HDD recommendation

[clugo633]

I'm new to FreeNas but I just ordered most of my equipment on Friday and everything should arrive Tuesday. The last part I haven't yet decided on was hdd.

I currently have 2 new 2TB WD Black RE4:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XW44QY/?tag=ozlp-20

I'd like to add two more drives but prefer not spending more than I need to at the moment. Especially since I just invested on the rest of the system. I know most recommend WD Reds but any thoughts on these Hitachi drives?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=HUA723020ALA641-_-9SIA5AD1P08389-_-Product

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ericloewe]

They're 7200RPM drives. They'll be faster, but noisier and more power hungry (and thus warmer) than WD Reds.

Can't comment on TLER/head parking/similar things, since experience with them is limited at best.

 

[clugo633]

Interestingly enough, Amazon knew I was watching :) so the price of the Reds dropped by $10 per in the last 2hrs so I ordered two of them. $40 difference for two better drives. Thx.

Now to figure out the best Raid to use. Suggestions?

 

[Bidule0hm]

What are your requirements?

 

[clugo633]

Good question and I hope Im able to answer it properly since Im still learning the FreeNAS language :)

-reliability
-redundancy (MAC and PC backup, photos)
-speed for media streaming using Plex

The specs of my box are:
-Fractal Node 804 case
-Supermicro x10SLM+-F
-Intel i3 4330
-2 x 8GB Crucial CT2KIT102472BD160B
-Seasonic G450
-2 x 16GB USB drives
-2 x WD 2TB Black RE4 HDD

Hope this helps.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Ok, so I recommend RAID-Z2 but you'll need at least 4 drives :)

 

[clugo633]

Great. I was thinking the same thing. I just ordered two 2TB WD RED. With RAID-Z2 Ill have 4TB of usable space, right?

 

[Bidule0hm]

You'll have about 2.9 TiB (3.2 TB) of usable space (including the overheads and the 80% rule) ;)

 

[clugo633]

Poop..[emoji16]

 

[Bidule0hm]

Have you considered to add 2 more drives to have 6 drives? which would gives you about 5.7 TiB (6.3 TB) ;)

 

[clugo633]

I would....how would that benefit me? I'm also still learning about cache'ing using ssd.

 

[Bidule0hm]

I've edited to add the numbers :)

Don't bother with SSDs for caches. For your usage you don't need a SLOG and a L2ARC is only good when you've plenty of RAM (typically 64 GB minimum...), besides you don't need it here either. I suggest you to read cyberjock's guide (link is my sig) ;)

 

[clugo633]

I have that PowerPoint queued up for later enjoyment. :)

6TB is quite a bit of storage.

 

[clugo633]

And my amount of RAM is fine?

 

[Bidule0hm]

For your usage and the size of your pool, yes, no problem at all ;)

 

[clugo633]

Awesome!! Thanks for your help.

 

[stuartsjg]

For what use this info is, my first of two WD Red 3Tb drives have arrived. Bought both from different places to avoid any batch issues.

Received drive is running well and compared to any other drive ive ever had, its the coolest, quietest and least vibrating drive ive owned - so much so i double checked it was plugged in at one point! Hard to quantify noise and vibration, but with temps im seeing idle temp about 10-15C lower than some Seagate Barracuda LP's i have.

I avoided WD drives for a few years after having a bad run but im getting good feelings with the reds - i can certainly see how people feel confident in having large arrays with them.

 

[clugo633]

Sweet. I just received my two today. Now I just need time to build the box.