Recommendation for first home NAS please

[biggyk]

Ready to dab in the world of FreeNAS. Right now I'm using an old system with Ubuntu server on it and my media server but I wanted more security for my files.

So it's mostly going to be a media/storage server but I also plan to install owncloud and maybe a plex server. All my devices have kodi so transcoding is not really an issue, but I guess it would be good to have the power for it. I also have to be able to install the unifi controller in a jail or vm.

I guess my main question is hard drive setup. I wanted to have at least 3 or 4tb of space for my media and then space for jails and plugins. I was thinking just two drives mirrored but any advise would be great. I have never ran a raid setup before.

A budget in mind is a grand CDN not sure if that's realistic but I'm flexible.

Thanks.

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[religiouslyconfused]

I would look at Dell T30 and HP ML10, HP Gen8 Microserver alongside Lenovo TS140. You could easily fit in the budget with those setups.

 

[religiouslyconfused]

You could buy used server gear and that could also fit in with what you are trying to achieve. Might be a bit overkill though. Dell T30 does go on sale and all you are 2 HDD or 4 if you want to use RaidZ2 or mirrors (RaidZ1 not recommended) and some extra memory (though some have 8gb, which is the minimum amount and can be upgraded to 64gb later on) and you should be good to go.

 

[religiouslyconfused]

http://www.ncix.com/detail/hpe-proliant-ml10-gen9-g4400-6f-133127.htm

Add extra RAM, a boot device, and your drives and you should be good to go.

 

[biggyk]

http://www.ncix.com/detail/hpe-proliant-ml10-gen9-g4400-6f-133127.htm

Add extra RAM, a boot device, and your drives and you should be good to go.

I would go with 16gb ecc right off the bat. That one from ncix is on back order but Il keep my eye on it.

If I build it I wanted to use a small case if possible.

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[religiouslyconfused]

I would go with 16gb ecc right off the bat. That one from ncix is on back order but Il keep my eye on it.

If I build it I wanted to use a small case if possible.

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HP Microserver is pretty small if you can find it.

 

[biggyk]

If I were to build what CPU would be ideal? Would be nice to handle one plex stream if needed. 4k if possible for future

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[religiouslyconfused]

I would say a Pentium could do 2 1080p plex transcodes.

 

[biggyk]

I would say a Pentium could do 2 1080p plex transcodes.

Any? Like i3?

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[Dice]

Count approx 2000 passmark scores per 1080p transcode.
Google instructions:
"i3-6100 passmark"
Relevant page:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-6100+@+3.70GHz
Conclusion:
2 streams at least and a good bunch of headroom.

 

[biggyk]

Count approx 2000 passmark scores per 1080p transcode.
Google instructions:
"i3-6100 passmark"
Relevant page:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-6100+@+3.70GHz
Conclusion:
2 streams at least and a good bunch of headroom.

4k would be double?

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[Dice]

4k is a completely different beast.
I did a quick google around a while ago and people with CPUs at passmark ~13k would still not experience a bump-free playback.
The consensus seemed to be - don't bother with on the fly transcoding of 4k content. Make sure the receiving playback unit is capable of transcoding itself.

 

[biggyk]

4k is a completely different beast.
I did a quick google around a while ago and people with CPUs at passmark ~13k would still not experience a bump-free playback.
The consensus seemed to be - don't bother with on the fly transcoding of 4k content. Make sure the receiving playback unit is capable of transcoding itself.

Well good thing I'm running Kofi for everything atm

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[biggyk]

Are server boards really necessary? I put a scratch build together https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/biggyk/saved/4WZcf7

 

[Stux]

Are server boards really necessary? I put a scratch build together https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/biggyk/saved/4WZcf7

They're not until they are ;)

Basically you want ECC, if you can. That means a workstation board at least.

A server board is basically a workstation board without audio/video features you don't need and the IPMI remote management features which are really nice to have.

Go with a pentium if you don't want much plex. Go with an i3 for a bit of plex action, and a Xeon E3-1230 if you want maximum plex action.

Get a board with 4 memory slots that supports 64GB and start with one 16GB dimm.

Ensure your board has intel Ethernet, not Realtek.

 

[CraigD]

Are server boards really necessary? I put a scratch build together https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/biggyk/saved/4WZcf7

The X11SSM has 2 more SATA ports than the X11SSL motherboard, if you have any possibility of needing 7-8 SATA ports, get the better board

Have Fun

 

[Linkman]

If you're interested in that HPE Proliant ML10 Gen9, the i3-6100 version is available at MacMall.com, which is where I purchased mine, as well as TigerDirect.com, usually for US$199. (Not sure about Canadian shipping or Canadian versions of those sites though.) I currently have mine set up as a FreeBSD 11 server with a 2x2TB ZFS mirror, and a 2x3TB ZFS mirror. Nice box once it's setup.

 

[danb35]

If you're interested in that HPE Proliant ML10 Gen9, the i3-6100 version is available at MacMall.com, which is where I purchased mine, as well as TigerDirect.com, usually for US$199.

That looks like a good choice, and might displace the Dell T20/Lenovo TS140 as the budget server recommendation. An i3 vs. a Pentium G-series, and six drive bays(?) vs. four (if I'm reading the TigerDirect listing correctly), make it attractive--though it appears to only have DisplayPort for the monitor, and no remote management capability.

 

[Linkman]

That looks like a good choice, and might displace the Dell T20/Lenovo TS140 as the budget server recommendation. An i3 vs. a Pentium G-series, and six drive bays(?) vs. four (if I'm reading the TigerDirect listing correctly), make it attractive--though it appears to only have DisplayPort for the monitor, and no remote management capability.

It is only DisplayPort (and needs an active DP to DVI-D adapter), but it does the have Intel AMT web interface (caveat, I do not know if it has KVM abilities or not, given it's an i3 rather than a Xeon).

 

[Stux]

I suspect an i3 is actually a baby Xeon. I5 being a baby i7

Little bit like how a 2 core Xeon D is branded as a Pentium.