FreeNAS on intel nuc as mediaserver?

[rampagl]

Hello everybody,

I need to replace my old Qnap so i was thinking to try freeNAS; basically a need to store movies (also 4k, up to 15gb), music, pictures and few docs, don't need to RAID.
I need to put the machine in a cabinet that is near the router (fritz box 7490), under the main TV (which is 4k - possibly also a direct connection Nas-TV) which is connected to a yamaha ampli with arc HDMI for a 5.1 cinema sound system.

I already have an old INTEL NUC d34010wyk (i3) with 4gb ram (1.35V DDR3L) and 16gb SSD hd.
My idea is to buy a 4TB or more HDD to connect via USB 3.0 to the nuc and install FreeNAS, adding plugins to download torrent and PLEX plugin to make plex server (its the first time that i'll use plex so i'm pretty noob, i used for a long time KODI that was easy to use, but everyone is telling me that plex is better) and then stream movies on my main 4k TV (this is the main thing) but also to other 1080p tv around Home (about 3-4, someone through wifi, someone is cabled), and also have a wireless access to the nuc and other documents/music...

Main questions are: is it a good idea to use intel nuc for this? everything gonna work fine or i've to expect some issues/lag with 4k movies?
its better to connect direct the nuc to the TV (usb 3.0)? suggestions??

Thank you guys, every answer is appreciated..

 

[patrickjp93]

Bear in mind you can't use WiFi with FreeNAS. The local TV 4K shouldn't be laggy, but streaming your 1080p movies around the house might be.

 

[JaimieV]

As long as the NUC is cabled to the network, it shouldn't be a problem. You'll want at least two connected HDDs if you want any redundancy, but if you don't care about possibly losing all the data then whatever. 4gig RAM is a bit tight - you may be okay with that but 8gig would definitely be better with multiple users of Plex. That model takes up to 16gig.

You won't want to connect the NUC to the TV by HDMI - use a Plex client on the TV (or set top box or whatever) instead.

Basically give it a try with any random USB3 HDD you have lying around, see if it works okay as-is.

 

[rampagl]

Bear in mind you can't use WiFi with FreeNAS. The local TV 4K shouldn't be laggy, but streaming your 1080p movies around the house might be.

Most of the tv are cabled, i'll give it a try..

As long as the NUC is cabled to the network, it shouldn't be a problem. You'll want at least two connected HDDs if you want any redundancy, but if you don't care about possibly losing all the data then whatever. 4gig RAM is a bit tight - you may be okay with that but 8gig would definitely be better with multiple users of Plex. That model takes up to 16gig.

You won't want to connect the NUC to the TV by HDMI - use a Plex client on the TV (or set top box or whatever) instead.

Basically give it a try with any random USB3 HDD you have lying around, see if it works okay as-is.

ok for gig suggestions, in case i'll upgrade up to 8gb RAM.

Suggestion for HDD? anyone is good? with/without power supply??
issues with over-heating?? (the cabinet will be closed).

ty

 

[JaimieV]

Any old thing. If you get a long enough USB3 cable you can put it on the floor behind the cabinet so it's got better airflow, but a 2.5" drive probably won't care at any temperature that the NUC will work at.

 

[Jailer]

Main questions are: is it a good idea to use intel nuc for this?

It is an incredibly bad idea to use the nuc for a FreeNAS installation. You would be better served by installing Kodi on your nuc and running it direct to your TV/reciever if all you want to do is stream movies with it.

 

[JaimieV]

Meh. It's not *terrible*, it's just suboptimal. I would agree a Kodi install would be more appropriate *if* OP only wanted a media server - but instead he's replacing a QNAP and wants to experiment with FreeNAS. It's an experimental toy system, don't prevent people from playing.

 

[Jailer]

Meh. It's not *terrible*, it's just suboptimal.

But here's the thing. Someone wants to try out FreeNAS so they throw it on some woefully under spec'd hardware and take it for a spin. Then they have a less than stellar experience and blame FreeNAS because it wouldn't run on the hardware of choice. The system the OP is looking to install on has several things that make it a poor choice for FreeNAS, lack of RAM and USB hard drive being the most glaring problems.

but instead he's replacing a QNAP and wants to experiment with FreeNAS.

This reinforces my point even more. You want reliable storage of data and the NUC with a USB drive is NOT going to give you that.

@rampagl do yourself a favor and seek other options as FreeNAS will not preform well on the hardware you have selected.

 

[rampagl]

ok guys now i have a confused mind.

i don't need a super performing machine, if you think ram is not enough i can buy other 4gb to achieve 8gb there's no problem.
As for the hard disk why an usb 3 hdd could give me some problems...??

i don't need to move tons of byte in few minutes; i'm asking only a simple way to storage my fav movies, songs, and simple data; have the possibility to access all of that without plug/unplug cables on multiple devices (MacBook, iPad, iPhone, TVs...), preferably download directly in the machine with a torrent plugin and manage this through a notebook browser laying on the sofa and, most important, reproduce movies on the main 4k tv.

