My first FreeNAS build - looking for feedback

[William Ableson]

Purpose of Build:

1. File sharing at home office - can include large video files (500mb to 1.5gb) - will want to share with offsite video editor in the future as well
2. Plex server for media
3. Learn more about virtualization and what I can do with it
4. Keep option open to upgrade on existing build in the future - hoping this will last us 4-6 years. The numerous SATA ports will allow for adding more HDDs later.
5. Learn more about computers

Note: I am located in China, so I am buying parts, building, and deploying it here. Hence, you'll find TaoBao and JD.com links for the items I plan to buy. Also, while I am not a pro at computers I am relatively familiar with computers and consider myself a "low-intermediate" Python programmer. I've built my own computer before, but not a NAS.

Largely following the build showcased here: https://ramsdenj.com/2016/01/01/freenas-server-build.html

Parts:
Fractal Design Node 804 Chassis
http://m.tb.cn/h.37qUbre?sm=e50bea

Motherboard I am trying to decide between the following two. The second can use v5/v6 processors, which I am also looking into:

Supermicro X10SL7-F
http://m.tb.cn/h.37AqKsS?sm=63bd02
——OR——
Supermicro X11SSL-CF
http://m.tb.cn/h.3ia58Rl?sm=a1bcb0

Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 (might get E3-12XX v5/v6 Skylake version if I use the X11SSL-CF, if there are benefits - I am still researching this)
http://m.tb.cn/h.3icjqh6?sm=611c3f

4x 8GB Samsung DDR3 1.35v-1600 M391B1G73QH0 RAM
http://m.tb.cn/h.37AjzLl?sm=02f5ab

2 x ENERMAX T.B. Silence UCTB12P Case Fan
http://item.jd.com/30138220881.html

3x Noctua NF-P14s redux-1200 Case Fans
http://item.jd.com/2248329.html

Seasonic 650W power supply
http://item.jd.com/6598248.html

Kingshare E330 60GB SSD
http://item.jd.com/3167821.html

No UPS yet, but will look at getting one after I get everything else setup.

Drives - WD Red 6TB x 4 in RAID-Z2 for ~12TB of free space. Looking to add more in later as needed. I think this will be sufficient for my current storage and plex needs as well as playing around with VMs.

Questions:

• What are the tradeoffs with the MOBOs? I know the X10SL7-F caps at 32GB of RAM and the X11SSL-CF can go to 64GB. That might affect future expansion. I am not sure by how much. Also the X11SSL-CF can use newer CPUs. Which brings me to my next question.
• The Xeon E3 vs the Xeon E3 Skylake versions (E3 12XX v5/v6) - what would be the benefits and tradeoffs of going with Skylake. It looks like some of the Skylakes have integrated graphics. Is there a use to this? They use 14nm instead of 22nm tech, which means it can reach higher clocks. Would there be use cases where this can help?
• Any other thoughts? Am I missing something?

Thank you for taking a look and for any feedback.

 

[kdragon75]

Learn more about virtualization and what I can do with it

Of all the thing I should comment on, this one jumps out the most. This is my job (part of it anyway). If you want to learn about virtualization, do it with ESXi, not bhyve. bhyve is fine is your into hacking your way through things. ESXi is better suited to learning the the infrastructure around virtualization. Also if your going to consider FreeNAS on ESXi, a so called AIO (All In One) setup, stop and spend a few weeks reading the form and reading about ESXi first. Any E3 CPU is going to be underpowered and if you have more than one or two SMALL VMs its grossly underpowered. I run a standalone host at home with dual 6 core CPUs. this is ideal for a nested lab (I run several ESXi hosts on my physical one). In virtualization core count is king. in FreeNAS clock is king. That said anything modern over 2.4GHz is fine for 99% of people. Look into second hand dual CPU systems, there cheap! On the FreeNAS side of virtualization (backing ESXi not bhyve) RAIDz2 can function but slowly. Generally more vdevs will be faster i.e. striped mirrors (like RAID10). So there's that too...

 

[William Ableson]

kdragon75,

Thanks for all the feedback. It sounds like I either need to read more on ESXi and beef up the build (go for AIO), or I can narrow the scope of my build purpose to just FreeNAS and then I can do a less beefier build, yes?

Do you have a recommendation for a particular dual-core @ 2.4ghz? Do you recommend any other hardware changes if I nix VMs from the build purpose?

 

[kdragon75]

Thanks for all the feedback. It sounds like I either need to read more on ESXi and beef up the build (go for AIO), or I can narrow the scope of my build purpose to just FreeNAS and then I can do a less beefier build, yes?

Yeah generally if your using virtualization, you want at least 6 physical cores and 32GB of RAM. For just FreeNAS your build looks ideal.

Do you have a recommendation for a particular dual-core @ 2.4ghz?

I'm not sure what you mean. A quad core CPU is fine for just FreeNAS. You could look into some of the Pentium class CPUs that support ECC but if you plan to run jails, you still want the quad. Otherwise, you will be pushing the limit of the hardware and have no room for growth. This may seem counterintuitive to what I said earlier but that's the difference between building a VM and a physical server. A physical server needs to be designed to handle the worst case load plus some room for growth. VMs are designed to be JUSTenough for the workload. If your physical machine needs an upgrade, you need to order the parts, shutdown, install them, and test,. A VM, you shut down and in a few clicks, you can ad more cores/RAM/network cards/etc. It's a different way of thinking. You still build the physical VM host for the worst case load plus a bit extra, the difference is that the extra can be allocated anywhere it's needed. This is why VMs are built to a minimum, you want to keep as much of that reserve capacity as you can for when and where you need it.

 

[Chris Moore]

Note: I am located in China, so I am buying parts, building, and deploying it here.

Are you only interested in building with new parts, or would you consider saving some cash with purchase of second hand hardware?

 

[William Ableson]

Kdragon75,

I got what ya mean now. I'll put off VMs for now to keep things simple and learn one thing at a time.

Chris Moore,

Open to both. Would depend on price and quality. Buying secondhand does have its risks in China. Pretty sure the CPUs I found were previously used in servers, but I believe the rest of the parts are new.