Help w/1st Build & When It comes to NAS? I'm Dumb as a Bag of Hammers...

[RadicalSatisfaction!]

Greetings!

For many years I have simply used one of the computers (always PCs, never Macs) in my home as a pseudo-server & I have always been able to get it to work pretty well (90% of my use has been streaming media - audio/video, & some reading applications like Calibre & a good CBR), but I recently lost a drive & I had no backups... I wanted to rip my freakin' hair out... but there is no cost-effective way for me to back up 40TB of data that I know of (is there any cloud storage for backup yet that would not bankrupt a guy for 50 TB of data?), so it's just gone, & I'm NOT going to let that happen again... it's time to build the real-deal.

FreeNas has been recommended to me by everyone I have spoken to, in various forums, & as I have been researching the NAS concept, I began putting together some hardware without really consulting anyone before hand. When I build PCs, I've always simply researched what is best & offers the most possibilities; for a NAS, maybe not the best methodology, but I have a bit of $$$ wrapped up in what I have already purchased, so I'm committed & am praying someone might guide me without laughing too loud at my incompetence... I need some advice from those that know what the hell they are doing & I am, obviously, not one of them. But I would like to make this thing as safe (indestructible?) as is humanly/mechanically possible, regarding safeguarding the data. Thank you to anyone that is willing to help, it is greatly appreciated!

I have been building desktop PC's for 20 years or so & I have always managed to do a pretty killer job, just by going online & researching hardware/compatibility, based on my needs & the intentions I have for any particular system. But man, NAS/hardware/software/RAID (hardware -vs- software RAID), What level of RAID to use, etc... It's all very subjective to whomever I ask...

So here's the deal, I made a list of what hardware I have below & I'll tell you what I want this thing to do; this box is just for streaming media throughout the house... we have computers and/or Smart TVs in every room, I want to be able to access it without too much headache. I have also heard of PLEX servers? Can I set this thing up so that when I am out of the house I can stream to my hardware, wherever I am, or maybe give my mom access to all the classic movies I have? I am going through here & Tom's Hardware & trying to educate myself, but if someone can recommend a book (besides the one I am writing here), videos, whatever... there is so much online, but so many applications/needs/opinions... YIKES...

Thanks in advance...

Case: Fractal Design - Node 804 Black/Window

Node 804

www.fractal-design.com

Amazon.com: Fractal Design Node 804 case, Window: Computers & Accessories

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Motherboard: Supermicro - A2SDi-H-TP4F

A2SDi-H-TP4F | Motherboards | Products | Supermicro

review:

https://www.servethehome.com/supermicro-a2sdi-h-tp4f-review/

CPU (Embedded): Intel Atom® Processor C3958

Intel Atom® Processor C3958 (16M Cache, up to 2.0 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel Atom® Processor C3958 (16M Cache, up to 2.0 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

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Memory (x2): NEMIX RAM MEM-DR416L-CL02-UN24 16GB Memory for SUPERMICRO (should I exchange this for ECC?)

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Storage (For OS - x1): Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 512GB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 3D2, QLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEKNW512G8X1

Amazon.com

Storage (For Data/Storage/Raid - x8): HGST HUS728T8TALE6L0 ULTRASTAR DC HC320 8TB 7200RPM SATA-6GBPS 256MB BUFFER 512E SE 3.5INCH ENTERPRISE HARD DRIVE

>WD HUS728T8TALE6L0 ultrastar dc hc320 8tb sata-6gbps 256mb 3.5" hdd Search at ServerSupply.com

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Amazon.com: HGST Ultrastar 3.5-Inch 4TB 7200RPM SATA III 6Gbps 64MB Cache Enterprise Hard Drive with 24x7 Duty Cycle (0F14683): Computers & Accessories

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OS: I intend to use the newest version of FreeNAS...


My most pressing questions are:

1. What level of RAID should I use? Mirroring seems best for redundancy & best data protection, but I don't want to waste so much of the total drive capacity with mirroring if I can find a more reasonable level of protection; what's the next best thing that will allow me to keep the data safe(r), but utilize as much of the 64TB I have as possible... looking for a good balance? The case/MoBo allows 8 drives inside (+ the M.2), but can handle 12... is there a convenient piece of hardware to house another 3 8TB drives in? I do have an add-on card around here somewhere, the Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 ( https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/accessories/addon/AOC-SAS2LP-MV8.php )

2. This case is supposedly built just for this purpose, but can I keep the drives cool enough? It seems a little small to allow the optimum air circulation for 8 storage drives & the M.2 for FreeNAS... I have even wondered, could I have an isobaric box built to house the case itself in(like the kids put their big-ass woofer/speakers in to crush the base in their cars) & allow the air conditioning to flow directly around the case... I am concerned about condensation from AC with an application like this...

