Need Advice - FreeNAS vs Napp-it for new 48 bay build

[Charles Weeks]

I know the responses will be a bit biased here ;) but please show me the light!

Ive done some searching on both but all of the comparisons I have found involve old versions. Below is the gear I have for the build and what I'm needing the rig to handle.

Build Gear
MOBO: Supermicro X8DAH+-F
CPU: 2x Intel Xeon CPU L5639 @ 2.13GHz
RAM: 64GB
CONTROLLERS: Integrated Intel for boot if needed (Depending on OS Selection)
3x LSI 9201-16i
CHASSIS: AIC RSC-5D 5U 48 bays top load (older version with SAS 3g backplane)
HDD: Still up in the air but probably Toshiba 3TB

ZFS CONFIG
(2) Pools - (4) RaidZ2 vdevs of (6) drives each spread across the three lsi controllers

Goals
Media Storage Server (File types mostly comprised of 1080p mkv and iso)
Sync to Second Local Server for backup (I want this to be weekly incremental file copy)
-not sure how to achieve this rsync? but i want data to be readily accessible without any recovery steps needed...just point to a new share and go
Run MySQL for central XBMC database
Simple User Interface for daily operation and also recovery


My current rig is a Frankenstein monster( 43Tb usable) of every recommended thing to avoid for zfs (raid cards, sas expanders, etc) and I want to make this one correct or as correct as my budget can allow. I have all the above gear and I'm only missing the drives.
I need some guidance from you guys on OS choice and drives.
OS's I'm considering

OmniOS with napp-it
OpenIndiana with napp-it --> currently using
FreeNAS 9.2.1

I'm leaning towards FreeNAS but dont have any extensive experience with it beyond a couple weeks of testing with 10 spare 2 TB drives I have laying around. I know Gea is focusing on OmniOS moving forward with napp-it but I'm apprehensive on giving up my desktop environment cause it has saved my butt a few times (track down issues that i would have been lost doing via cli)

Point me in the right direction guys. Thanks

 

[cyberjock]

You aren't likely to see anyone provide advice on our product over a competitor. We aren't professionals of the competitor product. We've had many people choose others over FreeNAS, and we've had many people choose FreeNAS over others. It's really about how well you understand the OS, how reliable you think it is, and how much troubleshooting you think you can do on your own(or with support's help).

I've helped several people migrate from competitor products and they were utterly shocked at how easy FreeNAS was to setup and they were surprised at how fast their server was when properly setup compared to competitor's products.

 

[Charles Weeks]

ok so I choose a poor thread title...sorry for that.
what i'm really looking for here is for someone to chime in and let me know how easily my goals will be acheived thru FreeNAS and possibly the best ways to try. That was I can use my test setup to run thru the paces and try it for myself before I go live.
One of the main reasons I have been leaning towards FreeNAS is I felt that I would get better support from the community when in a jam versus trying to find info on OI for example. Lets see if my hopes of warm and fuzzy can be realized. The guard dog has me feeling a bit sheepish so far.

Thanks

 

[cyberjock]

"easy" is relative. If I had to give you a 1 to 10(10 being crazy hard) I'd say you're at about a 2 or 3, with the exception of mysql. If you know mysql very well, then a simple command will install it in a jail... pkg install mysql(or something like that). Then you'll just have to configure it.

To be honest, that hardware is quite old and will definitely use alot of power. More than likely you could buy new hardware and the power savings will pay for itself in just 2-4 years! That's one reason why I upgraded last summer.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I'll weigh in here since you're talking about coming from OI and I've set up ZFS on Solaris - you will find a LOT of information about FreeNAS just in this forum, and anything you don't find can 99% of the time be pulled from the underlying FreeBSD knowledgebase.

FreeNAS is much easier to get running and off the ground than OI or any other IllumOS fork; it's also easier to do it wrong though since it's so easy, but given that you've spent the time to search through the forum and information (judging by your HW choices) and your existing knowledge of ZFS from OI, you shouldn't have any trouble.

