My First NAS / Home File Server Build - Anything missing?

[Revenge]

Hey everyone :)

I've recently been looking into builds for when I hopefully move out at the end of the year. A NAS (well i've been told its more a File Server) is one of my main interests. I've never built one before, but I have been reading on the subject, and do have a friend who has one in his house atm (but its a stock built one).

So i've put together a list of hardware, and just want to make sure I'm not missing anything important. Take note that I'm not building a very large server. I've planned for possible upgrades in the future (in terms of MOBO, PSU and the Case), but for my uses, it doesn't need to be massive, and doesn't need to handle many simultaneous users (i plan to be in a household of 4-6 people, who won't very frequently be accessing the server from multiple devices). This isn't really designed as a backup server, more just for storing media for use with the other computers, and the HTPC in the house.

Heres the hardware I currently have in my list:

Motherboard - ASRock FM2A85X-ITX Motherboard - Link - 7 x SATA3, 3 x USB3.0, Gigabit LAN, 1 x PCI-E2.0 x 16
CPU - AMD A4 5300 2-Core Processor - Link - Dual Core 3.4Ghz (3.6GHz Turbo), 1MB Cache, TDP 65W, Socket FM2
CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-L9a - Link - 37mm high
Memory - Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) Vengeance DDR3 - Link - 1600mhz
PSU - OCZ 700W Modular ATX - Link - Dual +12V Rail
Storage - 4 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001 - Link - 7200RPM, SATA3 6GB/S, 3.5", 64MB cache
Case - Fractal Design Define Mini - Link - 6 Pre-Fitted HDD Trays, 2 x 120mm fans, Fan Controller, USB3.0 Front Panel Support

All of this will be running off FreeNAS or NAS4Free (don't know which one is more recommended, and won't be researching them overly until I come to purchasing this), which will be booting off a 8GB USB Drive (Link)

Tell me what you guys think, and recommend anything that needs to be added/changed.

Cheers,
Revenge

EDIT:

Thanks to the help of others I've opted for 2 x 8GB RAM, 4 x 2TB Hard drives, and changed to a similar priced Modular PSU at 700W with more SATA ports (at a recommendation from a friend).

 

[Stephens]

- Read CyberJock's ZFS primer (sticky in noob section). It also wouldn't hurt to at least scan the manual. You'll avoid a lot of headaches that way. I did not spec my build until I had an understanding of the product.
- Are you planning for redundancy to protect your data? A 3-drive system doesn't fit the norms. Expansion isn't "easy" and you'll see why after you read CyberJock's presentation. I went ahead and built a 6-drive RAID-Z2 when I did mine.
- Have you looked into WD Red drives? I would.
- Are you planning to use encryption? If so, you need a CPU that support AES-NI.
- For ZFS, you should have 8GB minimum. The manual recomends 6GB + 1GB per 1TB of storage for ZFS systems. You can get by with less, but don't complain about performance later. UFS memory requirements are less, but then you miss out on the benefits of ZFS.

 

[Revenge]

- Read CyberJock's ZFS primer (sticky in noob section). It also wouldn't hurt to at least scan the manual. You'll avoid a lot of headaches that way. I did not spec my build until I had an understanding of the product.
- Are you planning for redundancy to protect your data? A 3-drive system doesn't fit the norms. Expansion isn't "easy" and you'll see why after you read CyberJock's presentation. I went ahead and built a 6-drive RAID-Z2 when I did mine.
- Have you looked into WD Red drives? I would.
- Are you planning to use encryption? If so, you need a CPU that support AES-NI.
- For ZFS, you should have 8GB minimum. The manual recomends 6GB + 1GB per 1TB of storage for ZFS systems. You can get by with less, but don't complain about performance later. UFS memory requirements are less, but then you miss out on the benefits of ZFS.

Thanks for the response.

