QNAP TS-H973AX-32G and TrueNAS Scale

[SamTe]

Dear TrueNAS,

I am very curious about TrueNAS und would like to install it to my QNAP TS-H973AX-32G because I am very unhappy with the Qnap OS on my NAS.

I do not have an HDMI port on my NAS so I am waiting for a USB/HDMI adapter to connect it and start to install the TrueNAS version.
I already made a USB stick to boot from.

Do you think there is something to consider or maybe an installation on the QNAP TS-H973AX-32G is not possible or error prone?

Thank you for ideas and happy new year.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Welcome.

Specs don't seem to list the SATA or NIC controller manufacturer.

TS-h973AX | Enhance business productivity using the quad-core 9-bay QuTS hero NAS that supports U.2 NVMe SSD and 10GbE/2.5GbE connectivity

Featuring an AMD Ryzen™ V1000 series V1500B quad-core processor and 10GbE/2.5GbE connectivity, the 9-bay TS-h973AX packs a high-capacity hybrid storage infrastructure into a compact physical footprint. With five 3.5-inch SATA 6Gbps drive bays, two 2.5-inch U.2 NVMe SSD slots (Slot 1 & 2 support...

www.qnap.com

You can always plug in an external USB SSD temporarily do see of installs and boot from the USB SSD and not touch the on-board flash. TrueNAS requires a minimum of 16GB for the boot pool. Maybe ask on the QNAP forums if anyone else has successfully attempted to install CORE or SCALE.

 

[NugentS]

I doubt (but maybe I am wrong) that a USB to HDMI adapter will work. But they are cheap - so its worth a punt. If it does work then please tell us - that would be good to know

You could build the boot disk on another machine and then plug it into the NAS and hope - but if it doesn't work you will have no idea why and you will need to hope that the network card comes up - it should by default get an IP address via DHCP

I suspect the biggest issue is going to be to get the NAS to boot from the new device - for which you may need access to the BIOS, for which you will need a screen - lets hope the USB->HDMI works.

I installed TN Core on an old QNAP that I have. Mine had an HDMI port though and I physically removed the QNAP boot device first - so I could always add it back again

 

[SamTe]

Thanks alot for the input. I will just wait and see I can get a screen to the USB/HDMI adapter. If not, installing on a ssd would be an option and try to get this connected to the NAS...have to think about this could work...

I will post an update.

 

[SamTe]

Update:

I discussed everything in the QNAP forum and it seems there is absolutely no way to connect anything HDMI to the TS-H973AX-32G NAS device.

As I do not like all the ransomware, and subscription stuff. So I decided to move away from QNAP entirely and maybe build my own NAS, maybe even abit more efficent as the current QNAP. Also the QNAP firmware updates messes to much with my settings and I lose settings almost with every update. So I am abit sick of it now.

I want to try some movie/TV streaming and I think some performance upwards can never hurt and all on a open and free NAS system. The QNAP will be sold, the disks I will keep.

I would like to check about my planed NAS system. Is there a sub forum recommendation in here where I can discuss about it?

Thank you so much.

 

[NugentS]

Where you are now!

 

[SamTe]

Ah ok. I did plan this:

Fractal Node 804 Chasis mATX (good for 8x 2"-3.5" drives, 4x 2" SSD Slots)
Mainboard ASUS TUF GAMING B650M-PLUS mATX (because of 4x SATA, 3x PciE, 4x Ram Sockets, 2x M.2 Ports on Board, HDMI Port, Ryzen CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
CPU Cooler Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120L V2 RGB CPU
Lexar ARES RGB DDR5 32 GB (2x16) 6400 MHz ECC Memory
-Dell Intel X550-T2 LAN Controller 2x10 Gigabit
-LSI SAS 9340-8i SAS3008 M1215 12Gbps SAS HBA + SATA Cables (for 8x SATA drives, I use WD Red NAS drives)
Seasonic Focus GX 750W ATX 2.4, PSU

-For the HBA I did find some Chinese ones. I suppose they are clones but at a good price and I did read in the meantime they work fine as well and are able to be flashed to IT mode. I would prefer them over a refurbished HBA cause they come with all brackets and cables. Any issue with them however?

Thanks alot

 

[NugentS]

That LSI Card is a MegaRAID card - very not ideal. I have no idea if it can be flashed to IT mode
You need an HBA, not a MegaRAID card.
For just HDD's a 92xx (non MegaRAID card) will do fine and will be cheaper. They can run out of puff if you use them with SSD's as they aren't quick enough for many SSD's

 

[SamTe]

That LSI Card is a MegaRAID card - very not ideal. I have no idea if it can be flashed to IT mode
You need an HBA, not a MegaRAID card.
For just HDD's a 92xx (non MegaRAID card) will do fine and will be cheaper. They can run out of puff if you use them with SSD's as they aren't quick enough for many SSD's

That was the reason for the MegaRaid card cause they can deal with SSD too. I think I did read this somewhere in here...

 

[NugentS]

Absolutely not
Something like a 9305-8i, 9300-8i - just make sure its not a MegaRAID card
92xx are PCIe2x cards
93xx are PCIe 3x cards - and thus better suited to SSD's.

Just not a MegaRAID

 

[SamTe]

Absolutely not
Something like a 9305-8i, 9300-8i - just make sure its not a MegaRAID card
92xx are PCIe2x cards
93xx are PCIe 3x cards - and thus better suited to SSD's.

