TrueNAS on an HP T620 w/ full ZFS RAID (OS and storage)

[zogthegreat]

Hi everyone!

 

So as the title says, I'm building a TrueNAS server on an HP T620 thin client. The T620 is essentially a Raspberry Pi on steroids. Here's the specs:

 

 AMD GX-217GA dual core CPU, (SOC)

4 external USB 2.0

2 external USB 3.0

2 internal USB 2.0

16 gb DDR3L, (max RAM)

1 M.2

1 mSATA

1 mPCI-E

Passive cooling

 

 

 

Over all, not a bad little machine. I'm going to be installing a 32gb M.2 and a 32gb mSATA for the OS. For the data drives, I will be installing this little thing:

 

 

This is the ASM1062 Serial ATA Controller. It provides an average read of around 90 MB/s and an average write of around 80 MB/s:

 

 

I actually have been working on this project for about 3 months. I've reached the point that I'm confident of the projects success and I decided to go ahead and start posting the build. 

 

This machine is going to be for a single user who needs incremental backups of mostly Word documents and occasional pictures, so the hardware is good enough for that purpose. I'm going with TrueNAS as opposed to a simple SMB setup because I want to play with TrueNAS a bit... plus TrueNAS has a reputation for solid performance with low maintenance. Along with the the 32gb drives for the OS, I will be installing 2 x's 1TB drives for data. This is more than sufficient for the end users needs. I actually figured out a way to add a SLOG or L2ARC drive, but after consulting the TrueNAS forum, I found out that I won't need anything like that for this build.

 

I want to be clear... I know that I am putting WAY to much time into this project! However, after I forget how many lockdowns, I'm bored out of my skull and need something to do! I could have finished this in a day with some zip ties and duct tape, however, I've been planning to try my hand at resin casting, which I want to learn for another project that I have in my mind, so this is sort of a development build.

 

[zogthegreat]

So the thing that's taken me so long with is the HDD mounts. As I alluded to earlier, any cognizant person of reasonable intelligence would have grabbed some zip ties and duct tape and the job would be done. However, I'm bored and decided to make in the following manner. I don't have a 3D printer, so I had to make a bracket to hold the drives. I decided to make a mold to make a cast resin holder. I tried 2 different ways, making a mold on a piece of board and making a mold insitu inside the actual machine. The insitu gave me the best results. I used JB Weld for my initial mold:

 

 

The blue tape is to keep the JB Weld from sticking to the motherboard. I also coated it with some neutral shoe polish as a mold release agent. After the JB Weld hardened, I got this:

 

After cleaning it up, I had this:

 

 

Although it look rough right now, I am planning to smooth it out. I tried using JB Weld for the HDD mount plates, but in the end, I realized that I could use one of the 2.5 mounting plates for my desktop case:

 

The left edge was thin and I'm not sure how it will come out once I place it into the mold making material, (not sure what to call it, seems all of the videos that I've watched calls everything "the mold"), so I added a thin line of JB Weld to the edge to thicken it.

 

[zogthegreat]

I ordered a silicone mold making kit of of Amazon called "Let's Resin":

 

  

 

The kit is comprised of two bottles and an instruction sheet:

 

 

Fairly excited to try this stuff, however, I need to make a vacuum chamber first.

[zogthegreat]

Whilst awaiting for some parts to be delivered, I went back to work on the mount. If I was doing a "one and done", I would have decided that the mount was good enough as is. However, since two more of my friends have expressed interest in this setup, I decided to put in the extra work in making it look nice. Now, I know that this is a piece that will never be seen by the end users, but I would know that it's not as good as I could do, so.....

 

JB Weld is really nice to work with, however, it does seem have a problem with warping when used in this manner. I needed everything to be level before I make the mold, so I got out my mini drill press and some router bits that I had in my tool bin:

 

 

 

And then I started hand milling the top to get it mostly even. I did this by slowly going over the surface in lines, gradually adjusting the depth by about .5mm each pass:

 

 

 

 

Then I decided that it was safe to use the larger bit, which made things go a little faster

 

 

Once the top had a level enough surface, I flipped the mount over and started on the bottom. However, I first sprayed the bottom with black primer to show me any low spots:

 

 

 

To finish the bottom surface I needed some spotting putty, but I don't have any and for some reason, I'm disinclined towards running out to the store to get some today:

 

 

So I used some regular two stage epoxy to fill in the holes and divets on the bottom surface:

 

 

Once the epoxy cures, I'll go over it again with the router bit. I'll pickup some spotting putty later to give it it's final surface before I make the mold. A quick side note, if you try hand milling something like I'm doing here, be careful how deep you set you router bit. I found that if I'm getting dust, I'm making good cuts, but if I'm getting chips like in the picture below, I'm going to deep:

 

 

My experience is that JB Weld, when used in this manner, is that it is actually rather brittle and will snap easily if your not careful.

 

[Gunned Ninja]

I don't completely follow what is going on here, but I appreciate the ingenuity.

[zogthegreat]

@Gunned Ninja Originally, I was planning to cast these parts in resin. However, I've been doing the math on the materials that I will need to complete the project and I've come to the conclusion that it would be best to wait another month or so and buy a 3D printer. The materials that I need, (resin mold making kit + the resin + this, that and whatever other little parts), are more expensive in Canada than in the US. If the border was open, I could order from the US to my mailbox across the border, however, it looks like it will be a while before that happens.

 

I found a Ender 3 on Amazon Canada for $340 CAD, so I'm going to finish this project with the parts that I have made and wait to get the printer before building the other TrueNAS boxes that I'm planning. So I will finish this with what I have now and save the coin for the 3D printer.

[Non Native]

@zogthegreat Does ASM1062 Serial ATA Controller just work on the mini pcie? By the way, have you finished this project?