Migrating from WHS to Freenas

[Martin C2S]

Hello All,

Bit of a noob to Freenas here but I've been cramming for the last couple of weeks trying to get up to speed on where things are at since the last time I was keenly interested in this space.

A little bit of background, I'm currently running a very old (12 years) 30TB WHS setup in a Norco RPC-4224 case with a similarly aged HTPC streaming content via Kodi. It's served me quite well but I realize that it's time to do a bit of an overhaul and I'm thinking that FreeNAS is the way to go. My inital plan was to reuse the Norco case and get some new guts (mobo, processors, ram, HBA etc.). With Covid sending shipping prices through the roof I was hoping to find components locally and actually came across a Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F mobo with 128GB RAM and 2 E5-2687W CPUs. Was about to pull the trigger until I double checked the Norco site to make sure the mobo would fit and lo and behold the case will not accommodate EEATX boards.

So this is the first question, has anyone been able to fit an EEATX board into the Norco RPC-4224?

Assuming the answer is no to the above I've come up with a couple different options:

Option 1
Buy a ready built server off ebay something like this or this (leaning towards the first cheaper one). I realize I may be paying a bit of a premium but the hassle of assembly etc. is gone and all I need to worry about is the software side of things. I also realize the a dual socket application of FreeNAS is overkill but my plan may involve moving from Kodi to Plex and as such I was thinking I could run Plex Server on this box and then be able to transcode so the added HP would come in handy there.

Option 2
I was able to find a HP R720 for sale locally which come out to be about $300 cheaper and comes with the following spec:
E5-2620v2 CPU @ 2.1GHz
16GB RAM
Perc H710P mini 1GB Memory
Dual 750W PSU
Obviously not quite apples to apples (2 CPUs vs. 1CPU) and I would have to spend some money on RAM and probably a couple HBAs since it comes with a RAID controller. Those will probably negate any savings but it's local and less hassle in a way. Admittedly I haven't done much reading regarding using R720s for a FreeNAS setup so I would be curious as to what your opinions are.

All thoughts and input welcome.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Spearfoot]

Welcome to the forum!

The two Supermicro systems you linked would work fine for FreeNAS. Here's the caveat though... they're going to be loud. And because they are 36-bay units, the system compartment is only 2U in height -- so they'll be harder to cool as well. I own a similar 4U Supermicro system, but mine is the 24-bay type, so the system compartment is a full 4U in height. This allowed me to replace the stock passive CPU coolers with full-height aftermarket active CPU coolers complete with fans. That said, I believe active CPU coolers are available in 2U height, so this may not be a deal breaker for you.

Is your option 2 actually a Dell system? From the description I'd guess it's a Dell R700-series system. We have 3 of these at work, but we don't run FreeNAS on them. You're correct that you'd need to swap out the RAID controller for an HBA.

Good luck!

 

[Martin C2S]

Excellent point about the cooling and CPUcooler height. Ideally I'd be fine with a 24 bay case but I couldn't find any for some odd reason. Noise isn't a "huge" concern as the rack is down in the basement but the quite and cooler the better. My plan was to swap out the fans for some quiet Noctuas and also put some Noctua CPU coolers as well. Are these Supermicro chassis easy enough to cool?

As for Option 2, the advert states it's a R720 but is a bit light on other details. I figure I'd exhaust the Supermicro route before digging into the Dell side of things.

 

[Spearfoot]

Excellent point about the cooling and CPUcooler height. Ideally I'd be fine with a 24 bay case but I couldn't find any for some odd reason. Noise isn't a "huge" concern as the rack is down in the basement but the quite and cooler the better. My plan was to swap out the fans for some quiet Noctuas and also put some Noctua CPU coolers as well. Are these Supermicro chassis easy enough to cool?

Perhaps I should have said "harder to cool quietly". I have no problems keeping my 4U Supermicro server running cool.

I've noticed the dearth of 24-bay 4U systems on fleabay too. For the units you're considering, Supermicro offers several 2U-height active heatsinks that might work, and there are probably suitable offerings from other manufacturers as well.

Supermicro eStore - 2U CPU Server Heatsink

Shop for Supermicro certified 2U active or passive CPU server heatsink. Compatible with Supermicro UP or DP motherboards to keep your server CPU cool.

store.supermicro.com

As for Option 2, the advert states it's a R720 but is a bit light on other details. I figure I'd exhaust the Supermicro route before digging into the Dell side of things.

The reason I asked about this was because you described it as an "HP R720", but the description sounded like a Dell.

 

[Martin C2S]

I messaged the seller and they send me this. It's almost 50% more money for less bays (24 vs. 36), one controller vs. two, one backplane vs. two. It does have the 2670 Xeon (10 cores) vs. the 2650 Xeon (8 cores) but surely that can't justify the price increase?

And you're spot on. It is indeed a Dell R720, not an HP. Not sure what I was thinking there...

Any input from anyone else? Especially around the being able to fit an EEATX board into the Norco RPC-4224?

 

[Spearfoot]

I messaged the seller and they send me this. It's almost 50% more money for less bays (24 vs. 36), one controller vs. two, one backplane vs. two. It does have the 2670 Xeon (10 cores) vs. the 2650 Xeon (8 cores) but surely that can't justify the price increase?

Like I said above, there aren't many of the 24-bay units available on eBay. I suppose sellers are able to charge a premium because they're rare, and more desirable.

And you're spot on. It is indeed a Dell R720, not an HP. Not sure what I was thinking there...