Just not a MegaRAID

Okay, I will double check on the 93xx cards. I thought the 9340 is a 93xx card

Will post my find...

Here we go:
Broadcom SAS 9300-8i, PCIe 3.0 x8
for about $120 with no cables or brackets (maybe Chinese), or about $270 Amazon no cables, no brackets

Than this one:
Inspur LSI 9300-8i SATA / SAS HBA Controller IT-Mode 12Gb PCIe x8 9311-8i ZFS
Refurbished, no cables, with brackets already flashed to IT (P16.00.10) for $76

I think last one looks better. Cables are cheap at Ali

 

[Etorix]

I'd suggest to drop anything which comes with "RGB" in its name, drop the 'X' from the CPU, and replace the motherboard by a X470D4U/X570D4U/B550D4U from AsRockRack: Server motherboard with IPMI, and 8 SATA ports.
If 8 ports is still not enough, you can plug SATA SSDs to the chipset and use even a 9200 HBA for HDDs.

 

[SamTe]

Thanks Etorix. Checking..

The AsRock Motherboard I did see, but only up to Ryzen5. No newer Ryzen7 and the price around here is $350-500. Have to dig in abit for the boards. Maybe find a Ryzen7 server board for a good price. But I am afraid this will be difficult.

The RGB on the ECC memory, cooler I did not care. Just the price was okay for the RAM and the watercooler had a 80 radiator. Can be something except I try to minimize fans in the chasis.

Edit: Asrock B650D4U looks like Ryzen7. But has its price of about $450 and up

​

 

[Etorix]

What do you mean by "Ryzen 5" and "Ryzen 7"? Are you confusing the Intel-inspiring numbering with socket generation (AM4 vs. AM5)?
I fear so: On a second look, your pick of Ryzen 7 5800X (AM4) would NOT work with a B650 board (AM5).

The 400-500 E price is, unfortunately, what you have to pay for ECC support, a useful distribution of PCIe slots (x8x8 is more useful than x16) and 8 SATA ports. Compared with current Intel offers, you can still use a cheap CPU with these Ryzen boards…

 

[SamTe]

What do you mean by "Ryzen 5" and "Ryzen 7"? Are you confusing the Intel-inspiring numbering with socket generation (AM4 vs. AM5)?
I fear so: On a second look, your pick of Ryzen 7 5800X (AM4) would NOT work with a B650 board (AM5).

The 400-500 E price is, unfortunately, what you have to pay for ECC support, a useful distribution of PCIe slots (x8x8 is more useful than x16) and 8 SATA ports. Compared with current Intel offers, you can still use a cheap CPU with these Ryzen boards…

This is what the website says about the Asrock 650D4U (supports AMD Ryzen 7000):

https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.de.asp?Model=B650D4U#Specifications

The board looks great to me but is expensive.

As I am building new I try to hit the improvement principle because I do not want to build a new NAS after 2 years again.

So I compare:

Current QNAP TS-h973AX-32G: AMD Ryzen V1500B 4 Cores, 8 Threads 2.2 GHz Processor
AMD Ryzen 5900X: 16 Cores, 32 Threads 3.4 Ghz Processor
AMD Ryzen 7900X: 16 Cores, 32 Threads 4.2 Ghz Processor

And as my grandfather always sayed: Having is better as needing :)

 

[Etorix]

This is what the website says about the Asrock 650D4U (supports AMD Ryzen 7000):

Ah, you actually meant a third thing… Ryzen 5000 / Ryzen 7000 is not the same as Ryzen 5 / Ryzen. There are Ryzen 7 CPUs within the Ryzen 5000 range (AM4) and Ryzen 5 CPUs within the Ryzen 7000 range (AM5).

Checking specifications, I stand corrected: Only the X470/X570D4U boards actually have 8 SATA and would be most suitable for your planned build.

The board looks great to me but is expensive.

There's no denying that.

As I am building new I try to hit the improvement principle because I do not want to build a new NAS after 2 years again.

I understand that, but "building new" should not be the same thing as "building from last generation components". Picking one or two generations behind the latest (and/or second-hand/refurbished) provides better value. Good components still make for a build which shall last for 7-10 years.

So I compare:

Current QNAP TS-h973AX-32G: AMD Ryzen V1500B 4 Cores, 8 Threads 2.2 GHz Processor
AMD Ryzen 5900X: 16 Cores, 32 Threads 3.4 Ghz Processor
AMD Ryzen 7900X: 16 Cores, 32 Threads 4.2 Ghz Processor

Mind that you're comparing embedded Ryzen, on Zen1 architecture, with desktop CPUs on Zen3/4 architecture, so the difference is even bigger than the above numbers suggest. But, unless you're planning to run many apps/VMs on top of NAS duties, 16-core CPUs are way overkill and 4-6 cores would be more than enough for a NAS.

 

[SamTe]

Thank you Etorix,

great advice. Yes, I meant the Ryzen 5000/ 7000s CPUs. I was unclear about it.

I will not run alot of VMs, nor will the NAS be on for 24/7 all the time.

It will do backup when needed, it will do some video surveilance when needed on my property from time to time (wildlife), and I want to jump into movie streaming.

So I thought for media streaming it could have more CPU and Memory (Memory I would have to expand later at least to 64GB I think).

 

[Etorix]

@DigitalMinimalist pointed to a good price on Gigabyte MC12-LE0 server B550 board. 6 SATA ports only (and next gen. MC13-LE0/1 drops to 4…) but this looks like a good opportunity.