New FreeNAS Build recommendations

[DeletedUser88470]

I am currently in the process of deciding which components I will be purchasing for my new FreeNAS build, and have a couple of questions, which I hope that some of you can help with.


My intention is to run Plex on the NAS, use it as a Unifi controller, have a VM with Unifi Video running, storing data (both local and cloud based), e-mail host, weather report generation and probably a couple of other tasks (Home automation etc).

I have a couple of WD Red HDDs which I will be using as well as a couple of new SAS drives.


I am planning on purchasing the following:

SuperMicro X11SSH-CTF (8xSAS, 8xSATA, M.2, 10 Gb Ethernet)

E3-1270V6 CPU, 3.8Ghz

Seasonic FOCUS Plus 750 Gold ATX PSU

Samsung M391A2K43BB1-CRC 16Gb Ram

WD Green 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD (Boot drive) (I know I only need 32Gb, but this one costs the same)

Multiple Seagate ST6000NM0095 6TB SAS Drives 12Gb/s

Inter-Tech 3U-3098-S Case


I do not currently have 10 GbE switches (using UniFi switches) but this should also be future proof.

In total 4-5 people will have access to it, and therefore it should be capable of running the tasks simultaneously for the 5 people.

Any recommendations or comments on the build will be appreciated.

I am also looking for information on which cables I can use to connect the SAS drives which is rated at 12Gb/s, most cables are only rated for 6Gb/s…


Thanks in advance.

 

[Chris Moore]

WD Green 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD (Boot drive) (I know I only need 32Gb, but this one costs the same)

Some users have had problems with this model drive. Best results are with Intel or Samsung drives. It would be better to get a used Intel drive from eBay than use this.

Multiple Seagate ST6000NM0095 6TB SAS Drives 12Gb/s

SuperMicro X11SSH-CTF

I am guessing that you are going with the board and the drives because they are 12Gb/s SAS, but you must understand that mechanical drives don't go that fast. You are spending a lot of extra money for the fast interface but look at the mechanical speed of the drives. The Maximum Sustained tranfer rate is 249Mb/s. You would spend much less money for the same performance with SATA drives.
https://www.seagate.com/www-content...p-3-5-hdd-data-sheetDS1882-3-1610US-en_US.pdf

Seasonic FOCUS Plus 750 Gold ATX PSU

That is probably a lot more power than you need. But the number of drives makes a difference. You don't specify how many drives.

but this should also be future proof.

No such thing. The best you can hope for is three to six years.

I am also looking for information on which cables I can use to connect the SAS drives which is rated at 12Gb/s, most cables are only rated for 6Gb/s…

I think you would be much better off going with a more economical build and plan to replace it in five years instead of over spending now thinking that 12Gb SAS is future proof.

 

[DeletedUser88470]

Thanks a lot for the reply!

I have found an Intel 545S 128GB SSD instead: SSDSC2KW128G8X1

I see your point with the SAS drives - I am still hoping that SAS drives would become better in the future...
If I stay with this board, I can still fit SAS drives later on, and get hold of SATA drives for now - would that make sense?
- Would you recommend WD Red, WD Red Pro or another brand SATA drives?

With my current setup I will have 5 discs installed.

Should I rather go for the Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550W or would you recommend another PSU alltogether?

What is your thoughts on the CPU / Motherboard / Ram?

 

[DeletedUser88470]

If you do not think that the SAS would be of benefit, and since I do not have 10 GbE at the moment, I found the X11SSH-F to be an alternative - what do you think about this board instead?
With this board I would also rather use the Intel M.2 6000p Series SSD: SSDPEKKR128G7XN which is also cheaper...

Would you recommend more ram, or would 16Gb be sufficient for my purpose?

 

[Chris Moore]

If you do not think that the SAS would be of benefit, and since I do not have 10 GbE at the moment, I found the X11SSH-F to be an alternative - what do you think about this board instead?

There are many FreeNAS users that have used that system with great sucess and you can always add a SAS controller or a 10Gb network card to it later. It should be a less expensive board to start with and you can improve it with adapters. Good choice.

Would you recommend WD Red, WD Red Pro or another brand SATA drives?

I like Seagate drives but it is a bit of personal preference. I would not suggest Toshiba drives because I had some bad experience with them.

Should I rather go for the Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550W or would you recommend another PSU alltogether?

That should be plenty for the 5 drives you want to start with and give you some room to add more drives later.
You might want to review the following guides:

Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

Terminology and Abbreviations Primer
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/terminology-and-abbreviations-primer.28174/

 

[DeletedUser88470]

Terrific!
Would you prefer something like this Seagate? ST6000NM0115 for a 6TB capacity?

 

[DeletedUser88470]

After some more research I found the IronWolf as well: ST6000VN0033 - would you prefer this instead?

 

[Chris Moore]

The Iron Wolf model should be fine for home use. I actually use the Seagate Barracuda drives because they are a little less expensive.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[DeletedUser88470]

Thank you very much for your help Chris!

I have now placed my order after months of consideration, following your recommendations.

I ended up ordering the X11SSH-F, E3-1270V6, 16GB Ram, Seasonic FOCUS Plus 550 Gold, Intel SSD E 6000p 128GB, Inter-Tech 3U-3098 along with two Seagate Enterprise 6TB HDDs.

The price difference was negligent between the IronWolf and the Enterprise, and I could see that the Enterprise was both faster and more stable in regards to errors. Now I am looking very much forward to receiving the bits and pieces and get it all up and running. I am sure a LOT of questions will come up, but thankfully a community with helping hands are available, which I would like to thank you for being part of.