Help Me Build My First NAS

[Zog]

I want to build my first NAS from my home. I had a Synology NAS but wanted to use ZFS. I have used TrueNas at work and love it. The primary use will be store 4K content for Plex. I will not be using this NAS for Plex Server. I have an intel nuc for this. I have the following parts:

Xeon Bronze 3204 / 6 Cores / 6 Threads / 1.90 GHz
Super Micro X11SPL-F

NH-D9 DX-3647 4U Heatsink
8 Western Digital 20TB WD Red Pro
Nvidia 3070ti (Probably not needed)
2 - 8GB DDR4-2666 ECC RAM
Will the parts work?

I like the Fractal Design Cases? Maybe 805 node?
Need a power supply
I want this NAS to be quiet as possible since it will be located in my office.
I would want a 10G network card.
Any recommendation would be great.

 

[NickF]

Sounds alot better than the stuff most folks build their first servers with :P
If you want to run plex on a NUC, then the 3070ti is not needed for anything in this system, though, the 3070 ti will likely be able to handle more simultaneous transcodes than a NUC in Plex. It may be worth considering if your library collection is primarily 4k and you are streaming to devices not on your local network.

As far as the PSU, I'm a big proponent of Seasonic, particularly the PRIME line. Don't skimp on a PSU on a system you intend to run 24/7. I've had loads of PSUs die, but I have some Seasonic units that have been continuously operating more or less uninterrupted for the better part of a decade. The Focus line still carries a 10 year warranty, but the Prime line is a bit more robust and has lower voltage ripple.

As far as cases, my server (and my desktop) are both in an older Fractal Design R3 case. The Fractal fans failed about 3 years ago and were replaced with Noctua fans. I also have Noctua fans in my wifes computer. I can't complain about anything in the Fractal case, with the sole exception of the fact that the noise making foam stuff degrades over time and now whenever I touch it I get black dust on my hands or tools. It also has collected on my heatsinks and on my boards from time to time, but it appears to be non conductive so not a huge issue.

The only other thing I would consider is to use a dedicated HBA card rather than the built in SATA ports, but it's not really required. With 8 drives running full tilt, you may see a performance bottleneck or at least some performance inconsistency. Not a huge issue for your application, but worth mentioning. Even a SAS2 HBA like the 9207-8i would likely be better, though you'd add high single digit wattage to your idle workload.

If you are planning on using SCALE (rather than CORE) you have the ability to use most 10 Gigabit cards without much of a problem. Generally, the Intel X520/X540 cards are cheap and work well but use a decent chunk of power compared to more modern chipsets. I actually tend to like Mellanox ConnectX 4 25 Gigabit cards because they handle some workloads better than 10 gigabit cards, even if only at 10 gigabit.

Tuning highspeed networking can be found here:

Resource - High Speed Networking Tuning to maximize your 10G, 25G, 40G networks

Both FreeBSD and Linux come by default highly optimized for classic 1Gbps ethernet. This is by far the most commonly deployed networking for both clients and servers, and a lot of research has been done to tune performance especially for local...

www.truenas.com

 

[ChrisRJ]

The only other thing I would consider is to use a dedicated HBA card rather than the built in SATA ports, but it's not really required. With 8 drives running full tilt, you may see a performance bottleneck or at least some performance inconsistency. Not a huge issue for your application, but worth mentioning. Even a SAS2 HBA like the 9207-8i would likely be better, though you'd add high single digit wattage to your idle workload.

Sorry, but that is not correct. Proper SATA ports on a motherboard are a perfectly valid option. The main reason to bring in a dedicated HBA is that many boards do not have enough SATA ports.

 

[NickF]

Sorry, but that is not correct. Proper SATA ports on a motherboard are a perfectly valid option. The main reason to bring in a dedicated HBA is that many boards do not have enough SATA ports.

Not all motherboard chipsets are going to have enough bandwidth, and it really depends what other IO you have hung off. A lot of them are a x4 pcie lane and have a whole manner of other things on them. I don’t know about the board he linked in particular but as a general rule I am correct

 

[Zog]

Ok how about Fractal case? That can hold 12 max? How all the cabling for hard drives?

 

[Zog]

I believe some of the fractal cases have sound material put in?

 

[NickF]

Define 7 XL

The Define 7 XL sets a new standard for what you should expect from a full tower case in terms of modularity, flexibility and ease of use.

www.fractal-design.com

This is what I would get, it's the newer version of what I already have :)

 

[Zog]

Define 7 XL

The Define 7 XL sets a new standard for what you should expect from a full tower case in terms of modularity, flexibility and ease of use.

www.fractal-design.com

This is what I would get, it's the newer version of what I already have :)

LOL I was just looking at this but the Define 7. I believe it can hold 12 HD? What are you built specs? THANKS!

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

"In general" I'd agree with @NickF, I hear SuperMicro boards are top-of-the-line so @ChrisRJ also has a valid point. On a low-power build add-in cards draw power, which is heat that needs evacuation, which eventually might mean more fan noise. For a home-build 24/7 machine, motherboard SATA ports are likely the preferred option.

I like the Fractal Design Cases? Maybe 805 node?

