BUILD Help with Xeon Plex server build w/ some virtualization

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Freakin

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First, this forum is amazing for the huge wealth of knowledge on FreeNAS and ZFS in general.

I've got an aged media server running on Win2k8 (with a now-broken FlexRAID install I use just for pooling) and it's time to replace.

I have some ZFS experience from building a NAS for some friends that I provide IT support for (Xeon w/ 32GB ECC, 12x WD RE4 drives, ~500GB L2ARC & 20GB ZIL on SLC NAND) that handles about 150 running VMs over iSCSI. This is running on OpenFiler/OpenIndiana and is about 4 years old at this point.

My need is primarily for media storage, but my ESXi server (w/ local storage) also died so I'd like to build something that could handle low-moderate VM workloads over iSCSI or NFS. I will likely not be running VMs directly on the NAS.

I've been a long-term XBMC/Kodi user but recently I've been planning a switch to Plex. I'm looking for a build that will handle 4-6 simultaneous 1080p streams/transcodes (mostly inside the network), as well as all media downloading (sab/CP/sickbeard) without choking on a badly damaged set of rar files.

Here's what I'm looking at right now

Mainboard:Supermicro 10SRH-CLN4F-O
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-1620
Memory: (2x) Samsung M393A4K40BB0-CPB = 64GB total
Case:Leaning towards a 3U Norco (RPC-3216) unless I can get a deal on a used SuperMicro
Power Supply:Seasonic X-1050 (I require at least 700-750 peak by my calculations)
Disk: (10x) WD RED 6TB

So a few questions

1) Should I get that SuperMicro board with integrated LSI controller (which I'd probably have to flash to IT mode anyway) and 4 gigabit ports, or just get a different model in the same family and use a M1015 instead for extra sata ports?

2) Knowing I want to support some virtual machines, what should I do for L2ARC? Would something like a pair of ~250gb MLC or TLC SSDs striped be effective?

3) ZIL/SLOG - I'm not as familiar with the term SLOG, but it appears it is just putting the ZIL on a separate/dedicated device to store the write intents (which is what I did last time I built a ZFS nas). Is a MLC SSD fast enough, or should I be going with an SLC based SSD? Are there any inexpensive options (<$200) w/ supercaps?

4) Is RAIDZ2 a good choice for primarily media storage? Will that still allow me to handle some VMs with a decent sized L2ARC? I don't know if I can stomach the extra cost for RAID10 right now.

5) With a 16 bay chassis, am I better off just getting 2x M1015 and running entirely off there, or should I use the motherboard sata ports?

6) Are SATA DOMs a good choice for boot device? Should I mirror these? How much space does a base FreeNAS install consume?

Thanks in advice! Can't wait to get this build going!
 

jgreco

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The boards with integrated LSI controller are very nice, just be sure to get one that's a 2308 HBA, not a RAID controller. I think none of the X10SR's are RAID so that's probably good.

I'd favor the integrated LSI over additional ethernets. Sooner or later you may want 10G, so an add-on card for that makes good sense especially since the Intel 10G support is only "good" while a Chelsio card is "excellent."

64GB is kind of entry-level for L2ARC. Exceeding the 5:1 ratio for L2ARC:ARC isn't a great idea, but you can definitely do a 250GB SSD. Use cheap stuff. Let ZFS burn it out and in two years you can replace a $80 Intel 535 240GB that you burnt out in record time with a $40 NVMe 500GB SSD, haha. Except minus the haha, because that might not be far from the mark.

RAIDZ2 sucks for VM storage. Go get yourself a pair of Samsung 850 Pro's and put them in RAID1 for a VM datastore. Then maybe you don't need the L2ARC or extra RAM or anything.

Don't waste watts on a second M1015 if you have perfectly good mainboard ports.

And strongly suggest avoiding the Norcos. They're "ok" with small-o small-k but once you finish outfitting them with a PSU and fixing the cooling issues, a cheap used Supermicro from eBay is cheaper.
 

Freakin

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Thanks so much for the reply and all the invaluable info you provide this board.

The boards with integrated LSI controller are very nice, just be sure to get one that's a 2308 HBA, not a RAID controller. I think none of the X10SR's are RAID so that's probably good.

I'd favor the integrated LSI over additional ethernets. Sooner or later you may want 10G, so an add-on card for that makes good sense especially since the Intel 10G support is only "good" while a Chelsio card is "excellent."

Sorry my post was confusing. The board has both LSI controller AND 4 GB ethernet ports. Looks like it's a 3008 chip that I can flash to IT mode.

64GB is kind of entry-level for L2ARC. Exceeding the 5:1 ratio for L2ARC:ARC isn't a great idea, but you can definitely do a 250GB SSD. Use cheap stuff. Let ZFS burn it out and in two years you can replace a $80 Intel 535 240GB that you burnt out in record time with a $40 NVMe 500GB SSD, haha. Except minus the haha, because that might not be far from the mark.

RAIDZ2 sucks for VM storage. Go get yourself a pair of Samsung 850 Pro's and put them in RAID1 for a VM datastore. Then maybe you don't need the L2ARC or extra RAM or anything.

Much better idea--I hadn't even thought about a separate array just for VM but that's what I'll do. I love the 850 pros.

If I'm doing a separate RAID for VMs do I even need an L2ARC for a media server?


Don't waste watts on a second M1015 if you have perfectly good mainboard ports.

And strongly suggest avoiding the Norcos. They're "ok" with small-o small-k but once you finish outfitting them with a PSU and fixing the cooling issues, a cheap used Supermicro from eBay is cheaper.

Noted. Thanks. The supermicros look like much better cases all around. Do I need to look for anything in particular for the backplane on older/used models or should SAS2/Sata3 support be a given?
 

jgreco

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Naw, just being lazy and not surfing all the options.

The usefulness of L2ARC isn't all that great on a pool that isn't super busy, and by "super busy" I mean more along "departmental fileserver" than "home media server".

When looking at the Supermicro stuff, you might want to look at the SAS stickies and consider whether or not maybe you'd want an SAS expander backplane. For a larger number of drives (16, 24, +++) that's a great way to go. Also make sure you're staying with the newer SAS2 or SAS3 stuff.
 
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