E-2146G + X11SCH-F

[Gordonsandman]

Hi,

I'm building a new server (for FreeNAS and other use) and would love your feedback. I've read a lot online and on the forums, but a lot of material is outdated and the components below are relatively new (mobo and cpu). I'm afraid that i'll miss something so any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Build:

• Intel Xeon E-2146G
  • From what i see on passmark this CPU gives great performance for the price. 6 cores and supports hyperthreading.
• Supermicro X11SCH-F
  • Kinda new and hard to get..
• Crucial CT16G4WFD8266 (32 gb)
  • This is a random cheap big brand DDR4 ECC memory choice.
• IBM Serveraid M1015 card
• PSU Seasonic g-360 watt (reused from current server)
• Chassis Antec ISK600M (reused from current server)
• 3 HDD disks for a Raid-z1 pool (connected through M1015)
• 3 SSD's for FreeNAS VM and other virtual machines

Few considerations:

• Homeuser / hobby user.
  • FreeNAS will mainly be used for file storage / archiving. Pictures documents and so on. No fancy video editing streaming requirements.
  • Rebuilding and performance degradation during rebuilding is no issue.
• Chosen for intel
• Chosen for ECC memory (and a mobo + cpu that support it).
  • Start with 32 GB can expand to 64 and after firmware upgrade to mobo in 2019 to 128 if need be.
  • Picked a cheap DDR4 with ECC and supported Mhz, does the brand matter much?
• CPU supports AES instruction set.
• I would like to run ESXi hypervisor and virtualize FreeNAS as this server will run other stuff. Gameserver / windows and a few linux flavors.
• Will use the M1015 to directpath the disks that will be used in the pool on FreeNAS.
• Entire server will be backup-ed to two separate other devices.

Questions:

• Have i chosen something that makes sense?
• Will my data be safe on the Zpool or did i miss something (like i could miss ECC).
• Would you recommend this build, or should i look to different parts?
• Have i forgotten something?

Thanks!

 

[Yorick]

Memory Brand matters - Crucial is actually Micron, so that’s good. I’d use their compatibility tool and plug in this board. That returns two options, one regular and one very low profile.

A HBA and DirectPath on ESXi will work. It sounds like you’ve done that before. You’ll want to reserve between 8 and 16GB of RAM for FreeNAS.

 

[Chris Moore]

on the forums, but a lot of material is outdated and the components below are relatively new (mobo and cpu).

There is no reason to move to the new hardware. It's more money for no reason, just to have the latest generation hardware.
The guidance we already have is perfectly fine.

 

[Gordonsandman]

There is no reason to move to the new hardware. It's more money for no reason, just to have the latest generation hardware.
The guidance we already have is perfectly fine.

thank you for your reply, I understand the 'old' advice still stands, but i would like to use the server for more then just FreeNAS

 

[Chris Moore]

IBM Serveraid M1015 c

Why get latest Gen system and use such ancient SAS controller?

3 HDD disks for a Raid-z1 pool (connected through M1015)

What capacity drive? RAIDz2 is better for reliability.

 

[Gordonsandman]

Why get latest Gen system and use such ancient SAS controller?

What capacity drive? RAIDz2 is better for reliability.

I was planning on just using the SAS controller to directpath the HDD disks. That doesn't require more performance then that card as a HBA can handle right? The disks are 4 TB each but will follow your advice and add one to use RAIDZ2

 

[Chris Moore]

I was planning on just using the SAS controller to directpath the HDD disks. That doesn't require more performance then that card as a HBA can handle right? The disks are 4 TB each but will follow your advice and add one to use RAIDZ2

Performance of the SAS controller is fine.
Just keep the air flow good because they get warm.

 

[Gordonsandman]

Performance of the SAS controller is fine.
Just keep the air flow good because they get warm.

Ah that's a good point. Would you recommend something else that's less heat generating?