FreeNAS Mini realistic expectations?

[xiSlickix]

I've been asked to setup a NAS for a small office / lab. Currently 3 users, expected to expand to no more than 8-10 users in the next 3 years, max. They generate video files 1-5GB each, up to 100 / year. This will be the primary data stored on the NAS, along with documents and fairly small pictures. Samba will be the primary client-server communication protocol. The office has gigabit fiber (overkill) and they are interested in running a service like NextCloud for field workers / mobile device access, etc. A pfSense firewall will be managing the network. The office space is currently fairly small, so a smaller footprint, quiet device is preferred currently.

The FreeNAS mini, if I recall correctly, is based around an Atom C2750 (PLEASE correct me if this is wrong) (Also, given Atoms C2000 series hardware issues, is there a way to guarantee that I'm getting a board manufactured after February 2017?). Based on this criteria, would the C2750 w/ 16GB of RAM and 4 4TB Hard Drives (RAID-Z2) be a good choice for 1-2 Jails (including NextCloud) and Samba file access? I don't foresee this being a particularly CPU intensive NAS. If I'm missing something, please point it out.

Thanks

 

[Ericloewe]

Atom C2750

Correct.

is there a way to guarantee that I'm getting a board manufactured after February 2017?

You can ask iX, but I'm pretty sure they fixed whatever stock they had of the bad boards, which has also probably been sold long ago after that.

good choice for 1-2 Jails (including NextCloud)

Should be fine, but what's the other one?

16GB of RAM

These days, you can get it all the way to 64 GB, if needed, but I don't think iX supplies that configuration. 16 GB is a good place to start, though.

 

[xiSlickix]

Second jail would be something like Urbackup. The intent is for everyone to store their data in FreeNAS, but people always forget and end up saving files somewhere in their user profile.

 

[Redcoat]

Second jail would be something like Urbackup. The intent is for everyone to store their data in FreeNAS, but people always forget and end up saving files somewhere in their user profile.

You could give them all Veeam Agent (free) with scheduled backup pointed to your FreeNAS box (works fine for my wife's machines...). I never tried Urbackup because Veeam has worked out so well.

I second @Ericloewe's summary on the Mini - I have a ~4-year-old on which the mobo was replaced under warranty after suffering the problem you mentioned. Only significant issue I would suggest that you be conscious of is keeping everything cool - the chassis is a bit cramped and may lead to a tendency for the processor and/or drives to run warm in less-than-optimal conditions. I put extra (but quiet) fans in mine and it sits in a 70F space. I have email temperature reports every 3 hours to keep track of what's happening:

CPU 0: 37 C, CPU 1: 38 C, CPU 2: 36 C, CPU 3: 38 C, CPU 4: 38 C, CPU 5: 39 C, CPU 6: 37 C, CPU 7: 38 C

ada0: 31 C, ada1: 29 C, ada3: 30 C, ada4: 30 C

 

[JoshDW19]

Any FreeNAS Mini motherboard stock that we had was immediately updated to the newest firmware when it was released but we sold through all of that stock a long time ago. The new motherboards come from the manufacturer completely up-to-date so anything you purchase now will be 100% good to go.

 

[Ericloewe]

There's also the dying C2000 CPUs that needed to be replaced, separate problem from the one addressed by the firmware update.

 

[xiSlickix]

There's also the dying C2000 CPUs that needed to be replaced, separate problem from the one addressed by the firmware update.

Are you saying this should this be a point of concern for a new prospective buyer of an FreeNAS Mini which uses a C2000 series chip?

 

[xiSlickix]

Any FreeNAS Mini motherboard stock that we had was immediately updated to the newest firmware when it was released but we sold through all of that stock a long time ago. The new motherboards come from the manufacturer completely up-to-date so anything you purchase now will be 100% good to go.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Ericloewe]

Are you saying this should this be a point of concern for a new prospective buyer of an FreeNAS Mini which uses a C2000 series chip?

No, I'm sure it's not been a problem for at least a year.

 

[Arwen]

Based on your growth, I would get more disk slots. 4 disk slots may be good for now, but if you expect to grow to 8-10 people, with the same work load, then I'd look at the FreeNAS Mini XL which has 8 disk slots.

Even if you don't use them all right away, you can use one or 2 slots for:

• Burning in replacements
• Doing in-place replacements, (safer for the data, though generally not needed for RAID-Z2)
• Installing disks for cold or off-site backups

The last is something I do. I have 4 x 4TB in a RAID-Z2, which allows me to use 1 x 8TB disk for cold backups.

Cold backups mean the disk is not powered or spinning between backups. Thus, anything network or electrical happening to the server should not directly affect the cold backup disk(s).