First Time Build assistance

[Nvious1]

Hi all, first time FreeNASer here and looking to retire an old 4-bay ReadyNAS and build my own for the obvious reasons that I don't need to restate to you all. I am looking for hardware recommendations or maybe references to past builds that could fit my needs as I need to get something up and running probably within a month before this old nas kicks the bucket. In the new build, I am looking for the following requirements, which would be a combination of things that I am using the old nas and a windows machine for today:

I need about 16 TB usable of storage for backups, media, etc.
I am unsure if I should go with 6TB or 8TB drives but I know I want to run RaidZ2. Should I mix in some SSD as well?
I am ok with used hardware if its still got some decent life on it except the drives. I will buy those new.
I would like to run Plex (max of 4 transcoding 1080p streams) most of my clients play direct or I have optimized versions as needed
I would like to run VMs (at least 1 or 2 running full time either windows or linux but light specs) so thinking I should shoot for 64 GB Ram
Case Form Factor: I have no restrictions, here except don't want cooling issues. Its going to run down in the basement so noise isn't really an issue, although building it quiet doesn't hurt. Could be rack mount or desktop or nas case.

Budget: $2500
I originally was looking at following the DIY 2017 Nas build from Brian Moses and trying to look at all the recent build threads. There are just so many options I am really looking for some help.

 

[Chris Moore]

I am unsure if I should go with 6TB or 8TB drives but I know I want to run RaidZ2.

Last I looked, the price for 8TB drives was better per GB than for 6TB drives but you should look at these resources:

Disk Price/Performance Analysis Buying Information
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...e-performance-analysis-buying-information.62/

ZFS Drive Size and Cost Comparison Spreadsheet
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/zfs-drive-size-and-cost-comparison-spreadsheet.38092/

Shucking Seagate Backup Plus HUB 8TB (for Barracudas)
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...irmware-flash-for-better-freenas-usage.59566/

Should I mix in some SSD as well?

Not unless you have some special requirements that you have not stated.

I am ok with used hardware if its still got some decent life on it except the drives. I will buy those new.

Completely reasonable to get new drives. Here are some links to the kind of hardware I have suggested in the past:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/new-freenas-build.64095/#post-459293

Budget: $2500

You can get so much for that price... Is that including the price of drives?

I need about 16 TB usable of storage for backups, media, etc.

Is your need for storage going to grow over time? If you think it will grow, you might want to start with a 6 drive RAIDz2 pool and if you go with a rack chassis, like this, you can just add more drives when you need more space. In fact, if you want to do that, you might start with 4TB drives and plan to add another vdev of 6 more 4TB drives when you need more space later.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382382593982

 

[Nvious1]

Thanks Chris, I will review these resources. Yes that budget includes the drives and yes I currently have only 5TB in the existing nas and I want to get a surge of space to grow into. I think that should get me good for a while. I am thinking by the time I grow to use the 11 TB difference I will be ready to do a hardware upgrade again.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Moore]

I am thinking by the time I grow to use the 11 TB difference I will be ready to do a hardware upgrade again.

The nice thing about FreeNAS is that the hardware can still do the job for a long time. I did my last system board swap only so I could have more RAM and more PCIe lanes, but with the board I suggested for you, that wouldn't be an issue and you could probably use the system for 6 years or more with just adding additional drives. That is what I plan to do with mine and I can always drop a faster CPU with more cores in if I need more power because I have a 2.6GHz 6 core and I could easily go to a 10 core processor at 3GHz in the same system board. Also, this board is able to go up to 512GB of RAM, so that should last a while...

 

[Nvious1]

I have a buddy that will sell me a E5-2640. Do you think that will handle my Plex and VM work load?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Moore]

I have a buddy that will sell me a E5-2640. Do you think that will handle my Plex and VM work load?

Is that the v1 or v2 version of the processor? That board will work with either, but I would use the v2 series CPUs because they are more efficient.
That processor in a v2 is only 2GHz and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

 

[Nvious1]

Ok, so I think this is what I want to go with for the guts per recommendations.

SuperMicro X9SRL-F Motherboard
Xeon E5-2600 v2 8 or 10 core model (whatever I can find on ebay)
4 x SAMSUNG 16GB PC3L-12800R DDR3-1600 ECC
6 x 8TB Seagate Ironwolfs for RaidZ2
HBA will be on of the various recommended LSI ones with mini sas expanders.

