BUILD First time freenas build

[johnpr40]

Hello all

This is my first attempt so please be gentle, I have done loads of reading and this is what I have come up with, I was going initially for the Avoton build but like the idea of being able to upgrade components individually at a later date. This will be a home use server with around 1-5 users at any one time, future looking at jails, plex etc.

Not looking at massive initial performance (file storage only) so holding back on a Xeon at the moment to keep costs lower for now, I will be using the Pentium for another project later so will not be wasted

Motherboard Supermicro x10SL7-F £230 or X10SLH-f £230

For x10SL7-F am I right in thinking I can use SAS2 to SATA cables to use the 8x SAS2 ports

Processor Pentium G3258 £55

Memory Crucial CT2KIT102472BD160B 16GB (2x 8GB) £103

PSU Seasonic G550 550W 80+ Gold Certified PSU Semi modular £80

Boot Cruzer Fit 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (SDCZ33-08G-B35) £4.19

Case Fractal Design Define R5 Computer Case £90

Hard disks 4x WD red 4TB, already have

Any help or guidance will be gratefully appreciated, thank you.

 

[Ericloewe]

Why X10 and not X11? And why X10SL7-F or X10SLH-F? They're very different boards, and the X10SLH-F doesn't bring much to the table that the X10SL7-F does - at the same price, the X10SL7-F is a no-brainer.

In any case, it looks fine. If you go the X11 route, you'd want an X11SSL-CF (or X11SSM-F).

For x10SL7-F am I right in thinking I can use SAS2 to SATA cables to use the 8x SAS2 ports

The X10SL7-F exposes SATA-style ports. Regular SATA cables work fine here.

 

[Kevin Horton]

This is almost identical to my system, which has been working flawlessly since I built it early in the year. Same mother board, CPU, RAM and PSU, HD make, model and size. The only difference is the case and number of data drives and boot devices. I'm using the Fractal Design Node 804 and currently have 6 drives.

I wondered if the G3258 would be sufficient, but I never see it go past 50% CPU usage, and even that is only for brief bursts. I never see more than 20% CPU usage sustained for long periods.

I'd recommend a second USB flash drive so you can mirror the boot devices, giving some hope of the system continuing to work if one flash drive fails.

 

[johnpr40]

Thanks for the replies

I must apologise for my fundamental questions but even after weeks of looking I admit to being very overwhelmed with the choices available and so indecisive as to what to build. There was no real reason for avoiding an X11, I just read that they were a bit fussy when booting from USB but I have since found a thread that suggests that this has been sorted in the latest version of Freenas.

From what Ericloewe said about the X11's (I do like the idea of supporting the extra RAM) and from a bit more research I may go for one of the following two builds;

Supermicro X11SSM-F, Samsung m391A2K43BB1CPB 16GB RAM, Pentium G4500 1151SKT.

or

Supermicro X10SL7-F, CT2KIT102472BD160B 16GB (2x 8GB), Pentium G3258 1150 SKT.

With the second USB boot stick suggested by Kevin I am assuming that these are plugged in simultaneously, I will do some more research into this before asking questions.

Thank you again for your support.:)

 

[Kevin Horton]

With the second USB boot stick suggested by Kevin I am assuming that these are plugged in simultaneously, I will do some more research into this before asking questions.

Read the docs about installing before you do it. They tell you what you need to do to install FreeNAS on two USB drives in a mirror configuration. Essentially, you need to select both drives when the installer asks you where to install.

I've got an X10SL7-F with G3258 now with two mirrored USB flash drives as boot device, but if I was starting over today I'd have an X11SSM-F with G4400 CPU and a Supermicro SSD-DM016-PHI SATA-DOM as the boot device. I'd have roughly equivalent performance, burn less power, and save about $15 (considering cost of motherboard, CPU, RAM and boot devices for the two options).

 

[Stux]

I wouldn't buy a new X10 LGA1150 system today. X11 offers too many benefits to FreeNAS.

(There is no X11 LGA2001 ;))