My First Attempt at Building a NAS

[joeschmuck]

For the RAM you were looking for:

https://www.memory4less.com/hynix-16gb-ddr4-pc19200-hma82gu7afr8n-uht0

 

[Constantin]

I ran into that with my SuperMicro board. Just one letter being different (of all things, it was the revision of the underlying RAM dies) meant the difference between the NAS motherboard only being able to address 2 out of 4 memory modules, vs. all 4 modules showing up flawlessly.

 

[joeschmuck]

I ran into that with my SuperMicro board. Just one letter being different (of all things, it was the revision of the underlying RAM dies) meant the difference between the NAS motherboard only being able to address 2 out of 4 memory modules, vs. all 4 modules showing up flawlessly.

That sucks! Sorry to hear that. We all learn the hard way and sometimes you might take a risk, but try to ensure it's an educated risk. For example my Supermicro MB also had very few RAM modules tested with ECC and in the capacity I wanted. I did my research into the chips on the modules that QVL passed, and found an identical chip part number except double the capacity. It was a risk and I threw the dice and have been happy for many years now.

While the difference of "T0" might not mean anything as far as the RAM working, you need to do your due diligence and/or just roll the dice and take a chance. But I did provide you a link to a place which sells the one you asked for and the price was not unreasonable.

And on this site below, if you examine the photo of the RAM, it is the "T0" version. But before you purchase you should ask them to send you a photo or somehow guarantee it will work.

https://www.amazon.com/Hynix-PC4-19200-2400MHZ-Model-HMA82GR7AFR8N-UH/dp/B01N6O511Z/

 

[Davvo]

I am currently using memory that's not on the QVL but with similar specs and is working flawlessly. Single bank though.

 

[Constantin]

Thing is, the vendor specified the right RAM SKU or M/N in their listing but sent me the "wrong" RAM because of the different RAM die revision. When I pointed out the discrepancy, they took back the RAM they sent me w/o further questions. If it had worked, I would have kept it. Most of the time, it likely does. But in my case, the motherboard / CPU combination was sufficiently finicky to balk at something as minor as a die revision on a RAM module.

Bottom line for me was that if I wanted a working system, I needed to stick to the stuff that was on the QVL. ONLY if that didn't work AND I was sure that the RAM was good would I have the standing to go bother the good people at SM tech support re: what to do next.

 

[ImNotNASty]

That sucks! Sorry to hear that. We all learn the hard way and sometimes you might take a risk, but try to ensure it's an educated risk. For example my Supermicro MB also had very few RAM modules tested with ECC and in the capacity I wanted. I did my research into the chips on the modules that QVL passed, and found an identical chip part number except double the capacity. It was a risk and I threw the dice and have been happy for many years now.

While the difference of "T0" might not mean anything as far as the RAM working, you need to do your due diligence and/or just roll the dice and take a chance. But I did provide you a link to a place which sells the one you asked for and the price was not unreasonable.

And on this site below, if you examine the photo of the RAM, it is the "T0" version. But before you purchase you should ask them to send you a photo or somehow guarantee it will work.

https://www.amazon.com/Hynix-PC4-19200-2400MHZ-Model-HMA82GR7AFR8N-UH/dp/B01N6O511Z/

Thanks for the link. I saw that module on Amazon, but closer inspection shows it to be RDIMM. HMA82GR7AFR8N-UH. I need HMA82GU7AFR8N-UH T0

 

[joeschmuck]

Thanks for the link. I saw that module on Amazon, but closer inspection shows it to be RDIMM. HMA82GR7AFR8N-UH. I need HMA82GU7AFR8N-UH T0

Crap, I thought my google search was good. You had a good catch!

 

[ImNotNASty]

I emailed Hynix and got no help except to contact their USA distributor. With Crucial, I tried searching for the motherboard vs. the module number from the VQL. I found:

ASRock E3C236D4U | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com

Crucial Memory and SSD upgrades - 100% Compatibility Guaranteed for ASRock E3C236D4U - FREE US Delivery.

www.crucial.com

Crucial guarantees that their memory will work with this mobo.

 

[joeschmuck]

Crucial guarantees that their memory will work with this mobo.

Sounds like a very good thing.

 

[ImNotNASty]

Supermicro and like "server-grade" enclosures and motherboards repeatedly come up for great prices on eBay and like sources as they get cycled out of data centers. With just four drives, many solutions will fit the bill, including the Mini from iXsystems, which comes with excellent support. If this is your first NAS, I would strongly suggest going that route.

As for used drives, one issue is that it's super easy to wipe SMART data off drives and make bad drives appear good. Memory sort of falls into the same bracket - it can appear good for a while and then fail. However, it tends to be a bigger issue with drives due to mechanical wear than memory, which may be harmed by static electricity during shipping / installation, etc.

If you go used, I would look for a dealer with a good reputation and a return policy that makes sense. I have had good luck with goharddrive.com, whose HE10 drives I use today. Yes, a few failed and needed to be replaced in the first week or so, but i had zero pushback when it came to getting those replacements done and the process was easier than with OEMs whose under-warranty drives needed to be replaced.

