Updating my NAS Box

[Pheoxy]

So I'm currently using my own homebrew ArchLinux NAS OS and its the only way I've been able to keep it going for a while now. I've been meaning to upgrade for a while and aiming to upgrade to FreeNAS 10 on release.

Here's my current setup:

• Gigabyte Motherboard (GA-880G-UD3H)
  
• Cooler Master RS-700-PCAA-E3 700W
  
• 16GB Ram
  
• AMD CPU (Phenom II X6 1055T)
  
• ArchLinux NAS OS on Portable 1TB HDD
  
• 6x2TB HDD (4xWD Reds, 1 WD Green and 1 Seagate)

Here's my current wishlist:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($483.98 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($103.00 @ Shopping Express)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($130.50 @ Skycomp Technology)
Total: $717.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-04 13:29 AEDT+1100

These prices are steep in Australia and I'm hoping http://www.newegg.com/global/au will provide cheaper prices.

However I have noticed that the CPU does not have intergrated graphics, I'm hoping there's another CPU of equal power or an alternative if that is the case for setup.

If anyone has any advice on alternatives or things to add.

 

[Stux]

Integrated graphics mean nothing to FreeNAS. There's a console level gpu in the IPMI chip. And you should get an X11 board with a v5 CPU instead

 

[Pheoxy]

Integrated graphics mean nothing to FreeNAS. There's a console level gpu in the IPMI chip. And you should get an X11 board with a v5 CPU instead

Thanks for IPMI bit, I heard of it but didnt actually put together that it was IPMI.

I'm planning on running Plex Media Server and hoping I can run 3 streams at once (big family). From what I've read up the E5 has more threads but runs on lower clock speeds. Would it still be able to run those streams and is the added price needed? I'm trying to keep unnessary costs down if I don't need it, its nice though if its not much.

But then I'm also planning to run some VMs on the NAS so would the E5 also help there while also allowing for a Plex stream running at the same time?

Do you also have a recommened X11 board and E5 CPU of your choice. I'm searching for the forums and apprently the E5 2620 is nice but its upwards of $600 in AUS. Where the E3 1230 is upwards of $300.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Chris Moore]

I'm planning on running Plex Media Server and hoping I can run 3 streams at once (big family). From what I've read up the E5 has more threads but runs on lower clock speeds. Would it still be able to run those streams and is the added price needed? I'm trying to keep unnessary costs down if I don't need it, its nice though if its not much.

He wasn't saying to get a Xeon E5, they make a newer socket Xeon E3 . You gain some efficiency in the processor and it puts out less heat because it uses less power.
The rig I have is like 3 generations behind and it is able to do two steams without a problem and it might do 3, I just have never tried. The newer version hardware should do fine.

Storage: Samsung 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($103.00 @ Shopping Express)

I don't know why you are getting this. Is it meant to be a boot drive? You don't need all that for FreeNAS.
For boot drives in FreeNAS, the operating system supports booting from a ZFS mirror and I would suggest using a pair of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MHV2040BH-2...ujitsu-40GB-SATA-2-5-inch-Drive-/311706511840
or something like it... They don't need to be fast. There is no value to a fast (SSD) boot drive.

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($130.50 @ Skycomp Technology)

Another thing, if someone over in Australia sells things like eBay does, you might want to look into getting a used server case like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERMICRO-...S-2x-800W-POWER-SUPPLIES-W-RAILS/172236203793
For just a little more than what you want to spend on a PSU alone, you could have the hot-swap redundancy of a server PSU.

 

[Chris Moore]

Hey, let me know if you would like a recommendation on a system board because I think you could do better, especially if you go to a server chassis.

 

[Pheoxy]

He wasn't saying to get a Xeon E5, they make a newer socket Xeon E3 that runs at 5 volts. You gain some efficiency in the processor and it puts out less heat because it uses less power.
The rig I have is like 3 generations behind and it is able to do two steams without a problem and it might do 3, I just have never tried. The newer version hardware should do fine.


I don't know why you are getting this. Is it meant to be a boot drive? You don't need all that for FreeNAS.
For boot drives in FreeNAS, the operating system supports booting from a ZFS mirror and I would suggest using a pair of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MHV2040BH-2...ujitsu-40GB-SATA-2-5-inch-Drive-/311706511840
or something like it... They don't need to be fast. There is no value to a fast (SSD) boot drive.


Another thing, if someone over in Australia sells things like eBay does, you might want to look into getting a used server case like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERMICRO-...S-2x-800W-POWER-SUPPLIES-W-RAILS/172236203793
For just a little more than what you want to spend on a PSU alone, you could have the hot-swap redundancy of a server PSU.

