FreeNAS + Downloader, Plex, and Torrent - Is This The Best Approach?

[ReadyPlayGo]

Summary: I plan on building a NAS and using FreeNAS v10 (whenever it is released) to control 24 usable terabytes of space (RAIDZ2, 6X6TB). Wherever possible, I want to let the NAS be a NAS and offload applications and services to a separate Ubuntu server, but I’m learning that it makes more sense to keep certain applications directly on the NAS. Based on the linked visualization, hardware list, and contextual information below, I’d like your feedback as to whether what I’m planning makes sense, or if there is a smarter way to go about things.

Resources I've Already Consulted: I don't claim to have mastery of any of this, but I've read through a lot of the resources on (and off) this forum prior to posting...

• Hardware Recommendation Guide
• cyberjock's PowerPoint Guide
• #freenas IRC channel
• Brian Moses' Build Guide Mod note: DO NOT trust this idiot
• John Ramsden's Build Guide
• comments from hackoptic's build advice

Application & Data Visualization (As-is and To-be): I currently have an HTPC/NAS/Server all-in-one running on a Windows 7 box. This was built 5 years ago when it was easiest for me to learn concepts in the Windows environment. I’ve come a long ways since then, have several lessons learned, and am ready to build a dedicated NAS while converting the existing HTPC hardware into an Ubuntu server. These graphics depict how I plan to do that and should hopefully help frame any advice you have.

Part List

• MoBo & CPU Supermicro X10SDV-4C-TLN2F Mini ITX & Xeon D-1518 $478.99
• ECC RAM Samsung 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory $285.00
• OS Boot SUPERMICRO SSD-DM032-PHI SATA DOM (SuperDOM) $76.44
• Case U-NAS NSC-810 Case, Mini-ITX, hot swappable 8-bays $209.99
• PSU Seasonic SS-300M1U PFC 1U 80PLUS $58.24
• HBA Card LSI 9207-8i $70.30
• HDD(S) 6x WD Red 6TB 3.5" 7200RPM HDD @ $202.40 each $1,214.40 (WD has a great deal on these with a .edu account)

Total $2393.36

Uses for NAS:

• Home Network share for music (mostly .flac), movies (BR-Rip, AC3), tv shows (720/1080p, H.264), eBooks, audiobooks
• Plex Media Server with 4-6 transcode streams simultaneously (1 local, upto 5 external)
• Sabnzbd downloader
• qBittorrent client (masked through PIA VPN via OpenVPN)
• NextCloud for sharing occasional documents, photographs, etc. (not for commercial media)
• Storage for personal documents, photos and videos—this directory will be the only directory backed up to the cloud via CrashPlan

Specific Questions/Concerns:

• If I have OpenVPN running PIA through a separate machine, what is the easiest way to have qBittorent on the NAS route all traffic through the VPN? Would it be easier to host the OpenVPN client on the NAS instead? If so, how would I configure that with separate dockers involved?
• Is the Xenon D-1518 sufficient for 4-6 1080p / H.264 Plex streams simultaneously?
• If I'm going to be reading/writing large video files (for editing or viewing), should I disable compression in FreeNAS? How about encryption?
• I've read that I need to be sure my HBA Card can do SMART reporting, but I didn't see that explicitly mentioned anywhere in the product specs. Does anyone know if the LSI 9207 8i can do that? I assume it can.
• Given my visual list/placement of applications, are all of them in the right place? Is there a more optimal way to configure all of those?

Home Environment:

• Comcast 100/10 internet (supposedly higher upload speed packages will be available in October 2017)
• 3 laptops (all Windows), 2 cell phones, 2 tablets
• Wired Cat5e to all devices except the mobile items listed above
• One video editing rig running on Windows 10
• Ubiquti AC-Pro WAP
• E4200 Cisco router w/ Tomato firmware & DynDNS

Installation Considerations:

• The U-NAS case is a small case, but it will only have 6 out of 8 bays filled and will be in a small, subterranean closet that butts up against a corner of the house. The idle temperature inside that closet is usually 60 degrees F.
• I'm opting for the MoBo and single stick of RAM so that I can leave room to upgrade to the max further down the road
• Someday, when I want to expand with another vdev, I will likely migrate all equipment out of the U-NAS case and into a rackmount of some kind (I don't currently have a home that would accommodate a rackmount)

Thoughts?

