BUILD help me build a simple home NAS

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derekzchu

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Dec 5, 2014
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Hi. I'm new to building machines and I wanted to start by building a simple NAS for home use. The most it'll be doing is bittorrent sync, running PLEX, and setting up owncloud to share pictures and videos with family. I don't think i'll be transcoding more than 2 streams at a time. For the most part, I'm not looking for screaming hardware but something that'll do the job reliably and a small form factor. After reading the forums and understanding ECC vs. not, I'm looking for a recommendation on a mini-itx motherboard that supports ECC that doesn't break the bank.

So far my parts are:
4 WD RED 4TB drives. Planning on going with RAID-Z2
Fractal Design node 304

I would like to keep the build small and hence the mini-itx. There's a lot of supermicro recommendations but they're all uATX form factors. I don't think I'll need more than 16GB RAM. For the processor, I was at first leaning towards the Intel g3220 and g3258 but it depends on the motherboard. Thanks in advance!
 

joeschmuck

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May 28, 2011
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There are a lot of folks here that have posted their small footprint FreeNAS builds, just do a little searching for them. Once you find something you like make sure to ask those folks how they like the system they built and if they could do it again, what would they change and why. Learn from their experiences. Also pay attention to the 9.3 threads as some hardware is having difficulties right now, not saying those will not be resolved but it's worth noting.
 

DKarnov

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The hardware in my sig is a variation on a typical theme. A 550W PSU is far, far more than you need, but I do recommend at least a semi-modular one, for cable management. The fan upgrade is due to unavoidably high ambient temps and is not necessary for most cases. If you're a Neat Wiring Guy, plan for more hassle and experimentation with the HDD power and data cabling than with a roomier case.

I'm afraid I haven't been running long enough to give a whole lot of feedback as to capacity for things like plex, owncloud etc, but I have booted a 9.3 install just to check out the new UI, and did not note any hardware issues doing so.

E: I would not recommend dropping down to the Pentiums if you intend to transcode with Plex. And since you mention you're new to building computers, I recommend that when you do assemble this one, you get the CPU, heatsink, RAM and possibly the motherboard side of the SATA cables all installed on the motherboard before putting it in the case, then installing PSU, wire it up, then HDDs and their cables. With a roomier box the build order would matter a lot less, but this one can get cramped - not as bad as the really small mITX boxen, but still tight.
 
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marbus90

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Aug 2, 2014
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Personally I would start out with 6 drives. That way you could just replace the HDDs with bigger ones to expand the pool. You can't just add another 2 disks to an existing z2 vdev.

I would recommend DKarnov's system, just with a smaller 300W PSU.
 

joeschmuck

Old Man
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@DKarnov When running FreeNAS 9.3, did you perform an software update while running 9.3? I ask because some systems with UEFI have been reported to not reboot during the upgrade process.
 

DKarnov

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I didn't upgrade from one 9.3 beta rev to another, if that's what you're asking. I just booted whichever beta rev was out at the time, looked at the UI, then swapped my 9.2 stick back in. There were some quirks with the process (I want to say I needed two USB sticks to install from one to the other) but I didn't approach it scientifically enough to give useful beta feedback.
 

sremick

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Sep 24, 2014
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I was about to recommend 6 drives but marbus90 beat me to it. My reasons are the same.
 
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