New Build

[Moonbeam21]

Hello

Introduction first - This will be my first time building a FreeNAS box. I am used to building my own Computers having started building back when you could buy a BBC Micro in a kit. i currently use a combination of a new recently rebuilt PC, an old macbook pro which i keep for testing and a newer Macbook Pro for when i am away. I have an Airport which i use as a Timemachine backup and a Seagate personal cloud NAS box storing my videos photos etc (this is a single drive so i have lots of older USB drives holding copies of everything that is on there)

I would like to build a NAS box for
a) streaming Plex to 2 LG Tvs, ipads and Macbooks. 1 to 2 streams simultaneously
b) backing up my Apple Macbooks
c) safe storage of an awful lot of Photos, Videos, ripped DVDs etc
d) safe storage of private and my own business documents
e) possible access to some documents when i am away

I have been lurking for a while so have read quite a few of the posts and articles and have come up with the following as a possible build. I would like this to last for a number of years before i would have to upgrade the Motherboard. I have chosen 4 WD 4TB drives as this would give me just under 8TB usable (i believe)

Could i use the drive from the Seagate personal cloud in this as well as the 4 WD units ?

Asrock Rack C2750D4I Server Board
https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/c...x-dual-gb-lan-serial-port-ipmi-lan--c2750d4i/

KVR16E11/8 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 ECC CL11 DIMM w/TS
https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/c...gb-1600mhz-ddr3-ecc-cl11-dimm-wts--kvr16e118/

Western Digital 4TB Red x 4
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Midtower Silent
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Corsair CP-9020091-UK RM650x 650 W 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular 135 mm Thermally Controlled Fan Power Supply Unit - Black
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B015PWMT8S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&smid=A2LNOP4UQZJ1&th=1

Hope this all makes sense - apologies in advance for any really stupid mistakes :)

Kind Regards
Samantha

 

[Spearfoot]

Hello

Introduction first - This will be my first time building a FreeNAS box. I am used to building my own Computers having started building back when you could buy a BBC Micro in a kit. i currently use a combination of a new recently rebuilt PC, an old macbook pro which i keep for testing and a newer Macbook Pro for when i am away. I have an Airport which i use as a Timemachine backup and a Seagate personal cloud NAS box storing my videos photos etc (this is a single drive so i have lots of older USB drives holding copies of everything that is on there)

I would like to build a NAS box for
a) streaming Plex to 2 LG Tvs, ipads and Macbooks. 1 to 2 streams simultaneously
b) backing up my Apple Macbooks
c) safe storage of an awful lot of Photos, Videos, ripped DVDs etc
d) safe storage of private and my own business documents
e) possible access to some documents when i am away

I have been lurking for a while so have read quite a few of the posts and articles and have come up with the following as a possible build. I would like this to last for a number of years before i would have to upgrade the Motherboard. I have chosen 4 WD 4TB drives as this would give me just under 8TB usable (i believe)

Could i use the drive from the Seagate personal cloud in this as well as the 4 WD units ?

Asrock Rack C2750D4I Server Board
https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/c...x-dual-gb-lan-serial-port-ipmi-lan--c2750d4i/

KVR16E11/8 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 ECC CL11 DIMM w/TS
https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/c...gb-1600mhz-ddr3-ecc-cl11-dimm-wts--kvr16e118/

Western Digital 4TB Red x 4
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Midtower Silent
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Corsair CP-9020091-UK RM650x 650 W 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular 135 mm Thermally Controlled Fan Power Supply Unit - Black
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B015PWMT8S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&smid=A2LNOP4UQZJ1&th=1

Hope this all makes sense - apologies in advance for any really stupid mistakes :)

Kind Regards
Samantha

Welcome to the forums!

Your proposed build seems fine, with one caveat: users here have reported problems with ASRock C2x50 D4i motherboards. The link explains the problem and proposes a solution. You can search the forum further for add'l details.

