Alan Milewczyk
Cadet
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2012
- Messages
- 7
Hello everyone
I built a NAS server about 4 or 5 years back but I realised all too late (because I was unaware of the forum recommendations for FreeNAS hardware) that I'd got it badly wrong.... AMD processor, Realtek NIC, non-ECC RAM and not enough of it, need I go on... I had some data corruption that was only discovered a few years later and that made me determined to do it better next time around.
Well, that time has now come around and I've been doing a lot of reading here, so I'm rather better informed these days. I'm hoping to start my build on return to the UK late March/early April.
I run a home network, a mix of Windows 7 desktop, Windows 10 laptop and a couple of Linux Mint 17.3 desktops (one of which is being used as a NAS, storing films and recorded TV programmes), not to mention a satellite recorder box and TV. I want to bring my media files together, including a large collection of photos (mainly in RAW format) and radio programmes plus various installation ISOs and to have some redundancy with that lot. Incidentally, the photos and ISOs are extensively backed up elsewhere but the films, radio and TV programmes are not, but that doesn't worry me overmuch. The video files will be played on my TV, routed through an external streamer box. It would be good eventually to run FTP from the NAS box and even a torrent client, but that's not the immediate priority. I should mention I am the only user of the network.
My thoughts are only partly formulated but this is as far as I've got.
1. Hard drive storage
Total current storage requirements are around 25 TB so I've decided on 8 x 8TB Hard drives to give me some headroom, running RAID-Z2. The HDs will be either WD REDs or HGST Deskstar NAS.
Q. I note that WD recommend REDs for up to 8 drive NAS and RED PRO beyond that. What are the thoughts here on sticking with RED and also any comments on the HGST Deskstar NAS drives rather than the WD?
2.Motherboard
With that requirement, I'm looking to use either the Supermicro X10SRi-F or the X10SRL-F motherboard as that would give me a lot of flexibility regarding SATA ports, RAM and PCI slots.
Q. Incidentally I notice in the "So, you’ve decided to buy a Supermicro X10 board... " guide there is the comment "At least for now, I will only present Haswell motherboards based on the LGA1150 socket, not Haswell-EP motherboards based on socket LGA2011-3." This appears to be in contradiction to Hardware 2016 R1c. How does that affect my proposed choice of motherboard and taking into account my RAM requirements? As an aside, I would also note there seems to be a general dearth of advice/information on LGA2011 socket boards compared to LGA1150s.
3. Case
As the NAS server will be located in the living room, noise is an issue, so I've discounted server cases and am opting for the
Fractal Design Define XL R2. It's a large roomy case and should enable me to keep my data drives cool with space for future expansion.
4. Processor/RAM/Power Supply
As the NAS will probably be on 24/7, power usage is an issue.
Q. Accordingly, I would welcome guidance on the processor and RAM.
Q. Also, reading the comments on the forum, suitable RAM doesn't seem to be easily available here in Europe (I'm in the UK) so purchasing and sourcing advice would be appreciated. I'll start initially with 32GB RAM and move up to 64GB when funds permit, so a configuration that allows for that and future expansion would make sense.
I think that's it for now. As I said, I would welcome any guidance.
Many thanks.
Alan
I built a NAS server about 4 or 5 years back but I realised all too late (because I was unaware of the forum recommendations for FreeNAS hardware) that I'd got it badly wrong.... AMD processor, Realtek NIC, non-ECC RAM and not enough of it, need I go on... I had some data corruption that was only discovered a few years later and that made me determined to do it better next time around.
Well, that time has now come around and I've been doing a lot of reading here, so I'm rather better informed these days. I'm hoping to start my build on return to the UK late March/early April.
I run a home network, a mix of Windows 7 desktop, Windows 10 laptop and a couple of Linux Mint 17.3 desktops (one of which is being used as a NAS, storing films and recorded TV programmes), not to mention a satellite recorder box and TV. I want to bring my media files together, including a large collection of photos (mainly in RAW format) and radio programmes plus various installation ISOs and to have some redundancy with that lot. Incidentally, the photos and ISOs are extensively backed up elsewhere but the films, radio and TV programmes are not, but that doesn't worry me overmuch. The video files will be played on my TV, routed through an external streamer box. It would be good eventually to run FTP from the NAS box and even a torrent client, but that's not the immediate priority. I should mention I am the only user of the network.
My thoughts are only partly formulated but this is as far as I've got.
1. Hard drive storage
Total current storage requirements are around 25 TB so I've decided on 8 x 8TB Hard drives to give me some headroom, running RAID-Z2. The HDs will be either WD REDs or HGST Deskstar NAS.
Q. I note that WD recommend REDs for up to 8 drive NAS and RED PRO beyond that. What are the thoughts here on sticking with RED and also any comments on the HGST Deskstar NAS drives rather than the WD?
2.Motherboard
With that requirement, I'm looking to use either the Supermicro X10SRi-F or the X10SRL-F motherboard as that would give me a lot of flexibility regarding SATA ports, RAM and PCI slots.
Q. Incidentally I notice in the "So, you’ve decided to buy a Supermicro X10 board... " guide there is the comment "At least for now, I will only present Haswell motherboards based on the LGA1150 socket, not Haswell-EP motherboards based on socket LGA2011-3." This appears to be in contradiction to Hardware 2016 R1c. How does that affect my proposed choice of motherboard and taking into account my RAM requirements? As an aside, I would also note there seems to be a general dearth of advice/information on LGA2011 socket boards compared to LGA1150s.
3. Case
As the NAS server will be located in the living room, noise is an issue, so I've discounted server cases and am opting for the
Fractal Design Define XL R2. It's a large roomy case and should enable me to keep my data drives cool with space for future expansion.
4. Processor/RAM/Power Supply
As the NAS will probably be on 24/7, power usage is an issue.
Q. Accordingly, I would welcome guidance on the processor and RAM.
Q. Also, reading the comments on the forum, suitable RAM doesn't seem to be easily available here in Europe (I'm in the UK) so purchasing and sourcing advice would be appreciated. I'll start initially with 32GB RAM and move up to 64GB when funds permit, so a configuration that allows for that and future expansion would make sense.
I think that's it for now. As I said, I would welcome any guidance.
Many thanks.
Alan