I haven't even heard of ZFS, so I'll be sure to look into that.
I do not plan on redundancy. I'm more looking for a high performance read/write, was originally thinking Raid 0 setup (the data is not of high importance to me).
I have looked in WD Red drives. I don't think my build is of enough importance and im not looking necessarily to min/max. I was recommended the Barracuda for a Home Server, and I have one in my current build with no problems.
No i'm not planning to use encryption.
Is that 8GB of RAM or talking about the USB Drive? If its RAM im fine to upgrade, however the MOBO only has 2 x DDR3 slots, so I would have to be looking at 2 x 8GB RAM sticks, which would be another $100 or so into my build. I'm fine to do that if it is needed and is recommended for better performance.

 

[Pharfar]

6 TB data, and it's not that important if you loose it? At least consider some form of redundancy. And dont forget backup. I backup my media collection to an old Netgear ReadyNas, not that often, but I have a valid backup.
You say that you've planned for future upgrades regarding motherboard, psu and case. When you have a running system, you dont need to upgrade those components. And you dont want to Forget about 4 GB ram, consider 16, especially when you choose to go for redundancy with ZFS.
Oh, and and when choosing onboard network, I would say Intel is the better choice.
I would buy WD RED drives, good drives and they dont cost as much as enterprise.
Happy building!

 

[Revenge]

6 TB data, and it's not that important if you loose it? At least consider some form of redundancy. And dont forget backup. I backup my media collection to an old Netgear ReadyNas, not that often, but I have a valid backup.
You say that you've planned for future upgrades regarding motherboard, psu and case. When you have a running system, you dont need to upgrade those components. And you dont want to Forget about 4 GB ram, consider 16, especially when you choose to go for redundancy with ZFS.
Oh, and and when choosing onboard network, I would say Intel is the better choice.
I would buy WD RED drives, good drives and they dont cost as much as enterprise.
Happy building!

I don't really have anything important. It is more a file server for a media collection etc. I don't think i'd really benefit much with redundancy due to sacrificing a drive to it.
I planned for upgrades regarding them, as in they are all compatible to hold more drives. I don't mean that I am upgrading them themselves. I looked into ZFS, and it really doesn't sound like something I need to worry about. It seems to focus highly on redundancy, and having a system built for that.

My original plan was a simple Home Server style, to hold a media collection to stream to the computers in the household, including the HTPC.
I have personal experience with AMD, and am satisfied with their performance, that and they are more affordable.
What is the deal with these WD Red Drives? I was personally recommended the Barracuda's for performance in a file server, and the only thing these WD Red drives say they offer is lower power consumption. I'm not too concerned about that, especially not for another $30 a drive.

Thanks for the response :)

 

[Pharfar]

WD redl. Take a look at a review, and decide whether or not you want them.

Regarding AMD: I wasnt talking about AMD, I meant the chipset. Choose a chipset with an Intel networkchip. Realtek seems to cause quite some trouble.

I have a collection of more than 500 movies, and I would hate to replace them all, if I lost a drive in a stripe setup. But people are different

 

[Revenge]

WD redl. Take a look at a review, and decide whether or not you want them.

Regarding AMD: I wasnt talking about AMD, I meant the chipset. Choose a chipset with an Intel networkchip. Realtek seems to cause quite some trouble.

I have a collection of more than 500 movies, and I would hate to replace them all, if I lost a drive in a stripe setup. But people are different

Thanks for the guide, i'll give it a look.

I've been thinking about redundancy. But really with a 3 drive setup, I don't think its worth it.

Can i ask a silly question. If I set up a vDev with the 3 current drives in Raid 0, and then later get lets say, 3 more drives.

Am i able to completely redo the entire setup into a new vDev with 6 drives in RaidZ1 or RaidZ2 or something similar?

I've also changed the PSU to a 700W modular, with more SATA connectors, and upgraded to 16GB RAM (2 x 8GB). Along with adding 2 Noctua Case fans.

 

[Pharfar]

It's a good question. Sadly, you can't expand a ZFS pool by adding more drives. You need to "grow" it by replacing each drive with a larger drive.

