FreeNAS Mini - iXsystems

[rnicolas]

Does anyone own a FreeNAS Mini from iXsystems? ( http://www.ixsystems.com/freenas-mini/ )
Is it a good server box for a small business environment?

(I searched for this topic and I wasn't able to find any threads on this...)

 

[Milhouse]

Maybe a little expensive, although they will hold your hand if there's a problem which no doubt accounts for some of the additional cost.

If you have the confidence to go it alone, I'd recommend getting yourself an HP N36L/N40L for $320, add 8GB RAM, sling in four disks of your choosing and boot FreeNAS 8.0.1 from a 2GB USB memory stick - it should result in a very similar system spec for a lot less money.

 

[rnicolas]

Sounds interesting, but I wonder for an Office with no IT resources, would the lights on the FreeNAS mini light up if a HDD fails, and would the HDDs be hot swappable, let's say in a RAIDZ2 setup?
Although the HP Proliant server does sound very nice as well...

 

[Milhouse]

Sounds interesting, but I wonder for an Office with no IT resources, would the lights on the FreeNAS mini light up if a HDD fails, and would the HDDs be hot swappable, let's say in a RAIDZ2 setup?
Although the HP Proliant server does sound very nice as well...

No idea about the lights, presumably they would light up in the event of a failure but you should have someone (ideally a distribution group) designated as an email contact to receive notifications in the event of failure. Also, the lights will only be of value if you have the server on permanent display - they'd be of far more limited use if it's tucked away in a cupboard out of the way.

The iXsystems page says the bays are hot-swappable, but that also depends on hot-swap support for disk replacement in FreeNAS 8 which is, let's be honest, debatable right now - pretty much any disk replacement currently requires at least one reboot making the notion of hot-swap somewhat superfluous. Disk replacement is currently not as straightforward as it should be, hopefully that will improve soon.

Also, what are you using for backup in your office? You might want to consider a second - preferably offsite - system to act as the backup for your primary.

Edit: I don't think the iXsystems server has individual drive status LEDs - can't see them in the picture, anyway.

 

[rnicolas]

Thank you for your replies. I guess the cheaper route would be the Proliant although I don't like the AMD CPUs...
How good is FreeNAS in Emailing the distribution list when a HDD does fail and how accurate is it?

edit: "Also, what are you using for backup in your office?"
Nothing yet, perhaps use a computer on the network used specifically for backing up files from the server. I would just map the important drives on this computer to the drives on the freeNAS and have the software utitlity backup to the Cloud (internet). WOuld this work?

 

[Milhouse]

Thank you for your replies. I guess the cheaper route would be the Proliant although I don't like the AMD CPUs...
How good is FreeNAS in Emailing the distribution list when a HDD does fail and how accurate is it?

The AMD processor in the Proliant is better than most comparable Intel Atom processors, to be honest. From a FreeNAS point of view, it's a very well supported setup.

How good is FreeNAS in Emailing the distribution list when a HDD does fail and how accurate is it?

FreeNAS can email alerts to a single email address - I haven't (touch wood) had a disk fail in FreeNAS 8 yet so I can't say for sure how good it is, but FreeNAS 8.0.1-RC1 has just had its email subsystem rewritten and it's working much better than before (I now receive various daily security scans that I never received before).

In terms of distribution lists... you create the distribution list on your email system, then configure FreeNAS to send emails using the public distribution list email address, eg. dl-network-admins@mycompany.com. Who actually receives the email is determined by the membership of that DL.

To be honest, if you wanted a stable production-ready NAS, I'd not use FreeNAS 8 at all right now - I'd recommend you used FreeNAS 7 instead (which also happens to work great on the Proliant).

The roadmap for FreeNAS 8.1 includes the kind of features that would make me change my opinion, until then there are still too many rough edges.

edit: "Also, what are you using for backup in your office?"
Nothing yet, perhaps use a computer on the network used specifically for backing up files from the server. I would just map the important drives on this computer to the drives on the freeNAS and have the software utitlity backup to the Cloud (internet). WOuld this work?

Probably, as long as your backup software allows you to backup network shares (you usually require the "Pro" version to do this).

 

[louisk]

I think it will really depend on the requirements, both technical and business. What are the storage requirements? How fast does the IO need to be? Will you need the system plugged in to more than 1 switch for redundancy? What kind of downtime will the business tolerate? What kind of alerting do you need? Will your alerting system work with FreeNAS or will you need something else? What kind of support do you require from a vendor (any, some, 24x7x365 4hr)? What backup software do you use? Can it interact with FreeNAS properly? Who easy will restores be (backup software is only useful if you can restore it soon enough for the data to still be useful)?

