Storage build spec

[tbaror]

Hi All,

I need to build storage that would act as both nas (cifs) and san (iscsi) based the storage , storage total capacity should be 70TB usable
The Cifs part: will be used (60TB) for video trans-coding sequential read/write around total 300Mb/s
In addition will be used to misc office files storage.

The San part Iscsi will be used (10TB) for Xenserver virtualization to load all kind of different guest OS and might be some of the sql db hosting.

So to resume i assume that the storage should be total Bandwith: 1,2GBytes/s
as for Xenserver using san iscsi or nfs i am open to suggestion for what is performing better.
So it will be very helpful if someone could point me to recommended hardware for such config
Please advice
Thanks

 

[DrKK]

That's a very serious pool with pretty serious requirements. Have you considered the commercial product from ixSystems?

 

[TXAG26]

ixSystems. Please do not try to build something like this for work if your job depends on it. IT folks have been fired for much less.

 

[DrKK]

Indeed. We're talking 24x4TB (probably configured as 3 vdevs with RAID-Z2--which would give you, what, about 70TB, as you say), and with the database and VM loads, you'll want to make sure you have the right additional equipment set up to handle the caching and so on. This is a big job, and beyond what we normally community support as a pure FreeNAS.

I do not recommend you take this on yourself with FreeNAS. It can be done, but we wouldn't be good ambassadors of FreeNAS if we did not strongly urge you to consider the commercial product line.

I would recommend that you consider a TrueNAS Z20 system with support contract.

Also possible would be a "certified FreeNAS 4U", which would be somewhat less expensive I believe. I'm no expert on the commercial products.

Drop an email to sales@ixsystems.com; those guys will be happy to give you a consult.

 

[tbaror]

Thanks all for your suggestion , I did followed your advice and contacted ixsystems , but in addition to that i would like to be able and have the knowledge to do sizing for such scales
This topic i really have interest of the DIY .
So if you have any guidelines ,suggestions and tips i would really appreciate it, and love to learn it
Thanks

 

[tvsjr]

ust a tip: rolling into a forum where you aren't an established member and saying "can you help me build a Taj Mahal" when it's obvious you've done no research isn't going to go well. Either you haven't done your homework (you're a n00b) or you just don't care to do the work and expect someone to do it for you (you're lazy). In both instances, most people are going to point you to a supported, pro solution.

If you've been reading these forums for a long time, you should have at least a place to start. There are a few of the more prolific posters that have DIY solutions matching/exeeding your requirements, fully documented in their sig block. There's no doubt you can build the system you want DIY with FreeNAS. Hell, I'm in the middle of building a ~50TB filer myself, to do very similar things (CIFS file store + NFS/iSCSI for VMware), and I have every confidence it'll work. But I'm doing a lot of research myself and accepting that I probably won't build things 100% optimally off the bat.

You should start by doing your homework. All of the answers you seek are pretty much already written in these forums... you just need to find them. Then ask for clarification where appropriate.

 

[DrKK]

ust a tip: rolling into a forum where you aren't an established member and saying "can you help me build a Taj Mahal" when it's obvious you've done no research isn't going to go well. Either you haven't done your homework (you're a n00b) or you just don't care to do the work and expect someone to do it for you (you're lazy). In both instances, most people are going to point you to a supported, pro solution.

If you've been reading these forums for a long time, you should have at least a place to start. There are a few of the more prolific posters that have DIY solutions matching/exeeding your requirements, fully documented in their sig block. There's no doubt you can build the system you want DIY with FreeNAS. Hell, I'm in the middle of building a ~50TB filer myself, to do very similar things (CIFS file store + NFS/iSCSI for VMware), and I have every confidence it'll work. But I'm doing a lot of research myself and accepting that I probably won't build things 100% optimally off the bat.

You should start by doing your homework. All of the answers you seek are pretty much already written in these forums... you just need to find them. Then ask for clarification where appropriate.

That's not particularly fair, sir. The OP came in here, asked his question, and reacted I think quite well to our suggestions. ixSystems tells me he made the contact and inquired about the proper commercial product line. I think he's about ten times more decent, prepared, and reasonable than the average person we get.

OP: If you want to work up to the large scale NAS projects DIY, then I suggest you start with a nice single vdev smaller NAS according to our recommendations all over the forum (maybe, say, some build from 3x4TB drives), and start to get experience with the appliance. I don't know how the prices are where you are, but this can be done for under $1000 using all new, server-grade stuff in North America. Once you are playing around with that for several months, some of the challenges with databases, virtualizations, scaling, and so on, will be reasonable things to tackle.

 

[Ericloewe]

To add to DrKK's point, it's perfectly normal to ask - even if it may be a silly question to someone more experienced. The problem is when people don't react positively to answers they don't like ("That is answered here: *linky*", "That's not a good idea", "You need to read more", "We can't help you with that, in good conscience").

 

[tbaror]

Thanks DrKK,Ericloewe,

Thanks for Understanding , as for for Ixsystem quote this is what i got regrading our spec

TrueNAS Z35-HA TrueNAS Z35-HA Hybrid Storage Array
Storage Optimization Inline Compression and Deduplication
Features Unlimited Snapshots, Remote Replication
Thin and Thick Provisioning
Self healing File System
Primary Storage - Z35-HA - All Storage Drives Are Mounted In Expansion Shelves
Primary Storage Schema - RAID10 ~ 84TB of usable storage with two hot spares
L1ARC Cache - 256GB DRAM Cache Per Controller
TrueCache - Write Cache 1 TrueNAS Extreme-Performance Write Cache (SZR) (Included)
TrueCache – Read Cache 2 Striped TrueNAS High-Performance Read Cache: 400GB 2.5" MLC SSD
On-Board Networking 2 2 x 1GbE Ethernet for Storage Connectivity & 1 x 1GbE Ethernet for management
Network Expansion 2 TrueNAS 10 Gigabit Quad Port Ethernet Controller - QSFP to Twinax Cable Included


In addition to that this is my attempt for building my own version nas/san i would glad if you gives your opinion about the parts chosen

Seagate ST4000VN0001 4TB 3.5" 6Gbps Enterprise NAS SATA Disks:24*4TB
Chassis:SC846XE1C-R1K23B
Mother board:X10SRL-F
cpu:Intel Xeon E5-1620 v3
Memory 256GB 16x16 HMA42GR7MFR4N-TF
SSD Cash:4x SSD 480GB 480G SanDisk Extreme PRO
SanDisk USB 64GB 64G Extreme for OS
Intel RES2SV240NC RES2SV240 SE91267 24 port 6Gbs SATA SAS RAID Expander Card
INTEL X710DA4FHBLK10G quad port

again Thanks
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?members/drkk.33645/

 

[jgreco]

To add to DrKK's point, it's perfectly normal to ask - even if it may be a silly question to someone more experienced. The problem is when people don't react positively to answers they don't like ("That is answered here: *linky*", "That's not a good idea", "You need to read more", "We can't help you with that, in good conscience").

Yeah, basically everyone here wants you to have a successful outcome, and even what might seem like a negative response is usually meant in a helpful way. For example, I generally don't help people who clearly have no virtualization experience with virtualizing their FreeNAS. That's because I don't want to be responsible for encouraging them to do something they're not qualified to build. But anyone who does their homework and gets themselves up to speed, and is willing to own their own mistakes, heck, yeah, I'll give 'em a shove in the right direction.

People don't always react well to that.

 

[cyberjock]

HA huh? You're in for a treat with HA. :D

 

[jgreco]

HA huh? You're in for a treat with HA. :D

Let's see just how HA. (*starts pulling drives...*)