3. Is the optional SSD/drive ("SSD write log (SLOG), and read cache (L2ARC)"), "recommended for greater performance" would this optional drive be in addition to the M.2 I will use as the drive for OS? or could I just use the internal USB port to run the OS & use the M.2 for the write log/read cache?

4. I am reading the FreeNAS Hardware Guide as am writing this... Looks like it would be in my best interest to return the RAM I purchased & exchange it for ECC RAM?
Those are my only real hardware questions... as for software or organizing the data on the array, any suggestions would be great... I like to keep things easy to find; logical...

Unfreakin' believable!!!! I just register to post this message & I see JoshDW19, aka Spock, & the iX Systems University... Well, I guess I have my answers in there somewhere, LOL. But seriously, peeps, this is AWESOME I am so freakin' STOKED... !!!@BAM@!!!

 

[CookiesLikeWhoa]

1: How many mirrors are you setting up? 3 way mirrors? If you're just going with 2 way mirrors I would argue a raid Z3 set up would offer more protection than a set of individual mirrors. Mirrors will offer the best performance, but you can only loose 1 drive per vdev. With the Z3 set up you could loose 3 drives (assuming it's all one vdev) and still have all your data intact, but the performance won't be the same as mirrors. For your work load (streaming media and files) you'll be fine with a Z2/3 set up.

You can get an addon card that has external ports (https://www.servethehome.com/lsi-sas-920616e-dual-sas-2308-hba-preview/) that can allow you to add external disk shelves later on if your need for expansion grows.

2: If you can get a fan on the drives or near them it should be okay. I don't own the case so I can't say for sure, but if your workload is relatively light then your drives will stay cool, assuming the ambient temp in your room is okay.

3: If you're goal is to just serve media, and maybe some files, I wouldn't stress to heavily on a SLOG or L2 cache. Realistically neither will help you much for your goals. If you were planning to use the server as central storage for an ESXI host or the like, you would want to look into those, but for home files and movies/tv shows it won't do much if anything.

4: ECC ram is recommend because it can protect better against bit rot and various other errors that can occur. That being said it is not required that you have ecc RAM. Your mother board supports it/CPU support it and it would be recommended that you go that route.

 

[RadicalSatisfaction!]

CookiesLikeWhoa,

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to answer... I had written a very long response to you the day after you wrote this, but I had a system crash & I lost it...

I have also been in & out of the hospital 11 times in the last 5 months with a non-covid related medical issue, actually related to my diabetes & recent days have been a total bitch. But I wanted to thank you for taking the time to answer me. What you most clearly demonstrated was that I know nothing about NAS systems & I am just going to have to suck it up & realize I am as green as it gets & that it's going to take a significant commitment to learn enough to become comfortable with the technology. I had thought with my knowledge of building PCs I was going to just have to make a few minor adjustments in my thinking... I can't laugh loud enough at myself, hehehe! I thought FreeNAS was just going to be just another operating system... I had heard of ZFS, but knew exactly nothing about it. You gave me someplace to start in my search for understanding. ZFS VDEV pools... yikes, that's where I realized we're not in Kansas anymore...

Before I waste anyone's time here, I need to do some reading & have some kind of basic understanding of what I don't know... There is a Facebook group & it seems there are a lot of other newbies members in that group, so I will just ask my questions there until I feel like I am worth the investment of anyone's time here... It is really frustrating, I lost a couple of drives & feel my data is so damn vulnerable & thought it was going to be a simple matter to create storage space & that with the redundancy RAID offered, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my data any longer... I've spent a few thousand bucks on hardware & am not at all clear about what to do with it. I have decided that the best place to start is to put the box together & get some hands on experience with FreeNAS, build a simple ZFS pool & get hands on experience, before copying my data over to the new system... I actually have a bunch of 3TB & 4TB drives around here so I can mess around & not worry about mistakes & just pray I don't lose any more drives while I learn...

For someone totally new at this, might you or anyone else recommend the best set of books/videos/??? to teach me what I need to know to get up to speed as fast as possible?

Thanks in advance & God bless, I really appreciate you having took the time to help a guy out!