I would expect that, for a department or small business, the mini would suffice all the technical requirements. If you're just storing small documents on, even 4T is enormous. If you're doing video editing, SATA probably isn't the best choice of disk, and you probably want something local rather than on the network.

I think you need to think about your requirements, and then the decision will likely be very straight forward.

 

[rnicolas]

Milhouse - Thank you.
I'm glad to hear the email system has improved and the roadmap to 8.1 does look very nice. I haven't tried freeNAS 0.7, so you think freeNAS .7 will work better on a Proliant system than freeNAS 8.0.1, is? Is that because .7 is more stable than 8.0.1, or is 8.0.1 just not good enough for a small business. The small business only does file sharing. Files can range from 1KB to 15MB, so nothing too big.

louisk - Thank you for your good questions and comments. THe small business does not do any large files just basic document sized files and pictures. The ProLiant ML110 G6 looks good to me as well and the business does not need 24/7 support. Just Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm support.

 

[Milhouse]

Milhouse - Thank you.
I haven't tried freeNAS 0.7, so you think freeNAS .7 will work better on a Proliant system than freeNAS 8.0.1, is? Is that because .7 is more stable than 8.0.1, or is 8.0.1 just not good enough for a small business.

The latter. It's not a question of stability, as FreeNAS 8.0.1 probably just as stable, rather it's a question of features and how well - or poorly - they are currently implemented in FreeNAS 8).

I started out with FreeNAS 0.7, which is the version I put "live", and have been testing FreeNAS 8 since it became available. However the latter is missing the kind of features that *I* would consider essential in any production environment, eg. 100% reliable and bullet proof disk failure/replacement (still very unreliable even in 8.0.1-RC2), working UPS support including Network UPS support (UPS support is partially implemented in 8.0.1-RC2, network support remains entirely missing), "push" rsync support and also rsync over ssh support (both missing in 8.0.1-RC2), working SMART tests (my LSI 9211 connected disks are not detected properly by the GUI in 8.0.1-RC2), no ability to configure startup/shutdown scripts via the GUI (meaning users need to modify the read-only filesystem, and lose these changes during an upgrade).

These are just my top 5 features that are working reliably in FreeNAS 0.7, yet are semi-functional at best, entirely missing at worst from even the latest 8.0.1-RC2. Other forum members may have their own pet features that are missing/not working, and you may not even care for any of mine. It's your choice. I'm not saying FreeNAS 8 is necessarily a bad choice, I'm just pointing out that depending on your needs you may be better off with the older version which is more "feature complete" and "battle hardened".

And yes, you should be considering a UPS for your office server. :)

 

[Milhouse]

louisk - Thank you for your good questions and comments. THe small business does not do any large files just basic document sized files and pictures. The ProLiant ML110 G6 looks good to me as well and the business does not need 24/7 support. Just Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm support.

How many users are in this office/business?

 

[rnicolas]

The latter. It's not a question of stability, as FreeNAS 8.0.1 probably just as stable, rather it's a question of features and how well - or poorly - they are currently implemented in FreeNAS 8).

I started out with FreeNAS 0.7 [...]
And yes, you should be considering a UPS for your office server. :)

So far i've had no issues with freeNAS 8, but of course, I haven't had a disk failure (yet). I would have to test .7 first and see how that goes, but I do appreciate your input and opinions on this.

How many users?
One office has 3 users and the other office has 8 users...

The more affordable route will be 4 HDDs per systems... Would you recommend RAIDZ2 with a 4HDD setup?

*edit: And yes a PSU will definitely be a must.

 

[Milhouse]

The more affordable route will be 4 HDDs per systems... Would you recommend RAIDZ2 with a 4HDD setup?

RAIDZ2 would give you additional redundancy as your data will remain fully available with up to 2 failed disks (double parity), however it will halve your total storage - 4x2TB disks will result in 4TB of usable storage.

What level of redundancy you choose really depends on several factors: a) importance of the data and ensuring continued access to that data; b) available backups and how quickly the data can be restored; c) speed with which any failed disk can be replaced (in RAIDZ1, if you lose a second disk before replacing the first failed disk you will lose all your data).

Unless you don't care about any of your data (unlikely), can restore your data immediately from backups and/or replace failed disks immediately (although a second disk can still fail while bringing the replacement disk online, meaning all data is lost, and indeed due to the workload "stress" of rebuilding an array, this is the time when a marginal disk is most likely to fail) then in all cases RAIDZ2 will be a better option than RAIDZ1. As mentioned, the only downside is reduced storage but if that's not an issue then go with RAIDZ2 in a 4HDD setup.

