BUILD New Build Advice and Comments on new FreeNAS build

[Skilty]

Build Name: VaultV3
CPU: Intel CPU Xeon E3-1220 v3 Quad Core Haswell Processor
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F Socket 1150 Motherboard
Chassis: Fractal Design Define XL R2 Black Pearl XL-ATX Large Tower Case
Drives: 6x Seagate 3TB Performance SATA 3 Hard Drive ST3000DM001 (already have these) + 6x HGST H3IKNAS30003272SE 3TB Deskstar NAS 24x7
RAM: 16GB kit (8GBx2) DDR3 PC3-12800 Unbuffered ECC 1.35V #CT4484984
Power Supply: Corsair CP-9020075-UK CS450M 450W Hybrid Modular Power Supply (PSU)

Usage Profile: NAS, iTunes Media Server and Minecraft server

My current "server" is running NAS4Free 9.2, with a Celeron G540, 12GB DDR3 non-ECC and 6x 3TB Seagate ST3000DM001 + 3x 2TB Seagate ST2000DM001. 3 vdevs in the same pool each vdev has 3 devices in raidz1.

As I store my movie collection in MKV from bluray/DVD and transcode for AppleTV space is rapidly running out. I am now looking to expand the storage to 24TB of usable space with two separate pools of with one vdev in each pool made up of 6 devices in raidz2.

As I mentioned this currently runs NAS4Free, I have also installed VirtualBox and then have a Windows 7 instance which simply runs iTunes with Home Sharing to distribute music and video around the house (4 x AppleTV with two streaming at the same time). Recently I created a further virtual machine to run MineOS.

Would appreciate peoples thoughts on the build and whether anybody has any thoughts on running ESXi and FreeNAS as a guest with passthru on all HDDs to create the pools. For the other guest OS's I will use a 60GB SSD I have laying around to help improve performance.

I realise 16GB might be a little light on memory so will look to increase this to 32gb in the next 2-3 months.

 

[DrKK]

Ugh.

Are you sure you need to virtualize this? You can run a minecraft server in a jail (cyberjock has a guide on it), and we have some guides on running virtualbox in a jail coming out apparently. If you're not going to virtualize, your performance would be a lot better, and you probably won't need more than the 16GB. If this is non-virtualized, non-deduped, then I like the hardware.

 

[Ericloewe]

Sounds good, but I'd suggest you get a better PSU. The one you chose isn't exactly bad (I have a couple of the lower-end model running a few computers around here), but a good one is only a bit more cash. Something like the Seasonic G-450 has much better output and should be only slightly more expensive - but you get better components and a longer warranty, too.
Now that the nitpicking is over, on to the important matters:

For this case, 16GB is enough unless testing shows it not to be enough. Add another 16GB only if needed.

Virtualization isn't really recommended. If you absolutely must, a few ground rules:

• Pass-through the disk controller so that FreeNAS can access it normally. Since you can't pass-through the PCH, this limits you to the LSI2308's 8 ports, which means you'd need an expander or an extra controller. For low numbers of drives, an M1015 will probably be cheaper than an Intel SAS expander.
• Dedicate memory to FreeNAS instead of relying on weird schemes to distribute it.
• Passing through a physical NIC is recommended.
• Especially solid backups are seriously recommended! The potential for error is larger since you're running a more complicated setup.

 

[Skilty]

Regarding virtualisation I just wondered if there were any benefits of using ESXi over VirtualBox. I don't want to overly complicate the setup so will stick with FreeNAS as the host running VirtualBox in a jail for Windows and follow cyberjocks guide for Minecraft.

So replace the Corsair CS450M with a Seasonic S12G-450, 450W 80+ GOLD PSU with 12cm Silent Fan ErP/EuP? The Seasonic in the UK only comes with a 2 year warranty whereas the Corsair comes with 3 for some reason. Seasonic is slightly cheaper not sure if this was the model you were thinking of th0ugh.

