Looking for Suggestions for a Fast Commercial NAS

[joeschmuck]

Fellow FreeNAS members, I am in search of a commercial NAS unit that meets the below listed requirements and I turn to you for some advice. Let me preface this with that while I'd love to use a FreeNAS system here, I unfortunately cannot in the environment where it will be utilized. This will be used for company use. It will be on a closed network as well, no outside access at all.

Requirements:
New commercial device.
1GB NIC - Full speed bandwidth transfers over SMB.
10TB to 14TB with some sort of RAID type redundancy, similar to RAID-Z2.
Easy to replace a failing/failed hard drive (don't need a be an expert to do this operation).
Send an email to at least two people when a problem occurs, and possibly send an email daily when things are working fine.
Cost is always a factor even though it's not my money.

Use Case:
Backup full hard drive images of up to ten laptops (hence the requirement to saturate the 1Gb NIC connection).
Backup additional user data for up to ten personnel.

I would like the system to not have a lot of those small 40mm or smaller fans but I guess those could be replaced if needed.

I don't believe noise will be a factor as there is a location outside the office space where it can be locked up in a vault.

I would prefer that the device have maybe a RAID6 setup and installing Five 4TB hard drives now (~11TB) and having the expand-ability to add a Sixth 4TB drive to expand the RAID to ~14TB. I have some homework to do myself as well, I need to research from a configuration point of view what my drive configurations can be for a RAID6. I don't want to assume anything.

So for those IT Admins out there, I would really appreciate your inputs for the good devices and the ones to stay away from.

Thanks!

P.S. I would humor a 10Gb NIC connection as well.

 

[wblock]

https://www.ixsystems.com/truenas/ :)

 

[tvsjr]

If you like FreeNAS, support the company and buy a TrueNAS. And BTW, you won't be replacing fans if you buy a commercial, supported product... at least, if you want to keep your support!

 

[Nick2253]

Some additional questions to narrow down some options:

• Does the NAS need to run any software, like backup software, or does it just need to be a NAS?
  
• What protocols do you need? Are AFP or NFS requirements, or will everything be SMB?
• What about FreeNAS prevents it from being used in this environment? Complexity, cost?
• Is the vault it's being locked up in have any kind of ventilation/cooling, or is heat a concern?
• Do you need the ability to rackmount? Do you have a preferred form factor?

If cost is a really important factor, I would recommend a QNAP device. Out-of-the-box, the QNAP definitely has the feel of a SOHO device, but you can reconfigure the system to present more serious options. The QNAP hardware has also been really robust in my experience, and we have had no issues saturating our 1GB link. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for something that's mission critical, especially over FreeNAS/TrueNAS, we use QNAPs for massive 40+TB arrays for working video storage for our media team. In those scenarios, worst case, a complete and total data loss is no big deal, because we can recover the raw footage from the camera tapes/memory cards. Once an actual video project is completed, it is moved to more robust storage that's part of the backup system.

Another vendor to look at is Overland. Their Snap Servers have some pretty nifty features, and we've also used them very successfully for our remote offices, where it's not cost effective to deploy a dedicated dark fiber, and the employees need faster access to their locally produced data than VPN allows. Part of the reason I like the Snap Servers so much is because their internal monitoring and notification is top-notch.

 

[joeschmuck]

Does the NAS need to run any software, like backup software, or does it just need to be a NAS?

It just needs to be a storage device. I guess something like RSync could be handy but not required.

What protocols do you need? Are AFP or NFS requirements, or will everything be SMB?

SMB is the only required protocol.

What about FreeNAS prevents it from being used in this environment? Complexity, cost?

I am looking into using FreeNAS/TrueNAS and am working with my companies IT department. Due to the classified military programs we work on, even though this server would only store unclassified data, there are hoops we have to jump though from an IA perspective. Many other commercial products have already jumped through those hoops but I don't believe TrueNAS has. FreeNAS is by far the least expensive option for a good quality NAS and if I could order the system right now, I would basically duplicate my current system, just no ESXi. IA is the killer.

Is the vault it's being locked up in have any kind of ventilation/cooling, or is heat a concern?

The vault is a massive room which has HVAC. Think of a bank vault door 12" thick, the walls are similar construction, protected from RF energy, it's heavy duty.

Do you need the ability to rackmount? Do you have a preferred form factor?

No preference actually. The server will be locked up in a typical rack mount cabinet to keep prying eyes out. I would prefer to use a quiet system but it's not a major factor.

https://www.ixsystems.com/truenas/ :)

You know I want to use this.

 

[Nick2253]

I am looking into using FreeNAS/TrueNAS and am working with my companies IT department. Due to the classified military programs we work on, even though this server would only store unclassified data, there are hoops we have to jump though from an IA perspective. Many other commercial products have already jumped through those hoops but I don't believe TrueNAS has. FreeNAS is by far the least expensive option for a good quality NAS and if I could order the system right now, I would basically duplicate my current system, just no ESXi. IA is the killer.

Gotcha. I've done some consulting for defense subcontractors, so I can appreciate the hoops. Also, I now realize I was completely off base with the QNAP recommendation.

Something we've reviewed favorably in the past is HP's StoreEasy. In the end, we ultimately opted not to go with HP because of cost over competing platforms. However, that might be right up your alley. For better or worse, it's based on Windows Storage Server.

If you're looking for something more *nix-y, I would look at IBM System Storage line. If you need any kind of compliance support, IBM has been great to work with. We haven't used their Storage products, but we do have IBM servers, tape library, and other products. They are very accommodating with all-US support for compliance with ITAR/export controlled data.

 

[Arwen]

I second that recommendation for IBM. They may not be cheap, but they will get the paper work right. You might check to see if IBM already has a presence in your data center / vault. (Not necessarily equipment, but they may manage other vendor's equipment in that location.)

 

[tvsjr]

I am looking into using FreeNAS/TrueNAS and am working with my companies IT department. Due to the classified military programs we work on, even though this server would only store unclassified data, there are hoops we have to jump though from an IA perspective.

I should've known, based on your location. Yeah, IBM is probably the way to go - you can buy better, but you can't pay more! I live in the same world.

 

[Chris Moore]

It just needs to be a storage device.

The Navy facility where I work has approved the products from this company: https://www.thinkmate.com
The advantage of these guys is that they sell Supermicro servers and let you configure them to match your needs instead of forcing a standard model on you.
The IAM for the facility approved RedHat Linux and I was able to load ZFS on Linux to manage the disks. They looked at me like I was insane when I suggested FreeNAS. It is heavily dependent on what your local IA will permit.
When it comes to the hardware procurement, I have found that we can buy almost anything we want if we can keep the price under $3500 because we can run that on a credit card. Higher priced items have to go out for bid and that is one of the good things about these guys, they are already connected to the GSA process.

 

[joeschmuck]

ITAR/export controlled data.

You know the way to win my heart ;)

It is heavily dependent on what your local IA will permit.

Unfortunately it's not local IA, it's Govt. IA compliance rules at the Wash DC level, not local. Of course I do live and work technically in the DC area. The hoops are very unforgiving.

So I will take a look at the IBM servers to see what would meet our needs. I will still get in contact with iXsystems, I want to give them a fair shake, I do like the OS they use.

 

[Nick2253]

How goes the search for defense-compliant NAS nirvana?

 

[joeschmuck]

How goes the search for defense-compliant NAS nirvana?

It's now in the hands of my company. I've provided them the data I could and now it's the long wait.