BUILD First NAS build - AMD plattform

[glotzer]

Hello all here,
after my 2nd 3TB HDD runs out of space, i think its time to do it properly and set up a NAS for this.
I did read all stickys here and googled around a lot so i realy hope i have considered everything needed to build the NAS. Just its so much stuff you need to know... id feel way better if some of the more experienced persons could have a look at it and tell me for any bigger misstakes i made.

As chassi i plan to use an old "normal" pc chassi. Space is not a requirement so i see no reason to buy a new one. It provides 6 HDD spaces too.

For the mainboard i plan to use the Asus M5A97 R2.0. I know it uses a "Realtek® 8111F" for LAN, but as far as i know from google, it is supported now, isn't it?

The CPU will be the AMD FX4 4100 Four-Core Prozessor Black Edition (3,6GHz, Sockel AM3+, 4MB Cache, 95 Watt). Google says it supportes AES too, so in case i ever want to encrypt my files, it is there already.

For RAM i want to use 2x Kingston Technology ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 PC3-12800 ECC this is what the memory finder linked in the stickys spit out.

As HDDs i want to use 3x Western Digital WD30EFRX Red 3TB and 3x Seagate ST3000VN000 Interne Festplatte 3TB. The idea beeing that i do not want to stick to one single brand for the hdds.

As power supply im unsure if i can use the Be quiet! BN140 System Power 7 (300w)or if i have to use the more expensive Corsair CP-9020075-EU CS450M CS Series Modular 80+ Gold (450w)

For the UPS APC Back UPS PRO USV 550VA.


This should result in 12TB storage on a RaidZ2 for a total of ~1000€.
Could somebody take a look at it and give me some tipps? Especialy i try to get this build cheaper. Thanks a lot already.

 

[Yatti420]

I know AMD will work but not everytime and probably less people available to help if you have problems.. Realtek not recommended..

 

[joeschmuck]

All your components look fair but I didn't dive into memory compatibility. If you do buy one of the FX CPUs then the RealTek NIC should be fine as you will have enough CPU horsepower to make it work without issue. If you get less than 80MB/sec writing throughput for a single large file then you should first look at the setup of your system and make sure things are working properly and after that you may consider adding an Intel NIC later but I doubt you will need to spend that extra money. Look at my tagline to see what I run.

Also, not sure what those prices were for but they were rather high for the power supply, maybe some other currency than US dollars. I'd stick with a Seasonic 400 Watt PSU like this one for example. Also buy the Boxed AMD CPU for the FX line as it contains a nice new style fan which works great and silently. No need to purchase another cooler.

The one item I noticed that you didn't mention was an UPS. You need one of those and not a cheap one. You get what you pay for. I'd shoot for something to keep your system running at least 15 minutes when there is a power failure so it can shut down your system properly.

 

[joeschmuck]

Last bit of advice...

If you haven't yet done so, run FreeNAS in a Virtual Machine, one like VMWare Player (Free) and create six 20GB hard drives and one 4GB hard drive (simulate the USB Flash Drive) and then play with it. You can actually run everything from the VM and if you don't like what you did, destroy it and start over again. It will save you some time when setting up your real metal machine. I'm not going to get into teaching how to work a VM, there is lots of info on the internet but it will help if you haven't yet run FreeNAS.

 

[glotzer]

First, thx a lot for the advice.

The one item I noticed that you didn't mention was an UPS. You need one of those and not a cheap one. You get what you pay for. I'd shoot for something to keep your system running at least 15 minutes when there is a power failure so it can shut down your system properly.

Yes that is true because i can not pay one right now, i plan to add that later... Not tooo much should go wrong without it or?

Last bit of advice...
If you haven't yet done so, run FreeNAS in a Virtual Machine, one like VMWare Player (Free) and create six 20GB hard drives and one 4GB hard drive (simulate the USB Flash Drive) and then play with it. You can actually run everything from the VM and if you don't like what you did, destroy it and start over again. It will save you some time when setting up your real metal machine. I'm not going to get into teaching how to work a VM, there is lots of info on the internet but it will help if you haven't yet run FreeNAS.

Did that long ago, tested FreeNas, Nas4Free and OpenMediaVault... Well i like FreeNas most. Thx for the tipp anyway.

 

[joeschmuck]

Yes that is true because i can not pay one right now, i plan to add that later... Not tooo much should go wrong without it or?

Yes, a lot could go wrong if you suddenly loose power while your NAS is writing data or the flash gets corrupt. This forum is full of threads about people messing up because they thought and UPS wasn't that important. You could even loose all your data and yes it has happened. This could happen with any storage device, not just FreeNAS. It will just depend on when power fails as to if you have an issue or not. Also keep in mind that any important data that you have on your NAS, back it up. I don't mean copies of movies or music files, I mean financial records, medical statements, or whatever else you plan to put on the NAS. I don't consider movies and music important although I do retain a copy of all the music files on a separate USB hard drive just in case. Only a few movies are backed up so I don't have to rip them again, mostly animated for the grandkids.

 

[glotzer]

hmm ok. added one, you think that will work? epsecialy will ir work with FreeNAS?

Yes important data is always backed up at least 3 times, once at the NAS, a 2nd time encrypted in the could, and again on a external HDD stored in a bank locker. But that is only a small part of my data.

 

[joeschmuck]

That UPS might do it. Looks like it has the USB port on the back but I didn't see anywhere that it stated it comes with the special cable. Do a little more research to ensure it does. The watts are a bit low but if you set up the NAS to turn off within a few minutes of a power failure I think you will be fine, just do not power any other devices from the battery backed side.

 

[gpsguy]

Input voltage is 230 volts. The OP listed a sytstem cost in Euro's.