You can extract the hard drives from your personal cloud, but this will doubtless void any warranty remaining on the device. Also, unlike the WD Red drives you've selected. the personal cloud uses desktop-class drive(s) which aren't really well-suited for use w/ FreeNAS.

Good luck!

 

[wblock]

That nice big case makes it possible to use a micro or even full ATX motherboard, opening up options. The Supermicro X11SSL can be set up with a Pentium or even an i3 for about the same price as that Asrock board, and gives more options for CPU and expansion.

A RAIDZ2 with four 4TB drives provides roughly 8TB of space. Adding two more drives would provide double the space, 16TB (not counting overhead). Now is the time to consider that, because a RAIDZ2 pool is difficult to expand after it is created.

 

[Moonbeam21]

Welcome to the forums!

Your proposed build seems fine, with one caveat: users here have reported problems with ASRock C2x50 D4i motherboards. The link explains the problem and proposes a solution. You can search the forum further for add'l details.

You can extract the hard drives from your personal cloud, but this will doubtless void any warranty remaining on the device. Also, unlike the WD Red drives you've selected. the personal cloud uses desktop-class drive(s) which aren't really well-suited for use w/ FreeNAS.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice :)

 

[Moonbeam21]

That nice big case makes it possible to use a micro or even full ATX motherboard, opening up options. The Supermicro X11SSL can be set up with a Pentium or even an i3 for about the same price as that Asrock board, and gives more options for CPU and expansion.

A RAIDZ2 with four 4TB drives provides roughly 8TB of space. Adding two more drives would provide double the space, 16TB (not counting overhead). Now is the time to consider that, because a RAIDZ2 pool is difficult to expand after it is created.

Thank you I will look at the Supermicro and see how easily it is available here :)

 

[JustinClift]

@Samantha Lynn-Jones - If it helps, Scan.co.uk generally sells SuperMicro motherboards. Amazon and Ebay commonly have them too.

If you're ok with used gear, you can get some really good deals on Ebay too. eg:

• Xeon L5630 (40W) CPU
• Supermicro X8DTN+-F motherboard
• 32GB (4x8GB) ECC RAM
• CPU cooling fan (matching that Supermicro motherboard)

Some points about that motherboard (I bought one last week, same vendor):

• On the plus side, it's a dual processor motherboard, so if you want to add a second one at some point you can.
• Also on the plus side, each cpu can take up to 9 memory sticks. So, expansion possibilities. ;)
• Onboard video, no need for a separate video card.
• On the downside, the motherboard is huge. You'd need a different case. :/

Power consumption wise, there's a range of CPU's. The one listed above is the most powerful of the 40W (max load) ones. You can go much higher if needed. ;)

 

[JustinClift]

@al451, I'm using an old HAF 932 to fit mine, as I have a few of those cases sitting around unused from a prior project.

This particular model of case doesn't have proper mounting holes for an E-ATX board, so I needed to drill them. The enclosure itself is large enough to fit the board though.

It's worth noting there were two small bits of metal sticking up (in the way of the motherboard), that I needed to cut off for it to all fit. Those two bits weren't structural though, so it hasn't hurt anything.

With the motherboard fitted in, the slots on the back (eg for graphics/network, etc PCI-E cards) line up perfectly, and the power supply went into the normal place at the bottom of the case.

So, this case isn't too bad a choice, if you're ok with cutting metal and stuff (eg Dremel or tin snips, etc). ;D

***

Power consumption wise, I'm not sure. I haven't looked for power draw figures for the motherboard itself, though it would be of interest. It might be listed on the Supermicro website somewhere.

With mine, I added 2x E5645 CPU's (6 cores @ 2.4GHz each) and 32GB ECC ram, as my intention is to use it for a build server more than a FreeNAS box. ;) With the CPU's all running at maximum under FreeBSD 11, it was pulling 220-230watts (@ 240V). With the them barely being used it was more like 110watts.

This is with just "powerd" enabled at boot in FreeBSD 11, and fairly stock motherboard BIOS settings. I have no idea what the power consumption could be reduced to if someone put in good effort. (single cpu, with a 40W max could be a good start :>)