BUILD Is this build good enough?

[Paul MacDonald]

Hi,

I am currently looking at building a FreeNAS server primarily for Plex and Bittorrent but also to backup files etc.
It needs to be able to transcode at 1080p (Practically only to 1 device at a time, but could possible increase to 2 or 3 - they may not all need transcoding however).

I have spent a lot of time in the forums trying to find the cheapest hardware that'll do the job (I'm a poor Student). I have managed to create a build which is just shy of £550, components are listed below.

• Fractal Design Node 304 - £56.00
• ASROCK E3C224D2I - £145.99
• Intel Pentium G3420 Dual Core (3.2 Ghz, 3mb) - £45.41
• Kingston ValueRam 8GB DDR3L 1600MHZ ECC - £66.39
• WD - 2TB Green x 3 - £59.90 each - £179.70
• Corsair Builder Series CXM 500W Modular - £48.80

If you could just let me know if you think this will work. Like I said I am a poor student so it really doesn't need to be amazing - just do the job I need reliably.

Thanks for your help.

Paul

 

[Fraoch]

Looks good!

It can probably transcode 1 stream, but 2 or 3 might push it. However if you get to that point, upgrade it with a Core i3 or even a Xeon. It's a good start at least.

There are some indications that Pentiums may not work in future versions of FreeNAS, but this will work for now and it's upgradeable.

 

[Paul MacDonald]

That's good to hear, do you know of any parts that may be cheaper than the one's I've listed above but still do the job?

 

[Fraoch]

Umm, wouldn't want to go cheaper...that's probably about as low as you could get. Theoretically you could step down to the Pentium G3220 but since you know you're transcoding for sure, you're borderline for CPU as it is. However you will have a nice upgradeable platform.

Oh one thing I noticed - if you can, get Crucial RAM as Kingston has been swapping out parts. They should cost more or less the same. Crucial has an extensive motherboard compatibility checker.

What are you planning on doing with the hard drives? RAID-Z1? If so, that's a little risky with larger drives, but just be aware of it.

 

[Paul MacDonald]

I will look into the RAM, thanks.
Not quite sure on the terms for Raid, I'm planning on doing the one which uses n+1 drives with parity or something. So with this build I should have just short of 4TB of space I believe? Maybe you could help me out with what's best. Currently my media is nearing the 2TB mark, but I expect it to keep growing.

Thanks

 

[danb35]

I'd strongly consider an i3 rather than a Pentium if you'll be transcoding. For hard drives, the WD Greens are said to work fine, but be sure to run WDIDLE3.exe to reset the park timer on them. Seriously consider using 3TB or 4TB drives. Yes, they're more expensive, but cost per TB is lower.

 

[diedrichg]

He's storing non-critical data. His decision for Z1 will net him the max amount of storage. The second you put critical data on that server, though, you should be considering RaidZ2.

 

[sremick]

That's a nice case, you're really going to like it. My setup is similar but beefier. I went with the ASRock E3C226 motherboard. If I changed anything first, I'd go Crucial over Kingston.

 

[Paul MacDonald]

I can get a Intel Core i3 4130 Dual Core (3.4Ghz, 3MB, 54W) for an extra £40. Is it worth it?

 

[Paul MacDonald]

As long as I act quickly and turn off the NAS if one drive goes down (until I source a replacement), Z1 is relatively safe is it not?

 

[sremick]

As long as I act quickly and turn off the NAS if one drive goes down (until I source a replacement), Z1 is relatively safe is it not?

No. The problem with RAIDZ1/RAID5/mirroring is that you lack any redundancy during the resilvering of the drive to replace the failed drive, and the MTBF of modern multi-TB drives is such that the chances are high that you'll get at least one read failure during the resilvering, causing everything to fail.

 

[Paul MacDonald]

Ok, so does Z2 require 2 extra drives? So to get 4TB usable i need 4x2TB?

 

[diedrichg]

Ok, so does Z2 require 2 extra drives? So to get 4TB usable i need 4x2TB?

Z2 is an even number of drives - 4,6,10

Docs 1.3.6:

When determining how many disks to use in a RAIDZ, the following configurations provide optimal
performance. Array sizes beyond 12 disks are not recommended.
•
Start a RAIDZ1 at at 3, 5, or 9 disks.
•
Start a RAIDZ2 at 4, 6, or 10 disks.
•
Start a RAIDZ3 at 5, 7, or 11 disks.

 

[gpsguy]

Yes that is correct. Do realize you'll only have about 3.5Tb of usable storage. The hard disk manufacturers basically lie about the size of the drives.


Sent from my phone

 

[Fraoch]

Z2 is an even number of drives - 4,6,10

And @Paul MacDonald - note that ZFS does not allow you to just add a drive or convert from one format to another. Not without destroying and rebuilding the pool anyway. So you need to plan this from the beginning.

As @diedrichg said, RAID-Z1 is fine when the data isn't critical and you want to maximize space.

 

[danb35]

Z2 is an even number of drives - 4,6,10

Z1 is any number of drives >=3 and <=10; Z2 is >=4 and <=10; Z3 is >=5 and <=10--the upper limits in all cases are somewhat flexible, but shouldn't be much more than 10. The idea of an "optimal" vdev size (in number of physical devices) is no longer valid with the advent of compression.

 

[diedrichg]

I was just quoting the docs...

 

[Paul MacDonald]

I really don't have the resources to buy more than 3 2TB storages. I guess I'll start out with Z1 and then upgrade to Z2 when I can. I guess I'll have to use external hard drives to transfer the data when I upgrade as well, but that's fine.

Thanks for all your help :)

 

[sremick]

And @Paul MacDonald - note that ZFS does not allow you to just add a drive or convert from one format to another. Not without destroying and rebuilding the pool anyway. So you need to plan this from the beginning.

An important tidbit I learned early on by reading. This is why I maxed out the drive bays from the onset in my case (6) and will just replace all 6 drives with larger capacity as my needs grow.

 

[jimmyt]

I have almost an identical setup with similar purpose except I wont transcode.. node case, same mobo, however I went with a pentium G3258 processor and crucial ram. My problem is the bios on my board was shipped with 1.6 so I cant run any haswell-r processors. Asrock is sending me a new bios chip with 2.1 on it, but until then I am stuck. You will be ok since your chip is good on all bios. I even tried to source an older haswell locally, but no one carries them any more. I went with the a seasonic g360 - gold non modular. Its a nice power supply but its not modular so cable management was a bitch in that case :) Hindsight being what it is, I would have spent the extra $$ for the modular. I too am debating the red vs green. I think I am going with the greens and will run wdidle. However, as I was reading through that thread it seems that there is some question on weather or not the new green firmware doesnt work with wdidle.

good luck!

Hi,

• Fractal Design Node 304 - £56.00
• ASROCK E3C224D2I - £145.99
• Intel Pentium G3420 Dual Core (3.2 Ghz, 3mb) - £45.41
• Kingston ValueRam 8GB DDR3L 1600MHZ ECC - £66.39
• WD - 2TB Green x 3 - £59.90 each - £179.70
• Corsair Builder Series CXM 500W Modular - £48.80