My new FreeNAS build - do I need to flash controllers

[EscapeVelocit3y]

Hi All,

I've finally decided I will build a proper FreeNas build after experimenting with this SW for about 4 years. I'm thinking of doing this right this time around with ECC memory and HW that supports ECC. I've put some HW down and I'm wondering if you all can help me avoid the obvious pitfalls.

Requirements:

• Plex server: should be able to transcode 4K at least and 1080p simultaneously
• File server
• Download servcer (couch potato, sickbeard, Sab)
• Application server (owncloud)
• Storage server for home security recorder (future project)

Hardware:

Case Rosewill RSV-L4412 - 4U Rackmount Server Case or Chassis, 12 SATA / SAS Hot-swap Drives $290.00
Motherboard SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSM-F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C236 $249.00
SATA Contr IBM ServeRAID M1015 $53.00
Breakout Cable 1M Mini SAS SFF-8087 36-PIN to 4 SATA 7-PIN HD Splitter Breakout Adapter Cable $16.00
Memory Kingston ValueRAM 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4 2400 RAM (Server Memory) ECC DIMM (288-Pin) KVR24E17D8/16 $240.00
CPU Intel Xeon E3-1230 V6 Kaby Lake 3.5 GHz (3.9 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 72W BX80677E31230V6 Server Processor $350.00
Power Supply CORSAIR RMx Series RM550X 550W 80 PLUS GOLD $125.00
USB drives 2x Kingston 16GB DataTraveler G4 USB 3.0 Flash Drive (DTIG4/16GB) $16.00



Questions:

• Some folks using an older version of SuperMicro X9SCM-F or the X10 version have need to flash their disk controller to allow direct access of drives to freenas. Any experts here can confirm if I will need to flash the disk controller for SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSM-F-O?
• I plan to switch from single 16 GB module to 2x8GB module for additional memory performance, does it really matter if I go with 1 vs. 2 DIMMs?
• Does anyone have experience with teh 4U chasis server I plan to use? I am mostly interested in getting this due to its ability to swap out drives easily. I have had HDD failures, this will always happens but when it does I don't want to open cases and figure out which drive to replace or at least disconnect cables

 

[Chris Moore]

Some folks using an older version of SuperMicro X9SCM-F or the X10 version have need to flash their disk controller to allow direct access of drives to freenas. Any experts here can confirm if I will need to flash the disk controller for SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSM-F-O

Flashing the disk controller is not about the version of the system board. It is done when there is a SAS controller involved and the controller needs to be converted to having the correct IT (initiator target) version of the firmware. The board you have listed does not have a SAS controller and that means it does not have the hardware that is being discussed with regard to flashing the firmware for correct drive access. I commend the fact that you have done some reading, but your understanding still has gaps. Please do ask any time you have questions or even if you are a little unsure.

SATA Contr IBM ServeRAID M1015

This is the thing that is more likely to need to be flashed. If you are going to use a new system board, you should use a newer model SAS controller instead of this one that is a very old (PCIe 2.0) model. I would suggest using this model as it is newer and already flashed with the correct firmware:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-H220-6G...0-IT-Mode-for-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID/162862201664

I plan to switch from single 16 GB module to 2x8GB module for additional memory performance, does it really matter if I go with 1 vs. 2 DIMMs?

RAM performance is not likely to make enough difference to make this change a valid idea. It would be better to select the 16GB module to leave memory slots available for adding a greater quantity of memory later. FreeNAS loves memory and the more memory the better. Almost any memory is more than fast enough because it is so much faster than the hard drives. FreeNAS uses RAM to cache data for drive IO so, even though you might think faster is better, RAM is so much faster than the drives, it isn't gaining much to go with faster memory. The thing that improves performance is having MORE memory so more things can be cached in RAM.

Does anyone have experience with teh 4U chasis server I plan to use? I am mostly interested in getting this due to its ability to swap out drives easily. I have had HDD failures, this will always happens but when it does I don't want to open cases and figure out which drive to replace or at least disconnect cables

Many people on the forum have used the Rosewill case. It is not a very good quality case. Cost wise, you would be better off using a case like this, and it is much higher quality:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...-Chassis-2x-SAT2-MV8-3x-380W-PSU/232879609290
It comes with an old system board in it, just pull that out and recycle it, then put your new system build in there.

Power Supply CORSAIR RMx Series RM550X 550W 80 PLUS GOLD $125.00

That chassis I suggested also comes with a server-grade, fully redundant power supply, so you will not need to spend for this...

 

[EscapeVelocit3y]

Thanks for the tips.

For the server chassis you listed, I looked it up and it doesn't explicitly call out support for Micro ATX, do you think it will still house a micro ATX mobo? Also the PSUs are 380 Watt and given I will have 2 VDEVs: 5 + 6 mostly WD red NAS drives, will that PSU be sufficient?

 

[Chris Moore]

Thanks for the tips.

For the server chassis you listed, I looked it up and it doesn't explicitly call out support for Micro ATX, do you think it will still house a micro ATX mobo? Also the PSUs are 380 Watt and given I will have 2 VDEVs: 5 + 6 mostly WD red NAS drives, will that PSU be sufficient?

