Will this build FreeNAS?

[ScarletStar]

I'm new to the NAS world and have been reading up on things a little lately. I'm planning a home NAS serving about 3 users. It will need to store and transcode/stream media files (up to 1440p) and host a mySQL database + simple website with PHP and JS.

The build I came up with for now:

• Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor
• ASRock - C236 WSI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
• Crucial - CT16G4WFD8213 1x 16GB DDR4-2133 ECC Memory
• 3x Western Digital - Red 6TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Fractal Design - Node 304 (White) Mini ITX Tower Case
• EVGA - SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

I might add another one of those drives down the road for expansion.
Would this work well for the mentioned use case? Or would I need more memory for the planned expansion as per the 1GB per TB storage rule?


Also I also thought of maybe changing to:

• Intel - Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core OEM/Tray Processor
• ASRock - E3C224D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
• Crucial - CT2KIT102472BD160B 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

which would get me a bit more CPU performance for about the same price by using cheaper DDR3 RAM.
Is there anything I have not taken into consideration? Is there anything I can swap to spend less money?

Thanks for the input.

 

[Stux]

Your second board is limited to 16GB. Really not a good place to start.

Your first board is limited to 32GB. A better start, but a pity there's no decent options for 64GB in mini-ITX other than stepping up to Xeon D.

A pentium is a bit wimpy for transcoding, but perhaps a good start. You can always upgrade to an E3-1230v6 if you find you want more CPU power.

 

[ScarletStar]

Thanks for the input.

The first one it is then. But I don't think I'll ever want to upgrade to anything much bigger anytime soon. Most clients will be able to play the files I have directly. So the transcoding will be primarily to serve mobile devices. I'm just a beginner here and kinda reluctant to spend more on the supporting gear than my main work/gaming PC.

So the upgrade path will be to add another Drive and maybe another 16GB stick of Memory down the road. Sounds good?
Or will it be better to use 4x4TB for now and add more 4TB drives down the road, which would give me more granular upgrades and more net usable space from my drives? Will it impact reliability a lot?

By the time I really want something much bigger, which I don't see happening in the next 8 years, I think I'll build an entirely new one with more modern hardware. By then I also have a much better grasp on what exactly I need.

 

[Jailer]

So the upgrade path will be to add another Drive and maybe another 16GB stick of Memory down the road. Sounds good?

No. Adding the memory is fine but you need to plan your pool layout and storage capacity needs ahead of time before creating your pool. Check out the ZFS primer in the resources section at the top of the page for more information.

By the time I really want something much bigger, which I don't see happening in the next 8 years, I think I'll build an entirely new one with more modern hardware.

That's a good plan of action.

 

[Stux]

Re: adding drives. You need to understand the limitations of ZFS upfront, which is that it's not as simple as you probably think to add drives.

Read the ZFS Primer to understand.
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

 

[ScarletStar]

Oh I see now. Thanks a lot.

I'll have to think this through a bit more then.