 

[rnicolas]

RAIDZ2 would be the best option. It's been several times already where I have read that resilvering a HDD can cause another HDD to go bad... Why is this? Is that a bug with freeNAS 8? Is it the same with .7?

I guess a Proliant server will be better off... Maybe... Depending on price?

 

[Milhouse]

RAIDZ2 would be the best option. It's been several times already where I have read that resilvering a HDD can cause another HDD to go bad... Why is this? Is that a bug with freeNAS 8? Is it the same with .7?

No, it's not a bug - the resilvering process causes a very heavy workload for all the remaining disks in the array, as the redundant parity has to be rebuilt which means reading all of the data from all of the disks over a period of several hours (although the actual time taken varies with the volume amount of data, not disk size). If you have a still functioning disk that is about to give up the ghost, it's most likely to do so when under the heaviest work load it would normally experience, ie. during a resilver.

A scrub might also cause a marginal disk to fail for the same reason. It's usually recommended to perform a scrub once a month on Enterprise disks, and once a week on non-Enterprise disks. Regular scrubbing will ensure you don't suffer from "bit rot" (which is more likely on non-enterprise disks), but the fact it might also flush out marginal disks can be viewed as either an advantage or disadvantage... I'd go with the former. :)

 

[rnicolas]

Well that makes sense.
Is a scrub similar to a Windows chkdsk -r?
I don't know if I have a scrub option from the GUI, is that available in a 2 HDD mirror with freeNAS 8?

 

[Milhouse]

Is a scrub similar to a Windows chkdsk -r?

Sort of, it's essentially a process that checks all of the data is present and correct across all of the disks, so kinda like a chkdsk. Kinda. :)

I don't know if I have a scrub option from the GUI, is that available in a 2 HDD mirror with freeNAS 8?

Correct you don't, it's something you would need to schedule via a cron job (available in the GUI). The following is the script I use to scrub my disks early morning on a Sunday, and send me an email notification - you'll need to enter your to/from email address (it's usually the same, but can be different) then save the scripts as something (mine is /mnt/share/bin/zfs/scrubPools.sh, also needs chmod +x):

Code:

#!/bin/bash
# 
#VERSION: 0.1
#AUTHOR: Milhouse
#DESCRIPTION: Created on FreeNAS 0.7RC1 (Sardaukar), works also on FreeNAS 8.0.1+
# This script will start a scrub on each ZFS pool (one at a time) and
# will send an e-mail or display the result when everyting is completed.
#
#CHANGELOG
# 
 
# e-mail variables
FROM=from.email@domain.com
TO=to.email@domain.com

SUBJECT="`hostname`: ZFS Scrub results"
BODY=""
 
# arguments
VERBOSE=0
SENDEMAIL=1
args=("$*")
for arg in $args; do
    case $arg in
        "-v" | "--verbose")
            VERBOSE=1
            ;;
        "-n" | "--noemail")
            SENDEMAIL=0
            ;;
        "-a" | "--author")
            echo "by gimpe at hype-o-thetic.com"
            exit
            ;;
        "-h" | "--help" | *)
            echo "
usage: $0 [-v --verbose|-n --noemail]
    -v --verbose    output display
    -n --noemail    don't send an e-mail with result
    -a --author     display author info (by gimpe at hype-o-thetic.com)
    -h --help       display this help
"
            exit
            ;;
    esac
done
 
# work variables
ERROR=0
RUNNING=1
SEP="-------------------------------------------------------------"
 
# commands & configuration
ZPOOL=/sbin/zpool
PRINTF=/usr/bin/printf
MSMTP=/usr/local/bin/msmtp
MSMTPCONF=/var/etc/msmtp.conf
 
# print a log message
function _log {
# add message to e-mail body
    BODY="${BODY}$1\n"
# output to console if verbose mode
    [ $VERBOSE = 1 ] && echo "$1"
}
 
# find all pools
pools=$($ZPOOL list -H -o name)
 
# for each pool
for pool in $pools; do
    # start scrub for $pool
    _log "`date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"`: Starting scrub on $pool"
    zpool scrub $pool
    RUNNING=1
    # wait until scrub for $pool has finished running
    while [ $RUNNING = 1 ];     do
        # still running?
        if $ZPOOL status -v $pool | grep -q "scrub in progress"; then
            sleep 60
        # not running
        else
            # finished with this pool, exit
            RUNNING=0
            _log "`date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"`: Finished scrub on $pool"
            _log
            _log "`$ZPOOL status -v $pool`"
            # check for errors
            if ! $ZPOOL status -v $pool | grep -q "No known data errors"; then
                _log
                _log "*** DATA ERRORS DETECTED ON $pool ***"
                ERROR=1
            fi
            _log
            _log "$SEP"
        fi
    done
done
 