 

[Dutchie30]

My only suggestion so far would be to rethink your home server setup. I'd seriously consider upgrading the hardware a bit (more RAM + bigger SSD) to allow for virtualisation. In my ideal setup the home server would be a XenServer node running various VM's on it for all individual services. This way if one service is ruined by an upgrade you can either a) restore the VM from backup or b) rebuild the VM. This way all other services are not affected by your rebuild.

 

[ReadyPlayGo]

My only suggestion so far would be to rethink your home server setup. I'd seriously consider upgrading the hardware a bit (more RAM + bigger SSD) to allow for virtualisation. In my ideal setup the home server would be a XenServer node running various VM's on it for all individual services. This way if one service is ruined by an upgrade you can either a) restore the VM from backup or b) rebuild the VM. This way all other services are not affected by your rebuild.

I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future. After the expense of the FreeNAS rig, I don't think I'll be in a position to invest in new hardware anytime soon. But when I am, I'll put that next on the list, and look into your XenServer approach--thanks!

 

[ReadyPlayGo]

Does anyone have any thoughts on 1 dimm vs 2 dimms of RAM? Some folks have mentioned that spreading the 32G over 2x16GB dimms would result in quicker "2-channel" RAM, but ideally I'd like to leave room for the max 128GB RAM in the future.

 

[Ericloewe]

Brian Moses' Build Guide

Ignore that moron. PLEASE IGNORE that moron!

Does anyone have any thoughts on 1 dimm vs 2 dimms of RAM? Some folks have mentioned that spreading the 32G over 2x16GB dimms would result in quicker "2-channel" RAM, but ideally I'd like to leave room for the max 128GB RAM in the future.

They're right, but it's a trivial concern most of the time.

 

[ReadyPlayGo]

Ignore that moron. PLEASE IGNORE that moron!

Haha, I just used it as a starting place that had a lot of detail, but duely noted.

They're right, but it's a trivial concern most of the time.

Okay, thanks. I'd like to shoot for long-term 128G RAM goal, so I was mildly worried about this.

 

[ReadyPlayGo]

So I ended up ordering all of my hardware due to an amazing price point on the HDDs I didn't want to miss out on. My conundrum now is, which path do I take:

1. Install v9.10, learn to be happy with jails, and hope that there is a stable upgrade path to v10 some day that doesn't break everything, or
2. Install whatever release of v10 is available, with the hope that patching will make everything stable

CLI and permissions are not my strong suit, so I tend to favor GUI containers over jails, but I'm open to being convinced either way.

 

[dcevansiii]

So I ended up ordering all of my hardware due to an amazing price point on the HDDs I didn't want to miss out on. My conundrum now is, which path do I take:

1. Install v9.10, learn to be happy with jails, and hope that there is a stable upgrade path to v10 some day that doesn't break everything, or
2. Install whatever release of v10 is available, with the hope that patching will make everything stable

CLI and permissions are not my strong suit, so I tend to favor GUI containers over jails, but I'm open to being convinced either way.

I think you should refer to what the freenas team has said regarding v10 release here: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/in-the-bomb-run-less-than-2-weeks-to-go-for-rc1.51010/

I personally would probably run 9.10, and upgrade to 10 when it has gone through at least its 1st update. But I'm just doing storage and not all the other stuff that you are planning. Based on that post it seems that you would be ok.

 

[ReadyPlayGo]

I think you should refer to what the freenas team has said regarding v10 release here: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/in-the-bomb-run-less-than-2-weeks-to-go-for-rc1.51010/

I personally would probably run 9.10, and upgrade to 10 when it has gone through at least its 1st update. But I'm just doing storage and not all the other stuff that you are planning. Based on that post it seems that you would be ok.

Thanks.

That's a good compromise I hadn't considered: setting up v9.1 and using it for just storage. Then, when v10.1 rolls around, decommission pieces of my application server, and migrate Plex, qBittorrent, sabnzbd over to FreeNAS. By that time maybe I can afford better hardware for my application server as well :)

My application server would be 8 gigs of RAM with an i3 CPU, though. Do you think that'd be overtaxed given the number of things I'd be running? (namely 4-6 Plex streams?)

 

[Ericloewe]

My application server would be 8 gigs of RAM with an i3 CPU, though. Do you think that'd be overtaxed given the number of things I'd be running? (namely 4-6 Plex streams?)

Yes. 8GB is the bare minimum and running Plex with less than 16GB is not advisable.

 

[gpsguy]

btw, 9.1 <> 9.10.x

That's a good compromise I hadn't considered: setting up v9.1 and using it for just storage.

 

[alieNus]

Would be really nice, if you would create a tutorial how to setup this setup :)