Need input on first build.

[Badboy5000]

Hi Everybody,
Just joined in hopes of learning something from some of you very knowledgeable nas gurus.

I have a couple Qnaps. The last one I bought about 6 months ago. Ts-653a, came with 4 gigs of ram, decent processor for moderate use. Right now using 3 10tb Seagate drives (raided).

Finding even this last one just doesn't have the juice to do what I want. Finding that the ram gets maxed out at times.

I use it for multiple streaming, photos, music, websites etc. Running multiple apps. One of the biggest problems is streaming 4k videos through Plex. It just won't do it. Plex doesn't allow you to play direct without transcoding. Yet my tv will stream these mkvs with no problem. I thought it was time build something that will meet all my needs.
I'm here to jump on the FreeNAS wagon.

I have been doing some research, I know you have to put some effort into building a proper nas. I have settled on the following.

Node 804 for the enclosure.
I want to start with 3 10tb Seagate drives. Will probably max it out to 8. I have heard you can squeeze 11 in.
Samsung 256 gig ssd for the boot drive.
Going with 32 gigs of ram. Not sure of the brand, it will depend on the board.
I'm assuming I'm going to need a cooling system.
Power supply probably going to be Gold rated at least 450w

Here's where I hit a road block.
Would like a cpu equal to an i7. Haven’t decided which one because this will depend on the board.
I have read that a lot of people recommend the Supermicro boards. This is where I lack the knowledge. Do these boards come with high-end onboard graphics cards, or can I put my own in? As far as I understand I can put my own card in, but space might be an issue. I don't mind an onboard card if it could stand up to heavy use.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Let's address the budget. I haven't really set a budget. I would be willing to dish out a few bucks if it ment finally getting what I want. I would also like to have this build long term. Trying to build something I can expand more drives on, and the hardware will stay current for a number of years. I know it will probably be outdated 2 weeks after I build it. Lol.

Thanks guys.
Randy

 

[BigDave]

I have read that a lot of people recommend the Supermicro boards. This is where I lack the knowledge. Do these boards come with high-end onboard graphics cards, or can I put my own in? As far as I understand I can put my own card in, but space might be an issue. I don't mind an onboard card if it could stand up to heavy use.

You need to take advantage of the forum's Resources Section, in particular,
the renowned Hardware Recommendations. There's a ton of stuff you can start off with but obviously your hardware is number one for building those long lasting machines.

 

[danb35]

Do these boards come with high-end onboard graphics cards, or can I put my own in?

No, they don't; yes, you can, but it would be a waste of time, money, and electricity. FreeNAS has no graphics capabilities.

 

[Badboy5000]

I know the hardware requirements recommend using Es Xeon cpus.
Now, this doesn't support ECC memory. If I match the board properly can I run a cpu similar to this, rather then running the Xeon's cpus? http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_1210_65&item_id=108915

You get a better bang for your buck.

 

[danb35]

If I match the board properly can I run a cpu similar to this, rather then running the Xeon's cpus? http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_1210_65&item_id=108915

Sure you can. Should you? Well, that depends. How important is your data to you?

 

[Evertb1]

You get a better bang for your buck.

The question of course is: Will you get a better bang for your buck? Going for an i7 CPU means that no ECC support is available. So you would build a less then optimal system to support FreeNAS/ZFS. From that point of view you would actually waste some of your money.

Don't forget that FreeNAS in the first place is a storage server with ZFS as the only available filesystem. All the other stuff like jails and VM's is extra and not always optimal. To me the only reason to choose for FreeNAS is that you get storage on a safe and reliable file system. It comes with some extra demands and recommandations but that is the price you pay.

 

[Badboy5000]

Thanks for the input.
I want to build a high end system.
The only thing I have somewhat decided on is, I want to use the Node 804 Chassis.
I would like to have a MB that supports 128gs ram and 2 CPUs. Won't install the second one right away. I do a lot of heavy streaming, moving big files, probably going to start running websites off it. (Not a lot)...Power consumption is also what I will try and address if possible.

Any suggestions for MB and CPUs that work well together? Will be running up to 8 - 10tb Seagate drives...Will expand in the future. Trying to build this so I can get a few years out of it without being outdated too quickly.

Thanks

 

[Constantin]

Given how quickly motherboards go out of date, I'm not sure you gain a lot by "planning for the future". It's like the folk who buy oversized boilers, just in case they will expand the house, even if they never do. The oversized boiler costs more to buy, more to run, never sees a proper operation cycle, etc. But if you want to go big, why not this 24-bay supermicro chassis, with two CPUs, 128GB RAM, 1200W of power supply? If you like it, don't forget to thank Chris Moore!