The watts are a bit low

 

[glotzer]

Thx for the help. Yes 230 volt is what i need, since i'm from germany. I am just always linking to the english site so non-german speaker understand it too. I did some diging around and found a list of compatible usvs. That one i want to use is supported.

What i wonder is if anybody got some ideas on how to get that cheaper. Right now im at ~475€ without any disks...

 

[Starpulkka]

Looks like exact builds what i did, build 3 those machines and it did left enough money to buy apc smart 1500va ups. I know that its temptin to buy 60e motherboard than a 240e one. But in my next project i would buy that "server grade" Supermicro X10SL7-F" 240e motherboard and intel G3220 60e processor. As for ups i have use smart ups, i have determined what ups i would buy for wich model has cheapest batteries (what i can buy at batteryshop ups model ones, but they have no apc logo on it). Of course remember put some 120mm fans to blow hdds so they keep cool. (As for cheaper option i did buy at german server shop that supermicro xeon 16sata server rack for 200euros) ok its noisy as in formula race but it was really cheap. (Edit: Looks like that all good stuff is sold out.) (And theres rumours that supermicro board 4 pieces kingstone memorys might not work properly)

 

[joeschmuck]

You need to figure out exactly what you need from the machine you build and buy the appropriate components. I figured it out on my second build but I was fortunate enough that most of my parts for the first build I already had. Up until 2 years ago I was an "early adopter" of technology so I had the latest and greatest. What I didn't have was ECC RAM. It took me several horror stories from other folks and some research to figure out I needed a new system with ECC RAM. I use my system for backups, Plex transcoding, FTP server, and anything else I want to test out and I have a lot of extra CPU horsepower remaining, lots of RAM for all I ever intend to do, lastly I can never see pushing this system of mine to it's limits. The throughput is fantastic and I just about max out the network connection and I'm sure I could squeeze a little more if I had an Intel NIC installed (I do have one) but it's just a little more and it draws power, creates a little more heat, and not worth it in my opinion for my system. The FX CPU is also AES enabled but I do not employ encryption on my drives only because I do not need it nor do I desire adding another level of complexity to my setup. I bought the FX CPU because of cost and again what I planned to use my system for. The boxed CPU cooler is an added bonus for this CPU as well.

For some reason I thought a Euro had a higher value than the US dollar, guess not. Maybe that was the GBP I was thinking of.

 

[glotzer]

(As for cheaper option i did buy at german server shop that supermicro xeon 16sata server rack for 200euros) ok its noisy as in formula race but it was really cheap. (Edit: Looks like that all good stuff is sold out.) (And theres rumours that supermicro board 4 pieces kingstone memorys might not work properly)

Sadly noise is important for me. So i guess i will stick to that build i post.

You need to figure out exactly what you need from the machine you build and buy the appropriate components. I figured it out on my second build but I was fortunate enough that most of my parts for the first build I already had.

I want to use it as my main data storage point. My PC got a ssd in it, for now i got 2x3TB of HDD in it too, to store photos, movies, music and some very large games. I want to jus use a ssd in my PC and let the NAS handle everything else.

For some reason I thought a Euro had a higher value than the US dollar, guess not. Maybe that was the GBP I was thinking of.

475 Euro equals 652.32 US Dollar


So i think i will not get it much cheaper. Thanks to everybody for the help!

 

[joeschmuck]

Those prices suck then. A good quality PS costs $50 US, not sure why yours are so high. Maybe you are shopping at the wrong place.

EDIT: Also you don't need GOLD certified. You get little in return for that certification. Go for Bronze.

 

[Starpulkka]

Does your usa prices have taxes??
glotzer prices are damn cheap, a cheapest point from where im looking . We can order stuff in EU area without customs or extra taxes, but from usa where server stuff is really cheap but we have to pay customs and a 24% tax for per component plus shipping. (i had to order custom part from usa that supermicro rack and it was cheap on site but when it came to my country it was pricier than a local store) Edit: actually just by thinkin in here you dont get 50 bucks even a bad psu.

 

[despian]

I want to use it as my main data storage point. My PC got a ssd in it, for now i got 2x3TB of HDD in it too, to store photos, movies, music and some very large games. I want to jus use a ssd in my PC and let the NAS handle everything else.

I'm new here and not very experienced with nas builds so don't take my opinion too seriously but, for your use case, this system seems a bit over powered to me. Am I just naive and underestimating the hardware required or would others agree?

I'm looking to build my first system based off this HP Microserver. It's very cheap (especially in the uk where hp are offering £100 cash back), low powered, quiet, well built, can take 16gb ecc ram and 6 3.5" HDDs(with some persuasion). Do you guys think this would perform adequately for OPs use case or would it just be a slow piece of cheap junk?

 

[joeschmuck]

The HP Microserver, depends on what you want to use it for. A Simple NAS device and using MiniDLNA to stream media, sure, probably work once you added 8GB of RAM. I'd do a search of the forum for this specific device. I wouldn't expect it to be a speed demon. Do a search to see what others have experienced.

Yea, I can't speak to the costs between countries, it's too bad things can't be reasonably priced.

 

[glotzer]

Hello,
I got one more question, i ordered all my parts now, but upgraded to 8 Western Digital WD30EFRX Red 3TB total. I plan to put them all in a RaidZ3 (im paranoid).
But i did read thats not good, because 512 (block size) /5 (= 8-3) discs = 102,4. Now i wonder how bad that is, any ideas?

 

[joeschmuck]

Unless you are looking for a high transaction rate, don't give it a second thought. Meaning if you are not a Google search engine, then you would be fine. Normal home or small office use will not be affected.

 

[cyberjock]

Block sizes for ZFS are NOT 512-bytes. ZFS' block size is variable based on the zpool propertie(I forget what it's called). But the default is powers of two from 512-bytes to 128kB.