Help with upgrade (SLOG / L2ARC)

[Kuki_zfs]

Hey guys!
First of all, yes I'm aware that there are like 50 threads about L2ARC beeing made daily.
What I wanna know is if there is a noticible benefit to my usecase.
I'm currently still waiting for the mobo to come out, everything else is already here and waiting for a new home.

Specs:
Mobo: E3C256D4I-2T
CPU: Intel Xeon E-2378G
Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S
RAM: 4x 32GB ECC 3200Mhz
Case: Silverstone DS380
HDDs: 8x 16TB X16 Seagate Exos
Drive Setup: 2x RAIDZ-1 striped
Boot Drive: 2x 256gb 970 Evo Plus
VM Drive: 1x Samsung PM9A1 512gb

I'm using this server as a homeserver (Movies with large filesizes, Music, Documents, etc.) and I occasionally host gameservers and stuff like that.
Everything is connected over 10gbits.
Would my array benefit from a SLOG / L2ARC? I'm currently looking at 2x Samsung PM9A1 256gb. Would there be a noticible difference?
Most say to just get more RAM, 128GB is the max that mainboard can hold tho...

 

[nap]

Nice setup!

If you are mostly using SMB, then I wouldn't worry about a SLOG - you won't see much if any ZIL traffic. With 128GB of RAM you have plenty of RAM to support L2ARC headers for 256G of capacity, but I've found on my home systems that are similar to yours, though with half the RAM, L2ARC never really helped much with my workloads that are similar to yours. Eventually that SSD went bad and it started to hurt more than it helped until I removed it from the pool, and I never noticed the difference.

If you want to experiment and spend the money, go for it, though! It's easy to add/remove L2ARC and SLOG from a pool at any time. If you want to save money, then I'd hold off and see how everything performs first.

 

[winnielinnie]

If you want to save money, then I'd hold off and see how everything performs first.

Wise words.

 

[Etorix]

No sync writes = No SLOG.
A L2ARC might be useful if the regular working set were larger than the RAM. I doubt this is the case.

But I fear you're heading for trouble with the horribly cramped DS380 case, its insufficient cooling and 8 SATA ports (through Oculink) for… 8 data drives and 2 boot drives. Not to mention not-so-secure raidz1 with 16 TB drives.

Were would you put two extra SSDs anyway?

 

[Kuki_zfs]

If you want to experiment and spend the money, go for it, though! It's easy to add/remove L2ARC and SLOG from a pool at any time. If you want to save money, then I'd hold off and see how everything performs first.

Alright! I'll give it a try once everything is set up. Maybe Pcie 4.0 makes a difference here so we'll see! :)

But I fear you're heading for trouble with the horribly cramped DS380 case, its insufficient cooling and 8 SATA ports (through Oculink) for… 8 data drives and 2 boot drives. Not to mention not-so-secure raidz1 with 16 TB drives.

Were would you put two extra SSDs anyway?

I wouldn't consider it to be cramped, it's efficient! :)
The DS380 is modded for better airflow and I added some pressure optimized fans in, I already have a DS380 with 8x 8TB up and running and they are at 33°C. This is an unraid system tho.
I also have a permanent full backup running with a gigabit internet connection. If raidz-1 fails me, I'll just grab the backup. Plus, the data I have on there is not mission-critical.
4 SSDs go on a 16x to 4x M.2 PCIe adaptor with heatsinks + a fan.

 

[nap]

Alright! I'll give it a try once everything is set up. Maybe Pcie 4.0 makes a difference here so we'll see! :)


I wouldn't consider it to be cramped, it's efficient! :)
The DS380 is modded for better airflow and I added some pressure optimized fans in, I already have a DS380 with 8x 8TB up and running and they are at 33°C. This is an unraid system tho.
I also have a permanent full backup running with a gigabit internet connection. If raidz-1 fails me, I'll just grab the backup. Plus, the data I have on there is not mission-critical.
4 SSDs go on a 16x to 4x M.2 PCIe adaptor with heatsinks + a fan.

For home use I think z1 + backup is a good compromise - two vdevs is better than one!
Specs on those PM9A1 look nice even with the lower capacity, which is slightly surprising. If you wind up getting them do share the diskinfo slogbench stats if you can.

 

[Kuki_zfs]

For home use I think z1 + backup is a good compromise - two vdevs is better than one!
Specs on those PM9A1 look nice even with the lower capacity, which is slightly surprising. If you wind up getting them do share the diskinfo slogbench stats if you can.

Will do! These PM9A1 are pretty affordable for their speed, maybe I'll wait till they go on sale.
Here's hoping I'll get the mainboard any time soon.

 

[Etorix]

I wouldn't consider it to be cramped, it's efficient! :)

That's a point of view…
Personally, I'd consider building a second DS380 as an exercise in masochism.

4 SSDs go on a 16x to 4x M.2 PCIe adaptor with heatsinks + a fan.

Assuming the adaptor fits in without losing a 3.5" bay, I still don't understand how the 870 (SATA) boot drives are plugged.

 

[Kuki_zfs]

That's a point of view…
Personally, I'd consider building a second DS380 as an exercise in masochism.

Huh? Why that? After some modding the thermals are good, the case looks slick, and its quite compact. There's pretty much no other case that ticks all these boxes? I don't mind if the building up the server itself is a little more difficult, but I can understand that some won't enjoy the extra hassle.

Assuming the adaptor fits in without losing a 3.5" bay, I still don't understand how the 870 (SATA) boot drives are plugged.

It fits, I have to install it after the drivebays tho. There are about 4mm of space between the adaptor and the drivebays.
There was a little typo in my first post. I meant 970 Evo Plus which are M.2, I edited my post.
Despite that there are M.2 to 5x Sata boards available.

 

[Kuki_zfs]

Hey there! I know it's been a while, but I can finally contribute some results after some longer term usage. :)

These are the speeds over my 10gbit connection with 2x 4 Seagate Exos x18 16TB in a RAIDZ-1 striped.

Everything feels snappy, I can even edit Videos without noticeable slowdowns.

So I guess I dont need a SLOG / L2ARC after all.
Thermals are good and I'm really happy with my config!

Thanks guys! :)