping it will not be too much of an issue. We have a tri-level house where the downstairs is a daylight basement. I have a crawlspace under the stairs going downstairs. I currently have an old laptop, pfSense firewall/router, and switch there. My hope is that I will not hear too much noise coming from the crawlspace.

Also, it stays very cool down there, so heat will hopefully not be an issue either.

 

[Chris Moore]

Later, when you need more storage, you can get a 4U server like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4U-48-Bay-...ver-Chassis-UP-to-192TB-Capacity/153137970451

 

[rmccullough]

Later, when you need more storage, you can get a 4U server like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4U-48-Bay-...ver-Chassis-UP-to-192TB-Capacity/153137970451

Absolutely, I am thinking the same thing. I am going to see how this goes for a couple years, but yes I imagine I will want to move to something with 24-48 bays next so I can have multiple raid pools. I figured this let’s me “dip my toe in” with FreeNAS and I feel I got into this server cheap enough I won’t lose much when I go to sell it. And then I can step up to a 3U or 4U unit.

 

[joeschmuck]

I know there are some here (Chris is one; I think @joeschmuck is another) who believe in preemptive disk replacement once they reach a certain age.

I didn't replace mine due to age, actually they are still running in my second (backup) FreeNAS server, however I did replace them because I wanted to rebuild my pool with fewer hard drives and add a little capacity at the same time, and running them until 5 years (2 years beyond the warranty) was the milestone I set. I couldn't wait for that 5 year mark to hit so I could buy new hard drives. But in all fairness, I did replace them before any indication of failure and I would highly recommend the WD Red drives to anyone, mine just run and run and run.