I might try FreeNAS

jgreco

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To be the Devil's advocate, by going QNAP/Synology you gain a more user-friendly experience of setting up whatever (limited set of) plug-in or VM has been precooked by the vendor.

By going TrueNAS, especially building your own NAS around it, you'll learn a lot more than you expected about server hardware and the intricacies of enterprise storage. Put that as a plus or as a minus as you see fit.

Oh, I don't know. The out-of-the-box experience for a FreeNAS Mini is very agreeable, it's actually better than a Synology -- speaking as someone who does have a bunch of Synology gear. *cough* "Synology assistant".

Also, I really have to say, the UI on FreeNAS has become quite good in the last year or two, easily outdoing Synology. It's been a bit since I've looked at QNAP.

Building your own FreeNAS is more challenging, yes.
 

Netdewt

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Wrong memory! You need ECC UDIMM. RDIMM is for Xeon D/W/Scalable or EPYC.
(To tell modules apart: UDIMM shows complex traces in the middle. Non-ECC UDIMM has chips in multiples of 8; ECC UDIMM in multiples of 9 (8 data + 1 parity). ECC RDIMM has chips in multiples of 9 plus one, which is the register from "Registered". The module you picked has 19 chips and few traces: Your board won't even POST with it.)

Since you're happy with four cores, take an i3-9100F instead of the Xeon E-2124 and save $100. Up to 9th gen., Core i3 handles ECC.

IPMI is for remote management of the motherboard. See for instance Supermicro X11SCH-F, with the same other components

Well, I can't seem to even find a selection of DDR4 ECC UDIMM. Maybe that's why the board is a good deal!

Noted, on the i3.
 

Netdewt

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A recurring problem I see here is permissions, particularly when jails are involved. Does Synology handle that any better?

I have dealt with permissions problems in the past, just within OS X, and it SUCKS. This is one of my big worries with any kind of NAS.

Oh, I don't know. The out-of-the-box experience for a FreeNAS Mini is very agreeable, it's actually better than a Synology -- speaking as someone who does have a bunch of Synology gear. *cough* "Synology assistant".

Also, I really have to say, the UI on FreeNAS has become quite good in the last year or two, easily outdoing Synology. It's been a bit since I've looked at QNAP.

I'll keep shopping FreeNAS. I had to ask to make sure I'm not leaving out any possible options.

For all I know SMB shares (this is all I need) don't need much processor power. But I do think I want the fastest SMB share I can get for $2500-ish, basically.
 
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ynology you gain a more user-friendly experience
I do not disagree. However, when I went looking for a bigger Synology NAS the prices were, well, "Sweet mother of god!" especially since I wanted at a minimum 8-bays and rack mount. I still have a small Synology I use just as a backup target but FreeNASTrueNAS with a used Supermicro server was by far better bang for the buck.
 

Netdewt

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This could be an option, easier. I'd need a 2.5" hot swap bay on top of this, but the price is not dissimilar from the TrueNAS Mini XL+.

 

Etorix

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Netdewt

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It looks like this Supermicro motherboard is IPMI capable, what does it take to set them up the same way it would be on the TrueNAS XL?


2 builds attached. Intel Atom C3758 (TrueNAS XL) or Xeon Scalable 3104/4208... what would you pick?

Xeon 3104 - $1362
Xeon 4208 - $1568
TrueNAS XL+ - $1668, base
TrueNAS XL+ - $1937, with M.2 drive and 8x hot swap 2.5" cage
 

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Netdewt

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Etorix

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Xeon Scalable is overpowered for serving a handful of SMB shares and no VM, so you could save more over a TrueNAS XL+. I'd be vary of the Supermicro LGA3647 cooler; if it's intended for servers, it's likely very loud. A Noctua cooler would be your best bet if your build is intended to be quiet.

Why do you pick a different case for you Atom build? A2SDi-H-TH has 12 SATA ports, so won't use all 13 bays.
 

Netdewt

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Why do you pick a different case for you Atom build? A2SDi-H-TH has 12 SATA ports, so won't use all 13 bays.

Because it says it does not support Mini-ITX, only Micro ATX. If there is a non-hacky way to mount a mini-ITX in the Supermicro case, I'd definitely do that.

After searching a bunch again, I found this graphic. Is this standard, the screw holes all line up? $1168 plus drives if this works.

1611601256232.png
 
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Etorix

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Yes, holes are supposed to align. Any ATX or micro-ATX case should take a mini-ITX board.
 
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Probably. I *think* that all the I/O shields are the same size...
 

Etorix

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1U I/O shields are not as tall, but for all other cases there is only one standard size—otherwise it would become a combination nightmare.
 

Netdewt

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Thanks all for your helpful answers.

Why would a guy want this cage without the fan? It comes both ways.
 

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Depends on your case's airflow. Keep in mind that the drives can/will get quite warm. Do you think that your case fans can draw enough air through the drive cage?
 

Netdewt

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I would default to more fans... it's weird to me that they offer one without.
 
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@Netdewt - Likely because they are for different types of cases/chassis. For example, the drive cage in my Supermicro chassis does not have a fan and depends upon the chassis fans for cooling. Other chassis may not have the required airflow and/or air pressure thus it would have a fan on the drive cage.
 
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