BUILD How is this build sizing up so far?

[DifferentStrokes]

I'm upgrading my old FreeNAS 0.7 box after a hard drive failure and soon to be failing motherboard. After reading out on the Internet and posts here, this is the parts I'm looking at right now. I'm asking for a second eye on the list in case I've missed something. Thank you for your time.

Case: Fractal Design Node 804
Motherboard: Supermirco X10SL7-F
Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1231 v3
Hard Drives: 6 - Western Digital 4TB Red (RaidZ2)
Boot Drive: 16GB USB 3.0 plugged into motherboard
Memory: Undecided yet, but 16GB of ECC
Power Supply: Undecided yet

I'm looking for suggestions on the power supply and ECC RAM. I also have a question regarding the motherboards on board SAS controller. I've read that you can plug SATA drive directly into the SAS ports and use them, but I also read that you can't. Can someone enlighten me here.

 

[Jailer]

If you want compatible RAM get this. It's the same thing I'm using in the build listed in my sig.

Yes you can plug SATA drives directly into the SAS ports on the motherboard. You will want to flash the controller to IT mode with the version 16 firmware.

 

[DifferentStrokes]

Thank you Jailer.

 

[DrKK]

The only thing I would mention, is that many people find they don't need an expensive Xeon. The G3220 works in this board, is about $50, supports ECC RAM, and so on. Unless you're transcoding a lot of Plex or something, you might find you could shave some money off the build with no perceivable impact on performance.

And are you sure you want an X10SL7? You're paying more for a bunch of SAS ports and stuff; do you need those? The X10SLM and X10SLL have six SATA ports, and are less expensive.

 

[DifferentStrokes]

The only thing I would mention, is that many people find they don't need an expensive Xeon. The G3220 works in this board, is about $50, supports ECC RAM, and so on. Unless you're transcoding a lot of Plex or something, you might find you could shave some money off the build with no perceivable impact on performance.

Exactly why I was asking. I'm unsure. My only benchmark for performance is my old FreeNAS 0.7 box that is 3.0GHz and 1GB RAM. I have six people in my house that use the server all the time for storing/retrieving files from computers and mobile devices. At times 6 people may be streaming movies at the same time. I will also be running a web server with 4-5 sites. I also do backups to this server from any offsite office. I also plan on putting BTSync on for syncing data to company cell phones and tablets. The main thing is making sure I have enough computer for years to come. After this kind of investment I'd like it to "handle" what I need for 10-15 years.

That being said, will the G3220 handle that load? I really don't know.

And are you sure you want an X10SL7? You're paying more for a bunch of SAS ports and stuff; do you need those? The X10SLM and X10SLL have six SATA ports, and are less expensive.

Well, I'm not sure DrKK. That is why I had a question in the original post about using the SAS ports with SATA drives. If I can use the SAS ports for SATA drives then I would just assume pay a little more for the motherboard and not have to buy a card and use 1 of the 2 PCI slots. I see people on here using this board so I was looking to see if they are able to using the SAS ports.

Thank you for your time DrKK.

 

[mjws00]

Streaming loads depend a lot on how the content is encoded, and how you are playing it back. But if the current box handles the load it is pretty likely that even the g3220 could handle it. Very little harm in starting with the "light processor" and then just upgrading to the xeon if necessary. Of course the other method is once and done.

The SL7 is a great choice if you know you will want to add more drives. The onboard controller is roughly $60 instead of $100. That said, with drives approaching 8TB you kind of need a reason to add much more than 6. It is a pretty awesome value, if you know you'll make use of the potential. There are also advantages to having the discrete controller. Otherwise it's just a waste.

10-15 years is a VERY long time in this business. Chances are an extra $100 on a motherboard or CPU will NOT make the difference to the platform surviving that many years. 32GB is a nasty limit for long term projections.

With your consideration for future use and business, I would lean towards the higher end. In fact to stretch the timeline I would even look at the lower end e5 V3 boards (ddr4). That way you catch the beginning of a platform with potential instead of the end. Obviously the cost is higher, but as a percentage if you limit ram and don't go nuts on the cpu... the increase is reasonable. The real money is typically in a TON of drives, RAM, and the case to accommodate, not in the slightly higher cost of a better board and proc.

Grab the Seasonic G-series 450 or 550. They are ranted about here because they really are that good.

I've probably muddied the waters a little, but sometimes cheaper "now" is not always the best. The chances of the e5 with a whack of RAM being viable in a decade are much higher than an e3 limited to 32GB. Truthfully, projecting out that far is somewhat laughable. So there is something to be said for cut costs now and upgrade sooner.

Good luck, you seem to have done enough homework that you will be fine.

 

[Ericloewe]

Exactly why I was asking. I'm unsure. My only benchmark for performance is my old FreeNAS 0.7 box that is 3.0GHz and 1GB RAM. I have six people in my house that use the server all the time for storing/retrieving files from computers and mobile devices. At times 6 people may be streaming movies at the same time. I will also be running a web server with 4-5 sites. I also do backups to this server from any offsite office. I also plan on putting BTSync on for syncing data to company cell phones and tablets. The main thing is making sure I have enough computer for years to come. After this kind of investment I'd like it to "handle" what I need for 10-15 years.

That being said, will the G3220 handle that load? I really don't know.

Well, I'm not sure DrKK. That is why I had a question in the original post about using the SAS ports with SATA drives. If I can use the SAS ports for SATA drives then I would just assume pay a little more for the motherboard and not have to buy a card and use 1 of the 2 PCI slots. I see people on here using this board so I was looking to see if they are able to using the SAS ports.

Thank you for your time DrKK.

I'd go with at least an i3, if you'll be doing more than just file sharing. A Xeon sounds like overkill, though. Your main limitation over 5 years (not to mention 10 or 15!) is going to be RAM, as you'll want to grow RAM a bit as the pool grows - depending on what you want to do long-term, 32GB might be too little for decent performance.

Instead of spending a lot more money now to make it last 15 years, it's a better idea to spend smaller amounts of money after 5 and 10 years. 5 years is a respectable run for a server and you might be ableto repurpose it for something lighter then.

As for the X10SL7-F, the SAS controller will most certainly work fine. IF you're sure you're going to expand beyond 6 drives soon, the X10SL7-F is worth it. If not, consider a different board. There's a guide with the various X10 motherboards.

 

[DifferentStrokes]

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. 15 years maybe a little overzealous, but for home use and small business (9-10 people) I hoping for 10ish years. If it doesn't last that long so be it. You all bring up very good points and I believe I should think on things a little longer. Thank you for the help.