First Build

[ipsum]

Updating this post to get rid of all the fluff. Below is my final configuration:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I
Memory: Crucial CT2KIT102472BD160B
Case: Fractal Node 804
PSU: Seasonic S12G

 

[SweetAndLow]

Looks like a good build to me. You shouldn't be using raidz, I would get 6 drives from the start and create one vdev of 6 drives in raid z2

 

[travanx]

We are using a Synology 2 bay box mirrored for my business. We were going for something inexpensive at the time. Now that I have had a chance to just let freenas run for a few months I am seriously thinking of putting another one together for the business. Maybe put the synology somewhere else off site for even more backup potential.

I haven't had any problems and we are using it mainly as a media server and very light photo editting. The synology scares me everytime I update the DSM. I agree that the user interface is going downhill.

The 304 is a nice case, I have 2, but I don't know about packing a bunch of spinning hard drives in there. To me the case is made to fill with mostly SSD's. Mini ITX is great for gaming or work, but I don't see the fascination with going so small when filling a small case with warm drives.

 

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[SweetAndLow]

The case has worked out well for me and kept drives cool. They do get close to 40C when scrubbing during the summer months. I'm also running the fractal stock fans which could maybe be improved.

The sata ports don't make a difference on that board and HDD can't max out sata2 so you don't have anything to worry about. I got my board for $175 USD so I couldn't say no.

 

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[Ericloewe]

Is that RAM on the QVL? If not, it's best to get something that is.

 

[SweetAndLow]

Pool speed is around 450MB/s write and 474MB/s read. So cifs transfers are full speed and will be bottle necked on other network hardware.

 

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[Ericloewe]

Any SATA cable will do, as long as it's decent, is less than 1m long and, if both ends support it, is latching. The latter is mostly optional, but can save you some uncertainty.

 

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[sremick]

If you go with that ASRock motherboard, don't get latching SATA cables. The latches add too much thickness to the connectors for them to all fit together on the motherboard jacks with how closely they are spaced together.

 

[russnas]

That psu is good, fanless at 40% load I think since my unit runs at 50watts its always off.

You look like you all got it planned just think of the practicality of smaller cases, sata cables and power supply cables aand heat generated.

I got a matx board and case and I'm often inside the case,now looking for a larger case with better access to hdds, more airflow between hdds and better flexibilty for cables.

 

[Starpulkka]

yes corsair RM is silent, but i would not take it when you could get few bucks less http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr550rm for 115$
and you could get even less bucks Seasonic S12G 450 W witch is 5db silent than G- series. (partpicker seems not find S12G models). Have no idea does seasonic fit on that tiny case thou.

 

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[travanx]

I just took my 304 apart. It sits on a desk and our house is dusty and I just demo'd our kitchen. First time opening a case after 6 months and no dust bunnies. Very light dust around the front fans, didn't even need to wipe the video card fans down. This is for a gaming PC, 2 SSD's and 1 7200rpm drive, 4770k, AMD 7850 and the inside was pretty warm. The little fans up front may blow air in through the drives, but I really don't think this case would be good for 6 drives. Its almost time to swap the 7200 drive with an SSD, as I am sure that will fail shortly.

I am sure you can find a slightly larger case that handles spinning drives much better. As to my TS140, I wish I ended up going with something with more expansion for down the road. You can never have too much space!

 

[ipsum]

I just took my 304 apart. It sits on a desk and our house is dusty and I just demo'd our kitchen. First time opening a case after 6 months and no dust bunnies. Very light dust around the front fans, didn't even need to wipe the video card fans down. This is for a gaming PC, 2 SSD's and 1 7200rpm drive, 4770k, AMD 7850 and the inside was pretty warm. The little fans up front may blow air in through the drives, but I really don't think this case would be good for 6 drives. Its almost time to swap the 7200 drive with an SSD, as I am sure that will fail shortly.

I am sure you can find a slightly larger case that handles spinning drives much better. As to my TS140, I wish I ended up going with something with more expansion for down the road. You can never have too much space!

Thanks! As stated above, I will go with a Node 804; seems the safer choice.


Does anybody have any experience with running 6x6TB of storage with 16GB of RAM?

If this is a complete no-go, I'll go with 6x4TB instead and do a bigger build a few years down the line.

 

[cyberjock]

I've got 10x6TB with 32GB of RAM and I've had some behaviors that are indicative of an ARC that is too small. As a result I wouldn't recommend 6x6TB with 16GB of RAM. It might work, and it might work "okay". But I wouldn't go that route unless you are ready to drop money on upgrading to 32GB of RAM if it becomes necessary.

 

[travanx]

Thanks! As stated above, I will go with a Node 804; seems the safer choice.


Does anybody have any experience with running 6x6TB of storage with 16GB of RAM?

If this is a complete no-go, I'll go with 6x4TB instead and do a bigger build a few years down the line.

It was more of a heads up for anyone looking at a 304 case.

That Node 804 looks really nice. I think I know what I want when its time to build another freenas box.

 

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