My First Build FreeNAS + Plex

[imatt711]

Hey All! I'm putting together my first FreeNAS build and I'd love some feedback. To give some background, I currently have 2 Drobo's mirrored to each other that are hooked up to my iMac. I plan on moving the drives (all 3TB Western Digital Red drives) over from one drobo, copying the data over, then adding the others to the FreeNAS RAID. I would love some advice if there's a better way to do this.

Also, I also plan on installing plex. I need to be able to support two 1080p transcodes at once or (hopefully) one 4K transcode. I'm not confident the build bellow will meet those requirements. Anyway, I appreciate any and all advice.

I'm trying to keep the build less than $900, not including the drives. I'm not particularly attached to any of these parts so please recommend anything better you know of.

Thank You!

CPU - Intel 3.70 GHz Core i3-610 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015VPX2EO/
Motherboard - MSI C236A Workstation LGA 1151 - https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Intel-Motherboard-C236A-Workstation/dp/B01DT49X4C
RAM - Crucial 16GB Single DDR4 (PC4-2133) CL15 DR x4 ECC Registered DIMM 288-Pin Server Memory - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KK8XNLA/ref=psdc_172500_t3_B015YPAZPU
Boot Drive - SK Hynix Flash Memory 2.5" 120 GB SSD - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H5KW9W4/
Case - Rosewill Stealth ATX Mid Tower - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1Q2DXM/
PSU - FSP Group Hydro G HG650 650W ATX12V - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0198QDP26/
SAS Card - LSI SAS9211-8I 8PORT Int 6GB Sata+sas Pcie 2.0 - https://www.amazon.com/SAS9211-8I-8PORT-Int-Sata-Pcie/dp/B002RL8I7M/
SAS Cables - 3WARE Cable Multi-lane Internal Cable - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBYS2U/

I already have these:
HDD - 8x Western Digital RED Drives - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JJLW4M/

 

[Equinsu]

You need different RAM. This Board only supports unbuffered ECC RAM. Buffered / Registered RAM will not work.

 

[imatt711]

Would you advise different RAM or a different board? I'm open to either.

 

[Chris Moore]

Would you advise different RAM or a different board? I'm open to either.

It might be less expensive to buy a board like mine complete with CPU and RAM to match.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TESTED-Sup...w-E97379-001-Heatsink-I-O-Shield/232430611431 -- $ 90
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Ap...ECC-Memory-for-Late-2013-Mac-Pro/272830002042 -- $180
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-E3-1230V2-CPU-3-30-ghz-SR0P4/232591059572 -- $ 97

 

[Chris Moore]

Also, I also plan on installing plex. I need to be able to support two 1080p transcodes at once or (hopefully) one 4K transcode. I'm not confident the build bellow will meet those requirements. Anyway, I appreciate any and all advice.

My system (see signature), which is actually slightly lower spec than what I suggested, can do this, so I have no doubt that what I suggested will work.

Hey All! I'm putting together my first FreeNAS build and I'd love some feedback. To give some background, I currently have 2 Drobo's mirrored to each other that are hooked up to my iMac. I plan on moving the drives (all 3TB western digital Red drives) over from one drobo, copying the data over, then adding the others to the FreeNAS RAID. I would love some advice if there's a better way to do this.

You are going to need to put the data somewhere else temporarily, so you can put all the drives into the FreeNAS at once. You can map all 8 as a single RAID-z2 pool (single vdev) and get somewhere near 16TB of usable storage, but if you bring them over separately, as you suggested, that won't be possible. Unless you use a less than desirable configuration. I don't know how much data you actually have in your storage system now, but it might be possible to purchase a USB3 external drive to back the data up to and then you can copy it onto the ZFS storage after you re-purpose your existing 3TB drives. You can always keep the USB3 external so you can make periodic backups, which is a good idea anyhow.

 

[tvsjr]

If you aren't married to those parts, may I suggest staying with one of the tried-and-true Supermicro MBs (ideally with IPMI, which will make your life easier)? I'd also recommend a Seasonic PSU. There are some good guides 'round these parts, that document common hardware recipes that Just Work(tm). Best to stick with that.

