BUILD Proposed build critique (NAS/Plex server)

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GaiusBaltar

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hello all. I'm new to FreeNAS.

my home storage/plex server as of now has been a CentOS 6.5 install on 7 year old hardware (AMD x2, 1GB DDR2 ram, 2 640GB WD Blacks in RAID1) it's getting long in the tooth so it's time to step up to something more reliable/robust.

my needs are simple: I want something that can better handle higher quality plex streams (1080p), give me more storage, and ensure my data is safe. at first i was just going to re-purpose another machine i have (Asus P6T Deluxe, Intel Core i7 920, 6GB DDR3 RAM) and throw 4 hard drives at it in another RAID setup. But after playing with FreeNAS 9.2 for a while on that machine, and doing a lot of the recommended reading regarding ZFS, I've decided if I'm going to switch from my current home server, i might as well do it right.

that all out of the way, here' what I've come up with as a proposed modest 1st build:

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2
RAM: 2x Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered (KVR16E11/8)
Case: Fractal Design Mini
PSU: SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W (80plus Gold)
USB stick: SanDisk Cruzer Fit 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
HDDs: 4x Seagate Barracuda 2TB (ST2000DM001)

Anything I should consider changing? at this point i'm thinking the 4 drives in a RAIDZ2 setup will give me the storage space that for now is more than adequate for my needs while giving me the reliability and redundancy I'm looking for. Any and all tips/suggestions/critiques are welcome.

thanks for any input!

[EDIT 1-27-2014]
changed a few things up before buying my parts. final parts list is as follows:
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2
RAM: 2x Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered (KVR16E11/8)
Case: Fractal Arc Minicase fan: Fractal Design Silent Series R2 FD-FAN-SSR2-120 120mm Fan (extra front fan to keep drives cool)
PSU: SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W (80plus Gold)
USB OS stick: 2x SanDisk Cruzer Fit 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (1 as backup)
HDDs: 6x Western Digital Red 2TB WD20EFRX
 

Tomas Liumparas

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If you can, try to get XSLL-F. Which is cheapper and newer, it has socket LGA1150 which supports Xeon E3 V3, which is also cheaper and newer.
 

GaiusBaltar

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thanks for the info! I've found the XSLL-F for cheaper than the one I've spec'd out (Granted $10 or so) but haven't found the 1230 v3 for cheaper (tho the 1220 v3 is) - that said, its not much more than the 1230 v2 I was looking at.
I've also looked at Seagate's NAS ready line of hard drives. are their features worth the additional price over the Barracuda's that I've spec'd out above?

I've changed my desired case to the Fractal R4. Reason being down the line i would hopefully like to get, the Intel M1015 card everyone raves about on here and 4 additional drives to create another RAIDZ2 vdev to give my self ~ 7TB of usable storage.

still need to figure out what my backup storage solution will be. might just be a WD 4TB HDD va USB so that i can take the data offsite if need be.
 

Tomas Liumparas

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If to follow the datasheets:
Seagate NAS series has 600,000 load cycles and 8760 working hours
as for the Desktop series 300,000 load cycles and 2400 working hours.


2400 seems to ridiculously short. I bet it should last longer for sure:)

I would rather buy 2x4TB drives than 4x2TB. It should be cheaper, and better for the future :)
Personally I am quite more linked with WD Green drives.
 

GaiusBaltar

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4TB drives would be nice. but right now that's not in the budget sadly, given the setup id live to have to feel comfortable that my data is safe.
that said, im playing head games with myself and am trying to decide which of 2 ways to go with the drives:
1) 4x2TB now in RAIDZ2, then the M1015 + another RAIDZ2 4x2TB vdev down the line added to the same vpool
OR
2) 6x2TB drives in RAIDZ2 now and call it a day config wise.

Both options afford just about the same amount of storage in the end
Option 1 obviously is the more expensive route, but affords more hardware resiliency
Option 2 is cheaper and gets me to my desired storage size out of the gate
 

cyberjock

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I'd do option 2...
 

GaiusBaltar

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that's what im leaning towards, cyberjock.

additionally, could i add a 7th (or more) drive and configure it as a hot spare to the existing vdev down the line without needing to destroy and recreate the vdev?
 

cyberjock

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If you are going to add a 7th disk a hot-spare is a dumb idea compared to just doing a RAIDZ3. Hot-spares do not come online automatically so there's no advantage to just having it just be in the pool to begin with. Yes, I/O and CPU usage will go up, but with that CPU(and for your intended function) that stuff won't matter.
 

GaiusBaltar

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If you are going to add a 7th disk a hot-spare is a dumb idea compared to just doing a RAIDZ3. Hot-spares do not come online automatically so there's no advantage to just having it just be in the pool to begin with. Yes, I/O and CPU usage will go up, but with that CPU(and for your intended function) that stuff won't matter.


ah. good to know. i was unaware that FreeNAS didn't auto-activate hot-spares. thanks! given that, I think i've decided on a 6x2TB setup. now to get the wife to open the checkbook so i can start buying parts :).

What is "hotspare" exactly? When to use it, what it does?


A hot spare is a drive that (at least as they work in enterprise level SANs that I work with) is a drive (or several) that is part of the RAID group in a storage pool that is powered on but is not actively written to/used (so theoretically 100% healthy). when a drive fails, the hardware/software activates the hot spare, having it take the place of the failed drive, automatically beginning the process of rebuilding the data that was on the failed drive so that the array/pool isn't running in a degraded state while you are waiting on a replacement drive to arrive and replace the failed one.
 

cyberjock

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FreeBSD doesn't work with hot-spares yet. It will require zfsd which has been promised by the FreeBSD community for years.. and still has no ETA.
 
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