Silent Home NAS with X10SDV-4C-7TP4F and 6 x 4TB

[loch_nas]

Hi everybody,

some time ago I wanted to build a FreeNAS system on a Mini-ITX basis. A sudden change of my financial priorities has stopped those plans.
So now I'm here again, with a new plan and the required money in my pocket.


Planned FreeNAS services:

• File Sharing (SMB) for max. 4 users (Windows clients, all 1 Gbit at the moment)
• Backup of 4 Windows clients
• Domain Controller
• Plex (max. 2 streams with 1080p)
• 2 to 3 VMs (web development: Apache, PHP, MySQL, svn server, testing: Windows Server 2012)
• Owncloud (not sure about that)

Storage needs for now:

• At this stage I'm going to use about 3 TB.
• If storage reaches 80% I want to add another 6 disks or swap the 4TB disks with 8TB disks.

I'm going to buy all the hardware in Europe (Austria, Germany), so I list the items with euro prices


Hardware I already have:

• Case: Fractal Design Define XL (4 x 5,25", 10 x 3,5")

Hardware to purchase:

• Mainboard: Supermicro X10SDV-4C-7TP4F retail -> 584 €
• RAM: 1 x KVR24R17D4/32 -> 342 €
• OS: SK Hynix Canvas SL308 120GB -> 55 € or Intel SSD 600p 128GB -> 58 €
• VMs: 2 x Intel SSD DC S3520 240GB -> 260 € (mirrored)
• Storage: 8 x Seagate BarraCuda Compute 4TB (ST4000DM004) -> 760 € (6 x 4TB RAIDZ2 + 2 x Spare Disk)
• Backplane: 2 x Cremax Icy Dock MB153SP-B -> 122 €
• PSU: Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550W -> 70 €
• UPS: APC Back-UPS Pro 900VA -> 181 €
• Case Fans: 2 x Noctua NF-P14s redux-1200 PWM -> 28 €
• Fans for Backplanes: 2 x Noctua NF-R8 redux-1200 -> 22 €
• CPU Fan: Noctua NF-A6x25 PWM -> 14 €

Total Price: 2438,00 €


Thoughts:

Of course I would really love to get a used Supermicro build, but space is limited and so the server is going to be in the living room. Therefore noise level is a very important factor.
And my girl friend would be very "jealous" if I put a beauty like a Supermicro server in the living room. No rivals wanted :/

The mainboard X10SDV-4C-7TP4F is not quite cheap, I know. But the SAS controller and the 10Gbit controllers make it a good buy as I think.
Another advantage of this Mainboard is the capability of 128GB RAM.

I know that Kingston is not anymore the preferred memory manufacturer (varying chips), but here in Europe that's often the only and cheapest memory you can get.

The Fractal XL should be nearly perfect for my purposes:

1. I can put 2 backplanes (each one with 3 disks) into the 4 5,25" drive bays -> space for 6 hard disks
2. theoretical space for 10 additional disks
3. it's quite heavy (~ 18 kg), so a good basis for a silent build

The OS SSD will also be used for log files as I've read that this is possible.

I'm going to buy 2 cheapo 80x25mm fans to use the fan frames as shrouds for the backplane fans.
The distance from the fan to the backplane seems to be problematic (noise). So I hope to reduce noise by adding such air shrouds.


Future Plans:

• add another 32GB of RAM
• expandability for another 6 disks if needed
• change my home network to 10Gbit
• add another server (10Gbit) for easier back up of this server

Questions:

1. Is 2,2 GHz of this Xeon-D-1518 adequate for SMB? (if this question is imprecise, please let me know) (I'm not sure about that, because SMB is known to be single-threaded)
2. Are there any concerns about decent cooling?
3. Do the Supermicro retail packages include all needed SAS cables? (I could not find any information about that on the Supermicro product page)
4. Does anybody know if the Intel SSD 600p would be bootable on this Mainboard? (I would prefer a M.2 SSD, but if that's a gamble I'll take the SATA-SSD)
5. Are the SSDs adequate for the VMs I want to use? Do they really have PLP? (Most stuff will be read operations, so I thought they should do the job)
6. Are the Hard Disks bad for a NAS? Should I prefer IronWolf or WD Red?
7. Is 1 reg. RAM stick enough? Will it work? (I know that 1 single UDIMM works, but I have no clue about reg. RDIMM. The user guide says it works, but I want to be sure)
8. Will 1 RDIMM result in a noticeable speed reduction?
9. Will the UPS work well with FreeNAS? Is a SmartUPS really worth the extra €?
10. Is this (quite new) Seasonic PSU ok? Is 550W too much for the max number of 12 disks (+ 3 SSDs)?
11. Are there any other concerns, ideas or thoughts? Did I forget anything important?

