First NAS build - mITX

[pallee]

Hello folks, I'm new here!

I will be building a new NAS in the upcoming months. However I will require som help in choosing parts. The plan is to have a long term media storage and backup server for home use. There will not be more than 3 users needing to access the server at any time. I will be running plex and have at most 2-3 streams in 1080p. Storage wise I am planing to use a 6-drive setup in RAIDZ2. Due to physical space limitations an mini ITX system is the most viable.

From what I gather in the parts recommendation PDF in the forum, as well as other forum threads, I will most likely need an atom based platform, 8-16 gb ecc ram. Is there some parts that I should stay away from, or gravitate towards? Budget is 500-1000 USD without drives.

Also, what are your recommendations for case? I am thinking Fractal Design Node 304.

 

[Evertb1]

I will be running plex and have at most 2-3 streams in 1080p.

To run 3 1080p streams you need a pasmark score of about 6000 (2000 for each stream according to the Plex site). I could not find the passmark score for the newer atom boards but that's your aim I think.

Storage wise I am planing to use a 6-drive setup in RAIDZ2.

Nothing wrong with that. A good setup for a home server.

Due to physical space limitations an mini ITX system is the most viable.

Personally I am not a big fan of the mini ITX format. Cases designed for this format motherboards tend to be a bit cramped. That can give some cooling problems and limit your choise in motherboards. Of course that last one is no issue if you go for the Atom platform.

8-16 gb ecc ram.

Go for 16 GB if you can afford it. Eight is about the minimum and FreeNAS/ZFS loves memory. Go for (a) big module(s) to have free memory slots for expanding.

Budget is 500-1000 USD without drives.

If you buy everything new and to your own specs a budget of 500 USD is (to) low. Take in account that you will need a good PSU as well. Don't go to cheap for that part. But 1000 USD or even a bit less should do. Unless of course you also want to buy a good UPS, something a lot of FreeNAS owners value.

Also, what are your recommendations for case? I am thinking Fractal Design Node 304.

Fractal Design cases are OK in my book. I own 2 of them and their build quality is good.

 

[pallee]

Thank you for a quick and informative replay!

To run 3 1080p streams you need a pasmark score of about 6000 (2000 for each stream according to the Plex site). I could not find the passmark score for the newer atom boards but that's your aim I think.

Let me clarify: most of the time there will not be more than 1 transcoded stream running. I will, however, like to have the extra horsepower to run at least 1 extra transcoded stream. Everything on top of that is considered "nice to have".

On the topic of CPU/motherboards, I have read that many people are having to RMA ASRock borads. Is that ASRock in general or just the few boards mentioned in the PDF?

Personally I am not a big fan of the mini ITX format. Cases designed for this format motherboards tend to be a bit cramped. That can give some cooling problems and limit your choise in motherboards. Of course that last one is no issue if you go for the Atom platform.

As long as the case is relatively compact (absolute max is W30 x H30 x D40 cm) I am most certainly willing to change to another size.

Go for 16 GB if you can afford it. Eight is about the minimum and FreeNAS/ZFS loves memory. Go for (a) big module(s) to have free memory slots for expanding.

I take it then that ZFS benefits more from large amounts of RAM rather than fast RAM?

If you buy everything new and to your own specs a budget of 500 USD is (to) low. Take in account that you will need a good PSU as well. Don't go to cheap for that part. But 1000 USD or even a bit less should do. Unless of course you also want to buy a good UPS, something a lot of FreeNAS owners value.

Just a ballpark so you would be able to determine if I am in somewhat reasonable territory.

Fractal Design cases are OK in my book. I own 2 of them and their build quality is good.

I Have a Fractal case for my desktop and I like its features and quality vs price ratio. Also I like the scaled back design :)

 

[Stux]

Here’s my Node 304 build:
Might be overkill for you, but perhaps there is something of value there ;)

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...node-304-x10sdv-tln4f-esxi-freenas-aio.57116/

 

[pallee]

Here’s my Node 304 build:
Might be overkill for you, but perhaps there is something of value there ;)

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...node-304-x10sdv-tln4f-esxi-freenas-aio.57116/

Thank you for the inspiration! It is most certainly overkill for my needs, but I'll give it a proper read through.

 

[pallee]

Just noticed a very similar thread to this one. Linking it here for the sole reason of information "findability". https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/first-nas-double-checking-the-hardware.60069/

 

[pallee]

Just out of curiosity: How is Ryzen performing with FreeNAS? Here in sweden, where I live, I can get a m-ITX board+CPU+cooling for roughly the same price as a decent Supermicro Atom board. (Of course one is more power hungry than the other, but seeing that for the foreseeable future power is included in the rent...)

 

[Evertb1]

Just out of curiosity: How is Ryzen performing with FreeNAS? Here in sweden, where I live, I can get a m-ITX board+CPU+cooling for roughly the same price as a decent Supermicro Atom board. (Of course one is more power hungry than the other, but seeing that for the foreseeable future power is included in the rent...)

There has been some (recent) threads in the forum with discussions about Ryzen. I would suggest that you read some of them (just throw Ryzen in the search field) and come to your own conclusion. When it comes to the use of AMD CPU's the pure performance won't be a problem I think, but the support of the AMD/Ryzen platform can be.