First FreeNAS build from a Noob: Home use

[Andrewkhkwak]

Hi,
I'm a complete newbie to the forum, hoping to get advised on a potential FreeNAS build.

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For your reference, following is a summary of my tech sorriness.

I currently own a Netgear 2 Bay DNS-323 which I bought nearly 10 years ago. My Netgear is setup on NON RAID with 2TB + 1.5TB HDD. Recently my 2TB drive started intermittently going out of whack, however I was lucky enough to be able to backup my invaluable family photos and videos on time. Then I realized the importance of redundancy and having a proper backup plan.

While searching for a solution past week, I just found out what a NAS could really do these days. PLEX?!! Cloud Server?!! Gosh It was a rude awakening for me. (My Netgear was explicitly used for in-home media storage/playback.)

I initially thought of getting one of a pre-built Synology or QNAP, but I feel suckered for paying for a NAS without upgradable components. Then I found FreeNAS.

As you might have suspected, I'm program language illiterate (for me, Python=Snake), but I'm brave enough for a challenge.

For now, all I want my NAS is to provide me with PLEX media Server and OwnCloud server functionality. I'm sure I will learn to explore other functions in the future.

Should I take the plunge (to FreeNAS)? or Am I wasting my time trying to sprint before I walk? I would appreciate your honesty.

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̶I̶f̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶o̶u̶r̶a̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶P̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶b̶e̶l̶o̶w̶;̶

A̶m̶a̶z̶o̶n̶ ̶W̶i̶s̶h̶l̶i̶s̶t̶
PC Partpicker

̶I̶s̶ ̶A̶t̶o̶m̶ ̶A̶v̶o̶t̶o̶n̶ ̶8̶ ̶c̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶p̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶r̶a̶n̶s̶c̶o̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶3̶-̶4̶ ̶1̶0̶8̶0̶P̶ ̶m̶e̶d̶i̶a̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶u̶l̶t̶a̶n̶e̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶?̶

C̶a̶s̶e̶:̶ ̶F̶r̶a̶c̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶D̶e̶s̶i̶g̶n̶ ̶A̶r̶c̶ ̶M̶i̶d̶i̶ ̶R̶2̶
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini
M̶o̶t̶h̶e̶b̶o̶a̶r̶d̶/̶C̶P̶U̶:̶ ̶S̶u̶p̶e̶r̶m̶i̶c̶r̶o̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶i̶ ̶I̶T̶X̶ ̶A̶1̶S̶A̶I̶-̶2̶7̶5̶0̶F̶-̶O̶
Mobo: SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSH-LN4F-O Micro ATX
̶M̶o̶t̶h̶e̶b̶o̶a̶r̶d̶/̶C̶P̶U̶:̶ ̶I̶n̶t̶e̶l̶ ̶A̶t̶o̶m̶ ̶A̶v̶o̶t̶o̶n̶ ̶C̶2̶7̶5̶0̶ ̶8̶ ̶c̶o̶r̶e̶
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5
R̶A̶M̶:̶ ̶C̶r̶u̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶1̶6̶G̶B̶ ̶K̶i̶t̶ ̶(̶8̶G̶B̶x̶2̶)̶ ̶D̶D̶R̶3̶L̶ ̶1̶6̶0̶0̶ ̶(̶P̶C̶3̶L̶-̶1̶2̶8̶0̶0̶)̶ ̶U̶n̶b̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶U̶D̶I̶M̶M̶ ̶M̶e̶m̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶C̶T̶2̶K̶1̶0̶2̶4̶6̶4̶B̶D̶1̶6̶0̶
RAM: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM ECC
PSU: SeaSonic G Series 550-Watt ATX12V/EPS12V
̶H̶D̶D̶:̶ ̶3̶ ̶x̶ ̶W̶D̶ ̶R̶e̶d̶ ̶3̶T̶B̶ ̶N̶A̶S̶ ̶H̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶D̶i̶s̶k̶ ̶D̶r̶i̶v̶e̶
HDD: 4 x WD Red 3TB
SSD: 2 X Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5"
UPC: APC BE550G UPS
Case Fan: 4 x Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Case Fan

Thank you for you feedback in advance.

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I'm think I'm good to go.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT!!