I need some help with a case. I don't think I what a large 4U chasis (plus they are bit expensive for me this build). I think I could go for a 2U or maybe I should just go with a Desktop build. I have seen lots of folks using Fractals. I am looking for something where I can use hot swap drive trays.

 

[Chris Moore]

Xeon E5-2600 v2 8 or 10 core model (whatever I can find on ebay)

This is the model I use in my NAS:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon...e-15Mb-7-2GT-s-Processor-GRADE-A/222859524702
It does all the things I do with no problems at all.
This is the slightly more robust model I use in my ESXi system and it does all the things with more cores ant a slightly faster clock speed:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-E5-2...ore-CPU-Socket-LGA2011-Processor/352395290816

I think I could go for a 2U or maybe I should just go with a Desktop build. I have seen lots of folks using Fractals. I am looking for something where I can use hot swap drive trays.

The reason for a 4U chassis is the larger fans. I wouldn't wish a 1U or 2U unit on my worst enemy. Tiny fans at high RPM, sounds like a jet engine.
If you don't want a 4U rack chassis, I understand, but I would then suggest a tower case. There are only a few of them that allow you to mount hot-swap bays in because the hot-swap bays are so deep. Also, if you want hot-swap, the least expensive way to get that is with a rack chassis and if you want a tower, just stand it on it's side. That is what I do. I have two of them standing on side in my office right now.

 

[Nvious1]

@Chris Moore what PSU size would you recommend for that 4U chassis? Lets say I only ever half populate it.

 

[Chris Moore]

Don't bother with the photos, because these are obviously stock and not of the actual unit, but I would contact this seller and see if you can get them to take the drives and controller out of this and sell it to you for a decent price. Those 300GB drives are not worth the cost of shipping and the hardware RAID controller is not what you need, otherwise this looks really good.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4U-Supermicro-Server-X9SRL-F-Xeon-E5-2620-v2-32GB-RAM-27TB-HDD/183331981273

@Chris Moore what PSU size would you recommend for that 4U chassis? Lets say I only ever half populate it.

If you are just using 12 drives, a 650 to 750 watt supply gives you plenty of power to to ensure there is enough when the drives spin-up, which is when they draw the most. When the system is idling, it will probably only draw around 130 to 160 watts.

 

[Chris Moore]

Note, on the above power supply size, strictly speaking, you could use a 550 watt supply, but I personally prefer to oversize the supply because I don't want the supply to leave me wanting later when I decide to upgrade. That said, I built my first FreeNAS (from parts) using a 550 watt supply and I had 12 drives running successfully on that supply and it is still running more than 3 years later. I specify, from parts, because the ones before that were all re-purposed desktop computers.

 

[Nvious1]

Thanks Chris. I will see if they are willing to reconfigure. I did find this which is a company that sells of refurb supermicro on ebay.

https://www.theserverstore.com/supermicro-846ba-r920b-24x-lff-4u-server.html

I know its a dual proc board, but it looks like a pretty good buy considering I could get dual e5-2630L v2 and 3x LSI-9210-8i for what seems to be less than trying to grab all the components individually. Thoughts?

 

[Chris Moore]

I know its a dual proc board, but it looks like a pretty good buy considering I could get dual e5-2630L v2 and 3x LSI-9210-8i for what seems to be less than trying to grab all the components individually. Thoughts?

The pickings are kind of slim on eBay right now, so it is hard to find a really good deal. "The Server Store," has prices that are quite a bit higher than what I think they should be for what you are getting, but they might be the only ones with inventory. It is a tough call.
The specific one you pointed to is not a good deal because it comes with the BPN-SAS-846A backplane and that is why it needs three SAS controllers. There is no reason to use 3 SAS controllers when 1 can connect to as many as 256 drives using the proper hardware.
The thing you should get is a chassis that has the BPN-SAS2-846EL1 backplane like this one:
https://www.theserverstore.com/supermicro-6047r-e1r24n-24x-lff-superstorage-server.html
It is a little more for the backplane, but then all the drives are on a single controller and that makes the IO performance better.