Will it TrueNAS

[Dusty]

Hello All,

I’ve been reading the documentation and the forums for a couple weeks and have started to put together a system to replace an older FreeNAS system.

Purpose of this build:
-NAS for sound editing
-PLEX for audio and video
-Possible Windows 10/11 VM

This is an amature/home application, and so I can tolerate not having the fastest thing around.
What I do want is:
-reliable
-lower power use would be a bonus.
-about 8TB of storage (I am currently using 3.3TB, and expect to use a few more TB over the next 5 years)

This will be my second FreeNAS/TrueNAS build.
The first was based on Supermicro X10SL7-F / Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz / 32GB / 5 x 3TB RAID-Z2.
I have been happy with this first build, but it is getting on in years and I would like to hand off its responsibilities to a fresher system.

I have read:
-Introduction to ZFS
-Hardware Recommendations Guide

Here is what I am considering:

MB: Supermicro A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F
Processor: Intel Atom Processor C3758
Socket: FCBGA1310

Supermicro A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F Mini-ITX Motherboard - Newegg.com

Buy Supermicro A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F Mini-ITX Motherboard with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Memory:
Micron RAM MEM-DR432MD-EU32 32GB Replacement Memory for Supermicro

Micron RAM MEM-DR432MD-EU32 32GB Replacement Memory for Supermicro - Newegg.com

Buy Micron RAM MEM-DR432MD-EU32 32GB Replacement Memory for Supermicro with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Storage: RAID-Z2
4 x Western Digital WD40EFZX 4TB Red Plus 3.5in NAS

WD Red Plus 4TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM 3.5" - Newegg.com

Buy WD Red Plus 4TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s, CMR, 64MB Cache, 3.5 Inch - WD40EFRX with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Boot Drive:
TBD: but an SSD of some sort.

System:
TrueNAS Scale

Case:
A Cooler Master that I already have, until I find a cuter case that runs cool.

PS:
An ATX that I already have... 750W. I am still looking for a reliable, smaller PS.

UPS:
APC Smart-UPS 1500

What do you think?

Will this TrueNAS?

Regards,

 

[jgreco]

-PLEX for audio and video

Processor: Intel Atom Processor C3758

If you need transcoding on Plex, this might not be a good fit. Characterize your requirements and I suggest checking on the Plex forums to see if this will carry the Plex workload you are hoping for.

If the CPU is capable of the needed workload (preferably with some free room overhead), these little boards can be real beasts. But if you get one that isn't big enough for the job, you'll be hating yourself for the lifetime of the new NAS.

 

[jgreco]

PS:
An ATX that I already have... 750W. I am still looking for a reliable, smaller PS.

And if you want to lower your energy consumption, follow the math in the Power Supply Sizing Guide and pick an appropriately sized PSU.

Proper Power Supply Sizing Guidance

I've seen about 1,000 threads like this one where people decide that they can power a dozen hard drives off a 360 watt supply. DO NOT DO THIS. I've seen another 1,000 threads where people decide to buy the cheapest power supply that they can find. DO NOT DO THIS. Your NAS lives or dies by...

www.truenas.com

 

[Dusty]

Thank you jgreco for encouraging me to go to the PLEX forums.
I've been there the past few days, reading, as well as reconsidering MB/processors and reconsidering my PLEX requirement.
I plan to proceed with the Atom C3758, knowing that transcoding 4K video will not be happening.
(I have no 4K video, nor 2K... in fact mostly audio... Also the PLEX requirement is lower priority for me)

Also thank you for the link to the PS sizing guide.
I enjoyed reading it and found it useful.
Thank you for writing it.

I expect to have this new TrueNas running in the next month or so, maybe by Jan 8th or so.

Again, thank you.

 

[ChrisRJ]

This will be my second FreeNAS/TrueNAS build.
The first was based on Supermicro X10SL7-F / Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz / 32GB / 5 x 3TB RAID-Z2.
I have been happy with this first build, but it is getting on in years and I would like to hand off its responsibilities to a fresher system.

From where I stand this is more than adequate for your needs. Why exactly do you want to change?

 

[jgreco]

I enjoyed reading it and found it useful.
Thank you for writing it.

You are absolutely most welcome.

From where I stand this is more than adequate for your needs. Why exactly do you want to change?

However, I believe this is an excellent question. This is still a great platform for your needs as far as I can tell.

 

[Dusty]

ChrisRJ,
Thank you for your question.
My current system was built just over seven years ago.
It has been running trouble free ever since (with, of course, the exception of HD and thumb drive failures).

While I can tolerate some down time, I have had computers dying around me lately (My laptop.... My Linux desktop...) and I've begun to worry about this reliable machine.

I do not anticipate this next build to gain me anything except:
-new equipment (longer time before failure??? MB/PS/Memory/Boot Device)
-less power consumption
-possibly smaller

Now that you ask the question, I am beginning to ask myself the same question.
I admit, it seems a bit whimsical to replace the Xeon E3 system.
Maybe things are as they seem.

