General direction for 'new' setup utilizing FreeNAS in lieu of DrivePool

[VideoBill]

Good Day all,

I am new to FreeNAS, an OK server person and overall general techie...now that you know a little about my skill set here is some hardware info,

I currently am attempting to reduce the 'size' of my setup (hardware). My current setup is basically the following:
Sitting in a norco 3U standard rackmount case is,
1 - Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 6.0 Motherboard
2 - AMD FX 6300 6-core 3.5 GHz CPU
3 - 16 GB RAM (8 Usable)
4 - A DVD/RW and a Blu-Ray/RW drive
5 - 2 Mushkin MKNSSDRE512GB drives (1 for OS the other everything else)
6 - Running WHS 2011 SP1 (64 Bit), Drivepool for WHS

My pool sits in 2 Norco 4U cases (4220 and 4224 and another 4224 in the wings)
and consists of the following pooled Seagate drives, 5x ST2000DL03, 1x ST2000DM001, 25x ST4000DM000 and 2x ST3000BM001 totaling 107TB with 10.2TB available

I have just purchased a new server (1U) and has the following,
1 - Tyan B5397G24 Motherboard
2 - 2x Intel Xeon 5150 Dual-Core 2.66 GHz CPUs
3 - 2 GB Ram (will be upgrading to 32GB? Can go to 128GB)
4 - a Slim DVD/RW to be replaced with a BR/RW
5 - a Hard Drive of unknown size to be replaced by the 2 SSDs from existing server
6 - NO OS installed but was thinking of staying with WHS
- This case comes with 4 Hot-swap drive bays which I will be using for general data

I will be looking for Motherboards for the 3 Norco 42xx cases and installing FreeNAS on them then connecting them to my network

Now for the actual question(s):
1 - Am I heading in the right direction?
2 - What should I consider/know before setting up hardware
3 - What kind of a time am I in for when converting (if possible) my existing Drivepool setup to multiple NAS setups?

Any help on this will be warmly received and my thanks go out to anyone who helps in advance.
If I have not provided enough information please ask and I will do my best to replay with an adequate answer.

Thanks again, Bill

 

[pirateghost]

If you move to FreeNAS, you will need somewhere to store your data while you build your pool.

FreeNAS doesn't need a DVD/BR at all, so that's a waste of space.

You definitely need more RAM. As much as you can throw at it.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly you're trying to accomplish here though. Are you creating a second server and moving data to a new FreeNAS build or are you keeping both servers?

What exactly is the end goal?

 

[pirateghost]

And welcome to the forums.

 

[gpsguy]

Like pirateghost, I too am confused. It sounds like the OP is planning to have 3 FreeNAS servers, in addition to his new WHS.

"I will be looking for Motherboards for the 3 Norco 42xx cases and installing FreeNAS on them then connecting them to my network"

 

[pirateghost]

I missed that piece. I don't read so good most of the time.

 

[VideoBill]

If you move to FreeNAS, you will need somewhere to store your data while you build your pool.

FreeNAS doesn't need a DVD/BR at all, so that's a waste of space.

You definitely need more RAM. As much as you can throw at it.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly you're trying to accomplish here though. Are you creating a second server and moving data to a new FreeNAS build or are you keeping both servers?

What exactly is the end goal?

I am going to replace existing server, and move drivepool data to NASs.
Ultimately I would like to wind up with the following:
1 WHS server (the software I use runs on Windows only) connected to 3 NAS boxes.
Does that make more sense?

 

[pirateghost]

I am going to replace existing server, and move drivepool data to NASs.
Ultimately I would like to wind up with the following:
1 WHS server (the software I use runs on Windows only) connected to 3 NAS boxes.
Does that make more sense?

That kind of makes sense, but how are you planning on connecting these servers?

It seems like it would be better to just have one server with all the storage in it.

