My First Build - Feedback Welcome

[ZeroNine]

Hello all,

Looking to finally build a FreeNAS system, but having some questions which I hope you can help.

Main purpose of my build is a system that can directstream and transcode 1080p, let's me virtualize, seed a "large" number of torrents and play around with Nextcloud and other self-hosted shenanigans. All this is homebrew, for personal/family/friends use only. For this, I already bought the NODE 804 (Micro ATX) at a 50% discount on Black Friday and some WD REDs. The case can house up to 10HDDs plus 2 SDDs. Everything else is on consideration pending these questions:

A) I want to get the most of the NODE so I was looking to have at least 10HDDs + 1 SDD for the OS. I don't see a lot of MicroATX with more than 6/8 SATA ports. The Hardware Guide suggests the Supermicro X10SL7-F but since the drives I have are SATA I would need to use an Adapter to plug some into the SAS ports.

1. Is it ok to use an adapter to plug the SATA on the SAS? I have found some, but I'm unsure of their reliability. All my HDDs will be SATA.
2. Are there better/other alternatives to mATX motherboards I should be thinking of, considering I will only want a max of 10/12 drives?

B) I'm still wrapping my mind around the whole Zpool/Vdev stuff, but considering my needs I was thinking of this:

1. 8x 4TB WD RED - Zpool w/RaidZ2 - This would give me aprx 19TB of Space
2. 2x 6TB WD RED - Mirrored or Striped
3. 1 SDD for OS.

C) 1150 vs 1151 is something I should also be aware of? I have read some threads where some argue there is no real gain to be had by upping to 1151.

D) I would like to keep the power consumption to a minimum (as possible!).

1. With these specs, I think I'm looking at a 100w idle machine?
2. Are there "best practices" to keep in mind towards reigning in power?

E) Anything else you should find important to consider/point out.

### The build so far -UPDATED- ###

Case: Fractal Design Node 804
CPU: Xeon E3-1230 v3 or something 1151
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F or Something 1151
RAM: 4x 8GB Crucial CT102472BD160B (ECC - Unbuffered)
Storage: 10x WD Red 4TB + 2x yyTB SSD
FreeNas OS disks: 1 USB pen
PSU: Seasonic Prime Gold 650w
CPU Fan: ?
UPS: ?


Thanks in advance

 

[danb35]

but since the drives I have are SATA I would need to use an Adapter to plug some into the SAS ports.

No, you wouldn't; the SAS lanes on the X10SL7 are presented as four SATA ports. Cable them to your drives as you would any other SATA port.

Are there better/other alternatives to mATX motherboards I should be thinking of

I believe there's a comparable X11 board (i.e., with an onboard SAS HBA). I'd consider that also. It would allow up to 64 GB of RAM, which could be helpful.

FreeNas OS disks: 1x Samsung EVO 850 500GB

Overkill to a ridiculous degree.

 

[MatthewSteinhoff]

The X10SL7 has ten, 6gbps drive channels and four, 3gbps drive channels. You've got more port capacity than bay capacity. Plug the storage drives into the 6gbps channels and the boot drive(s) into the 3gbps channels.

The EVO 850 at 500GB is overkill by a factor of ten. I'd rather have a pair of 32G or 64G drives mirrored as boot than a single 500GB monster. (Lots of people use 16GB USB sticks as their boot device and are perfectly happy which just goes to show how overpowered you are.)

Using 8 by 4TB in RAIDZ2 will give you approximately 22TB. Any reason you're tossing in two random 6TB drives instead of using two 4TB drives?

If I were you, I'd drop the 6TB drives (about $220 each?) and get a pair of cheap 960GB/1TB SSDs (ADATA, Mushkin, EVO, etc. for $250 each), mirror them and then use the SSDs for your VMs. RAIDZ2 is a great for bulk storage but has the same number of IOPS as a single drive. Mirrored SSDs will absolutely smoke a RAIDZ2 array; easily five times faster. VMs need IOPS.

