Hardware check + general questions

[NewbieOnTour]

Hello community!

I am planning on buying all these equipments and would be happy to know, if the setup is compatible with FreeNAS 8 and if it is a good choice in general:

- Lian Li PC-Q25B​ Lan Cube
- ASUS P8H77-I​ Socket1​155 2xDDR3 Max 16GB Mini-IT​X Intel H77
- Intel Sockel 1155 Core i3 Process​or i3-2120​(3300MH​z, L2/L3-C​ache)
- 2x Corsair​ XMS3 PC-1333​ RAM 4GB (CL9) DDR3-RA​M
- up to 6x WD Cavier Green 2TB
- Sandisk​ Cruzer Fit Z33 16GB USB-Sti​ck USB2.0

Now some general questions.
I heard that it is wiser to install FreeNAS onto a USB drive, instead of a partition. Is this true? If so, what is the reason behind this and is a USB 2.0 stick fast enough or should I rather get a USB 3.0? Currently, as you can see in my list, I got a Sandisk Cruzer with 16GB.

Furthermore, I read that instead of using RAID 5 or any software RAID system, I should rather go with ZFS filesystem. Are there any good threads as to why this is recommended and then, are there any good tutorials for setting this up?

Cheers,
NoT

 

[cyberjock]

I heard that it is wiser to install FreeNAS onto a USB drive, instead of a partition. Is this true? If so, what is the reason behind this and is a USB 2.0 stick fast enough or should I rather get a USB 3.0? Currently, as you can see in my list, I got a Sandisk Cruzer with 16GB.

Furthermore, I read that instead of using RAID 5 or any software RAID system, I should rather go with ZFS filesystem. Are there any good threads as to why this is recommended and then, are there any good tutorials for setting this up?

You may want to check the manual and see what it says about this.

Manual : http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Main_Page

 

[Magua]

I second this question. I'm using the same motherboard (ASUS P8H77-I) and after booting up I get:
"No configured interfaces were found. Try to do it manually."

When I hit '1' to do it manually, no interfaces are listed.

What's the best way to resolve this? Is there a way to load a driver for the H77 chipset by any chance? Or do I need to pick up an add-on NIC?

If the later, what is recommended?

thanks - and hopefully this doesn't hijack your thread, NoT.

 

[Magua]

Network Interfaces
The FreeBSD Ethernet section of the Hardware Notes indicates which interfaces are supported by each driver. While many interfaces are supported, FreeNAS™ users have seen the best performance from Intel and Chelsio interfaces, so consider these brands if you are purchasing a new interface.
At a minimum you will want to use a GigE interface. While GigE interfaces and switches are affordable for home use, it should be noted that modern disks can easily saturate 110 MB/s. If you require a higher network throughput, you can "bond" multiple GigE cards together using the LACP type of Link Aggregation. However, any switches will need to support LACP which means you will need a more expensive managed switch rather than a home user grade switch.
If network performance is a requirement and you have some money to spend, use 10 GigE interfaces and a managed switch. If you are purchasing a managed switch, consider one that supports LACP and jumbo frames as both can be used to increase network throughput.
NOTE: at this time the following are not supported: InfiniBand, FibreChannel over Ethernet, or wireless interfaces.
If network speed is a requirement, consider both your hardware and the type of shares that you create. On the same hardware, CIFS will be slower than FTP or NFS as Samba is single-threaded. If you will be using CIFS, use a fast CPU.

Not exactly very enlightening...

 

[cyberjock]

Ok. Few things... 1st, I apologize if I sounded snippy on the previous post. It wasn't directed at you.

To answer your questions...

Your chipset has nothing to do with NIC. Even if there were H77 chipset drivers, they wouldn't be the corrective action for your issue. The NIC is onboard, but probably uses a PCIe lane connected to the chipset. The manual for your motherboard says you have a Realtek 8111F. I searched the forum for "8111F" and the one person that posed a question with his not working ended up buying an Intel NIC. I also went to that handy link in the manual that goes to the hardware list of compatible NICs(http://www.freebsd.org/releases/8.2R/hardware.html#ETHERNET). If you search for 8111F you won't find anything. There is an RTL8111 but since there is that pesky "F" I wouldn't put money on it working. I couldn't find anywhere that defines what the "F" means.

You have 2 choices regarding NIC(money is you'll do #1)....

1. Buy an Intel NIC and put it in. They're cheap and they "just work". Typically they are about $25 off the internet.
2. You can temporarily install the latest version of FreeBSD. Then with enough research and dedication you might be able to find the driver file and try to pull it out of the operating system and add it to FreeNAS. I don't know how you'd go about getting the driver but don't expect much support if you choose this option. Someone else in the forum did manage to do this with a RAID controller driver a few months ago. It's going to required dedication from you and reading to figure it out.

In short, the manual recommends Intel and Chelsio interfaces for a reason.. they work. Everything else is iffy and sometimes not reliable. Some appear to work but won't work at gigabit speeds.

Unfortunately for you, if you buy an Intel NIC that uses the 1 PCIe slot you have :(.

 

[Magua]

No worries, I did find what you linked to and pretty much came to the same conclusion. I ended up picking up an HP NC380T off of eBay for 21 beans which should suit me well. Thankfully I didn't have any other plans for that lonely pci-e slot so no harm done there. (with 6 on board sata connectors that more than fits my needs.)

I certainly appreciate your detailed reply... Especially knowing you typed it in a roasting living room sadly devoid of A/C.

 

[NewbieOnTour]

Thanks both of you for clearing things up. So now I know, before buying, that I should get an Intel NIC as well :)

 

[survive]

Hi Magua,

I think the HP NC380T is a 4x card. Might want to double check that you have an open-backed 1x slot or see if you can cancel the order.

-Will

 

[Magua]

survive,

You're correct, it is a 4x card - but since I have a spare 16x slot open, it's all good!

thanks though!

 

[andoy31]

Have the same motherboard-- compiled myself a realtek rtl8111f driver
Driver and steps to install can be seen at http://forums.freenas.org/showthread.php?7402-Realtek-rtl81111f-support