Not sure if freenas is what i need, please advise.

[nachte]

Hi all,

I'm looking at freenas and i'm not 100% sure if it's the way to go for me.
What i'm looking for is a storage solution on which i'm willing (wanting) to use two disks for safety (raid 6), making me think that raidZ2 is what i'm after. (Backup yes.. and no, online backup is not an option due to the slow uploads over here..)

However, this would be storage only, not to stream movies, or run anything on it serverwise. Basically to store raw files from my camera and catalogs that i don't need to acces daily anymore. From time to time i'll need to access them, maybe not once a week, as i keep live copies of what i need on my primary pc.

Is freenas the way to go for me? Or are there better alternatives?
And if yes, do i really need the hardware i see people talking about? I've gone thru some threads and in more than a few i've seen the suggestion to use a Xeon has come up. Is this really necessary? Or would an I3 or pentium suffice for what i'm trying to do with it? Basically a glorified external hd with fault tollerance added to it.

Any help/insights are much appreciated!!

 

[BigDave]

Is freenas the way to go for me? Or are there better alternatives?

If your data matters, then yes. If there a better alternative, not that I'm aware of.

And if yes, do i really need the hardware i see people talking about? I've gone thru some threads and in more than a few i've seen the suggestion to use a Xeon has come up. Is this really necessary? Or would an I3 or pentium suffice for what i'm trying to do with it?

For your stated use case, an inexpensive Celeron or Pentium will do fine, no need for Xeon.
As for motherboard and memory recommendations a Supermicro X9 board and ECC memory will
be low cost and just as effective as a newer model motherboard (for your use case).
An IMPI option would be very useful in the long run. (that's the -F in the model number)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182253

 

[Mirfster]

i'm willing (wanting) to use two disks for safety (raid 6)

Not possible. What you call Raid 6, is actually RaidZ2 and requires at least 4 drives. Perhaps you are thinking about a Mirror?

And if yes, do i really need the hardware i see people talking about? I've gone thru some threads and in more than a few i've seen the suggestion to use a Xeon has come up. Is this really necessary? Or would an I3 or pentium suffice for what i'm trying to do with it? Basically a glorified external hd with fault tollerance added to it.

No you don't need a Xeon, but you do need the proper components. Take a look at the "Recommended Reading" in my sig and take some time to get familiarized.

Edit: @BigDave is a bit faster on the draw than me today... :D

 

[nachte]

As for motherboard and memory recommendations a Supermicro X9 board and ECC memory will
be low cost and just as effective as a newer model motherboard (for your use case).

I'm guessing the mix of 3 and 6 gb ports won't be a problem for mechanical hd's speedwise?

Not possible. What you call Raid 6, is actually RaidZ2 and requires at least 4 drives. Perhaps you are thinking about a Mirror?

I meant 4 data + 2 parity here :)

No you don't need a Xeon, but you do need the proper components. Take a look at the "Recommended Reading" in my sig and take some time to get familiarized.

I did, but i'm still not sure after reading it. What i'm mainly wondering about is the overhead for Z1 and Z2. Are the pentiums or celerons powerfull enough to do that?

 

[nachte]

As for motherboard and memory recommendations a Supermicro X9 board and ECC memory will
be low cost and just as effective as a newer model motherboard (for your use case).

I just realised that that board will be a problem if i want tu use 6 disks as i'd need to go with usb boot then..

 

[BigDave]

Edit: @BigDave is a bit faster on the draw than me today... :D

 

[Mirfster]

I meant 4 data + 2 parity here :)

Gotcha, then you are correct.

I did, but i'm still not sure after reading it. What i'm mainly wondering about is the overhead for Z1 and Z2. Are the pentiums or celerons powerfull enough to do that?

For normal operations, sure you will be fine. Just note that for ECC support you need the CPU to support ECC as well as the MB and RAM itself.

 

[nachte]

For normal operations, sure you will be fine. Just note that for ECC support you need the CPU to support ECC as well as the MB and RAM itself.

just to be sure, a G4400 has ECC but an i7-6700 doesn't?

 

[Mirfster]

Correct, per Intel:
G4400

ECC Memory Supported ‡

Yes

I7-6700

ECC Memory Supported ‡

No

Note if you ever want to get Intel CPU Specs, just search for "intel ark" + the CPU.

 

[BigDave]

I'm guessing the mix of 3 and 6 gb ports won't be a problem for mechanical hd's speedwise?

Not at all

I just realised that that board will be a problem if i want tu use 6 disks as i'd need to go with usb boot then.

