My build plan

[tradjik]

Hey, guys. Planning to build my first FreeNAS system and will be using it mostly for file storage and streaming HD content.

Here's what I've got so far. Would love to hear any recommendations/fixes.

Case:
Fractal Design NODE 804

Mainboard:
Supermicro X11SSH-F

CPU:
Intel Core i3-6300

Memory:
2 x Crucial DDR4-2400 ECC UDIMM 288pin 16GB (will eventually upgrade to 64GB)

Boot device(s):
Intel Optane M.2 PCIe 3.0 2x 2280 32GB (is this wise? i want all 8 SATA slots for storage eventually)

Storage:
4 x WD Red 8TB 5400 rpm (will eventually upgrade to 8 x 8TB)

PSU:
Seasonic FOCUS Plus 750 Platinum (not 100% sure about this one)

So what do you think? Do I need a CPU cooler? Will I need the M.2 slot for SLOG if I eventually want to do other stuff with the server? Anything else I'm missing or won't work?

Cheers.

 

[Chris Moore]

Boot device(s):
Intel Optane M.2 PCIe 3.0 2x 2280 32GB (is this wise? i want all 8 SATA slots for storage eventually)

Storage:
4 x WD Red 8TB 5400 rpm (will eventually upgrade to 8 x 8TB)

Boot device, probably better off with the smallest regular SSD you can buy and you can cram it in any free space where it isn't shorting something out or blocking a fan. If I recall, this case has a couple mounts that are made for SSD / 2.5" drives. If you were thinking to save the SATA ports for the HDDs, just get another drive controller to stick in a PCIe slot. No point spending extra money on M.2 devices because they come at a price premium.

Storage, it is better to have all the drives at once unless you are adding them in mirror sets. You can't expand a vdev, so you would need to add the new drives as a second vdev. Do you know what that is about?

PSU:
Seasonic FOCUS Plus 750 Platinum (not 100% sure about this one)

More than you probably need, but it won't hurt anything. You would probably be fine with a 550 watt supply.

So what do you think? Do I need a CPU cooler? Will I need the M.2 slot for SLOG if I eventually want to do other stuff with the server? Anything else I'm missing or won't work?

Unless you are doing virtual machines or iSCSI, you won't need a SLOG device, ever.

 

[Ericloewe]

Supermicro X11SSH-F

As I've said before, the X11SSH-F is a poor choice in nearly all situations. The M.2 slot is limited to 2x PCIe lanes and the other two are wasted - they're routed for the 3rd and 4th NICs that the X11SSH-LN4F has.

The X11SSM-F is cheaper even after an M.2 adapter is added to the price and significantly more flexible. The whole system is slightly uglier, but it's a server.

 

[tradjik]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Would these changes work?

Supermicro X11SSM-F
StarTech 2 Port PCIe SATA 6 Gbps Controller Card (PEXSAT32)
2 x SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB (mirrored)

What about if I decided I wanted to run plex or a torrent program? Would the CPU suffice?

Cheers.

 

[Ericloewe]

StarTech 2 Port PCIe SATA 6 Gbps Controller Card (PEXSAT32)

No, that card is not a good choice. If you want more than eight SATA ports, go with an X11SSL-CF. If you just want a boot device, a PCIe M.2 adapter card and a PCIe M.2 drive might be cheaper.

 

[tradjik]

Okay, how does this look?

Case:
Fractal Design NODE 804

Mainboard:
Supermicro X11SSL-CF

CPU:
Intel Core i3-6300

Memory:
4 x Crucial DDR4-2400 ECC UDIMM 288pin 16GB

Boot device(s):
2 x SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB (mirrored)

Storage:
8 x WD Red 8TB 5400 rpm

PSU:
Seasonic FOCUS Plus 650 Platinum


Will the CPU be enough to run plex and transmission? Can I even use the SSDs for both that and booting?

Will I need a better heatsink/fan than stock?

Anything else I've missed?

Cheers guys I really appreciate the help.

 

[tradjik]

Is the X11SSL-CF-O the same as the X11SSL-CF?

It looks identical and I can't find a manufacturer's page for the CF-O, but the page doesn't list the 8x SAS ports.

Also, do I need an adapter for SATA drives? Never heard of SAS before.

 

[Ericloewe]

Is the X11SSL-CF-O the same as the X11SSL-CF?

From https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/so-you’ve-decided-to-buy-a-supermicro-x11-board.13/ :

-O vs -B model numbers

Many people get confused with these model numbers when they can only find an X10SL7-F-O, instead of an X10SL7-F, or an X10SLM+-F-B instead of an X10SLM+-F.
All model numbers are exactly as printed in their respective sections. For real products, they get either an -O or a -B appended to them, for retail or bulk packaging, respectively.
An example:
A Supermicro X10SL7-F-O is a retail-packaged X10SL7-F motherboard.
A Supermicro X10SL7-F-B is a bulk-packaged X10SL7-F motherboard.

Also, do I need an adapter for SATA drives? Never heard of SAS before.

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/dont-be-afraid-to-be-sas-sy.48/

The X11SSL-CF exposes its SAS connectivity via two SFF-8643 connectors. You'd need an SFF-8643 forward breakout (not reverse breakout) cable to connect to individual SATA drives.

 

[tradjik]

If I want to add a M.2 card does the choice of adapter matter much?

 

[Ericloewe]

You would need a passive x4 expansion card to M.2 adapter, but that's about all. Get one with good reviews.