There are still a few more questions (like buying a decent switch for 10Gbit). But as I want to structure my questions for better usability/readability I will ask those questions at the appropriate places of this forum.
As my questions get answered I will add the answers to those questions (for other users with similar hardware or plans)

I want to apologize for the length of this post and my spoiled English.

Thanks in advance!

 

[loch_nas]

I am rethinking this build now as the prices and availability of some products (especially Mainboard & RAM) change daily at the moment. So I'm considering to stay away of the idea of a SoC-Mainboard and the 10GBit. Later this evening I'll post another build ... maybe on another thread as the title would not fit anymore. Let me think and plan. Sorry guys!

 

[loch_nas]

Yesterday I've ordered all parts for the FreeNAS Server with small changes.

So here's the list of hardware:

FreeNAS Build:
1 x Supermicro X10SDV-4C-7TP4F retail
2 x Samsung DIMM 16GB, DDR4-2400, CL17-17-17, ECC (M391A2K43BB1-CRC)
1 x Intel SSD 320 120GB (OS Disk, used)
2 x Intel SSD DC S4500 240GB (VMs)
8 x Western Digital WD Red 4TB (WD40EFRX) (6 x for RAIDZ2, 2 x Spare)
2 x Cremax Icy Dock MB153SP-B
1 x Seasonic Prime Ultra Gold 550W
1 x APC Back-UPS Pro 900VA
2 x Noctua NF-P14s redux-1200 PWM (front and rear fan)
1 x Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM (front fan)
2 x Noctua NF-R8 redux-1800 (backplane fans)
1 x Noctua NF-A6x25 PWM (CPU fan)
2 x Arctic F8, 80mm (for fan shrouds)

Additional:
1 x Label-the-cable LTC 2520 (for identifying disks)

Network:
1 x D-Link DGS-151 (Switch with 4 x SFP+ and 24 x RJ-45)
2 x Intel E10GSFPSRX Compatible 10GBASE-SR SFP+ 850nm 300m DOM Transceiver Module
2 x Transceiver Modul mit DOM - D-Link DEM-431XT-DD Kompatibel 10GBASE-SR SFP+ - 850nm 300m
2 x Bend Insensitive LWL-Patchkabel, LC UPC zu LC UPC Duplex Stecker, OM3 Multimode 2m (7ft) PVC(OFNR) 2,0mm


After my rethinking process I noticed that I could use an old SSD (Intel SSD 320) with 120GB capacity as the boot disk. It even has PLP, but that's actually not needed. For modern computers it would be quite slow (does not saturate SATA2), but for this purpose it's actually more than perfect.

The Intel SSD DC S3520 I originally planned for VM use became a bit too expensive (prices change quickly), so I swapped them with 2 Intel SSD DC S4500, which should suit my needs.

After more reading and rethinking I also changed the selection of disks. I think that the WD Reds are the better choice, after they run very cool and quiet. And that's exactly what I'm looking for. They were nearly 20 € more expensive than the Barracudas, but that's ok with me. I want to build a reliable server.

After the Seasonic Focus Plus Gold became more and more expensive the last days (I don't know why) I decided to for the Seasonic Prime Ultra Gold. I believe that the quality of the Prime Series is a little bit better. And again, I don't want to be too stingy with important things like power supply or hard disks.
Another aspect is the cabling of the Prime Ultra. There are capacitors at the cable ends of Focus Plus, which makes a decent cable management a bit more difficult. The Prime Ultra cables are different and result in easier cable management.

Today I have fetched the first component of my build, the UPS.
And now I'm waiting for Santa Claus to bring me my presents :)

 

[Constantin]

Yesterday I've ordered all parts for the FreeNAS Server with small changes.
1 x Supermicro X10SDV-4C-7TP4F retail

How did it turn out? I'm waffling between the 1518-based board vs. the 1537.