I have two chassis like that. It is three supplies at 380 each. The system will run from any two of the three. I have done exactly what I am suggesting to you. The only problem I had was that I needed extensions for the power leads to the system board which I fabricated myself. They can be purchased if you are not able to manage it yourself.
The other thing I did with mine is to use fan speed reducers to slow the fan-wall fans by about 50% to reduce the sound level. I ran 12 drives in each of the two chassis I have.

 

[Chris Moore]

These are the ones I used:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232107503676

 

[EscapeVelocit3y]

I was thinking about this server chassis, any thoughts on this: https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=supermicro+826+2u&_sacat=0&_sop=15

My Main concern with this server is that it doesn't have PSUs that are gold+ standard, so I'm wondering if I should replace the ones this comes with which will cost me around $80-$100 CDN. Or are the ones this server comes with good enough?

 

[Chris Moore]

I would stay away from 1U and 2U servers, as a general rule, because they have smaller fans running at higher speed and must have that for proper cooling. They are usually louder and hotter than an equivalently powerful 3U or 4U server. Even if you don't see a need for the drive bays, it would be better to have the thicker system so you have better cooling of system components.

 

[EscapeVelocit3y]

Hi All,

So after searching sometime I found a great deal on a server which I would like your feedback on for a FreeNas build. I plan to pick this up on Saturday so if you could provide some detailed feedback that would be great. I know the first feedback will be don't get a 2U server, but the deal I'm getting is very good and this will be in my basement that I hardly go to which has good dehumidification.

Super Micro 2U Server -
28TB of storage (raw)

Specs:
Chasis CSE-825TQ - 8 hot swap and 2 internal fixed
Motherboard X8DT3-LN4 -4 x RJ45 1GB LAN (Intel 82576) -1 x RJ45 Dedicated IPMI 2.0 onboard KVM over LAN -SAS Broadcom SAS 1068E, Raid 0, 1, 10 support (Onboard) -SATA Intel ICH10R SATA 3.0Gpbs, Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 (Onboard) -Matrox G200eW (Video) -3 (8x) PCI-E 2.0 -1 (4x) PCI-E 2.0 -1 (16x) PCI-E 2.0
Total of 10 Hard Drives: 2 x Western Digital WD Re 1TB Datacenter Capacity Hard Drive WD1003FBYZ (at the moment set to RAID 1 on the Intel Raid controller as a boot drive) 8 x 4TB = 28TB Total (Seagate Constellation ES.3 ST4000NM0033 located in front hot swap connected to an LSI 9260-8i Raid Card (Presently in RAID 5)
LSI 9260-8i Raid Card -512MB DDRII -Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 -Supports RAID Spans 10, 50, 60
Dual 700W Hot swap power supplies
Complete with Rail kit, Rev B - the smooth ball bearing rails
CPU: 2 x Intel Xeon E5620 2.4GHz 4 cores 8 threads Total 8 Cores and 16 Threads
RAM: 48GB Kingston ECC Registered

My concerns are as follows:

• I'm not sure if I can flash the LSI 9250-8i to IT mode. Should I buy HP H220 6Gbps SAS PCI-E 3.0 HBA LSI 9207-8i P20 IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID?
• The on-board SATA controller only supports 6 so I will definitely need more ports which is why I may need to buy the HP SAS controller
• Not sure if I can flash the on-board SAS controller (Broadcom SAS1068E) to IT mode, but the controller may have a 2 TB limit making it useless for my 4 TB drives

https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/QPI/5500/X8DT3-LN4F.cfm

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Chris Moore]

I'm not sure if I can flash the LSI 9250-8i to IT mode.

I don't think that is possible.

Should I buy HP H220 6Gbps SAS PCI-E 3.0 HBA LSI 9207-8i P20 IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID?

I would say yes.

The on-board SATA controller only supports 6 so I will definitely need more ports which is why I may need to buy the HP SAS controller

I would use the SAS controller exclusively and if you need more than the eight ports it provides natively, you can always add a SAS expander like this:

SAS Expander: IBM (46m0997) ServeRAID Expansion Adapter 16-port SAS Expander - - US $15.88
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192326557905

SAS interconnect: Mini SAS SFF-8087 to Mini SAS SFF-8087 - - US $3.49
https://www.ebay.com/itm/183129085895

Not sure if I can flash the on-board SAS controller (Broadcom SAS1068E) to IT mode, but the controller may have a 2 TB limit making it useless for my 4 TB drives

Don't bother trying to use that old controller. It doesn't support drives larger than 2TB and the speed is slower. Really old model.

 

[Chris Moore]

I would use the SAS controller exclusively

I mean, I would use the SAS controller for all the data drives and only use the SATA controller for the boot drive (or drives) and I would suggest using as SATA SSD for the boot drive. Something like this should work great:

Boot drive: Intel SSD DC S3500 Series 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s, 20nm, MLC 80GB - - US $29.99
https://www.ebay.com/itm/273102509397