Rack Mount custom build or pre-owned options

[onlineforums]

My FreeNAS Mini XL+ just failed after 7 years of usage or so. I suspect it is the power supply or motherboard and both seem difficult if not impossible to get a direct replacement. I have 8 WD Red drives that I plan to simply move over to a new machine, import my config and be back up and running.

I'm thinking a rack mount option will be better this time as I intend to get a rack to redo my networking equipment using rackable equipment. I have past experiences in a previous job with SuperMicro products and they seem to be a good build. I have also played around with several Dell servers. I'm comfortable building my own custom rack mount machine but don't know the current do's and don'ts in today's world. My requirements are fairly simple:

• TrueNAS is used personally for rsync backups of local machines and NextCloud to backup iPhones. Nothing Mission Critical and having downtime is simply an inconvenience.
• Low power consumption. Where I live the power is very expensive.
• Noise isn't a huge concern although less noise is better. The FreeNAS Mini XL+ was loud and that is about the maximum the new machine should put off.
• ECC memory, 32GB. Bonus if I can use the memory from my defunct FreeNAS Mini XL+ will work: Samsung M391B1G73QH0-YK0Q (8GB per stick and I have 4 sticks)
• Budget between $600 to $1400 I suspect is fair.

Any direction is much appreciated. Should I just spend the ~$2000 and get a TrueNAS Mini without any drives and call it good? I'm not happy about my current setup where I cannot replace the motherboard or power supply easily.

 

[danb35]

Lots of us are happy with used Dell or Supermicro gear, but rack-mount and low noise don't go together too well. Most of the rack-mount gear I've seen also is higher-end stuff which is going to draw more power. Your budget would easily get you a used Dell R730/R730xd, which gives you 12 3.5" bays in 2U, two E5 sockets, plenty of network and RAM, e.g.:

DELL R730XD 12LFF 2SFF 2x E5-2690v4 2.6GHz 28C 128GB H730 12x Trays 4xRJ45 ENT | eBay

Model PowerEdge R730xd. Storage NO HDD Included | 12x 3.5" HDD Trays. Network 4x RJ-45 | 2x 10GbE + 2x Gigabit Ethernet Ports. Manufacturer Dell. We want you to be satisfied. If this happens, don't worry, we will stand behind our products!

www.ebay.com

You'd want to make sure the system comes with a HBA rather than one of the PERC RAID controllers.

But my R630 (similar CPUs, only SSDs, but a 10 GbE NIC) is drawing about 200 watts right now.

 

[onlineforums]

I believe the Dell R730XD does not have ECC memory. I'm not doing anything mission critical here but at the same time isn't ECC memory more or less a requirement for NAS products?

 

[danb35]

I believe the Dell R730XD does not have ECC memory

I'm quite certain it does. Edit: to the best of my knowledge, all of Dell's servers have ECC. The R730 and R730xd definitely do, as does my R630.

isn't ECC memory more or less a requirement for NAS products?

It's a good idea any time you care about your data, which would really be with any server. Opinions vary as to whether ZFS makes it any more important, with one of ZFS creators saying it doesn't.

 

[onlineforums]

I'm quite certain it does. Edit: to the best of my knowledge, all of Dell's servers have ECC. The R730 and R730xd definitely do, as does my R630.

It's a good idea any time you care about your data, which would really be with any server. Opinions vary as to whether ZFS makes it any more important, with one of ZFS creators saying it doesn't.

I just looked into this since it is Cyber monday deals still going on and even Dell outlet has R7 series servers for $5k - $30k. Who in the world are buying these when you can buy a used one for $650 on eBay?

I'm really just looking at taking my 8 HDDs and tossing it into a machine, an SSD for the boot drive, import my config and then back online! Seems like $650 is a fairly inexpensive price to pay albeit the server will be loud, big and much more horsepower than what I need!

 

[onlineforums]

Could I simply get an 8 port SATA non-raid expansion card (PCI express) in any computer or server and then get back online quicker?

Here is one I'm looking into
Startech 8 Port SATA PCIe Card - PCI Express 6Gbps SATA Expansion Adapter Card with 4 Host Controllers - SATA PCIe Controller Card - PCI-e x4 Gen 2 to SATA III - SATA HDD/SSD which is around ~$127 USD. I have an old desktop computer laying around that has an open PCI Express port (not ECC memory)

edit: nevermind, someone asked on Startech's webpage about using with TrueNAS and their response was OS compatibility is below which I'm running CORE (FreeBSD based which is not listed)

Windows® 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11
Windows Server® 2003, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022
macOS® 10.10 to 13
Linux kernel 2.6.32 and up - LTS Versions only

 

[danb35]

A SAS HBA is a better choice, and cheaper. The LSI 9300-8i would do nicely.