The CPU I was heading for turned out to be the Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 which turns out is a 1151 so I now have to check compatibilty with the motherboards I'm looking at.

I was thinking of getting a ssd for zfs cache.

I'd need to buy a server rack. Thats an extra cost thats pretty expensive than just buying a new PSU.

Hey, let me know if you would like a recommendation on a system board because I think you could do better, especially if you go to a server chassis.

I'd love to go further but I'm currently doing odd jobs to get savings up for this so until I actually get a job thats on the Roadmap for Future.

Thanks for the advice, I just have to look for an affordable but in my price range SuperMicro X11 board thats 1151, IPMI and has a minimum of 8 Sata Ports now.

 

[Stux]

Right, Xeon E3-1230 v5. A great CPU. Quad Core + hyperthreading.

Just look through the LGA1151, X11 server boards and pick one. Can't really go wrong, especially if you get the c236 premium chipset ones (the ones with 8 Sata ports)

 

[Ericloewe]

they make a newer socket Xeon E3 that runs at 5 volts.

What? I'm not sure where that statement comes from, but it is absurd. CPUs have used far lower voltages for decades.

 

[joeschmuck]

I was thinking of getting a ssd for zfs cache.

Nope, don't do that. Research this because I'll tell you now, it won't do what you think it will do.

I'd like to take this thread in a different direction first because I'd like to understand what your requirements are before giving you advice. I'd try to base my answers also using price but sometimes to get what you want, you might need to pay a little more. But OUCH! Those are high prices but I'm thinking in US dollars, I would imagine you have a different exchange rate (~34 cents higher per dollar, dang).

1. What are you planning to use the FreeNAS system for?
2. You said you are running ArchLinux NAS and you didn't list any possible new hard drive purchases, do you have a plan to move your current data over before wiping it all out and creating a vdev/pool?
3. What are your storage requirements? FreeNAS/ZFS runs best with at least 20% free storage. So if you have 7TB or storage capacity then you should leave free 1.4 TB. Once you hit 10% free or less the system will slow down significantly. This is the nature of the beast and you should be aware of it.
4. You didn't list RAM in your parts list but if you are creating a Home Media Server, I'd recommend 16GB ECC RAM. You could always add more if needed at a later date but I doubt you would need more.
5. Before you go down the path of FreeNAS, you need to understand what a vdev and pool is and the restrictions/limitation on adding hard drives to increase storage.
6. So you do want to stream video content, up to 3 streams. Are these all HD content or possibly DVD quality? TV shows or movies, etc... Just saying three streams doesn't indicate to me that you might be asking to streak 4K content only. While I'm certain the Xeon E3-1230 V5 would handle this, maybe you have something else which might limit your bandwidth. Honestly, I don't even know what the Ethernet bandwidth would need to be to stream three 4K streams at once but someone here might know that answer.

Cheers

 

[Stux]

What? I'm not sure where that statement comes from, but it is absurd. CPUs have used far lower voltages for decades.

http://ark.intel.com/m/products/881...-v5-8M-Cache-3_40-GHz#@product/specifications

0.55 - 1.52V

 

[Chris Moore]

What? I'm not sure where that statement comes from, but it is absurd. CPUs have used far lower voltages for decades.

Thanks! Your polite and helpful correction is always appreciated. It is a v5 (version 5) I see where my mistake came in.

 

[Stux]

Xeon model numbers can be confusing, but if you stare at them long enough, eventually they make sense.

A bit like that scene in the matrix ;)

 

[Chris Moore]

I'd need to buy a server rack. Thats an extra cost thats pretty expensive than just buying a new PSU.

No, you just set the server on the edge like a tower system. I have two of them sitting on edge in my office right now. There is no need for the rack.

The other thing about the SSD has already been covered, but it would be a poor use of limited funds.

If you are trying to put this build together with limited funds, you can't beat used server hardware. You can often buy a whole system with everything you need for $300 and all you have to do is add drives. That will get you up and running and in a couple years, when the funds are available, buy what you really want.

Best of luck.

 

[Pheoxy]

Note: The prices aren't correct as pcpartpicker couldn't find prices for some parts.

Thanks for all the info, I've looked around and settled on these:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V5 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($389.00 @ PLE Computers)
Motherboard: Supermicro MBD-X11SAE-F-O ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Memory: Crucial 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($125.00 @ Shopping Express)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($125.00 @ Shopping Express)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($130.50 @ Skycomp Technology)
Total: $769.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-07 18:15 AEDT+1100

I have to replace 2 drives as well soon and the PSU is worrying me so I'm trying to be sure with a replacement but this seems to do everything I need.