The E3-1230 v3 wants the 1150 socket. The X10SL7-F has a 1150 socket. It's a match made in heaven. The E3-1230 can transcode four HD streams simultaneously with a little bit of power left over for everything else. It seems like a solid choice. It also typically comes with a heatsink and fan. I'd use those to start and only change them out if you have problems.

The Node 804 is a sweet case. I use one for my home FreeNAS.

The power supply seems reasonable. Between the drives (50w) and the CPU (80w) running at their maximum loads, you're not even at 50% capacity. Chances are, you'll idle below 100 watts.

Otherwise, solid build.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Chris Moore]

I am sure you already considered it, but don't forget to have a UPS to protect your server.

 

[Evertb1]

The Hardware Guide suggests the Supermicro X10SL7-F but since the drives I have are SATA I would need to use an Adapter to plug some into the SAS ports.

1. Is it ok to use an adapter to plug the SATA on the SAS? I have found some, but I'm unsure of their reliability. All my HDDs will be SATA.
2. Are there better/other alternatives to mATX motherboards I should be thinking of, considering I will only want a max of 10/12 drives?

1150 vs 1151 is something I should also be aware of? I have read some threads where some argue there is no real gain to be had by upping to 1151.

Thanks in advance

The X10SL7-F is an excellent motherborad with a lot of happy users. I am one of them. However, if I would do a new build today I would go for the next generation. The 1150 platform gets a bit old and it is harder to get CPU's and DDR3 ECC memory (at least in my part of the world.

The way I see it, a FreeNAS server is an investment for at least some years. And If your CPU or memory dies on you in a year or so (it happens you know) it will be hard to replace it as it is not mainstream anymore. For example: one of my favorite webshops has only one Socket 1150 CPU(E3-1271 V3) left in the offering while they offer 12 different Socket 1151 CPU models (E3-xxxx v5 and v6).

Of course as @danb35 stated the 1151 platform offers you a max of 64 GB memory where the 1150 platform limits you to 32GB. So while you won't see I giant gain in the sence of pure (CPU) power the 1151 platform offers you a better path for the future.

 

[Ericloewe]

I believe there's a comparable X11 board (i.e., with an onboard SAS HBA).

X11SSL-CF

 

[Evertb1]

X11SSL-CF

I believe that with this board you do need some breakout cables to connect the SATA drives to the onboard SAS connectors. But that won't break the bank and it gives a neat, clean connection with your drives and with less clutter then 8 sata cables. I never needed them but I think they are something like this:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8186

 

[Ericloewe]

Yes, the X11SSL-CF uses two SFF-8643 connectors instead of eight SATA-style ports.

 

[Ericloewe]

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8186

Those won't work, since they're SFF-8087, but the concept is the same.

 

[Evertb1]

Those won't work, since they're SFF-8087, but the concept is the same.

You are right of course. I totally forgot to look at the type of the sas connector.

 

[ZeroNine]

First, thanks to all that gave input and insight.

Much appreciated!

If I were you, I'd drop the 6TB drives (about $220 each?) and get a pair of cheap 960GB/1TB SSDs (ADATA, Mushkin, EVO, etc. for $250 each), mirror them and then use the SSDs for your VMs. RAIDZ2 is a great for bulk storage but has the same number of IOPS as a single drive. Mirrored SSDs will absolutely smoke a RAIDZ2 array; easily five times faster. VMs need IOPS.

Awesome suggestion, thank you!

Using 8 by 4TB in RAIDZ2 will give you approximately 22TB. Any reason you're tossing in two random 6TB drives instead of using two 4TB drives?