Fractal Node 804 maybe? They're good cases. All commonly used sound damping material I've come across tends to deteriorate in 10 years, all the way back to the mainframe days, so take that as "to be expected."

Consider how much room you're going to wind up with; drive spacing of 1/8" is common (I run it) but to 7200 RPM keep drives cool (32-35°C) requires air pressure, which means noise and expense. If you can space drives at least 1/4" apart (around 1cm) and get decent airflow without building pressure it's quieter. I'm running a push-pull ducted fan system with "high-pressure" Noctua fans and 2 mm drive spacing, but that's "consumer-grade" "high-pressure" and while the fans are quiet they have to be run at full speed for the system to hold drive temps down, and at that the drives are HGST helium-filled so they run comparatively cool and silent to other drives. The airflow system is therefore by no means "quiet." To make it quiet I'd have to space the drives out, which is why you perhaps want to look at this in the planning stage.

Thicker fans (well over 1") with overlapping blades can develop more pressure without making more noise but they typically don't fit consumer cases and as they're industrial they're 3x the price, or about $45 each, and of course they draw more power. They do tend to last 3x longer (or so).

Personally, I run select Noctua fans that are excellent value for the money and figure out how to have enough room to space out the drives.

 

[Zog]

"In general" I'd agree with @NickF, I hear SuperMicro boards are top-of-the-line so @ChrisRJ also has a valid point. On a low-power build add-in cards draw power, which is heat that needs evacuation, which eventually might mean more fan noise. For a home-build 24/7 machine, motherboard SATA ports are likely the preferred option.



Fractal Node 804 maybe? They're good cases. All commonly used sound damping material I've come across tends to deteriorate in 10 years, all the way back to the mainframe days, so take that as "to be expected."

Consider how much room you're going to wind up with; drive spacing of 1/8" is common (I run it) but to 7200 RPM keep drives cool (32-35°C) requires air pressure, which means noise and expense. If you can space drives at least 1/4" apart (around 1cm) and get decent airflow without building pressure it's quieter. I'm running a push-pull ducted fan system with "high-pressure" Noctua fans and 2 mm drive spacing, but that's "consumer-grade" "high-pressure" and while the fans are quiet they have to be run at full speed for the system to hold drive temps down, and at that the drives are HGST helium-filled so they run comparatively cool and silent to other drives. The airflow system is therefore by no means "quiet." To make it quiet I'd have to space the drives out, which is why you perhaps want to look at this in the planning stage.

Thicker fans (well over 1") with overlapping blades can develop more pressure without making more noise but they typically don't fit consumer cases and as they're industrial they're 3x the price, or about $45 each, and of course they draw more power. They do tend to last 3x longer (or so).

Personally, I run select Noctua fans that are excellent value for the money and figure out how to have enough room to space out the drives

 

[Zog]

The 804 is too small. I have 8-10 drives.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I haven't heard of an 805, though that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The 804 supports (10) 3.5" drives.

What's their biggest case, the Design 7 XL? Room for 18 drives...

 

[Zog]

I haven't heard of an 805, though that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The 804 supports (10) 3.5" drives.

What's their biggest case, the Design 7 XL? Room for 18 drives...

I was just looking at the Design 7. XL seem so BIG LOL. My hard drives would be 12.

 

[Zog]

I just found this out?

The X11SPL-F Intel Bronze 3204 supports up to 10 SATA hard drives, which is the maximum number of drives that can be connected directly to the motherboard.

What if I wanted 12 hard drives?

 

[Ericloewe]

You add a suitable LSI HBA.

 

[Zog]

You add a suitable LSI HBA.

Thank you for this!

 

[Zog]

How do I handle cable management with 12 hard drives?

 

[Etorix]

I want this NAS to be quiet as possible since it will be located in my office.

Here you have an issue with the number of drives. 8-12 spinning drives are NOT going to be quiet.
Fractal Design cases are not generally designed for low noise. The Node 804 certainly is not, as drive noise directly goes out from the top—but it is micro-ATX and you have an ATX board.
The Define 7 is as reasonably designed for low noise as possible in a tower, but converting to "storage layout", screwing each drive to its tray (will need extras…) and fitting the tiny tabs of these trays in their slits is a bit of hassle. In any case, a tower full of drives will make a very audible buzz, and cooling could be an issue.

I would want a 10G network card.

Solarflare SFN7122F are about $50 on eBay. Chelsio T520, $100-150.
Or Intel cards, watching out for fakes.

 

[Zog]

Ok here is

I just found this out?

The X11SPL-F Intel Bronze 3204 supports up to 10 SATA hard drives, which is the maximum number of drives that can be connected directly to the motherboard.

What if I wanted 12 hard drives?

HBA Card

 

[Zog]

Here is list so far. Please make recommendations.

Xeon Bronze 3204 / 6 Cores / 6 Threads / 1.90 GHz
Super Micro X11SPL-F
HBACard (LSI 9400-16i)
Seasonic PRIME GX-650W Gold
Fractal Design Case ( Define 7 or Define R6)

Need some cables from my 12 hard drives and HBA card
A quiet CPU cooler?