Easy to make that mistake.

Any input from anyone else? Especially around the being able to fit an EEATX board into the Norco RPC-4224?

According to Norco's specs, the 4224 will accomodate system boards up to 12"x13":

http://www.norcotek.com/product/rpc-4224/

According to Supermicro's specs, the X9DRi-LN4F is 13.68"x13":

Supermicro | Products | Motherboards | Xeon® Boards | X9DRi-LN4F+

So I don't think the board will fit in the case -- but I would ask Norco before giving up.

Also, you might ask your question over at STH; there are quite a few knowledgable folks over there, too.

ServeTheHome Forums

A place to discuss servers, storage and networking

forums.servethehome.com

 

[Martin C2S]

So I think I've given up on making that EE-ATX board fit into the Norco. Plus the back-planes have been aPITA on it anyway so I might as well sell it, re-coup some costs and pass the head-ache on to someone else.

I'm not in a huge rush with this so I think I'll wait and see if a 24 bay chassis pops up on ebay for a more reasonable costs. If not I may go for the 36 bay version.

Alternatively I found this 16 bay 3U unit here. Thoughts on this one? Seems to tick all the boxes. Provides some additional height for quieter CPU coolers albeit not the 4U Noctuas but should hopefully be easier to cool the the 4U 36 bay chassis.

 

[Spearfoot]

So I think I've given up on making that EE-ATX board fit into the Norco. Plus the back-planes have been aPITA on it anyway so I might as well sell it, re-coup some costs and pass the head-ache on to someone else.

I'm not in a huge rush with this so I think I'll wait and see if a 24 bay chassis pops up on ebay for a more reasonable costs. If not I may go for the 36 bay version.

Alternatively I found this 16 bay 3U unit here. Thoughts on this one? Seems to tick all the boxes. Provides some additional height for quieter CPU coolers albeit not the 4U Noctuas but should hopefully be easier to cool the the 4U 36 bay chassis.

Please don't let me scare you away from the Supermicro 4U/36-bay or 3U/16-bay systems you've found: either will work fine for FreeNAS.

I only meant to warn you about the inherently high noise level of these enterprise-class systems. Swapping out the CPU heatsink isn't necessary, especially if noise isn't a concern for you. The only reason I did so was because I wanted to optimize it, i.e., obtain adequate cooling at the lowest fan speed with the least noise.

 

[Martin C2S]

You're not scaring me away but you do bring up a valid point around cooling/noise optimization. Since the rack is in the basement noise isn't a top factor right now but with time, the basement will be a finished living space so I want to be able to bring the noise down and be able to adequately cool it at the same time. To me that includes swapping out the case fans, CPU cooler(s), backplane fans and PSU (if possible).

Last thing I want to do is be swapping out the chassis in 1 or two years because the noise level was too high.

No concerns with that 3U unit I linked to up there in terms of the way it's spec'ed out?

 

[Spearfoot]

You're not scaring me away but you do bring up a valid point around cooling/noise optimization. Since the rack is in the basement noise isn't a top factor right now but with time, the basement will be a finished living space so I want to be able to bring the noise down and be able to adequately cool it at the same time. To me that includes swapping out the case fans, CPU cooler(s), backplane fans and PSU (if possible).

Last thing I want to do is be swapping out the chassis in 1 or two years because the noise level was too high.

No concerns with that 3U unit I linked to up there in terms of the way it's spec'ed out?

I'm pretty sure the 3U and 4U Supermicro chassis both use the same chassis fans, which are outstanding in terms of longevity and performance, but are definitely not quiet. And I doubt you will find quieter third-party replacements with adequate performance, because AFAIK there's no such thing. Replacing the PSU fans in these units is a non-starter, too: the fans are integral to the PSU. Plus there are two PSUs in these chassis.

If you're planning on replacing the chassis fans and PSUs -- you might as well pick a different chassis altogether.

You might consider something like the Supermicro SuperServer 5028D-TN4T. I own one and am quite happy with it. It's smaller and quieter than any rackmount unit. Only has 4 drive bays, but HDDs with huge capacities are available these days:

5028D-TN4T | Mini-ITX | SuperServers | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc.

 

[LeDiable]

Back in May I bought a used Supermicro CSE-836 3U chassis for my build, and while I've been quite happy with it overall, I would definitely classify the stock case fans as noisy, which I expected. The case came with the SQ PSUs so they are quieter than the standard ones thankfully. I've only got 6 drives, and due to the light load on the system their temps are very low, like 26-29C. Based on that I've considered replacing the fans with quieter 80mm ones like the Noctua NF-A8 PWM but as @Spearfoot cautioned, I'm concerned abou the lower static pressure & CFM.

I'll add that my NAS sits in my basement office about 3 feet from my head, and thanks to corona I'm working from home full time, listening to it for 8ish hours a day. I'd love for it to be quieter, but long term we'll move and it'll find a new home in a storage space instead of the office, at which point I won't care.

 

[Martin C2S]

@Spearfoot - thanks for the suggestion on that case but I want everything on a rack. I think I'll go ahead with the 3U unit I linked to above, unless a 4U 24 bay one comes along in the next few weeks. And yes, I'm aware there are two PSUs in there and that the fanes aren't replaceable but my thinking was that eventually I could swap out the PSUs for quieter ones, like the SQ ones that @LeDiable mentioned. And good call out on the CFM's as well, definitely something that needs to be considered when swapping fans out and making sure the temps stay within reasonable ranges.