Howdy folks,
I need a little help with a build I am planning which will see FreeNAS running as a virtual machine on ESXi and maybe XEN if I decide to play with it later.
I currently have an ESXi host with the following specs:
BOXDQ76SW 1155 motherboard
Celeron G530 CPU
16GB DDR3 1333 Non-ECC RAM
OCZ 120GB SSD
500GB HDD
3TB WD Green HDD.
I like this build but I have been reading quite a bit and I would really like to run ECC ram for maximum data protection. I am working within a budget but it is self imposed and I'm willing to wait and pay more if I will end up with a better system in the end. The system will ultimately be an all-in-one setup that will run all of my non-gaming needs. This would include things like: domain controller, file server (FreeNAS), VOIP server, torrent machine, mail server, web server, etc, etc. None of these are particularly CPU intensive but I have read that FreeNAS does better with a higher clock rate.
I have the following build in mind and would like some advise on components:
ASUS M5A99FX AM3+ motherboard (supports IOMMU & Unbuffered ECC ram)
AMD AM3 Athlon x3 450 3.2Ghz triple core (fourth core can be unlocked and easy to overclock)
32GB Unbuffered ECC RAM (32GB limit is annoying for ESXi so if there are other options please post).
Drives will be swapped from the current ESXi host and I would like to run a mild CPU overclock to boost FreeNAS performance. I am hoping to run ECC RAM on consumer grade hardware but if server grade hardware is a better option in the long run I will certainly entertain any arguments. I was planning to use AMD components because I can achieve my goals for a lower price than with intel components; again, if an intel build is better I will certainly listen. I was thinking of getting a used IBM M1015 RAID controller for use as a FreeNAS HBA. Those are the base components for the build.
I also have a couple of questions regarding Hard drive selection. I am currently running a single WD 3TB Green HDD as my file server hard drive; it sees most action as a streaming media server. For backup I have a spare 3TB WD Green HDD which I sync with the server drive every so often, this drive sits on a shelf when not backing up the server drive. For the moment 3TB is enough but I am quickly running out of space and in a few months I expect I will have to buy another hard drive (x2 for backup). If I am going to be building a RAID setup which drives should I be looking into. I have had good luck with the WD Green drives and I know that if used in a RAID setup I will need to change the head park settings to avoid premature drive failure which doesn't bother me. However at the moment the 7200RPM seagate drives can be had cheaper than the WD green drives and the extra speed certainly appeals to me. Does anyone know if these drives are good for my purpose or should I look into something else? After I have the system built but before I buy a whack of drives I will do more research into what type of RAID I want to run but for me the speed is more important than redundancy because I will always have an external backup solution in place (hard drives on shelves) although both would be nice. I would like to know which drives to start looking at in case something good goes on sale.
Thanks!
I need a little help with a build I am planning which will see FreeNAS running as a virtual machine on ESXi and maybe XEN if I decide to play with it later.
I currently have an ESXi host with the following specs:
BOXDQ76SW 1155 motherboard
Celeron G530 CPU
16GB DDR3 1333 Non-ECC RAM
OCZ 120GB SSD
500GB HDD
3TB WD Green HDD.
I like this build but I have been reading quite a bit and I would really like to run ECC ram for maximum data protection. I am working within a budget but it is self imposed and I'm willing to wait and pay more if I will end up with a better system in the end. The system will ultimately be an all-in-one setup that will run all of my non-gaming needs. This would include things like: domain controller, file server (FreeNAS), VOIP server, torrent machine, mail server, web server, etc, etc. None of these are particularly CPU intensive but I have read that FreeNAS does better with a higher clock rate.
I have the following build in mind and would like some advise on components:
ASUS M5A99FX AM3+ motherboard (supports IOMMU & Unbuffered ECC ram)
AMD AM3 Athlon x3 450 3.2Ghz triple core (fourth core can be unlocked and easy to overclock)
32GB Unbuffered ECC RAM (32GB limit is annoying for ESXi so if there are other options please post).
Drives will be swapped from the current ESXi host and I would like to run a mild CPU overclock to boost FreeNAS performance. I am hoping to run ECC RAM on consumer grade hardware but if server grade hardware is a better option in the long run I will certainly entertain any arguments. I was planning to use AMD components because I can achieve my goals for a lower price than with intel components; again, if an intel build is better I will certainly listen. I was thinking of getting a used IBM M1015 RAID controller for use as a FreeNAS HBA. Those are the base components for the build.
I also have a couple of questions regarding Hard drive selection. I am currently running a single WD 3TB Green HDD as my file server hard drive; it sees most action as a streaming media server. For backup I have a spare 3TB WD Green HDD which I sync with the server drive every so often, this drive sits on a shelf when not backing up the server drive. For the moment 3TB is enough but I am quickly running out of space and in a few months I expect I will have to buy another hard drive (x2 for backup). If I am going to be building a RAID setup which drives should I be looking into. I have had good luck with the WD Green drives and I know that if used in a RAID setup I will need to change the head park settings to avoid premature drive failure which doesn't bother me. However at the moment the 7200RPM seagate drives can be had cheaper than the WD green drives and the extra speed certainly appeals to me. Does anyone know if these drives are good for my purpose or should I look into something else? After I have the system built but before I buy a whack of drives I will do more research into what type of RAID I want to run but for me the speed is more important than redundancy because I will always have an external backup solution in place (hard drives on shelves) although both would be nice. I would like to know which drives to start looking at in case something good goes on sale.
Thanks!
