Need some FreeNAS Advice....

[SCORPION]

I currently have a Sans Digital NAS (AN4L+b) (4-WD 1TB drives) that runs a modified Centos 6.3 (very old)
- MotherBoard is Giada N70E-DR 8gb DDR3 1600MHz
- The OS is on a Flash-SATA Slim D150Q (2gb)...I am getting a larger flash now.
- I have in the past run FreeNAS so I am very excited to try it.
- I have read a massive amount of documentation on this site.
- Does anyone forsee any problems

 

[danb35]

Does anyone forsee any problems

Yes. That board really isn't a good fit for FreeNAS. The integrated CPU is marginal at best, neither the CPU nor the chipset support ECC, the maximum RAM possible on the board is the bare minimum for a safe installation of FreeNAS, and the integrated audio is often problematic. At least it has Intel NICs rather than Realtek.

 

[SCORPION]

Thanks for responding.................the case is great...I guess I will look for a Mini-IXT form factor MotherBoard......

I really want to run FreeNAS...

Thanks

 

[Jailer]

A Supermicro 2550 or 2750 based board would be a good option for that case.

 

[danb35]

In Mini-ITX, Supermicro has the Avoton boards that @Jailer linked to. They're good boards, and those chips perform well and draw very little power, but they're awfully expensive for what you get. Asrock has similar boards with the same chips, but they are similarly expensive. Asrock also has a Mini-ITX board with a Socket 1150 which will give you more flexibility with CPUs.

Be sure you look for a server-grade board with ECC support, and ideally IPMI as well.

 

[SCORPION]

ok.....I have another question...does the board need to have Raid built into it?

 

[danb35]

No. FreeNAS handles the RAID for you.

 

[SCORPION]

thanks again......so many things i did not realize....I am not sure what board to get....lots of searching to do

 

[SCORPION]

Is there any Mini-IXT embedded CPU motherboard that supports ECC...

 

[SCORPION]

ok...i am just going to get the
ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard

 

[SCORPION]

Thanks here will be my build.....let me know what you think..........

MotherBoard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard ($209)

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Server Memory Model CT2KIT102472BD160B ($89)

Processor: Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell Dual-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1150 54W BX80646I34150 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4400 ($129)

and of course FreeNAS

 

[danb35]

Is there any Mini-IXT embedded CPU motherboard that supports ECC...

Any of the boards @Jailer or I linked support ECC, along with the Supermicro Avoton boards.