old PC - limited HW

[canofspam]

I have an old HP P2-1343w (https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03520552) I'd like to convert into a NAS. Very barebones PC - Dual-core CPU soldered on, external power supply adapter. It currently has 6GB of RAM, but I think it can handle up to 8GB (some sites say more). It has 2 SATA headers on the board, so just looking for a simple mirror of a couple 3 TB drives, booting off a USB. Will this be enough to get started and play around with it?

If not on the newest release, could I get it going on an older version that maybe required less muscle?

TIA

 

[canofspam]

I should note, I just want network storage to get my feet wet. Just online storage for backups, photos, and stuff my kids need for school.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Ah this is a tough one. The general view on these forums is that FreeNAS is about data integrity which requires ECC ram, typically involves some kind of parity in the disk arrays, and has enough ram, CPU, etc to be reasonably performant. Of course, some folks just want to install FreeNAS to learn and play, which is great. With this build though it might be a tough sell for that. Generally 6GB won't be enough to meet the bare minimum recommended for FreeNAS of 8GB. 2 SATA headers and no PCIe slots will keep you to two drives max so you can't play with RAIDZ1/2/3. If you want to install FreeNAS on it and see if it works on that hardware to play with and learn about FreeNAS and ZFS you could give it a shot, but I'd be reluctant to encourage you to store any data there. I think your data would be safer on a very low-budget FreeNAS build with ECC ram etc from used parts where you can do FreeNAS correctly. Else, your data might be safer using a more typical consumer-level NAS drive than on a build based on this board.

Are you willing to consider a build for FreeNAS? And if so, do you have any HDDs you could use and if so how many?

 

[canofspam]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I would consider a build, although without much knowledge about FreeNas I am hesitant to spend a bunch without knowing if this is what I really want in the long run. I have 3 - 3TB drives to use. Suggestions on a cheap starter build that I can grow as my needs do are welcome. :)

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

There are a LOT of great resources on these forums and in the resources section to get you started.

Here are some links, most of which I'm stealing from @Chris Moore in his post on Links to useful threads

Updated Forum Rules 12/5/18

Terminology and Abbreviation Primer

FreeNAS® Quick Hardware Guide

Hardware Recommendations Guide Rev. 1e) 2017-05-06

Maybe you want to do some research on FreeNAS and ZFS to see if it is something you'd be interested in.

Budget friendly builds are definitely a possibility, especially when you consider that used parts can often fit the balance between performance and budget quite nicely.

If you decide and succeed at installing FreeNAS on the machine you have it might give you a nice playground to mess with while you learn and go through docs and information to decide if you want to build something a little more like what FreeNAS was intended for.

 

[ThreeDee]

one of the main problems with "trying out" FreeNAS on less than the minimum required specs is that if it does run good and what are normally simple tasks frustrate the user due to 'hiccup after 'hiccup .. then you will walk away from FreeNAS with a bad taste in your mouth and might even go, "FreeNAS sucks man!" .. no good PR, lol. Read up first like Philo mentioned, educate yourself and if you still choose to use your current hardware, just keep in mind that you'll probably run into issues because of the under par hardware.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

While you're getting your head around FreeNAS, what you've got is probably okay for experimenting. However, if you start depending on FreeNAS, what you've got is not going to be okay as the hardware is susceptible to a higher risk of bit rot. How much do you value your data and irreplaceable memories? If you're going to get serious with FreeNAS, make sure your hardware meets the basic hardware requirements for FreeNAS. Furthermore, if it's clear you're depending on FreeNAS, but your hardware doesn't meet the minimum specs, forum members are less likely to be supportive in assisting with a problem you may be experiencing.

 

[Chris Moore]

If you are interested in older, consequently less expensive, but still perfectly good hardware, you can look at the suggestions in this resource:

Hardware Recommendations by @cyberjock - from 26 Aug 2014 - and still valid
https://forums.freenas.org/threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

Here is a list that I put together a couple weeks ago and it is a selection of hardware identical to one that I actually put together for myself a year or two ago:

Intel Xeon E3-1230V2 SR0P4 3.30GHz Processor
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SR0P4-Inte...d-Core-CM8063701098101-Processor/202572624908
US $74.00

Super Micro X9SCM-F, LGA 1155, Intel C204, Micro ATX server motherboard
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-SuperM...rd-Accessoreis-are-not-included-/352358089215
US $77.77

16GB 2X8GB Memory RAM Intel Xeon E3 ONLY DDR3, 1600MHz, ECC, CL11, 2R, X8, 1.5V, Unbuffered, DIMM, 240-pin
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16GB-2X8GB...-CMT-SFF-Intel-Xeon-E3-ONLY-B89-/301855376261
US $126.00

Dell H310 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9211-8i P20 IT Mode
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...-IT-Mode-for-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID-/162834659601
US $56.55

1M Mini SAS 4i SFF-8087 36-Pin Male to 4 SATA 7-Pin Splitter Adapter Cable NEW
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1M-Mini-SA...7-Pin-Splitter-Adapter-Cable-NEW/272098511869
US $7.39