Trying to setup a NAS box

[Kevin20554]

I am using an old PC with the following configuration and it's getting really slow.
- Running FreeNAS 0.7.2 Sabanda (revision 8191)
- i386-embedded on Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
- 1 Gig of Ram
- WD Caviar® WD1800JB. (160 gig)
- Utilizing UFS file system
- Nic Card ??? Probably 10/100
- Network 10/100 switch
It takes about 4 minutes to transfer 4332, .jpg files of about 284MB.
Is this slow?

I am thinking of changing and making another box with the following configuration:
- Installing FreeNAS 9.1.1 or 8.3.2
- INTEL (CORE 2 DUO ) E7400 @ 2.8 GHz (to be purchased)
- Planning to upgrade it to 8 Gigs of Ram
- NIC 10/100/1000
- Utilizing ZFS file system to support the following H.D. setup.
- I already have (2) - ST31000528AS • Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3Gb/s 1TB H.D.s
trying to mirror these drives.
And add two additional, 2TB drives in the future (to be mirroed)
And finally and 5th drive possibly for backup purposes of the above.
- All above H.D.s would be in an external 5 bay enclosure (Do not know what to purchase).
I don't know whether this PC's SATA, would be able to handle all the above hard drives?

1. I was wondering whether the above setup would be sufficient for home/office use, to use as and extra storage to transfer files back and forth between two users? Running Win 7.
2. What type/brand of external 5 bay enclosure is recommended?
3 I don't know whether this PC's SATA, would be able to handle all the above hard drives?
4. Is an additional SATA card required to run 5 additional hard drives?
5. I would appreciate any recommendation for the above setup.

Thank you.

 

[pirateghost]

This is not a 'How-To', moving to appropriate section...

 

[Kevin20554]

Where was it moved to?

 

[cyberjock]

Kevin20554,

1. Do not cross post.
2. Do not create threads in the How-To section. It clearly says it is for guides and not questions.

 

[Whattteva]

I am using an old PC with the following configuration and it's getting really slow.
- Running FreeNAS 0.7.2 Sabanda (revision 8191)
- i386-embedded on Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
- 1 Gig of Ram
- WD Caviar® WD1800JB. (160 gig)
- Utilizing UFS file system
- Nic Card ??? Probably 10/100
- Network 10/100 switch
It takes about 4 minutes to transfer 4332, .jpg files of about 284MB.
Is this slow?

1. I'm not too sure about this, but I believe these forums are only for FreeNAS version 8 and up.
2. 1 Gig of RAM seems fairly low, may want to try 2 Gigs.
3. If either your switch or NIC is 10 BaseT, then 4 minutes for a 284 MB file, is actually pretty fast.

I am thinking of changing and making another box with the following configuration:
- Installing FreeNAS 9.1.1 or 8.3.2
- INTEL (CORE 2 DUO ) E7400 @ 2.8 GHz (to be purchased)
- Planning to upgrade it to 8 Gigs of Ram
- NIC 10/100/1000
- Utilizing ZFS file system to support the following H.D. setup.
- I already have (2) - ST31000528AS • Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3Gb/s 1TB H.D.s
trying to mirror these drives.
And add two additional, 2TB drives in the future (to be mirroed)
And finally and 5th drive possibly for backup purposes of the above.
- All above H.D.s would be in an external 5 bay enclosure (Do not know what to purchase).
I don't know whether this PC's SATA, would be able to handle all the above hard drives?

1. I was wondering whether the above setup would be sufficient for home/office use, to use as and extra storage to transfer files back and forth between two users? Running Win 7.
2. What type/brand of external 5 bay enclosure is recommended?
3 I don't know whether this PC's SATA, would be able to handle all the above hard drives?
4. Is an additional SATA card required to run 5 additional hard drives?
5. I would appreciate any recommendation for the above setup.

Thank you.

1. 8 GB of RAM is the minimum recommended for ZFS, more is always better and will be used by FreeNAS.
2. Install 9.1.1, don't bother with 8.3.2. FreeNAS 9.1.1 has numerous improvements over 8.3, especially in plugins section.
3. If you want fast speeds, make sure ALL your components are 1 Gigabit. You can only be as fast as your slowest link.
4. FreeNAS is not really flexible in adding additional hard drives to an existing pool, so I would get all of your drives now instead of later. If you do it later, you will have to back up your entire pool, create a new pool and restore your backup there. I also would try to use all same size/manufacturers if at all possible.
5. If you have enough SATA ports, it should be able to handle them. Motherboards typically have at least 4 of them, some have more.

 

[Kevin20554]

@cyberjock, "Do not cross post."
I just realized that I have been moved and where to. I should have posted under:
Home Forums > FreeNAS Forum > Help & Support > FreeNAS 4 N00bs.

Thanks.

 

[Kevin20554]

1. I'm not too sure about this, but I believe these forums are only for FreeNAS version 8 and up.
2. 1 Gig of RAM seems fairly low, may want to try 2 Gigs.
3. If either your switch or NIC is 10 BaseT, then 4 minutes for a 284 MB file, is actually pretty fast.

1. 8 GB of RAM is the minimum recommended for ZFS, more is always better and will be used by FreeNAS.
2. Install 9.1.1, don't bother with 8.3.2. FreeNAS 9.1.1 has numerous improvements over 8.3, especially in plugins section.
3. If you want fast speeds, make sure ALL your components are 1 Gigabit. You can only be as fast as your slowest link.
4. FreeNAS is not really flexible in adding additional hard drives to an existing pool, so I would get all of your drives now instead of later. If you do it later, you will have to back up your entire pool, create a new pool and restore your backup there. I also would try to use all same size/manufacturers if at all possible.
5. If you have enough SATA ports, it should be able to handle them. Motherboards typically have at least 4 of them, some have more.

Thank you for the reply Whattteva

- The problems that I have with this PC is that it only has two internal SATA ports and there is only room for 1 hard drive in that box!
- This PC has only two slot for additional cards. One PCI and One PCIe X16(16.1).

I am trying to first figure out whether the PC I have chosen is adequate for now?
And then also trying to find a proper SATA card that could handle an external box with 4 to 5 bays. Which is compatible with ZFS.