 

[imatt711]

@chris Thank you for all the advice! Do you think I should go with 32GB of RAM? Also do you think I'll notice a difference between DDR3/4?

That's a good point about the configuration. I have some spare external HDs, I'll find a way to make it work and do it all in one migration.

I'm a little apprehensive to buy used parts. If I buy it new my credit card will give me an extended warranty on anything I buy for free. Do you have any recommendations from Amazon/Newegg?

@tvsjr I'm not attached to these parts at all. Would you mind linking to the recommended docs? Also if you want to do me a HUGE favor could you link to amazon pages?

 

[Chris Moore]

@chris Thank you for all the advice! Do you think I should go with 32GB of RAM? Also do you think I'll notice a difference between DDR3/4?

Sure, you will probably notice that DDR3 is less expensive. The difference in speed could be detected with bench-marking utilities, but with only 8 drives in the pool, the drives will be the limiting factor on speed.

I'm a little apprehensive to buy used parts. If I buy it new my credit card will give me an extended warranty on anything I buy for free. Do you have any recommendations from Amazon/Newegg?

You will not find prices like that for new parts. Last I looked, that board was still available new on NewEgg, but it was around $200. The reason that a lot of the server gear shows up on eBay is because they purchased something with more horsepower to do whatever it is they are doing. These components are probably good for another 5 or 10 years. The home environment is just not that demanding of the components. As long as you keep them cool, they will last a long time. Heat is the enemy, don't hide it in a closet, it needs a supply of cool air to keep the drive temps between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius and that SAS controller needs a stream of cool air too. Take a look at this:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/additional-pylons-harddrives-required.59679/

Every FreeNAS I have built (8 now) have been with used components. In the first couple, I even used drives that I bought from eBay. I don't suggest that though. I had I high failure rate from the ones I bought that way. All the drives I am running now were new when I put them in service. The thing I found about the used components, if you buy quality components that are supported by the operating system, they usually work just fine.
Full disclosure, I did have one power supply fail in a system and a SAS controller fail in another, as well as many, many hard drives, but that is the way of things, eventually they will break. My car (an 1990 Honda Civic) is in the shop AGAIN. That thing just won't stay fixed. I have to repair something every 5 or 6 years.

 

[imatt711]

Okay I've gone through the guide and put together a much more traditional build. I totally hear your recommendation on used parts, but I'm much more comfortable going with new ones for my first build, especially from retailers I'm used to dealing with. I realize this is my own mistake to learn from.

CPU - Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116907
Motherboard - SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182821
RAM - Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148770
Boot Drive - Kingston Digital, Inc. 120GB A400 SSD - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6JQS8C/
Case - Rosewill Stealth ATX Mid Tower - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1Q2DXM/
PSU - SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151186

I already have these:
HDD - 8x Western Digital RED Drives - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JJLW4M/


A couple unanswered questions?
1. Do you have any recommendations for Sata Cables? Also should I plug my drives into the 8 SAS ports?
2. I noticed this PSU comes with 8 sata ports, I'm gonna need a 9th for the boot drive. Is there a simple adapter I can use?
3. Am I missing anything else? Fans? Cooling concerns? etc?

 

[Chris Moore]

I totally hear your recommendation on used parts, but I'm much more comfortable going with new ones for my first build, especially from retailers I'm used to dealing with. I realize this is my own mistake to learn from.

It is the difference between buying a new car or buying a used car. It isn't as much a mistake as it is a choice. It will cost you a little more, but if it makes you happy, go for it.

1. Do you have any recommendations for Sata Cables? Also should I plug my drives into the 8 SAS ports?

The system board should come with some. Sure, why not?

2. I noticed this PSU comes with 8 sata ports, I'm gonna need a 9th for the boot drive. Is there a simple adapter I can use?

I have used these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162011
They are very good quality and of the four I have, I have had zero problems.

 

[imatt711]

@Chris Moore Thank you so much for all the advice. I'm gonna order my system tonight. I'll be sure to post back about how the build goes.