Need Advice for a stubborn co-worker

[stock2255]

Hey guys,

I have some experience with FreeNAS, but this post comes more from me being worried about a friend's FreeNAS build. I'm going to try to go into detail since he is a intelligent, smart man, who I presume is IT savvy (numerous Comptia certifications, bachelor of Computer Sciences, etc) He got off on a great start, for hardware, here is the base:

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 70A4001LUX (comes with a 280w 80+ Bronze PSU, but we have a 500w 80+ EVGA power supply with proper adapter we can put in as well)
Intel Xeon E3-1225 v3 3.2GHz 4GB
16GB Hynix Unbuffered ECC RAM
9210-8I-LSI-8-PORT-6GBPS
5 x TOSHIBA PH3200U-1I72 2TB 7200 RPM (these have been in our storage for a while, still in box, so he got these for $30 a piece. Never opened, never use. 3 year warranty apparently)
Samsung 850 evo 120GB (this is another spare part he wants to use out of a Windows Server build he was playing with)

He wants to use FreeNAS as a storage and plex server for his family, putting the hard drives into a Raidz2 array on the 9210-8i-LSI card. Now that the overview is over, let me voice my concerns.

1) Is there any issue using the 5 Toshiba 2TB hds? They are brand new and never powered on, and he'll run a deep check on all of them before putting them into use.
2) I told him he could simply use a good external flash drive to boot FreeNAS off. He wants to use the old SSD. I've searched the forums and have seen some slight performance enhancements, but it seems like a waste of his SSD.
3) Main issue I have, hard drive heat and lack of space. The Ts140 case has room for 4 hard drives, if you strip everything out. He wants to either....Option A): use the 3 bays in the TS140, and jimmy some rack that sits on the bottom of the case with the other two hard drives and a fan. Option B) Make use of an old Corsair 200R case. This has 4 3.5" slots, and room for a few expanders in the 5.25" bins (there is 3 5.25" slots) for the last hard drive. However, reviews I've read claim horrible heat issues with how the 4 hard drives are situated on the bottom.

Here is a picture to illustrate:

Honestly, both Option A and B seem like dumb decisions to me. I can't seem to convey that point to him. I think he knows its not an optimal setup case wise, and I'm pretty sure he is trying to save as much money as possible. He has a young autistic daughter (who loves watching movies and shows off Plex so I think that is why he is building this) so I understand why he is trying to skimp and keep costs low. Do both these options sound as bad to everyone else?

Hmm...I'm actually now thinking about getting another co-worker or two to chip in with me and buy a proper case that we can give him instead. Maybe a case less than $150 or so, that will allow for proper airflow and mounting of his hard drives, and maybe room for a few more drives. Any recommendations? Thank you in advanced for any guidance.

 

[Stux]

As I understand it, putting a fifth drive in the optical bay is a common hack in the ts120. Providing cooling is taken care of.

Using a 120GB SSD is fine/sensible

Using 5 drives in Raidz2 is sensible.

I see no issues with your colleagues build.

 

[wblock]

The SSD is a little bit of a waste. OTOH, I'd rather have an SSD than any USB flash drive, and it will do no harm.

The drives and heat are a bigger deal. The idea of chipping in with a coworker is nice. A decent case should be available for well under $150.

 

[diedrichg]

If the "old" SSD isn't being used then you should go with the SSD for resiliency over the USB. 6 drives would be a better fit. Fractal Design R5 can hold 8 drives and has excellent airflow.

 

[Spencer Skinner]

I just got the Fractal Design R4 for my NAS, pretty good case to be honest, I am yet to see any blazing issues with it.

 

[Quebecman]

Maybe for gamers and CPU and/or GPU intensive uses, heating can combine to the drives' heat and create those problems. Can be alleviated by adding fans where possible.

The Corsair looks really well vented with mesh all over, even on top; I can't see why using it would be a problem. Maybe put three drives on top and two below.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Option A and B seem like dumb decisions to me

I've played with various off-the-shelf systems with hard drives installed other than where the engineers intended, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a mistake, for exactly the reason you suggest, i.e. cooling. My advice would be, if a system is designed for 4 hard drives, don't buy it planning to put 5 hard drives in it.
This leads to Option C: build with 4 storage drives, as the Lenovo engineers intended. Cooling issues with an SSD in the optical bay won't be an issue.

This is not to discount Option D: use a different case.

 

[stock2255]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I explained to him everyone's suggestions and concerns, but now he has a new "fix". A coworker had one of these lying around: https://www.amazon.com/Sans-Digital-HDDRACK5-5-Bay-Organizing/dp/B001LF40KE/

It is basically a 5-bin hard drive rack with fan that sits outside the case, that is powered by a external power supply. He has a large cabinet where he keeps his router, switch, modem, ups, and various smarthome addons. He wants to install that rack, along with the power supply, on one of the shelves, and use two "Mini SAS 36 SFF-8087 to (4) SFF-8482 Connectors With SATA Power" cables he has. He is going to run the two cables from the 9210-8I-LSI out the back of the case and into the cabinet. This seems to be a better idea than the original two hard drives on a make-shift homemade hdd rack on the bottom of his case with no cooling.

I don't see a huge obvious issue with this plan with his, even if its not ideal, though I'm still looking at chipping in for a new case for him. Co-workers seem supportive of this. Is there a huge obvious flaw with his solution? He is obviously going to do what he wants, but if it is a good enough solution while we wait for a new case, I'll feel better about it.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Kevin Horton]

At some point I think you need to back off and let this guy build his system. You've hopefully explained your concerns to him, and he has chosen to ignore some of them. If it all blows up in his face, that isn't your fault. One of you will learn something from this. Maybe you are right, and he'll learn to listen a bit more closely next time you talk. Or maybe he is right, and you'll learn that you don't know as much as you think you do.

Hopefully he will do proper testing to evaluate the cooling. The further away from best practices you are, the more testing you should do.

 

[stock2255]

At some point I think you need to back off and let this guy build his system. You've hopefully explained your concerns to him, and he has chosen to ignore some of them. If it all blows up in his face, that isn't your fault. One of you will learn something from this. Maybe you are right, and he'll learn to listen a bit more closely next time you talk. Or maybe he is right, and you'll learn that you don't know as much as you think you do.

Hopefully he will do proper testing to evaluate the cooling. The further away from best practices you are, the more testing you should do.

I think you are right and I'll take this piece of advice to heart. I am no where near a FreeNAS expert in any manner, obviously. Overestimating your level of knowledge in general usually leads to numerous problems. I've had one FreeNAS build that I obsessed over getting every little thing perfect in my head (and probably made plenty of obvious mistakes myself) I expressed my concerns and those listed by others listed here, and gave them to him when he asked for my opinion and help. That is all I can do.

Thanks for the advice.