 

[Revenge]

It's a good question. Sadly, you can't expand a ZFS pool by adding more drives. You need to "grow" it by replacing each drive with a larger drive.

Hmmm okay. Well considering when I expand it may be to 3TB drives, I can probably live with that.

RaidZ1 will only use one of my drives for redundancy won't it?

 

[cyberjock]

Hmmm okay. Well considering when I expand it may be to 3TB drives, I can probably live with that.

RaidZ1 will only use one of my drives for redundancy won't it?

Yes, but there have been plenty of people that have lost data using only 1 disk for redundancy. As disks get bigger their reliability isn't increasing at the same rate, so technically they are getting less reliable. There have been a few cases on the forum in the last couple of weeks that have lost all data. So choose wisely.

 

[Revenge]

Yes, but there have been plenty of people that have lost data using only 1 disk for redundancy. As disks get bigger their reliability isn't increasing at the same rate, so technically they are getting less reliable. There have been a few cases on the forum in the last couple of weeks that have lost all data. So choose wisely.

Alright thanks. Another question, I think your slideshow answered this but I'm at school and don't have it with me.

Its not possible to have disks of different sizes in a redundancy setup (like RaidZ2) is it? Also, am I able to say setup a RaidZ1 setup, and then later on add a new vDev with a RaidZ2 setup. Is that practical, or just plain stupid because of the RaidZ1 causing failures if 2 disks go down?

 

[cyberjock]

Its not possible to have disks of different sizes in a redundancy setup (like RaidZ2) is it? Also, am I able to say setup a RaidZ1 setup, and then later on add a new vDev with a RaidZ2 setup. Is that practical, or just plain stupid because of the RaidZ1 causing failures if 2 disks go down?

It is possible, but not "practical" (and I agree with you that it would be stupid) because you'd still have 2 disk failure from the RAIDZ1 vdev. It is recommended you stick to the same vdev type across the same zpool.

 

[Revenge]

It is possible, but not "practical" (and I agree with you that it would be stupid) because you'd still have 2 disk failure from the RAIDZ1 vdev. It is recommended you stick to the same vdev type across the same zpool.

Alright, well I think I may change it slightly and work with 4 x 2TB drives in RaidZ2 setup. That way I still have 4TB of data, have a good strong setup for redundancy that I can add vDevs to at a later date without losing out on any redundancy.

Thanks for the help everyone :)

 

[Schwinni]

Did you already start with your build?
I ask because I have ordered the same chipset + CPU. :)

 

[Revenge]

Did you already start with your build?
I ask because I have ordered the same chipset + CPU. :)

No i haven't started the build. This is just a list I plan to improve upon throughout this year until hopefully i can make the build beginning of next year.

Tell me how things go for you :)

 

[Schwinni]

Tell me how things go for you :)

I will.
Unfortunately one package from one shop didn't arrive today, else I would have been able to finish the NAS this weekend. :(

 

[Revenge]

I will.
Unfortunately one package from one shop didn't arrive today, else I would have been able to finish the NAS this weekend. :(

Thats a shame :(

 

[Schwinni]

Well, that's the risk when ordering at different shops. But I wanted to spread the orders of the disks over several shop in order to get disks of different production dates.
The Problem is that I ordered the RAM at this ship also.
Anyway, everything else is done. As soon as the RAM and the rest of the disks arrive I can start to install.

 

[Revenge]

Well, that's the risk when ordering at different shops. But I wanted to spread the orders of the disks over several shop in order to get disks of different production dates.
The Problem is that I ordered the RAM at this ship also.
Anyway, everything else is done. As soon as the RAM and the rest of the disks arrive I can start to install.

Sounds good :) Looking forward to hear the results.

 

[Schwinni]

FreeNAS is installed on the hardware listed in my signature. GELI encryption is enabled and uses the CPU's AES instruction set. :)