Yes, for a 6 drive pool that board would have no SATA ports left over for a boot device. USB will work fine.

just to be sure, a G4400 has ECC but an i7-6700 doesn't?

ark.intel.com/ will have all the info you need to choose.

 

[nachte]

Note if you ever want to get Intel CPU Specs, just search for "intel ark" + the CPU.

I know the ark site, i do embedded software:) It's just confusing that the entry level and high end cpu's have it and not those in between :/

 

[BigDave]

I know the ark site, i do embedded software:) It's just confusing that the entry level and high end cpu's have it and not those in between :/

I know, right! I'll just bet you it has something to do with silicon that fails to pass muster,
that's used for a lesser purpose ;)

 

[nachte]

i'm thinking of going with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182999
Sames me the usb stick hassle, and i can use a ssd as the boot drive.

Last question, 8 or 16 gb of ram? I'm guessing since 8 seems to be the minimum recommended i'd be better of with 16? One of the links mentioned higher also said 16, so i guess it'll be that.

 

[BigDave]

i'm thinking of going with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182999
Sames me the usb stick hassle, and i can use a ssd as the boot drive.

That board was recommended to me by @Ericloewe just this past Saturday morning,
Eric seems to be keeping up with the latest from supermicro and I trust his judgement.

Last question, 8 or 16 gb of ram? I'm guessing since 8 seems to be the minimum recommended i'd be better of with 16? One of the links mentioned higher also said 16, so i guess it'll be that.

Without question 16, and if you can get one stick of 16 for your first purchase, more can be
added later to max out to 64GB

 

[Ericloewe]

Full disclosure: The X11SSM-F has been a pain in the ass.

• BIOS boot code is very finicky
• IPMI image mounting seems to not work with the FreeNAS 9.3 and 10 installer
• I get the feeling that the SATA controller is operating under tighter tolerances than older controllers. With the chassis' side panels off, I was getting serious SATA issues all over the place. With the side panels on, badblocks seems to be going fine...
• It's going to need a BIOS update sooner rather than later to fix a few things
  • A Windows 7 install compatibility feature seems to do nothing (and would probably fix USB devices during installation)
  • Skylake CPUs need that new microcode patch
  • The boot logic needs a serious once-over
• The original IPMI firmware just did not want to have a working web interface. I had to update the BMC firmware just to get to the web interface.

So yeah, regular users, don't just jump in head first. This has been more painful than it should've been.

 

[BigDave]

Full disclosure: The X11SSM-F has been a pain in the ass.

• BIOS boot code is very finicky
• IPMI image mounting seems to not work with the FreeNAS 9.3 and 10 installer
• I get the feeling that the SATA controller is operating under tighter tolerances than older controllers. With the chassis' side panels off, I was getting serious SATA issues all over the place. With the side panels on, badblocks seems to be going fine...
• It's going to need a BIOS update sooner rather than later to fix a few things
  • A Windows 7 install compatibility feature seems to do nothing (and would probably fix USB devices during installation)
  • Skylake CPUs need that new microcode patch
  • The boot logic needs a serious once-over
• The original IPMI firmware just did not want to have a working web interface. I had to update the BMC firmware just to get to the web interface.

So yeah, regular users, don't just jump in head first. This has been more painful than it should've been.

Awwwe come on man, admit it, you're liking the challenge right!

 

[nachte]

https://www.msi.com/product/motherboard/Z170A-PC-MATE.html#hero-specification
Would this board actually work? It seems to have ECC support, and works with the cpu's we talked about. And as a plus.. i can actually find it over here :)
Which is a bit of a problem with the supermirco ones :/

 

[Ericloewe]

Z170 == no ECC support.

 

[nachte]

right.. sneaky of them to enable the use of ecc ram, but then not use it as ECC...

However, they do have this one, which doesn't seem to be available yet but which interests me: https://www.msi.com/product/motherboard/C236A-WORKSTATION.html#hero-specification
It has the six sata's i want, and an m2 slot, so i don't have to boot from a usb stick. And i acutally prefer a board with hdmi.. because i'd have to look to find a monitor here that still supports vga..
Intel i219 controller for lan.

Any red flags on this one?

Basically i'm thinking of doing a mini nas for the time being, with two disks mirrored and then when those boards become available, or Ericloewe updates his advice on the X11SSM-F switch to that one.

 

[Ericloewe]

No obvious red flags.

However, the platform is still immature. BIOSes, in particular, seem to be in serious need of work.