First FreeNAS build, some recommendations

[s0n1kpt]

I everyone, after reading a lot about it, i think i have my build proposal:

CPU: i3-6300
MOBO: Supermicro X11SSL-CF
UDIMM: Crucial 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR4-2400 ECC (CT7982567) for start
HDD: 6*3TB WD RED NAS
PSU: X-750
CASE: Sharkoon T9
Boot for now 2x32GB Sandisk Pen

This build will be my file server, and when everything is working properly i will most likely configure plex and maybe nextcloud or sftp...

I choose this Mobo because i can't find one hba at "good price" unless from china and i want keep distance from them, and the other problem is shipping to Portugal where i live, i will add 2x500GB Toshiba hdd and i need the SATAs.

I'm new to all of this, do you have any recommendations or anything that can help me on this new journey?

Regards

 

[Vito Reiter]

Everything looks good there, 6 Disks will be great for a RaidZ2 array. Not sure what the 2x500GB HDD's are about? I wouldn't recommend using those as boot drives especially if you don't have enough SATA ports, USB's are actually recommended in a mirror just as you have listed in your initial setup (32GB should be plenty). The i3 is great for a file server but if you plan on doing 4K transcoding in the future and streaming you might want to beef up on the processor, otherwise, the setup looks great. Probably could've got a MoBo with more SATA ports, which supports the claim here:

I choose this Mobo because i can't find one hba at "good price" unless from china and i want keep distance from them

Might be worth the investment in a good LSI controller that is known good for FreeNAS and has a passthrough/IT mode w/ smart support.

 

[s0n1kpt]

Everything looks good there, 6 Disks will be great for a RaidZ2 array. Not sure what the 2x500GB HDD's are about?

My plan is 2USB mirrored for boot, 6hdd RaidZ2, and the 2x500GB mirrored for jails and configs, what do you think?

... you might want to beef up on the processor, ...

What CPU do you recommend for the future 4k transcoding?

... Probably could've got a MoBo with more SATA ports ...

... Might be worth the investment in a good LSI controller that is known good for FreeNAS and has a passthrough/IT mode w/ smart support. ...

Can you tell me what MoBo do you change it for? And a good LSI controller?

(I read a lot about LSIs on the forum but new ones are to much expensive >250€)

Thanks,
Best regards

 

[Dice]

I'm new to all of this, do you have any recommendations or anything that can help me on this new journey?

Avoid 2x8GB sticks, get 1x16GB stick.
At some point you'll curse your throat soar due to a poor choice (I rasped like a death metal vocalist for days).

 

[Vito Reiter]

Basically, your goal when building the box is to have a setup that is expandable to the point where you want to end up. Currently, you're only asking for 8 drives total (Not including USB sticks), and that Motherboard has 6 SATA ports. So, you could get a board with 8 SATA ports and be limited to 8 drives, or save money, keep the current board, and get an LSI 9207-8i (While costly, has benefits) it's a straight HBA so FreeNAS has direct access to all your drives, with current tech will give you an extra 8 SATA connections with the ability to go up in the future. Those cards are a good investment because they're fast, reliable, and allow you to buy a cheap board and still have the necessities for a NAS. You currently have an 1151 board listed, with that you're limited to 6th and 7th gen intel but that's good. An i7 6700k will probably do just fine with 1 stream at a time but that's just 4k which is extremely CPU intensive. If you're willing to settle for 1080p you could save a lot of money. Note: Processors can be upgraded in the future when you get around to setting up Plex/etc. Good luck, man!

Regards,
Vito Reiter

 

[s0n1kpt]

Thank you for the recommendation :)
I understand what you mean and i will change the MoBo, as soon i have 5min i will post the new one.
Again thank you :)
Best regards

 

[Dice]

An i7 6700k

Terrible recommendation as this CPU does not support ECC as perIntel ARK.
If @s0n1kpt needs more horsepower, the goto choice is Xeon E3-1230v6.

 

[Vito Reiter]

Terrible recommendation as this CPU does not support ECC as perIntel ARK.
If @s0n1kpt needs more horsepower, the goto choice is Xeon E3-1230v6.

Oops, good catch man. Intel's all over the place nowadays with ECC support.

 

[Stux]

Oops, good catch man. Intel's all over the place nowadays with ECC support.

It used to be fairly simple, i5/i7 no ECC. now with Kaby lake some (all?) of the i3s don't have ECC... but if you get a Skylake they do!

Anyway, it seems like a good plan. If you want 8 drives (6 storage, 2 jails) then get a board with 8 SATA ports, from memory I think that's the X11-SSM. Later, if you want to add more drives... then add an LSI HBA (IBM M1015, M1115, etc)

Also, do opt for the 16GB stick rather than 2x8GB. This means, you won't have to chuck your sticks if you want to go to 64GB later, and single channel ram is almost never an issue on a NAS.