I had a very old qnap with a single sata HDD that did all this very well (if I remember correctly with a 1.6 Ghz CPU and 512 mb ram) but now it's broken.

It is an incredibly bad idea to use the nuc for a FreeNAS installation. You would be better served by installing Kodi on your nuc and running it direct to your TV/reciever if all you want to do is stream movies with it.

This is a possibility.
Few things that can't do and wanted to:
- stream on other devices;
- use a single remote (tv remote; in this case i've to use a keyboard/mouse with the nuc).

 

[sretalla]

My guess is that OpenMediaVault would probably fit better with your needs... ZFS doesn't like the kind of access to the disks that it gets from USB controllers (and some, maybe all, USB controllers can't handle the load ZFS puts on them and they quit at some random time, thus hosing your hardware).

 

[rampagl]

My guess is that OpenMediaVault would probably fit better with your needs... ZFS doesn't like the kind of access to the disks that it gets from USB controllers (and some, maybe all, USB controllers can't handle the load ZFS puts on them and they quit at some random time, thus hosing your hardware).

Thank you for your suggestion... much appreciated...

i don't know openmediavault, i'll search some comparative video against these two OS and then try one of them!
if someone has new suggestion.... here i am!!

 

[Michael Wenyon]

#rampagl: What did you do in the end? I have a Celeron Intel NUC from that period, running OpenMediaVault on 8GB RAM and a 1TB internal SSD drive. The operating system boots using a USB drive (MicroSDHD card in adapter). It is fine, and with an internal SATA drive it may work with FreeNAS.

If you could add a bigger internal SSD you would avoid any USB problems.

At the moment I use the NUC to receive a scheduled backup from my FreeNAS over SFTP on my local network, but I would like to learn to use ZFS replication for this, so I am thinking of experimentally installing FreeNAS on it.

 

[ornias]

Long story short:
- NUC is not an issue, or mini appliance is not an issue...
- 4GB RAM is an issue, minimum 8gb, preferably 16gb
- Preferably no usb drives, but can be dealth with (at increased risks, as usual)

If you fix those small issues, you'll have a relatively smooth 1-3 people non-transcode media box

 

[rampagl]

#rampagl: What did you do in the end? I have a Celeron Intel NUC from that period, running OpenMediaVault on 8GB RAM and a 1TB internal SSD drive. The operating system boots using a USB drive (MicroSDHD card in adapter). It is fine, and with an internal SATA drive it may work with FreeNAS.

If you could add a bigger internal SSD you would avoid any USB problems.

At the moment I use the NUC to receive a scheduled backup from my FreeNAS over SFTP on my local network, but I would like to learn to use ZFS replication for this, so I am thinking of experimentally installing FreeNAS on it.

i’m using openmediavault 5, it’s perfect no one single issue and i stream dolby vision movie on my lg 65oledc9 without any problem.
The community si great and technodad on YouTube is a good teacher... happy with that!!!

 

[Michael Wenyon]

I was able to put the latest FreeNAS-11.3-U4.1 on this low-end Celeron NUC (Intel DN2820FYK, manufactured 2014).

Because it only has a single drive and because it does not have ECC memory, I would not suggest it as a main FreeNAS Server.

It works well now as a ZFS replication target for scheduled backups from my main FreeNAS over the local network.

An SMB share for the backed-up data gives me quick access from a desktop computer to the last backup. Although read-only, I can copy files over.

I can see some advantages:

• an external backup of main data, with some (not all) benefits of ZFS format, replication etc
• quiet, low energy, relatively inexpensive, small and neat
• backup FreeNAS server and hardware as well as data
• no IPMI interface, but small enough to carry to a keyboard and monitor during installation/maintenance
• portable, could potentially travel
• familiar FreeNAS admin GUI that I already learned for managing the main server

I also have a WD Red 10TB single-drive ZFS replica internal to my main FreeNAS server (and rotated with a second copy for redundancy). On its own (with configuration file) I hope this can restore my main server. In fact, the NUC can actually make it possible to access the replica's data if it is rehoused in a USB case and temporarily imported to the NUC.

I already had this NUC, so this cost me nothing. There may be cheaper ways to start with FreeNAS. But if you built a NUC for FreeNAS, experimented and learned with backed-up data and then later upgraded to a bigger/faster/more-reliable machine, the NUC could still be a nice backup FreeNAS system to keep.

I priced my setup today on Amazon USA, with new hardware. A complete 1TB SSD FreeNAS server would be about $300 (8/2020), or about $400 with a 2TB SSD, based on these parts:

1. SanDisk Ultra 32GB MicroSDHC UHS-I Card with Adapter: $8.74 at Amazon
2. Kingston 960GB A400 SATA 3 2.5" Internal SSD $97.66 at Amazon
3. Intel NUC 6 Essential Kit (NUC6CAYH) Celeron, Tall $146.94 at Amazon
4. Crucial 8GB Single DDR3/DDR3L Memory $41.68 at Amazon