How many years of trouble free service should I expect?
It has been pretty great so far (and now I knock on wood).
(I went back to reading the forum and quickly saw that 10 years or more can be expected.)

 

[jgreco]

How many years of trouble free service should I expect?

Without making any particular promises about your particular hardware, I will note that I've currently got an inventory of approximately 70 X9-X10 generation (2010-2014 era) systems under management, and of those, there have only been two major failures, which happened around the ten year mark in the lifecycles of those systems.

 

[Ericloewe]

X10SL7-Fs are down to the low 100-something bucks on eBay these days. CPUs don't really go bad much, and Xeon E3 v3s are dirt cheap now. DDR3 is pretty easy to come by at good prices too.
Just replace whatever breaks!

 

[ChrisRJ]

How many years of trouble free service should I expect?

That is a valid question, but it covers only part of the equation. Overall I would structure this problem in two parts: 1) What is the risk of a system failure? 2) What measures have been taken to mitigate this risk?

A new system is initially orders of magnitude more likely to die than what has been running for years. That includes the components per se, but also errors you made while assembling things. That can be dealt with via an extended burn-period. (Although I must say that in my case 4 months did not save me from an HDD dying after 6 months.)

But the bigger point is that you always have a risk of a component dying. Whether you stay with your current system or not, that issue stays. Therefore, you should have a plan to handle it. But if you have a proper plan in place, what do you gain from replacing the hardware in the first place?

In a commercial setting there are additional factors, but they all come with significant money and/or organizational complexity and issues attached. For my home lab I feel comfortable with my X9 system (built in September 2020). I do have spare parts lying around and multiple backups (on- and off-site).

 

[Etorix]

Now that you ask the question, I am beginning to ask myself the same question.
I admit, it seems a bit whimsical to replace the Xeon E3 system.

If you do proceed with a new build, I'd say your list is solid but I would go for an A2SDi-H-TF to have 10 GbE and offset the cost by going for second-hand/refurbished RDIMM rather than new.

 

[Dusty]

I decided to proceed with the Supermicro A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F.
Yesterday I got all the bits and assembled it,
But the A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F does not boot.

Power Up with no memory:
VGA Output bottom of screen "PEI--Intel MRC Execution.. 2F"
....._
five short beeps, one long beep : meaning no memory detected, as expected

Memory Installed:
VGA Output bottom of screen
"PEI--Intel MRC Execution.. 62" (for a minute or so)
Followed by
"PEI--Intel MRC Execution.. 63" (for a minute or so)
No beep code.

Can anyone confirm that I purchased the wrong memory?
Purchased:
MEM-DR432MD-EU32 32GB

Should have purchased???:
MEM-DR432MD-ER32

 

[ChrisRJ]

The HCL (hardware compatibility list) will tell you which memory modules are approved by Supermicro. If yours is not on that list, you need to have luck. The HCL list for Supermicro is usually linked on the web page for the motherboard, so that should be easy to check.

 

[jgreco]

Can anyone confirm that I purchased the wrong memory?
Purchased:
MEM-DR432MD-EU32 32GB

Should have purchased???:
MEM-DR432MD-ER32

A quick reading of the part number suggests that you purchased UDIMM modules, while the ER32 is probably an RDIMM (based on general knowledge rather than actual lookup).

On the product page at

A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F | Motherboards | Products | Supermicro

it says

Memory Capacity

4 DIMM slots Up to 256GB ECC RDIMM, DDR4-2400MHz; Up to 64GB Unbuffered ECC/non-ECC UDIMM, DDR4-2400MHz

To me, this means that if you wish to use UDIMM, the unit will support up to 64GB, but since you have 4 DIMM slots, that is almost certainly capped to 16GB UDIMM DIMM modules. Verifying my suspicion is left as an exercise to the reader. Of course, you can also use up to four 64GB RDIMM modules instead.

 

[Dusty]

Thank you jgreco and ChrisRJ.

Note for others.... double and triple check before purchasing!
-I checked supermicros HCL
-I searched for and thought I found the memory.
-I checked the PN of what I was going to purchase, but I was wrong, and so I purchased the wrong thing.

I believe, as jgreco suspects, that 32GB UDIMM DMM modules are not supported by this MB.
Again, thank you jgreco and ChrisRJ for your generous answers.

 

[Etorix]

Seems you got lost in part numbers because there are no 32 GB DDR4-3200 in the list, UDIMM or RDIMM. 3200 doesn't hurt but is overkill since the Atom runs at 2400 MHz.
I hope you can return the modules and get RDIMM instead, or get a refund. If you get a refund, look for second-hand DDR4 RDIMM: You can get 32 GB RDIMM 2400/2666 MHz for less than half the price of Supermicro modules, and RAM hardly wears out.