First Server Storage Controller Advice Needed

[LlamaDom]

Hello to all the storage gurus,

 

I am in the planning stage for my first home server build (yay) and have run into the following roadblock:

 

(I should also ad that I'm in the UK so UK price suggestions would be preferred.)

 

The motherboard I am planning on using (http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-am1i-a-am1-s-am1-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-pcie-20-(x4)-vga-dvi-d-hdmi-mini-itx) only features 2 SATAports since it is a value board (I intend on using an AMD AM1 CPU http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-athlon-5350-kabini-quad-core-am1-205ghz-2mb-25w-retail to run FreeNAS, don't know if it will be enough).

 

So now I need to find a PCI-e SATA controller which will allow me to connect an additional 4 SATA drive at minimum (6 would be optimal).

 

I have found this so far: http://www.amazon.co.uk/HighPoint-RocketRAID-2640X4SGL-PCI-Express-Controller/dp/B004U5TZJ8 but I have been reading reviews and apparently there is bad driver support for FreeBSD (which is what I think FreeNAS is based on from what I've heard).

 

Ideally I would like to end up with a storage controller which costs around £100.

 

Also if you have any input as to my CPU and Motherboard choice, those are welcome too.

 

Regards,

 

Llama

[Enderman]

You should't cheap out on a CPU/mobo on a server. I'm not too experienced in this subject, but you didn't give a budget.

The pentium anniversary edition seems pretty appealing. Then just a motherboard for that CPU will have at least 6 SATA ports, sometimes 10.

[Builder]

You should't cheap out on a CPU/mobo on a server. I'm not too experienced in this subject, but you didn't give a budget.

The pentium anniversary edition seems pretty appealing. Then just a motherboard for that CPU will have at least 6 SATA ports, sometimes 10.

He's going to want a Xeon for a 24/7 server. 

[Enderman]

He's going to want a Xeon for a 24/7 server. 

I'm not sure you can find a xeon for less than $100...

[Builder]

I'm not sure you can find a xeon for less than $100...

Me neither but you don't want to cheap out on 24/7 components.

 

OP, in your price range, I think you'd be better off with a prebuilt NAS like the WD My Cloud.

[LlamaDom]

I forgot to mention my price range.  At the moment my price range cannot exceed £500.

He's going to want a Xeon for a 24/7 server. 

 

I am a student so money is tight and I am not planning on having it run 24/7.  The AMD AM1 seemed like it had a good price point.  z87 + i3 maybe?

I'm not sure you can find a xeon for less than $100...

 

Yeah Xeon is way out of my price range.

Me neither but you don't want to cheap out on 24/7 components.

 

OP, in your price range, I think you'd be better off with a prebuilt NAS like the WD My Cloud.

I have a WD My cloud at my parents house and it works fine for them as a backup but I wanted the experience of actually building something which will offer me a lot more options.

 

I guess to summarise all my replies: 'Im not intending for the server to be performing any "mission critical tasks", I will just be using it for storing my media collection and my important stuff will be backed up offsite anyway so 24/7 access is not a huge concern.  Also having discovered the fun of actually having to pay for electricity I want to keep power consumption to a minimum (hence the cheap AMD CPU as it is only 25W).

 

After stumbling on an older Tek Syndicate video I am now also considering this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/151128043162?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

 

However I do not know if I will have to install drivers for it or whether it will natively pass drives through in FreeNAS.

 

I'd love to hear more suggestions though as I want to learn more about this.

 

Llama out.

[Builder]

I forgot to mention my price range.  At the moment my price range cannot exceed £500.

 

I am a student so money is tight and I am not planning on having it run 24/7.  The AMD AM1 seemed like it had a good price point.  z87 + i3 maybe?

 

Yeah Xeon is way out of my price range.

I have a WD My cloud at my parents house and it works fine for them as a backup but I wanted the experience of actually building something which will offer me a lot more options.

 

I guess to summarise all my replies: 'Im not intending for the server to be performing any "mission critical tasks", I will just be using it for storing my media collection and my important stuff will be backed up offsite anyway so 24/7 access is not a huge concern.  Also having discovered the fun of actually having to pay for electricity I want to keep power consumption to a minimum (hence the cheap AMD CPU as it is only 25W).

 

After stumbling on an older Tek Syndicate video I am now also considering this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/151128043162?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

 

However I do not know if I will have to install drivers for it or whether it will natively pass drives through in FreeNAS.

 

I'd love to hear more suggestions though as I want to learn more about this.

 

Llama out.

I applaud you for wanting to build this yourself, but on such a tight budget I just don't see it being worth your trouble. It's certainly doable, but a My Cloud would be a much better value. You'll get a guaranteed solution with plenty of storage that works out of the box. What features doesn't it provide you?

 

Z87 with an i3 is pointless, i3s are locked. A B85 board would make more sense.

[LlamaDom]

I applaud you for wanting to build this yourself, but on such a tight budget I just don't see it being worth your trouble. It's certainly doable, but a My Cloud would be a much better value. You'll get a guaranteed solution with plenty of storage that works out of the box. What features doesn't it provide you?

 

Z87 with an i3 is pointless, i3s are locked. A B85 board would make more sense.

 

The MyCLoud doesn't support shaddow copy from what I've heard which is quite important for me.  Also I want to run Plex which the MCloud also is not able to do.  I would also like to take advantage of the ZFS as it has a lot of measures in place to prevent data integrity from deteriorating.

[wpirobotbuilder]

Ideally I would like to end up with a storage controller which costs around £100.

The minimum controller I would recommend for FreeNAS is the LSI 9211-4i, which is £130. Once it is flashed with the proper firmware, it is one of the most popular options for the FreeNAS community. You will also need an SFF-8087 cable which can cost a bit.

 

FreeNAS requires lots of memory and likes performance hardware in general. If that doesn't fit the budget, you'll want to look at a different OS.

[SammyG145]

He's going to want a Xeon for a 24/7 server. 

You don't need a xeon for 24/7 file server. I used to run mine on a core 2 duo for ages, never had a problem with it. I run a i3-3220 now only for a little plex transcoding. never had a problem with that either. RAM is the best thing about file servers. if you have 8GB+ most of the time it will put the tv show/film into the ram so it doesn't have to seek the hdd so often. Just once to load into the RAM.

[Builder]

The MyCLoud doesn't support shaddow copy from what I've heard which is quite important for me.  Also I want to run Plex which the MCloud also is not able to do.  I would also like to take advantage of the ZFS as it has a lot of measures in place to prevent data integrity from deteriorating.

That makes sense. In that case I think the people below me have a lot to say in that regard.

 

You don't need a xeon for 24/7 file server. I used to run mine on a core 2 duo for ages, never had a problem with it. I run a i3-3220 now only for a little plex transcoding. never had a problem with that either. RAM is the best thing about file servers. if you have 8GB+ most of the time it will put the tv show/film into the ram so it doesn't have to seek the hdd so often. Just once to load into the RAM.

Xeons are designed to be run 24/7, consumer grade chips are not.

[SammyG145]

That makes sense. In that case I think the people below me have a lot to say in that regard.

 

Xeons are designed to be run 24/7, consumer grade chips are not.

 

My server has been running for 40 days, only restarted to install some updates. Not a single problem. A few years ago I would agree to use a xeon instead of a consumer grade. But now they're pretty much the same apart from xeons use less power and less heat output.

[Builder]

My server has been running for 40 days, only restarted to install some updates. Not a single problem. A few years ago I would agree to use a xeon instead of a consumer grade. But now they're pretty much the same apart from xeons use less power and less heat output.

Less power and less heat output in general mean greater longevity.