FreeNAS enclosure

[yis]

hey guys,
I am still a tiny bit confused here...
is there an enclosure that i can buy that support FeeNAS (or where i can install FreeNAS on?).. I dont want to build my own hardware for it, all i want is a diskless enclosure to host 4-6 hard drives for cheap? the only thing i am seeing is this little guy http://www.ixsystems.com/storage/freenas/ but i dont want to spend a 1000 on a diskless enclosure :/

little background , I have used FreeNAS before on a lab environment ( was hosted on a VM )
I used to be a storage engineer for NetApp and EMC for medium /large companies in the past so i understand storage and how things works.

Thanks in advance and any help is much appreciated.

 

[danb35]

The only thing I'm aware of is the FreeNAS Mini, which as you've observed isn't cheap. Really, any hardware that's suitable for FreeNAS won't be cheap--Intel-based motherboard that supports ECC means server stuff, the least expensive I can find is the SuperMicro X10SLL-F for $167 at newegg. An i3-4130, $122. 16 GB of ECC RAM, $165. Decent case and power supply, maybe $150. That's $600 already, with no support. I believe the Mini uses a SATA DOM for the boot device, which will add a few bucks, and it also has hot-swap trays for the drives, which is probably going to make for a more expensive case.

 

[yis]

Dam it. Thanks anyway danb35

 

[marbus90]

Of course there are cheaper solutions than the FreeNAS mini.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1744486 for example. or the following boxes, just add ECC RAM:
Dell Poweredge T20 (4x 3.5" SATA precabled)
Lenovo TS140
Lenovo TS440
HP Microserver Gen8

 

[yis]

Of course there are cheaper solutions than the FreeNAS mini.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1744486 for example. or the following boxes, just add ECC RAM:
Dell Poweredge T20 (4x 3.5" SATA precabled)
Lenovo TS140
Lenovo TS440
HP Microserver Gen8

oh sweet. I actually have $200 gift card from DELL that i can use on their website, would you mind checking this

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-t20/pd?oc=bectc2&model_id=poweredge-t20

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-t20/pd?oc=bectc3&model_id=poweredge-t20
(i think the second link contains the RAID controller and this is the one i should get? also do you know how many hard drives i can fit in there? their website is kinda useless

 

[danb35]

You do not want a RAID controller for FreeNAS, unless it can be lobotomized to function as an HBA.

 

[Darren Myers]

It looks like the second one does have a raid controller, but its built onto the board. If you see the FreeNAS recommendations, you do NOT use RAID you would use it in JBOD and allow ZFS to handle the rest.

 

[yis]

You do not want a RAID controller for FreeNAS, unless it can be lobotomized to function as an HBA.

It looks like the second one does have a raid controller, but its built onto the board. If you see the FreeNAS recommendations, you do NOT use RAID you would use it in JBOD and allow ZFS to handle the rest.

ok ok .. thank you guys! its on its way
and for anyone else wondering. It can support up to 6 hard drives (contacted dell support)

 

[yis]

oh one last thing .. any recommendation on ECC RAM that will fit this computer?
I will be using this mostly for my VM infrastructure at home and some CIFS /NFS shares.

 

[gpsguy]

Crucial is a good choice: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/poweredge-t20

 

[marbus90]

The Dell T20 has 4x SATA 6Gbps onboard. 6 disks are only supported via an addon controller and the two new disks would need to be 2.5" if you follow Dells recommendation. With 3in2-modules, some cable-shoving and power adapters 6x3.5" are possible. RAID would only be Intel Fakeraid, so seetrough/wayne for FreeNAS. The model for 50$ more only comes with a 500GB HDD, whereas the 299$ model comes without any HDDs.

The T20 I've equipped with aftermarket DIMMs runs on 4x8GB Crucial non-ECC (had them lying around, previous workstations ran without ECC too, meh). Samsung would be another pick, Hynix could be hit and miss.

 

[yis]

The Dell T20 has 4x SATA 6Gbps onboard. 6 disks are only supported via an addon controller and the two new disks would need to be 2.5" if you follow Dells recommendation. With 3in2-modules, some cable-shoving and power adapters 6x3.5" are possible. RAID would only be Intel Fakeraid, so seetrough/wayne for FreeNAS. The model for 50$ more only comes with a 500GB HDD, whereas the 299$ model comes without any HDDs.

The T20 I've equipped with aftermarket DIMMs runs on 4x8GB Crucial non-ECC (had them lying around, previous workstations ran without ECC too, meh). Samsung would be another pick, Hynix could be hit and miss.

Thank you for this!
So you are saying i should boot my FreeNAS on the 500gb hard drive instead of USB flash? (sorry didnt understood your reference about the $50 more for a hard drive)

the DELL support guy told me the memory that comes iwth the system is ECC already.. are you saying he is a fat layer and thats why his pants on fire? (not like that would surprise me honestly)

Also thank you for the 6 disks comment (i will buy a 3tb hard drive instead of the 2tb that i was originally planning to buy and i will get 4 of them --- btw any preferred brand? WD? Samsung? Seagate ? Hitachi?

Crucial is a good choice: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/poweredge-t20

Thank you.


Again thanks all! this is been a productive discussion-- at least for me :)

 

[marbus90]

You should buy the HDD-less model and just pop in your 4x3TB HDDs (recommended are WD Red). Trying to squeeze 6x3.5" HDDs in there isn't worth the hassle imho. The 500GB HDD would be a waste for your purpose, just install FreeNAS on an USB-Stick. The memory included in the T20 is a single ECC DIMM. I'd recommend to add another single 8GB ECC DIMM for 12GB RAM total. Different DIMM sizes don't matter.

To elaborate that: I've got two T20 with the Xeons, each came with a 1TB Seagate HDD and 4GB ECC DIMMs. Plugged both DIMMs and HDDs into one T20 (server) and instead used a SSD and the 4x8GB nonECC for my workstation (the other T20). Not running FreeNAS tho.