 

[ImNotNASty]

Here's the build so far:

ASRock Rack E3C236D4U Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA1151 Intel C236 FS
Intel Xeon E3-1245v5 3.5GHz Quad-Core 80W 8MB L3 CPU
Noctua NH-L9i CPU cooler
2 x MTA18ADF2G72AZ-3G2R Micron 16GB DDR4-3200 VLP ECC UDIMM 2Rx8 CL22
5 x HGST Ultrastar 7K6000 HUS726060ALE610 (0F23001) 6TB 7200 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Hard Drive (Refurbished) - 5 Year Warranty - from goHardDrive.com
EVGA (110-BQ-0650-V1) Power Supply 650W Modular BQ

In RAIDZ2, that should give me ~ 6TB x 5 drives = 16.4TB. I don't see myself ever needing that much, but from looking at my basement and garage - if you have room, you will fill it.

Case will probably be a Fractal Design Node 804. 3 x 120mm fans come with the case ( 1 front / 2 rear). The case has provisions for 10 fans total.

Boot drive will be a small m.2 2800 Gen 3.0 x 4 - 128GB seems to be as small and inexpensive as they come.

Any of you have a case that you like better than the Node 804?

 

[joeschmuck]

5 x HGST Ultrastar 7K6000 HUS726060ALE610 (0F23001) 6TB 7200 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Hard Drive (Refurbished) - 5 Year Warranty - from goHardDrive.com

With a 5 year warranty, that is a good deal. Keep in mind that you are using that fairly small case and the drives are packed in there. Pay close attention to the airflow across the drives. I can guarantee some of them will get hotter than we would like. Think air flow, not just spacing the drives apart. And you could become creative my making a duct out of say a cardboard cereal box and some tape, then direct the airflow directly across the drives. But only do that if you find the temps are a bit too high for your liking and take you time to do a good job. Always think outside the box. And the bottom half of the drive will dissipate the most heat. Just food for thought.

You know, I like a nice small case but when you stuff 7200 RPM drives into it, I don't like it and that is a personal thing, not what the forum as a whole thinks.

 

[Davvo]

You know, I like a nice small case but when you stuff 7200 RPM drives into it, I don't like it and that is a personal thing, not what the forum as a whole thinks.

Me as well. 7200 RPM drives in small spaces... Yeah, not in my system.

 

[ImNotNASty]

Thank you for contacting Crucial support.
We really appreciate your interest in Crucial products. We would like to inform you that in the DRAM module CT16G4WFD824A.18FB1, 18FB1 denotes the extension number for the product which is for the internal purposes. However the configuration of the module is Crucial 16GB DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) 288-Pin UDIMM 2Rx8 ECC Unbuffered CL17 1.2v Desktop Memory Module and it is equivalent to CT16G4WFD824A.

 

[ImNotNASty]

I decided to go with a Fractal Design Define R5 case. I don't need a small footprint for where this box will live. It comes with 2 x 140mm fans and I'm going to add 2 more immediately. I can always add several more, if needed.

I also got a small 6U rack, a 24-port patch panel and a 24-port gigabit switch. I'm going to wire the house with CAT6A - in case I ever want / need to upgrade to 10GB.

 

[joeschmuck]

It comes with 2 x 140mm fans and I'm going to add 2 more immediately. I can always add several more, if needed.

I think the R5 comes with three fans, two in the front and one in the rear. This case I believe is designed well to promote proper airflow. You should not need to add any more fans. The R5 will be a much better case for you in the long run, especially if you ever want to expand later. And the case is so nice that you can reuse it for other projects once you build your next TrueNAS (or will it be called UltraNAS by then) system.

 

[ImNotNASty]

Well, all the parts finally arrived. It took forever to get the RAM from Crucial as it went to back order.

It's all put together and the smoke stayed in the box when I turned on the power. Self post went without a hitch. TrueNAS Core is on the SSD and I'm looking at the TrueNAS Dashboard on my laptop upstairs.

Today, I learned a bit about PuTTY, installed it and installed public keys. Now I have a SSH session running and I should get Badblocks results sometime tomorrow night. Currently 1/3 of the way through the 1st pass with 2:30 elapsed. after Badblocks, I'll test smartctl -t long and then look at the amassed data: smartctrl -A, if I'm following correctly.

After testing the HDDs, I plan to run Memtest86. What do you guys recommend for CPU testing? From looking around, I see testing with both Prime95 and OCCT Linpack.

Thoughts?

 

[joeschmuck]

What do you guys recommend for CPU testing? From looking around, I see testing with both Prime95 and OCCT Linpack.

Honestly, any test which causes the most power draw/heat. I like Prime95, there are others like Mersenne Prime Test that I've used. I found the easiest way to do all the stress testing is to use UBCD (https://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) and boot this up then select the test you desire.

 

[ImNotNASty]

Honestly, any test which causes the most power draw/heat. I like Prime95, there are others like Mersenne Prime Test that I've used. I found the easiest way to do all the stress testing is to use UBCD (https://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) and boot this up then select the test you desire.

Ok, will do and thanks.

 

[ImNotNASty]

I am now in the 2nd iteration of running Badblocks. It appears to keep on running until terminated. I'm about 80% of the way through the 3rd pattern (0xff) with a total elapsed time of ~44 1/2 hours. All 5 of the 6TB drives are reporting 0/0/0 for errors.

If Badblocks doesn't self terminate after completing the 4th pattern (0x00), how do I terminate it? I assume that 2 full iterations of 4 passes is sufficient?