But if you end up wanting something smaller that you built yourself, consider the the ASRock C2750D4I inside the Mini and the Mini XL. It has 12 on-board SATA ports, of which one should be reserved for the system drive, perhaps a second for a SLOG. One 8x PCIe slot allows the retrofit of a 10GB network card or like device and the board is $400 from Newegg plus the cost of the RAM. The Mini ships with 32GB of ECC RAM by default, and the only thing I'll add is that you should stick to whatever ASRock has qualified. This board allows me to dump/retrieve media files to the server at 300+MB/s, smaller fry around 100MB/s.

Two things to look for with the C2750D4I is the ASRock firmware (to avoid a BMC/watchdog issue) and the manufacturing date (i.e. after Feb 2017, when the Intel AVR54 errata that kills these boards over time was addressed). New boards shouldn't have an issue, used ones likely will. Whatever you do, keep a receipt as insurance in case there is an issue.

 

[Ericloewe]

ASUS C2750D4I

ASRock. Fixed it for you.

 

[Constantin]

Whoops and thanks! I'll go and put on my dunce cap and do frog jumps in the corner while holding my ears. :-D

 

[Badboy5000]

Here's what I went with. I know there will be some criticism, but I think this machine will rock.

FYI: None of these parts were bought from Amazon.

Chassis Node 804
https://www.amazon.ca/Fractal-Desig...=UTF8&qid=1515623857&sr=1-1&keywords=node+804

Board - ASUS ROG Strix Z370-G
https://www.amazon.ca/ASUS-Z370-G-W...5624157&sr=1-1&keywords=ASUS+ROG+Strix+Z370-G

intel core i7-8700k coffee lake
https://www.amazon.ca/Intel-BX80684...=1-1&keywords=intel+core+i7-8700k+coffee+lake

RAM - Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB
https://www.amazon.ca/Corsair-Venge...06&sr=1-2&keywords=Corsair+Vengeance+LPX+32GB

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
https://www.amazon.ca/Cooler-Master...8&sr=1-1&keywords=Cooler+Master+Hyper+212+EVO

Corsair CX-M Series CX750M 750 Watt 80
PLUS Bronze Certified Power Supply
https://www.amazon.ca/Corsair-Modul...50+Watt+80+PLUS+Bronze+Certified+Power+Supply

5 Seagate 10TB Drives
https://www.amazon.ca/Seagate-IronW...5623306&sr=8-1&keywords=Seagate+IronWolf+10TB

Fire away :) Not real big on the power supply, but have over the counter replacement on all the major parts for the next 3 years.

 

[danb35]

Fire away

What's the point? You've ignored our recommendations, and you've already bought it.

 

[Badboy5000]

Mod note: Edited for the reasons laid out in the warning.

OP believed that he had not been given recommendations.

- Ericloewe

 

[Nick2253]

Frankly, I think you've gone about this all wrong. You don't need a NAS, you need a hypervisor. The purpose of a NAS is to store and serve data. Modern all-in-one NASes exist more because of marketing departments than because they are a good idea.

Your laundry list of non-NAS uses for your NAS points squarely at the need for a hypervisor. Offload those tasks to a machine that actually designed for processing, instead of trying to shoe-horn that stuff into a place it doesn't really belong.

 

[Zredwire]

Frankly, I think you've gone about this all wrong. You don't need a NAS, you need a hypervisor.

I agree with this. It seems like running programs and processing are your main goal with a secondary goal of data storage. I don't think FreeNAS is really what you are looking for. Even if it is, this may be a case of its better to run it inside a VM on ESXI and get a controller you can pass through for FreeNAS. Then set up VM's for your other processing needs. Though without ECC memory you are giving up some of the main advantages FreeNAS has to offer.

 

[tvsjr]

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. OP clearly knows better than anyone.

 

[Badboy5000]

Mod note: Edited for the reasons laid out in the warning.

OP believed that he had not been given recommendations.

- Ericloewe

My apologies if I insulted anyone.

 

[danb35]

I can't imagine how anyone could perceive treating a sincere and relevant question as a "smart a** answer" as insulting.

 

[Badboy5000]

I appreciate the feedback, but I'm being misunderstood here. This build is not just for downloading. I absolutely agree about the ecc memory. I'm glad someone pointed that out. This is something that I realized after my post. The place I bought the parts I just assumed the board was ecc compatible. They grabbed the wrong board. I should have looked, that was my bad. The good news is it wasn't built yet because the chassis hadn't arrived. Thanks for the input.

 

[danb35]

To be clear, ECC support requires both the motherboard and the CPU--the i7 series doesn't support ECC either.