Hi everyone!
This is not exactly a build thread since I already have the server running with a different NAS OS on it, but I figured it would be smart to post up the hardware here before taking the plunge and installing FreeNAS on it.
Server hardware...
Motherboard:
Supermicro X8DT6
CPUs:
Dual Xeon X5650
Memory:
48GB Micron 36KSZF1G72PZ-1G4D1 DIMMs
Disks:
8x 2TB Seagate Constellation ES ST2000NM0011 and 4x 2TB Hitachi HDS72302 (I know these are not ideal, but what I had available)
Controller:
LSI SAS2008 SAS-2 controller, flashed to pass-through mode (don't remember which firmware version at the moment)
Other:
SAS2-826EL Backplane
I also have an expansion chassis with another backplane which I want to connect to the external ports on the server. Have not tried to use the expansion chassis at all yet, but will soon need it to add more disks.
This configuration has been running well with a different NAS OS on it for six months or so, and so far as I call tell meets the hardware recommendations for running FreeNAS. I've verified that I have ECC memory and MB/CPU support (dmidecode shows 72-bit memory width and MB support).
From the searching I've done on the site there don't seem to be any problems with this hardware, but figured I'd post anyways to document the installation and in case anyone has run into quirks or problems with using an expansion chassis to add bays. I do have auto-power-on disabled on the server since I've read that some people have reported that the expansion backplane can sometimes take too long to initialize so the main controller doesn't detect the drives during boot-up (leading to broken arrays).
This is not exactly a build thread since I already have the server running with a different NAS OS on it, but I figured it would be smart to post up the hardware here before taking the plunge and installing FreeNAS on it.
Server hardware...
Motherboard:
Supermicro X8DT6
CPUs:
Dual Xeon X5650
Memory:
48GB Micron 36KSZF1G72PZ-1G4D1 DIMMs
Disks:
8x 2TB Seagate Constellation ES ST2000NM0011 and 4x 2TB Hitachi HDS72302 (I know these are not ideal, but what I had available)
Controller:
LSI SAS2008 SAS-2 controller, flashed to pass-through mode (don't remember which firmware version at the moment)
Other:
SAS2-826EL Backplane
I also have an expansion chassis with another backplane which I want to connect to the external ports on the server. Have not tried to use the expansion chassis at all yet, but will soon need it to add more disks.
This configuration has been running well with a different NAS OS on it for six months or so, and so far as I call tell meets the hardware recommendations for running FreeNAS. I've verified that I have ECC memory and MB/CPU support (dmidecode shows 72-bit memory width and MB support).
From the searching I've done on the site there don't seem to be any problems with this hardware, but figured I'd post anyways to document the installation and in case anyone has run into quirks or problems with using an expansion chassis to add bays. I do have auto-power-on disabled on the server since I've read that some people have reported that the expansion backplane can sometimes take too long to initialize so the main controller doesn't detect the drives during boot-up (leading to broken arrays).