First Build, Will it FreeNAS?

[McBuilder]

Hi Y'all,

I'm thinking of building a FreeNAS server of the following specs. It will be mostly for backing up data as well as storing tons of videos and movies. I'm planning on running it in RaidZ1, or would RaidZ2 be a better option. Also, would it be a good idea to start with 4 drives and expanding in the future?

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3 GHz Skylake Dual-Core ($59.99)
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO - MBD-X11SSM-F-O Micro-ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($196.98)
Memory: Kingston - ValueRAM 16GB DDR4 2400 Memory ($187.43)
Storage: 6 x Seagate - IronWolf 4TB 5900RPM Hard Drives ($724.8)
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620W 80+ Bronze Full Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 cheapest modular power supply)

Thanks!

 

[Chris Moore]

RaidZ2 be a better option

RAID-z1 is only suitable for drives of 1TB or less. Larger drives need to be at a higher level of redundancy.

Also, would it be a good idea to start with 4 drives and expanding in the future

You could only expand by adding a second, matching vdev to the existing pool. Due to the complexity of that, it would be best to start with the full array of 6 drives you have in your parts list configured at RAID-z2.
The question is, how much capacity do you need? This is where many people run into problems because some capacity is consumed by checksum data, it doesn't leave you as much as you expect.
You can get some really good suggestions here if you come to ask questions instead of just saying, "this is what I want"...

 

[McBuilder]

Capacity. Hmm? I think 15TB would be a good number. Any suggestions on what would be a good number of drives and what size?

 

[Chris Moore]

Capacity. Hmm? I think 15TB would be a good number. Any suggestions on what would be a good number of drives and what size?

The best bang for the buck when I last looked is the 8TB capacity drive. Price varies a bit and if you catch a sale it can be really good.
To guarantee 15TB of capacity, you would need to use 5 of those in RAID-z2. This would actually give you a total capacity of 36TB, but the overhead of redundancy and checksum data brings the total down to 20TB of usable capacity. Then there is a limit that you need to stay under 80% utilization and that brings you down to just 16.5TB of capacity.
In practice, you can be between 80% and 90% utilization, but when you go over 90% the algorithm for storing data changes and it really slows the storage down.
Now, if you need speed, the answer might be a bit different, but this should be good for movies and such. The key reason to not use RAID-z1 is because of the, "what if another drive fails", question. We have a user on the forum that has has to replace three drives in just a few weeks because, reasons, and he actually had two that were bad at the same time. In RAID-z1, you can only loose one drive, if you loose a second, your data is gone. RAID-z2 gives you more protection.

PS. Click the "Useful Links" button in my signature for much more information including burn-in scripts to test those drives before you start putting your data on them, and you should probably have a spare handy. It can take a while to get a warranty replacement and you don't necessarily want to be without...

 

[McBuilder]

To guarantee 15TB of capacity, you would need to use 5 of those in RAID-z2.

Is there any difference between using say 6x6TB and 5x8TB?

 

[Chris Moore]

Is there any difference between using say 6x6TB and 5x8TB?

The last time I checked the price, you could have 8TB drives for a lower $ per GB than the 6TB drives, but the amount of storage is actually a couple hundred GB more with the 6 x 6TB drives. If you already bought, no worries, otherwise you can check the price guide:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...e-performance-analysis-buying-information.62/

 

[McBuilder]

All right.. Thanks so much for your help!

 

[McBuilder]

Are there any downsides to using 8x4TB drives in Raidz2 over using 6x6TB drives? How about 5x8TB drives? Which would be most reliable? Which would have most usable storage?

 

[Ericloewe]

More drives = more power, more heat, costlier connectivity

 

[Chris Moore]

Are there any downsides to using 8x4TB drives in Raidz2 over using 6x6TB drives? How about 5x8TB drives? Which would be most reliable? Which would have most usable storage?

Besides the cost in terms of electricity to run the drives and the heat they generate, there's also the cost in terms of purchase of the drives. Right now, the best value looks to be the 8TB drives.

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