 

[Ericloewe]

Regarding virtualisation I just wondered if there were any benefits of using ESXi over VirtualBox. I don't want to overly complicate the setup so will stick with FreeNAS as the host running VirtualBox in a jail for Windows and follow cyberjocks guide for Minecraft.

So replace the Corsair CS450M with a Seasonic S12G-450, 450W 80+ GOLD PSU with 12cm Silent Fan ErP/EuP? The Seasonic in the UK only comes with a 2 year warranty whereas the Corsair comes with 3 for some reason. Seasonic is slightly cheaper not sure if this was the model you were thinking of th0ugh.

Hmm, the warranties are weird... In any case, the Seasonic is a better product and it's less likely to fail, so it's still recommended.

Why do you need Windows 7 to share files? Is it a stupid Apple limitation?

 

[Skilty]

I need an OS where I can run iTunes, Home Sharing uses AirPlay so the only way I can think of doing this is Windows 2008r2, Windows 7 Ultimate or OS X via VirtualBox. Not aware of any solutions for BSD that support video for AirPlay

At the moment this is setup in VB and I then use CIFS/SMB from FreeNAS to Windows 7, it works, just an added complication :)

Will switch to the Seasonic PSU.

 

[Ericloewe]

I need an OS where I can run iTunes, Home Sharing uses AirPlay so the only way I can think of doing this is Windows 2008r2, Windows 7 Ultimate or OS X via VirtualBox. Not aware of any solutions for BSD that support video for AirPlay

At the moment this is setup in VB and I then use CIFS/SMB from FreeNAS to Windows 7, it works, just an added complication :)

Will switch to the Seasonic PSU.

It figures that Apple would require its own stupid, redundant protocol... Best of luck getting everything to work

 

[MtK]

Also search for FreeNAS + iTunes, and see if you can use another jail instead of a virtualization.

 

[Skilty]

Checked, unfortunately it only handles music and not video.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you can use plex on FN as a plugin. Then play the video via your iDevice and airplay it to your Apple TV using the plex ios app.

This is the setup I use. Though I run plex in a VM not on FN. But there is a plugin for FreeNAS.

 

[Skilty]

The nice thing about running iTunes is that it can serve 4-5 AppleTVs and the experience is seamless. Makes the setup more complex but once done it does work quite nicely. I did manage to build a Minecraft server on my Raspberry Pi last night so that removes the need to install that in a jail :)

 

[MtK]

Running FreeNAS in a VM is even more complex and you will lose a lot more than simply using other alternatives, like pkex.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

There are also instructions for linking plex to the Apple TV directly if you search around.

 

[Skilty]

Yeah I saw that a while it is via the iTunes Trailer app. Will take a look again, I am assuming that Plex will not need to transcode M4V which my movie collection are stored in.

I have some time to play around as I want to soak test the server before migrating data across.

I was planning on using FreeNAS as the host operating system ie no virtualisation with VirtualBox in a jail with Windows as a guest. But there appear to be issues with running in bridged mode which I need.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

When I use an iDevice to play videos via plex app + airplay it doesn't need to transcode, so it shouldn't need to while using the trailer app. All my videos have been transcoded to m4v using my iMac before moving to FreeNAS.

 

[Skilty]

So a slight change in the specification:

Build Name: VaultV3
CPU: Intel CPU Xeon E3-1230 v3 Quad Core Haswell Processor
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F Socket 1150 Motherboard
Chassis: Lian Li PC-A75A Big-Tower - Silver
Drives: 6x Seagate 3TB Performance SATA 3 Hard Drive ST3000DM001 (already have these) + 6x Western Digital 3TB Red WD30EFRX Hard Drive NAS 24x7
RAM: 16GB kit (8GBx2) DDR3 PC3-12800 Unbuffered ECC 1.35V #CT4484984
Power Supply: SuperFlower Golden Green HX 450W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply

Better spec on the CPU, case can take 12x 3.5" with no modifcations and has 3x 140mm fans blowing directly onto all 12 drives and a switch to WD Reds.