I was thinking about the long term. I got to thinking that upgrading 8 HDDs would be cheaper than 10, but actually that was kinda silly of me. If/when some die I can replace them with 6TBs slowly and just UP the rest whenever I have the cash. I also read somewhere in the forum that there was an "IDEAL NUMBER" of disks to have in a Vdev because of something related to the data being spread on the disks (?). Anyway I'll probably go with the above tip

1. 10x 4TB WD RED - Zpool w/RaidZ2 - This would give me aprx 28TB of Space (according to the calculator)
2. 2x somethingTB SSDs - Mirrored
3. 1 USB for OS.

I am sure you already considered it, but don't forget to have a UPS to protect your server.

In the build layout after the CPU FAN, instead of PSU (again) I meant UPS. Do you have any affordable suggestions?

Of course as @danb35 stated the 1151 platform offers you a max of 64 GB memory where the 1150 platform limits you to 32GB. So while you won't see I giant gain in the sence of pure (CPU) power the 1151 platform offers you a better path for the future.

Even though in Portugal we have a few good second hand sites, I do agree with you. Any suggestions on the MoBo + CPU front I should look up, considering my build purpose?

I believe that with this board you do need some breakout cables to connect the SATA drives to the onboard SAS connectors. But that won't break the bank and it gives a neat, clean connection with your drives and with less clutter then 8 sata cables.

Thanks for the heads up. Can you or @Ericloewe clarify on the appropriate cable? Searched but failed to find the appropriate words to use!

Note: I updated the original post on the build parts.

 

[Evertb1]

Thanks for the heads up. Can you or @Ericloewe clarify on the appropriate cable? Searched but failed to find the appropriate words to use!

What you need in your search is the correct type of the Mini-SAS connectors on the motherborad. On this you need to rely on @Ericloewe that they are of the SFF-8643 type. I could not find the type in the Supermicro manual for the board. There they are just called mini-sas HD connectors.

So if you do a search for break outcables (you will need 2 of them) search for a SFF-8643 to 4 Sata 7 pin female Breakout cable. I found this one for example. And looking at the SAS connetor this one could very well be the correct fit for the motherboard: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Internal-SFF-8643-Forward-Breakout/dp/B01N5I0FD6?th=1

Maybe @Ericloewe can confirm this is the correct type.

 

[Ericloewe]

I'm not clear on what the motherboard in question is. If it's an X11SSL-CF or an X11SSH-CTF, that cable is right. I don't remember any Supermicro motherboards that need SFF-8087, since they used to expose individual SATA-style connectors.

 

[danb35]

I don't remember any Supermicro motherboards that need SFF-8087

Mine does, but dual Socket 2011 boards really aren't in play here.

 

[CraigD]

The X10SL7-F is an excellent motherborad with a lot of happy users. I am one of them. However, if I would do a new build today I would go for the next generation. The 1150 platform gets a bit old and it is harder to get CPU's and DDR3 ECC memory (at least in my part of the world.

The way I see it, a FreeNAS server is an investment for at least some years. And If your CPU or memory dies on you in a year or so (it happens you know) it will be hard to replace it as it is not mainstream anymore. For example: one of my favorite web shops has only one Socket 1150 CPU(E3-1271 V3) left in the offering while they offer 12 different Socket 1151 CPU models (E3-xxxx v5 and v6).

Of course as @danb35 stated the 1151 platform offers you a max of 64 GB memory where the 1150 platform limits you to 32GB. So while you won't see I giant gain in the sence of pure (CPU) power the 1151 platform offers you a better path for the future.

Couldn't have put it better if I tried this X11SSL-CF > X10SL7-F however either is a fine choice

I would max out the RAM from the start (I know I'm in the minority)

Max out the 3.5" drives and have a 10 wide RAIDz2 data pool

I would also find room for three SSDs inside the case instead of two, one small SSD for a boot drive, and a mirrored SSD volume for VMs and Jails

Also plug in and cable manage one spare SATA data and power cable to aid drive replacement, after the burn in has completed the only reason to pull the build apart is to replace a faulty drive, that is not going to be nice in this case

I wish you the best of luck cooling your drives

Have Fun