 

[Pheoxy]

No, you just set the server on the edge like a tower system. I have two of them sitting on edge in my office right now. There is no need for the rack.

The other thing about the SSD has already been covered, but it would be a poor use of limited funds.

If you are trying to put this build together with limited funds, you can't beat used server hardware. You can often buy a whole system with everything you need for $300 and all you have to do is add drives. That will get you up and running and in a couple years, when the funds are available, buy what you really want.

Best of luck.

I'm not sure where I would go about buying used server parts and I'm comfortable with the setup. I will look into using them but I'd like a fallback because I've never really gone into using server systems such as what your talking about.
I'd like to by all new and do away with used parts. I'll probably build a server rack when I'm older (only 22) and get a good job. Eventually I want to have everything gaming, media and processing on a server that uses KVM and only use laptops in the house.

Looking into KVM I was thinking I could also just by another GPU and use my gaming computer which already has 8x sata
Gaming Rig build:

• ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO
• ASUS Geforce GTX 970
• Samsung EVO 120GB SSD
• Intel i7 4790K
• Corsair 16GB RAM

And just put all the HDDs in, install FreeNAS and use a Windows 10 KVM environment. I could even just use SSH to access the FreeNAS console if I ever need to then and not worry about buying another GPU until later.

Thoughts? I'm not sure FreeNAS has KVM at the moment.

 

[pirateghost]

I'm not sure where I would go about buying used server parts and I'm comfortable with the setup. I will look into using them but I'd like a fallback because I've never really gone into using server systems such as what your talking about.
I'd like to by all new and do away with used parts. I'll probably build a server rack when I'm older (only 22) and get a good job. Eventually I want to have everything gaming, media and processing on a server that uses KVM and only use laptops in the house.

Looking into KVM I was thinking I could also just by another GPU and use my gaming computer which already has 8x sata
Gaming Rig build:

• ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO
• ASUS Geforce GTX 970
• Samsung EVO 120GB SSD
• Intel i7 4790K
• Corsair 16GB RAM

And just put all the HDDs in, install FreeNAS and use a Windows 10 KVM environment. I could even just use SSH to access the FreeNAS console if I ever need to then and not worry about buying another GPU until later.

Thoughts? I'm not sure FreeNAS has KVM at the moment.

KVM is Linux, not freebsd, which is what FreeNAS is based on.

You aren't going to run Windows 10 gaming machine through a VM on FreeNAS.

I don't even know what you're talking about with SSH to access FreeNAS. FreeNAS presents the GUI over a web browser. There is nothing local except for a basic text console. FreeNAS doesn't need a GPU.

You might want to take a bit of time to actually read the capability of FreeNAS before you jump in thinking you're going to replace your entire infrastructure with a single FreeNAS box.

 

[Pheoxy]

KVM is Linux, not freebsd, which is what FreeNAS is based on.

You aren't going to run Windows 10 gaming machine through a VM on FreeNAS.

I don't even know what you're talking about with SSH to access FreeNAS. FreeNAS presents the GUI over a web browser. There is nothing local except for a basic text console. FreeNAS doesn't need a GPU.

You might want to take a bit of time to actually read the capability of FreeNAS before you jump in thinking you're going to replace your entire infrastructure with a single FreeNAS box.

SSH was just in case I would need the FreeNAS text console for some reason and no. I don't really want to completely replace my setup as its currently working with its current setup.
Just broaching ideas.

It could work as an in between if something fails dramatically again and I have to do a rebuild again...

Just checking if someone knew something I didn't. KVM seems to be in experimental stages on FreeBSD anyway.

 

[pirateghost]

Even if KVM was working under freebsd, you can't NOT have a 'gpu' for the host OS. No matter the hypervisor, you need a GPU of some sort.

 

[Pheoxy]

Even if KVM was working under freebsd, you can't NOT have a 'gpu' for the host OS. No matter the hypervisor, you need a GPU of some sort.

I was under the impression that FreeNAS GUI didn't need it?

 

[pirateghost]

I was under the impression that FreeNAS GUI didn't need it?

You need something to boot the console to. FreeNAS itself does not need a GPU, but it needs a way to display the console.

My comment, however had nothing to do with FreeNAS and rather discussing hypervisors. FreeNAS is not a hypervisor. If you have a Linux box that is acting as a KVM only hypervisor, you need a video output of some kind to manage the host or you will lock yourself out of the system. This doesn't necessarily mean a dedicated GPU, it could be a built in video display on the motherboard, which is still technically a GPU.