 

[JohnDigital]

Do it. You wont be sorry. I have zero experience with Avoton chips and I suspect that 3-4 1080P streams might be pushing it. Based on Plex recommendation of 3000 passmark score per 1080 stream, that avoton can only do one maybe two 1080 streams concurrently, but to be noted, that the fastest chips on the market, using that rhetoric, would have trouble doing 4 streams-which clearly is not the case. Im running a X10SSL-F and Xeon chip, and as far as Plex streams go, it has handled 3 streams just fine. Mostly I use a Raspberry Pi/Kodi combo which is far superior in the fact it doesnt have to transcode anything locally, it will direct stream all 5 of my Kodi devices on highest bitrate movies spectacularly. Plex is wonderful for when I am not at home and functions flawlessly when my ISP isnt bogged down which they are want to do.

Enter the Xeon world, do it right the first time and forget about it. I would also suggest starting with at least 4 drives. You will use 2 for storage and 2 for redundancy. Is 6TB total going to be enough (It will actually end up being closer to sub 5)? If not bigger drives are entering the market and really getting cheaper. Im using Toshiba X series 5TB drives and they get no love around here, except from me. They have worked out wonderfully. Also consider SSD drives to house and run the software for your jails (Plex, Owncloud, etc.). A pair of 120gb in mirror should be fine for you to start.

Everything else in your build will be fine just fine. I love the Fractal cases, but the Arc midi is my least favorite. Its not quite as clean as some of the others. Consider THIS one instead. You wont be needing any CDROM drives so having the 5.25 bays visible at all times is why I say what im saying. In a FreeNAS world 5.25 are valuable to have because then you can populate them with something like THIS, which is exactly what I would do if you do go with the ARC. Then you can have 9 drives in that little thing!

I mocked up a system just to see what it might end up costing you as I propose. 1650 or so is the answer. Look HERE. No matter what you decide, you are going to be far better off with FreeNAS!

 

[John Spor]

I use a Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 with 6 3.5 drives and an O.S. SSD. My comment is on the case. Great air flow but dust on the filters are a pain to clean. The front and top are not a removable and the bottom filter you have to pull the case out to remove from the back. I wish I had used something like fractal design define R5 with filters you can remove from the front of the case. The bottom filter covers the entire base and removes from the front also. Good luck on your build.

 

[Andrewkhkwak]

Enter the Xeon world, do it right the first time and forget about it. I would also suggest starting with at least 4 drives. You will use 2 for storage and 2 for redundancy. Is 6TB total going to be enough (It will actually end up being closer to sub 5)? If not bigger drives are entering the market and really getting cheaper. Im using Toshiba X series 5TB drives and they get no love around here, except from me. They have worked out wonderfully. Also consider SSD drives to house and run the software for your jails (Plex, Owncloud, etc.). A pair of 120gb in mirror should be fine for you to start.

Everything else in your build will be fine just fine. I love the Fractal cases, but the Arc midi is my least favorite. Its not quite as clean as some of the others. Consider THIS one instead. You wont be needing any CDROM drives so having the 5.25 bays visible at all times is why I say what im saying. In a FreeNAS world 5.25 are valuable to have because then you can populate them with something like THIS, which is exactly what I would do if you do go with the ARC. Then you can have 9 drives in that little thing!

I mocked up a system just to see what it might end up costing you as I propose. 1650 or so is the answer. Look HERE. No matter what you decide, you are going to be far better off with FreeNAS!

Define Mini looks great! Can't believe that I missed that.

I originally thought Xeon E3 V5 was an overkill for my need and was afraid it will drive up the total cost. But after few adjustment and down sizing, I believe could manage it around $1,300.

Please review the adjusted build.

 

[JohnDigital]

I definitely like it. I adjusted my build based on yours and HERE is what I have. Do not under estimate having your softwares and such running from SSDs it makes a great difference in my opinion. All told with SSDs, without an UPS, which you should also consider, its coming in at 1283.00.

 

[JohnDigital]

One last thing, those Minis are know to get pretty warm so also consider populating the spaces for fans with nice silent fans. I always buy the Fractal ones, but any are better than none. Keep your drives AS COOL AS POSSIBLE. Good luck bud! Welcome!