yes, another plex build...

[mkopel]

for plex, couchpotato, sonarr, sabnzbd, etc.
I started by looking at used gear, but have decided to look at purchasing new.

pcpartpicker link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/khcYm8

CPU : Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard : Supermicro X10SL7-F Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM : Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory or should I just max out at 32GB
Storage: 6x WD Red 6TB in RAIDZ2 w/ room for another 6 down the road
Boot : Sandisk ReadyCache 32GB 2.5" Solid State Drive or any other recommended 32GB SSD
Case : Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black Pearl) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Trying to get the best bang for the buck, eventually holding 12 drives.
Any advice for a newbie?

 

[Dice]

Did you consider X11 for an updated platform capable at holding 64GB RAM ?

 

[gpsguy]

Ditto what Dice said. If you go that route, use 16GB sticks of RAM.

 

[mkopel]

I considered it, but I thought with a max data size of 48TB (2 x 6TBx6 in RAIDZ2) 32GB would be enough. Would 64GB be needed at that size? I was trying to save a few bucks by going with the last generation of hardware, but if the extra RAM would really help performance, I will re-configure.

pcpartpicker link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CQ3t9W

CPU : Intel Xeon E3-1240 V5 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard : Supermicro MBD-X11SSM-F-O Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
RAM : 2 x Crucial 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: 6x WD Red 6TB in RAIDZ2 w/ room for another 6 down the road
Boot : Sandisk ReadyCache 32GB 2.5" Solid State Drive or any other recommended 32GB SSD
Case : Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black Pearl) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

it surprised me to see it is just about the same money... so what do you think of this configuration?
This motherboard would require me to purchase SAS controller sometime in the future to get past the 8 HDD limit, correct?

 

[Dice]

it surprised me to see it is just about the same money... so what do you think of this configuration?

I'd downsize to a E3-1230. The added performance is not outweighed by the increased cost.
I like this setup a lot better.

This motherboard would require me to purchase SAS controller sometime in the future to get past the 8 HDD limit, correct?

Yes. If you don't like that, you can have a look at models closer to the SL7, but ofr X11.
A fair comparison to the SL7 you picked for your first configuration is the SSL-CF, or one step up X11SSH-TF-O

There is a resource covering the topic:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/so-you’ve-decided-to-buy-a-supermicro-x11-board.39549/

 

[Steve Salier]

You can ditch the WD Reds and pick up some HGST 6 TB 72K NAS disks for $219 each while they are on sale ..... just a thought ...

 

[mkopel]

You can ditch the WD Reds and pick up some HGST 6 TB 72K NAS disks for $219 each while they are on sale ..... just a thought ...

thanks for the tip, that will save some cash! where are they on sale?

 

[Chris Moore]

RAM : Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory or should I just max out at 32GB

This does not appear to be ECC memory. You want to make sure to use ECC memory when you have a ZFS file system.

EDIT - Fixed the dead link
Also, here is a bargain when it comes to SAS controllers:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/332048598095 - Dell H310 - $35 + free shipping (you will have to cross flash it to IT mode)

I use six of these PERC H310 cards, in my NAS builds and elsewhere. It is a RAID card but you will need to flash the BIOS to IT mode so that it passes the drive control directly to the operating system. You never want to use hardware RAID with ZFS.
If you need instructions on how to do that, they are probably on this board somewhere, but just let me know and I can share all the files and instructions because I have done that about six times myself. Once you have the instructions and files, it goes really quick and easy.

Another tip, use spinning disk instead of a flash drive for the boot drive because the flash drive for a boot drive really doesn't gain you anything.
Here is what I use: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291957911349
It is a laptop drive, and I actually use a mirrored pair, but they are reliable and speed doesn't matter on the boot disk in FreeNAS.

 

[mkopel]

This does not appear to be ECC memory. You want to make sure to use ECC memory when you have a ZFS file system.

Also, here is a bargain when it comes to SAS controllers:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/232157830192 - Dell H310 - $35 + free shipping (you will have to cross flash it to IT mode)

I use six of these PERC H310 cards, in my NAS builds and elsewhere. It is a RAID card but you will need to flash the BIOS to IT mode so that it passes the drive control directly to the operating system. You never want to use hardware RAID with ZFS.
If you need instructions on how to do that, they are probably on this board somewhere, but just let me know and I can share all the files and instructions because I have done that about six times myself. Once you have the instructions and files, it goes really quick and easy.

Another tip, use spinning disk instead of a flash drive for the boot drive because the flash drive for a boot drive really doesn't gain you anything.
Here is what I use: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291957911349
It is a laptop drive, and I actually use a mirrored pair, but they are reliable and speed doesn't matter on the boot disk in FreeNAS.

thanks for the info. I think the ram is ECC, at least according to amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017UGK94S/?tag=pcpapi-20
the link to the Dell H310 was dead, but I get the idea... you feel ok buying used gear?
that is an interesting idea for the boot drive. makes sense...

 

[Chris Moore]

thanks for the info. I think the ram is ECC, at least according to amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017UGK94S/?tag=pcpapi-20
the link to the Dell H310 was dead, but I get the idea... you feel ok buying used gear?
that is an interesting idea for the boot drive. makes sense...

I am a hardware technician. I repair compute systems (desktop, laptop, server, etc) for a living. After doing it for 20+ years, I have a kind of 6th sense about the hardware. I have bought things second hand and when I got my hands on them figured out that they were not working properly and that they were not repairable. Sometimes you get burned. I always thoroughly test the hardware I buy second hand before I put it into my home "production" environment. I enjoy tinkering with it to get it right and then put it into service. However, there is nothing I hate worse than coming home from work and having to work some more to fix something that broke. If I could afford to do it, I would do noting but build systems because, to me, it is fun. I don't get to do that at work, because they want the big name gear from, Dell, IBM, Sun and Panasas, etc. that has warranty and support contracts.
Sorry, rambling a little, I have no problem with used gear. You can save a bundle. I just posted up a hardware list in another thread for the whole system (except drives) including a 24 bay 4 U rack server chassis and it was all under $600.
You would have to work hard to beat that.
I bought new drives for my Irene NAS but the drives in the Emily NAS were re-purposed from a previous build. All of them were between 2 and 3 years old when that system came online for the first time, for me. Both servers (except for the drives in Irene) are all built with used parts.
Total (not counting the drives) was about $1200 for two complete builds.