First build feedback request (quiet NAS)

[wsha]

I am working on my first FreeNAS build. The primary use case will be to serve files on my home network (plus serve as one part of a backup plan by using mirrored drives and snapshots). I like to tinker and try new things, so I will probably also put some jails on the server to provide different ways to access the data (like NextCloud). I don't have a lot of local media (just home movies), so I am not too worried about transcoding. I think my biggest constraint is that the only location I can put the server is in my living room, so I want to make sure it is quiet and has a small footprint.

Here is what I was thinking about for the build:

CPU/motherboard: Supermicro A2SDi-4C-HLN4F
Chassis: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Hybrid Computer Case FD-CA-NODE-304-BL
PSU: SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold (SS-650KM Active PFC F3) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified
HDD: WD Red 3TB NAS Hard Drive - 5400 RPM Class, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache, 3.5"
(2x mirrored -- I don't have that much data, so one drive should be enough)
RAM: 1x 16GB ECC (Samsung M393A2K40CB1-CRC 16GB DDR4-2400 LP ECC REG)
Boot: WD Green 240GB PC SSD - SATA III 6Gb/s M.2 2280 Solid State Drive - WDS240G2G0B
UPS: CyberPower CP685AVRG AVR UPS System, 685VA/390W, 8 Outlets, Compact

Prices:
CPU/motherboard: $360
Chassis: $90
PSU: $90
HDD: 2x $103
RAM: 1x $199
Boot: $40
UPS: $70

The points I would appreciate feedback on are:

1. Is it reasonable to put these parts together and is anything missing?
2. Is there reasonable value / performance in this build? I have read over a lot of forum posts and generally I saw that people were encouraged to go to bigger builds (more powerful CPU and bigger case). I would like to keep the system quiet, so I was trying to keep the power consumption / cooling requirements down. I think the next steps up in CPU would be a Core i3, a Xeon E3, or a Xeon D (plus the 8 core version of the Atom listed above).
3. Is a UPS necessary? If power is lost, is the concern just that some new data in RAM will be lost, or could the entire HDD be corrupted. I saw that a UPS was recommended, but I would have thought ZFS being copy on write would be resilient to power loss.

 

[Yorick]

Given that you want it quiet and only have a couple drives, how about Platinum 550W instead? https://m.newegg.com/products/17-151-193

Edit: SFF PSUs get good reviews for being whisper quiet. You’d also need an adapter for the ATX cutout. Corsair 450w SFF https://m.newegg.com/products/17-139-156 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BYB33J8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_kLgrCb9M1Y5T8

Can’t speak to performance for your use case, but I’d expect that for just storage, your Atom is just fine. Storage doesn’t need that much CPU. Others will have more experience.

 

[garm]

I second the PSU change, go for the Focus 550 instead (gold or platinum), you really don't need much power in this box.

I have used several Fractal Design (go Sweden) chassis, and as quiet as the fans are, the noctua redux pwm fans are just better and lower the overall noise of the case in my opinion. I also believe they up the overall flow in the case and with a fanless heatsink you need all the flow you can get.

Dual ram stick are better then a single stick.

In the event of a power failure there is a risk of loosing the entire pool, but ongoing writes are definitely lost. Most applications will check the content on the disks though, a UPS is definitely recommended. Having said that, ZFS is incredible resilient, watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxFNBZIAClc

you won't need 240 GB SSD for boot, check if going down in size will lower the price.

 

[wsha]

Thanks to you both!

I think I had chosen the PSU I did because the recommendation was that anything higher end was not cost effective (in terms of energy savings vs. higher price), but you are right that platinum will be more energy efficient and so lower heat / noise.

So these fans?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KF7Q4WG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00KF7Q4WG
https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Bearing-NF-B9-redux-1600-PWM/dp/B00KF7S9F6/ref=sr_1_3

If I swap out the 140 mm and two 92 mm fans in the Fractal Design case, that is $35 more into the $90 case. Would I be better off looking for a case that comes without fans if I buy the Noctua fans? $90 is still pretty cheap from my research, so probably not.

I had chosen one RAM stick because of the advice to allow for future upgrades, but the motherboard has four slots, and I don't think I am going to need to upgrade beyond 32 GB, so maybe I should do two 8 GB sticks.

That was an entertaining video. I can use a UPS. I was just wondering about saving the space if it was just a matter of losing a little bit of recent data.

At least on newegg, the M.2 SSD's seem to bottom out at around $40, so that was how I picked that one.

Regarding performance, I am sure that the CPU is sufficient for the storage workload since it is like a new revision of the CPU in the FreeNAS Mini. What I am not sure about is how much performance I am giving up for the lower power / noise. I might at least get the 8 core model since it is only 25% more expensive for twice the number of cores.

 

[pro lamer]

you won't need 240 GB SSD for boot

Anyway the below won't probably work with FreeNAS. Check our forums...

WD Green 240GB PC SSD

Sent from my phone

 

[Yorick]

Anyway the below won't probably work with FreeNAS. Check our forums...

Broken TRIM on WD Green. See https://redmine.ixsystems.com/issues/35065#note-9

Good catch. Turning TRIM off would stabilize it, by that thread. Best to go with a drive that doesn’t have those issues, though.

Corsair MP300, maybe? Just have to be sure to choose UEFI boot when installing and to set NVMe firmware to AMI native, which isn’t the default.

Memory is all about performance. Dual-channel helps with memory access, but what are you doing that needs more speed from the memory? You’re going through a 1Gb link. That said, nothing wrong with 2x8.

Cores and such: You can get great storage performance even out of 2 cores. As you say you’re not transcoding and you will be running some lightweight jails, nothing CPU intensive. I’d expect 4 cores to be plenty for your use case. That said, if you can get a similar power / cooling envelope from 8 cores and you like having more, who’s to say you can’t :).

Fans: I have a Fractal Design 804. The fans are quiet, if not whisper quiet. If potentially suboptimal noise profile is acceptable for a few days, I’d run it with the Fractal fans and see how you like it in your environment. If you can hear it clearly, replace the fans. If you can hardly make it out, or not hear it at all, maybe they’re good enough. This will depend on how much heat they have to transport - speed they run at - and the background noise in your space.

PSU: That’s why that second suggestion of a Corsair SFF450. It doesn’t get quieter than that. You are right that it’s all about noise, not about optimizing cost of PSU vs cost of energy drawn.

 

[Evertb1]

Dual-channel helps with memory access,

As far as I know dual-channel will not make much of a difference with FreeNAS. Not in a way that it is noticable.