FreeNAS on J1900?

[oguruma]

I have a J1900 currently running Ubuntu that I use as a NAS (to backup my main FreeNAS box, which is a Xeon). I am considering switching to FreeNAS since I like the Web UI a lot. I also use the box to run a couple of small (Linux) VMs (one for a development webserver, and one to download torrents).

Does anybody have any experience or input as to how well this would work? I realize, and am okay with, the fact that I won't get ZFS.

 

[Inxsible]

That processor doesn't have enough juice to run FreeNAS and a couple of Linux VMs. It also doesn't support ECC.

And what do you mean by

I realize, and am okay with, the fact that I won't get ZFS.

ZFS is the only option with FreeNAS.

Have you read the Hardware Recommendations? I assume you must have since you have a FreeNAS box already.

 

[kdragon75]

Also worth pointing out that you can use ZFS on your ubuntu install with OpenZFS. With this you can backup using replication and snapshots.

 

[oguruma]

That processor doesn't have enough juice to run FreeNAS and a couple of Linux VMs. It also doesn't support ECC.

And what do you mean by

ZFS is the only option with FreeNAS.

Have you read the Hardware Recommendations? I assume you must have since you have a FreeNAS box already.

Is FreeNAS that much more intensive than Ubuntu? I currently host those two VMs on the J1900 via Ubuntu without any issue. The VMs are a basic development webserver (for small Wordpress sites) and a basic torrent box.

What I meant to say, with regard to ZFS, is that I won't get the data protection abilities of ZFS without ECC RAM.

 

[MrToddsFriends]

Is FreeNAS that much more intensive than Ubuntu? I currently host those two VMs on the J1900 via Ubuntu without any issue.

Minimum required RAM for FreeNAS is 8GB. This is for a basic filer where FreeNAS runs on bare metal and no VMs, Plugins and Jails are run inside FreeNAS. Expect data loss if this requirement is not met.

 

[Inxsible]

Is FreeNAS that much more intensive than Ubuntu?

Minimum required RAM for FreeNAS is 8GB. This is for a basic filer where FreeNAS runs on bare metal and no VMs, Plugins and Jails are run inside FreeNAS. Expect data loss if this requirement is not met.

Correct. And given that the max memory supported by J1900 is 8GB, you can just barely run FreeNAS even if you max out the memory on the board.
.

 

[kdragon75]

What I meant to say, with regard to ZFS, is that I won't get the data protection abilities of ZFS without ECC RAM.

ECC helps to protect what ZFS cannot. ZFS still works the same on non-ECC as it does on ECC. As fort eh amount of RAM, 8GB is not that bad if you use jails instead of a full VM. For a test wordpress server and something like transmission, your have plenty with 8GB. Just don't expect to expand your usage much if any. Running a single user WP server and transmission wont take much if any CPU. You could run those on a raspberry pie...

Is your system a bit anemic? Yes. Will it work? Yes.

 

[John Doe]

i did it several years ago.
j1900 with 16gb ram and 4 HDDs in raid z1

it was hard to get it running but it works. speeds: read~100mb/s write ~90mb/s
plex was also running all the time.
very low power consuption and from my point of view fair to use for unimpotant data. if you want to store important stuff like photos, bills, certifcates etc. go with another solution. if it is just for watching downloaded tv shows, go for it.

 

[Jailer]

As fort eh amount of RAM, 8GB is not that bad if you use jails instead of a full VM

This is not true. There have been several posters over the last several years that have reported odd unexplained behaviors trying to runs jails with the minimum spec of 8GB. If you want to reliably runs jails or VM's you have to increase your memory.

 

[kdragon75]

This is not true. There have been several posters over the last several years that have reported odd unexplained behaviors trying to runs jails with the minimum spec of 8GB. If you want to reliably runs jails or VM's you have to increase your memory.

I ran Plex, transmission, and a SMALL Minecraft server in jails on 8GB of ram for over a year. It wasn't fast but it worked fine.

 

[Jailer]

It wasn't fast but it worked fine.

Until it doesn't. Trust me, there have been numerous accounts of issues posted on the forum from not running enough RAM when trying to run jails/VMs.

Having said that, it's the OP's server and his choice on how he wants to proceed.