Hardware note: a single L5639 is probably overkill, never mind two. It's a 60W hex-core with AES-NI so you'll already get encryption offloaded. Unless you plan to transcode on the server via Plex or make some serious demands of your SQL install, you can easily shuck one processor assuming your RAM can be obtained densely enough to pack into a single processor's slots, which will save you some power. With a 48-bay setup you're going to spend the bulk of your power budget spinning plates. 64GB also doesn't align nicely with the triple-channel architecture of the 5600 series. Do you already own that hardware or is this a planned buy?

 

[Charles Weeks]

Thanks for the reply honeybadger!

-I have all the gear already minus the drives... The new build was something that I have been debating for quite some time but was ignited by acquiring the chassis at a price I couldnt pass up. That started back in August and I have been picking up items off the list when I come across them at good prices. Everything is used but in great shape.
-I figured the processors were overkill but they were priced right with heatsinks and after a bios update on the mobo I was off and running. I do use plex for remote streaming when I'm out of town working and also have some family using it on occasion. -As for the SQL demands...its only XBMC server(2500 movie titles, 35k tv episodes) for my (3) clients in the house.
- The memory is spread across both processors though with one slot available on each. I figured i would fill those out at some point but can go ahead with it now if theres a great benefit to it.
-As far as power goes...I'm sure it will be hefty but it will definitely be less than current.

Current
Intel S5000PSL with 2 E5345
16gb RAM
2 MV8
Areca 1680 with HP SAS Expander + Rackables Expander
50 drives spinning 1tb and 2tb
All spread over 3 enclosures
Far from ideal...lol but its the monster that budget and knowledge allowed at the time and it has served me well for 6 years... but its time for it to go :)

Please advise me where you see fit...Did I make any wrong turns with the new rig that wouldnt be too costly to fix? My aim with this was to try not to have a spof... short of the mobo.
My original thought was to rehab the old rig with a lsi hba to connect 2 rackables expanders and eliminate the raid controller and hp sas expander. Then use that for a once a week backup server. That would have a backup server up and running for under $300 Perhaps I should just scrap it all and start with something a bit newer.

Thanks again for taking the time to post and pose something for me to chew on

 

[HoneyBadger]

Can't fault you acquiring that if the price is right.

Given your memory config of 16x4GB sticks I would say pull the secondary processor out and cut back to 9x4GB = 36GB, which will fill all three channels and still leave you with plenty of CPU power, even if you run lz4+encryption.

You then have an L5639 and a 6x4GB setup you can put into another motherboard and start building that second machine to use as an rsync target. ;)

Everything else looks great though. I assume that AIC chassis has direct 1:1 backplanes which is why you went with the LSI 16i's so you can even use cheaper (and cooler) 5400rpm SATA drives without fear of any elusive "SATA-over-SAS-expander" gremlins coming to get you.

 

[Charles Weeks]

picked it up for less than a norco 24 ;)

I like the idea for the cpu and ram...Will the ram be enough for the storage this is gonna hold?
yes the chassis is 1:1... I hoping to evict all the gremlins with this one cause they have been living rent free for way too long :)

I was leaning towards toshiba 3tb for the drives mainly because I have been using their 2TB for a while..and so far so good. Before that was Hitachi 2tb but that was pre WD deal.
I know that this sort of thing swings with the wind but whats your thoughts on drive size/model?

 

[Rand]

I am using Toshiba 3TB (5940) not 7200 with little issues

 

[jeremi]

if u go wit wd
use the black if money is not a problem use enterprise
stay away from the reds trust me failure rate is crap even if thea advertise a huge mtbf

if u go wit segate don't use the 4tb in the consumer line (stay at 3tb or below)the failure rate is crap but i don't know about that brand sata enterprise grade , sins we only use sas in enterprise grade


p.s i work in a dc and i speak from collected data we ave ,wat the brand advertise regarding mtbf
and the real environment numbers usually are way off