# change e-mail subject if there was error
if [ $ERROR = 1 ]; then
    SUBJECT="${SUBJECT}: ERROR(S) DETECTED"
fi
 
# send e-mail
if [ $SENDEMAIL = 1 ]; then
    [ -f $MSMTP ] && $PRINTF "From:$FROM\nTo:$TO\nSubject:$SUBJECT\n\n$BODY" | $MSMTP --file=$MSMTPCONF -t || $PRINTF "$BODY" | mail -s "$SUBJECT" $TO
fi

 

[Milhouse]

I don't know if I have a scrub option from the GUI, is that available in a 2 HDD mirror with freeNAS 8?

I just noticed that in 8.0.1-RELEASE there is now a button to initiate a manual scrub via the GUI (in Storage -> View All Volumes). It's not automatic though, so of only moderate usefulness.

I've also just remembered that an automatic scrub *will* take place whenever 30 days have elapsed since the previous scrub - this isn't configurable via the GUI, nor is it sufficiently often when using consumer-grade disks (as most of us will be). This automatic scrub will start at 3am on whatever day is 30 days since the previous scrub completed, which would most likely be a week day (5 in 7 chance) with the scrub potentially running into office hours if it exceeds ~6 hours run time, so several more reasons not to depend on it and roll your own that can be scheduled to run only on a weekend or well outside of normal office hours.

 

[louisk]

The latter. It's not a question of stability, as FreeNAS 8.0.1 probably just as stable, rather it's a question of features and how well - or poorly - they are currently implemented in FreeNAS 8).

I started out with FreeNAS 0.7, which is the version I put "live", and have been testing FreeNAS 8 since it became available. However the latter is missing the kind of features that *I* would consider essential in any production environment, eg. 100% reliable and bullet proof disk failure/replacement (still very unreliable even in 8.0.1-RC2), working UPS support including Network UPS support (UPS support is partially implemented in 8.0.1-RC2, network support remains entirely missing), "push" rsync support and also rsync over ssh support (both missing in 8.0.1-RC2), working SMART tests (my LSI 9211 connected disks are not detected properly by the GUI in 8.0.1-RC2), no ability to configure startup/shutdown scripts via the GUI (meaning users need to modify the read-only filesystem, and lose these changes during an upgrade).

...

When you say you want rsync over ssh support, I presume you want some kind of checkbox in the gui. I found it easier to implement it myself, I made a directory to store the pub and priv ssh keys on both machines, and then wrote a sync script (1 or 2 lines) and then add a cron entry through the gui. Seemed pretty straight forward. Of course, you'll take a fair hit on speed by tunneling rsync over ssh, but that may be necessary.

 

[rnicolas]

I just noticed that in 8.0.1-RELEASE there is now a button to initiate a manual scrub via the GUI (in Storage -> View All Volumes). It's not automatic though, so of only moderate usefulness.

I've also just remembered that an automatic scrub *will* take place whenever 30 days have elapsed since the previous scrub - this isn't configurable via the GUI, nor is it sufficiently often when using consumer-grade disks (as most of us will be). This automatic scrub will start at 3am on whatever day is 30 days since the previous scrub completed, which would most likely be a week day (5 in 7 chance) with the scrub potentially running into office hours if it exceeds ~6 hours run time, so several more reasons not to depend on it and roll your own that can be scheduled to run only on a weekend or well outside of normal office hours.

Thank you for the script I appreciate it...
Yes I see it now, i installed freeNAS 8.0.1 amd64 on my test machine and see that it's there... I was also able to configure the email with a gmail account.
I just don't know where to put that script in? Do I run that in the shell?

 

[Milhouse]

When you say you want rsync over ssh support, I presume you want some kind of checkbox in the gui. I found it easier to implement it myself, I made a directory to store the pub and priv ssh keys on both machines, and then wrote a sync script (1 or 2 lines) and then add a cron entry through the gui. Seemed pretty straight forward. Of course, you'll take a fair hit on speed by tunneling rsync over ssh, but that may be necessary.

I want to use ssh authentication when using the rsync daemon (ie. modules) and connecting (pulling/pushing) data from a remote client - for this ssh isn't currently supported, only password authentication is working.

It is possible to establish an rsync connection over ssh, but not when using the daemon, and only as root, which basically means it's useless for many use cases.