Super NooB need help building freenas 8

[digitalfortress]

Hi,

I plan to build NAS using freenas 8. i'm totally new with NAS system but i do have some basic understanding in computing and networking. First of all i need some recommends from you guys for hardware parts. i plan to build a basic NAS for files storage at my office. So there're no very large files in there. most of all just MS office files, AutoCAD drawing (.dwg), etc. And since there is no "Huge" files i plan to use just 4 HD (Seagate 500GB SATA3) in RAIDZ 2. I know the capacity will be overkill but I do plan for using 4x500GB because the price only have a little difference than the smaller capacity. I need you advice in Motherboard and Processor choices. I don't have a tight budget, so please just give me advices in hardware that will serve my purpose but not too much overkill. also i don't have some old system that i can use it for my NAS, so i need to buy the whole new system.

One more thing i want to know, if i build the freenas and use it to store my AutoCAD files (.dwg) am i will be able to open and doing some editing from client PC via Gigabit or standart cat5 network ? also can a several client PCs access the same file all in one ?

Pardon me for many questions, and my English. Thanks a lot

NB: Please give me some advices in mobo that already have 4 SATA3 ports because i don't want to buy any storage controller anymore (Very difficult to get one in my country).

Regard,

 

[Darkaine]

Well for hardware, I'd recommend trying to buy an older system from someone for dirt cheap. However since you'll want it to be reliable, obviously new is the best choice. I'd be able to help more if I knew how many people plan on using it. but I'd say for new parts. Go for a mini ITX setup. As the cases are rather small plus you could probably get one with 4HDD support.

Motherboard: ZOTAC 890GXITX-A-E AM3 (has 4 Sata 6GBs ports)
CPU: AMD Athlon II x2 250 (3.0GHz Dual Core) (Sempron would probably be okay too though)
Memory (RAM): Maybe 2GB?(FreeNAS says you need alot but I have a personal one running with 512MB)
Power Supply: I'd say with the hard drives and everything 400-500w would be more than enough.
Case: LIAN LI PC-Q08B (Has 6 Internal Hard Drive Bays)

This could be brought up or down, Its just I don't know how many people will use it or how often. So these are kind of basic parts that would more than work for your needs. (I was in a rush so there may be some mistakes) Hope this helps.


As to your second question, Yes saving and reading should work fine with .dwg files. However 2 computers viewing the same file and editing it is not a good idea.

 

[ProtoSD]

I'd agree with most of what Darkaine recommended except about the RAM. You said you planned to use ZFS raidZ2, AND possibly have several users accessing the NAS.
The MINIMUM I would get is 4GB, ZFS needs it, RAM is cheap (most places anyway), and you don't want to cut corners on something that important and have problems later. You can have multiple users accessing the files, just not the SAME file(s) at the same time. Get the extra RAM.

 

[Darkaine]

Oh my bad, I didn't see that he wanted ZFS, I've no experience with it but everyone says minimum 4-8GB so I agree with protosd.

 

[digitalfortress]

Thanks a lot guys. your advice help me so much. But unfortunately it's quite difficult to find ZOTAC here in my country. i contacted my local store but they only have ZOTAC 880G MICRO ATX. Can u give me another recommendation for the motherboard ? Maybe from a better known brand like Gigabyte, ASUS, MSI, DFI, Biostar, or Asrock ?

And you're absolutely right about i need a reliable system. because i'm about to go for study abroad in 1 month. So i need the system run before that and plan to do some major maintenance once in a year when i went back to my country (Hopefully there will be no major problems between that http://forums.freenas.org/images/icons/icon9.png)

Thanks a lot guy

 

[Darkaine]

I found an Asus Mini ITX board but it only had 3 Sata ports. I suppose you could get an add-on card for it, StarTech makes several that I hear work nice.

ASUS M4A88T-I Deluxe

I suppose you could get a Micro ATX board and set it up with Micro ATX but then obviously you'd have to use a bigger case.
Do you have Newegg in your country? or something similar? If you have to use Micro ATX then I'd recommend these for your setup.

Either the
ASUS M4N68T-M V2 AM3
or
MSI 760GM-P33 AM3 AMD 760G
Both are decently cheap and have at lease 4 Sata Ports.

Also since you'd need a bigger case
LIAN LI PC-V354B Black Aluminum MicroATX

That is almost Identical to the Mini ITX case but it fits Micro ATX and has 7 HDD Bays

Hope that all helps

 

[ProtoSD]

There are a bunch of people here talking about this motherboard -> ASRock E350M1
which might be an option for you, and of course there's the one that I use:
SUPERMICRO MBD-X7SPA-H-O Intel Atom D510 1.66Ghz Server Motherboard (6x SATA ports)

 

[digitalfortress]

can i use asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 ? But it does have a realtek controller. can guys confirm me that realtek gonna work with freenas 8 ? No i there's no neweg in my country.

 

[matthewowen01]

here is some general non specific advice, hope you can find parts in your area that work. remember sata 3 is not supported by freenas yet afaik.

i'd stay away from mini itx, you're paying a premium for the small size. you have an office. a tower in a corner means nothing to you.

i would go with an AMD chip, good performance to power. one of the 'e' series , lower wattage and heat. (AMD Athlon II X2 210e, AMD Athlon II X2 235e, AMD Athlon II X2 240e, AMD Athlon II X2 245e, AMD Athlon II X2 250e) get a motherboard with on-board video, 4 or more sata ports, 4 memory slots and a PCI-e 16 slot just so you can increase your storage if you need too later. cram as much ram as you can into it, 8 GB, maybe 16 if it's in your budget. gigabyte, asus, msi are my favorites, good track record.

as for a case, find something that can fit more than 4 drives. Antec makes some nice mid and full towers that will fit 6 to 10 drives.

 

[digitalfortress]

Thanks for the replies guys!!! I've build my Freenas system using SEASONIC 500W SS-500ES 80 PLUS BRONZE PSU, BIOSTAR TA880GB+ mobo, AMD ATHLON II X2 265 3.3Ghz processor, 2x G SKILL 8GB (2x4GB) F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL (16GB total), 3x 500GB WD caviar blue, and Sandisk USB flash 16GB (For Freenas 8). I'm using ZFS and RAIDZ2. The freenas already running but now i need help in configuring it hahaha... But i guess this section is not the place to ask questions about configuration. So i think i'll just make a new thread somewhere else for that questions. Thanks guys... You've help me a lot!!!

 

[Tekkie]

When you go for a 'regular' AMD CPU try to get one of the (ultra) low power models, should allow you to have a fan less design with that spec, especially if you go with 2.5" drives rather than 3.5".