 

[VideoBill]

That I what I have now, the problem is the current server bios can't read all the drives at boot and freezes. This results in rebuilding the pool every time it update or reboots.
I figured by going to a server with minimal drives and everything else NAS that would end that.

 

[Jailer]

That kind of makes sense, but how are you planning on connecting these servers?

It seems like it would be better to just have one server with all the storage in it.

Agreed. Seems it would be much easier to manage that way.

 

[pirateghost]

That I what I have now, the problem is the current server bios can't read all the drives at boot and freezes. This results in rebuilding the pool every time it update or reboots.
I figured by going to a server with minimal drives and everything else NAS that would end that.

So, one FreeNAS box and your WHS box (Why windows?)

 

[VideoBill]

the reason for a WHS box is proprietary software I rely on...only runs in Windows.

 

[pirateghost]

the reason for a WHS box is proprietary software I rely on...only runs in Windows.

Which is?

 

[VideoBill]

So, one FreeNAS box and your WHS box (Why windows?)

One WHS box and 2-3 NAS boxes.
With FreeNAS running on the NAS units.?.

 

[VideoBill]

Which is?

Sorry, getting late....
MyMovies essentials. and Drivepool.

 

[pirateghost]

Sorry, getting late....
MyMovies essentials. and Drivepool.

But with FreeNAS, drive pool is not needed.

 

[VideoBill]

But with FreeNAS, drive pool is not needed.

I am aware of that, I need to convert my existing Drivepool data to be readable by FreeNAS which is the main purpose of this thread, the secondary side is if my hardware plans are on track to accomplish this.
When I install whichever Mobo I put into my Norco 42xx cases and install FreeNAS on them to control the drives, can I install FreeNAS WITH WHS on the Tyan server or does it act as a server OS in and of itself?

 

[pirateghost]

FreeNAS is the OS. Whatever drive you install it on it will wipe completely and takeover that drive. This is all covered in the documentation.

I don't understand how you would "convert the data". You don't convert it. You copy it to the new system because FreeNAS has no idea how to use or see a drivepool configuration.

 

[VideoBill]

FreeNAS is the OS. Whatever drive you install it on it will wipe completely and takeover that drive. This is all covered in the documentation.

I don't understand how you would "convert the data". You don't convert it. You copy it to the new system because FreeNAS has no idea how to use or see a drivepool configuration.

That is what it was looking like. I guess I just needed to to be told that for confirmation. I tend to be too stubborn sometimes.

So to be clear, I don't need WHS on my Tyan server? I put FreeNAS on that AND the Norco 42xx cases as well? If so, correct me if I'm wrong...

I install FreeNAS on my Tyan server, I install FreeNAS on 1 of my Norco 4224s with blank drives - copy data from drivepool to the 4224 and then the two will work together, is that pretty much it in a nutshell?

 

[pirateghost]

So I don't know the reason you would need the WHS after the data has been copied over. That's a decision you have to make, but personally I prefer to have all my storage in one box rather than spread out among servers. Been there done that. It was a pain in the arse.

To be clear you will need WHS on the server long enough to get the data transferred over the network to the new storage server.

 

[gpsguy]

Man, you guy's are quick. I keep having to change my reply.

As pirateghost said in his last message, I'd prefer to have all my storage in one box, as opposed to 3-4 separate servers. If you need additional boxes, connect some JBOD's.

Here's @depasseg 's system for an example.

-- freenas1 Specs: SuperMicro SuperStorage Server 5028R-E1CR12L | Xeon E5-2637V3 | 128GB DDR4 2133MHz ECC RDIMM | X10SRH-CLN4F | On-board LSI 3008 (Flashed w/Avago v9-IT) | 12x 4TB WD-Re SAS| 2x Intel S3700 (SLOG and L2ARC)
-- freenas1 expansion: SuperMicro SC847E16 JBOD (45 drives) | connected via an LSI 9200-8e flashed to v20 IT | 20 x WD Red 2TB + 6 WD Red 3TB