Disk Config for New Build

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Hi Folks - I am on my way to completing my new FreeNAS build for my home network/home lab. This will be replacing a Synology DS211j (2 x 1 TB WD Red) that is only used for ESXi iSCSI storage, a Synology DS216+ II (2 x 4 TB WD Red) for file and photo storage and a Qnap TS-219P II (2 x 3 TB WD Red) for movies and music sharing by DLNA. ESXi is running on an HP DL360 G8.

The hardware is (I got a good price and I need rack mounting):

• Supermicro YS-6027R-3RF4+ chassis
  • 8 x 3.5″ hotswap drive bays
  • 2 x 3.5″ internal drive bays
  • 2 x 740 watt Platinum Power Supplies
• Supermicro X9DR3-LN4F+ motherboard
  • 2 x Intel Xeon E5-2630 V1 Hex (6) Core 2.3GHzRAM
  • 32GB DDR RAM
  • LSI 9210-i8 HBA
  • 4 x Intel 1 Gbit/s onboard NICs
• 2 x 120 GB Kingston A400 SSDs for FreeNAS, will be mirrored and running of the motherboard 6 Gbit/s SATA ports

My next course of action is what types of hard drives to use. I have one 4 TB WD Red and one 3 TB WD Red that are spares for the Synology and Qnap. I really don't want to pull one drive from the DS216 or the TS-219 if at all possible. But, I need to get my pools started to begin the migration (maybe a "chicken and the egg" scenario).

Basic requirements:

• SMB sharing
• iSCSI for ESXi (I'm good with the DS211j's performance being a home lab and all; but I will be dedicating a subnet and VLAN for iSCSI traffic)
• Movie and music streaming

It looks like I will need to buy more disks. What are the recommendations? Should I stick with WD Reds or go with Seagate IronWolf drives?

Four TB seems to be the "sweet spot" for size. I would like to have more size but the DS216 is under 50% full and the TS219 is under 60% full. The DS211j is sort-of full due to the iSCSI provisioning (95%) but only about 50% of that iSCSI provisioning is actually in use.

I also have two four-bay Quanta S98J QSSC 1U rackmount server cases that I am considering using as external storage in the future. (Another good deal. I need to find some power supplies. Any suggestions? :)) I will use an external two-port SAS adaptor like an LSI 9201-16e (4 ports seem cheaper than 2 ports, go figure) with the Quanta cases having a SAS port-to-4 port SATA adaptors (like this).

So, thoughts on:

• Disks to buy
• ZFS configuration
• Anything else?

Thanks all!

 

[Chris Moore]

My next course of action is what types of hard drives to use. I have one 4 TB WD Red and one 3 TB WD Red that are spares for the Synology and Qnap. I really don't want to pull one drive from the DS216 or the TS-219 if at all possible. But, I need to get my pools started to begin the migration (maybe a "chicken and the egg" scenario).

The problem, what you want to use your system for. You can't just configure a system randomly when you want to do iSCSI and there are some restrictions from ZFS also.
Please review these resources:

Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

Terminology and Abbreviations Primer
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/terminology-and-abbreviations-primer.28174/

iSCSI for ESXi

If you want / need iSCSI, you will need to configure the system for that performance requirement, which is quite high. The other things, SMB and movie streaming, are trivial in comparison. Take some time and read these resources:

Why iSCSI often requires more resources for the same result (block storage)
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...res-more-resources-for-the-same-result.28178/

Some differences between RAIDZ and mirrors, and why we use mirrors for block storage (iSCSI)
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...and-why-we-use-mirrors-for-block-storage.112/

Building, Burn-In, and Testing your FreeNAS system
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/building-burn-in-and-testing-your-freenas-system.38/

GitHub repository for FreeNAS scripts, including disk burnin
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...for-freenas-scripts-including-disk-burnin.28/

Also:

The ZFS ZIL and SLOG Demystified
https://www.ixsystems.com/blog/zfs-zil-and-slog-demystified/

Some insights into SLOG/ZIL with ZFS on FreeNAS
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/some-insights-into-slog-zil-with-zfs-on-freenas.13633/

Testing the benefits of SLOG using a RAM disk!
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/testing-the-benefits-of-slog-using-a-ram-disk.56561/

SLOG benchmarking and finding the best SLOG
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/slog-benchmarking-and-finding-the-best-slog.63521/

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Thanks Chris. (I was actually waiting for your response :)).

I have used NFS for ESX previously but with the old Synology DS211j iSCSI was a slightly faster. So I can go back to NFS for my ESX shares.

What would this change mean?

Thanks!

 

[Chris Moore]

There are advantages to iSCSI over NFS from what @jgreco has said, but you do need a robust system to deal with iSCSI.
Please read through the resources I pointed out so you can make an informed decision. I am not an expert on iSCSI, having only built one system that provided that service. I used 24 drives in mirrored pairs (12 vdevs) and 256GB of RAM plus a SLOG and L2ARC. I probably threw more resources at it than it needed, but I wanted to get as much performance as I could from the system. You have to make a decision that works with your budget and your requirements. If you can live with a system that is a little slower, you can make it work with a lot less. Very generally, vdevs in ZFS equate to IOPS, so more vdevs give you better iSCSI performance.

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Thanks @Chris Moore - I am going to go down the NFS route (again - I first used NFS on the old Synology). I saw a similar question from @Spearfoot and @jgreco chimed in with some attractive considerations for NFS. Being for my home lab the benefits/drawbacks of iSCSI don't seem worth it.

I now have 5 x 3 TB WD Reds for my setup - reading time