BUILD Hardware check would be appreciated

[Philipp]

Hi Guys,

I know that these request come in daily, but I finished my research on a built now and I would like you advice and comments. All them a greatly appreciated.

As a background, I don’t have any big experience in building computers and I see this project as a challenge. As well it is my first time to build, have and maintain a NAS so any advices or comments are helpful.

As a system I would like to have a fast and secure common media and backup storage, as well a safer and secure Dropbox alternative (thinking of a plugin like ownCloud) with more storage for 3-6 active user, each of them have 3 pc to sync (+ some other feature that I might discover in future). Locally I would like to access the server with minimum 100MB/s r/w. A 6 bay ZFS raid-Z2 with AES encryption, 16GB ECC RAM (later I will upgrade it to 32GB) and an average 50W/h energy consumption. All of it packed in a small neato Fractal Node 304 case.

Motherboard with CPU: SUPERMICRO MBD-A1SRi-2758F-O Mini ITX
(mini ITX, AES Enc, ECC, IPMI, 64GB ram 1600MHz DDR3 204pin possible, 20w 8 core with 2.4GHz passive cooled)
Ram: 2x Kingston ECC DDR3 1600MHz 8gb 204 pin
PSU: Rosewill CAPSTONE-450 450W gold (6 SATA connectors)
Case: Fractal Node 304 white
HDD: 6x WD GREEN 2 TB
UPS: CyberPower EC550G ECO 550VA/330W (14min with 100W)

Question 1: Software Raid or Hardware Raid, any experience?
Question 2: Is an AES Encryption useful or common?
Question 3: Is it an overkill, underkill or well adjusted system?

All of the hardware is available on Newegg.
Thank you for reading. Again any comments, advices, links,… are greatly appreciated.

 

[warri]

1. Hardware Raid with ZFS is a no-go. Read the FreeNAS manual and other related threads if you are interested in the reasons.

2. Depends on your use case.. If somebody can get physical access to your box while the pool is mounted encryption doesn't help ;) If you store sensitive data and are afraid of physical theft, then it might be worth it.

3. Looks like a well-balances build. ECC is a must for ZFS, and it's already in there. The new Avotons also seem to be a very good choice for NAS systems and Supermicro is generally well-regarded. Keep in mind that you might need some extra cooling in a small case, especially when using a passive-cooled CPU like the Avotons.

 

[Ericloewe]

1. Neither. You just connect the drives normally and configure FreeNAS and ZFS appropriately.
2. It's not uncommon, but it's far from universally adopted. Read the manual for details on limitations and required precautions.
3. Sounds good enough. I would suggest a modular PSU to help with cable management. The Seasonic G-450 should be around the same price and its quality is slightly better than the one you chose.