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18TB Server - Final Parts List Check

Nemockulous
By Nemockulous
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CPU: Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($140.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock C226WS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($184.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($127.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1680.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-17 13:55 EST-0500

 

 

How does this fancy everyone? I think this is going to be the final config I'm going to go with unless someone sees something drastically wrong. :)

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-snip-

 

Thanks, pretty much what I thought. I do find the load/unload cycle count difference interesting. Guess if using an Se drive for the correct purpose it won't be nearly as often going to idle state as a Red/Red Pro.

 

I've always used the Se disks but I'm putting them in servers with 16-24 disks and highish I/O workloads, plus get them at a good price when buying heaps at once. Only after falling fowl of constant disk failures from Seagate, but lets not start a bitching session about them :P

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-snip-

 

You could do with a non hyper threaded i3 if you want to save more cash, but other than that, it looks solid.

 

You might double check the length of the SATA power cables, they might be too short for you. Buy extenders as needed.

 

Good luck with the build.

 

@Captain_WD:

Any reason why the table for the Red Pro states 10 in 10^15 for Non-Recoverable read errors per bits read vs 1 in 10^14 for the Se?

 

I know they're the same number, but it's easy to mix up the Red Pro as having the same read error performance as the Re SATA Drive with 1 in 10^15 (Most people would just see the 10^15 part on the end)

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Couple of things.

 

Not quite sure what kind of servers ASRock thinks people are building, but servers don't have on board audio. Looks like they took a desktop board and dropped in a c226 chipset.

 

I STRONGLY reccomend you go with a Supermicro board. There's a reason that 3/4 of the recommended motherboards on the FreeNAS forums are Supermicro boards.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819&cm_re=supermicro_x10sll-_-13-182-819-_-Product

 

IMO It's a much better board, from a MUCH more trusted company. It's also cheaper than the ASRock board. It also has IPMI. Allows you to remotely manage the server from a browser, using your mouse and keyboard; imagine remote desktop, built into hardware and working right from the bios screen. You can remtotely turn on the server over the network, enter the BIOS, make changes and even mount an ISO over the network as a virtual cd drive and install the OS. I'll never buy another server board without it.

 

It only has 6 SATA ports, but:

 

You could go with 6 x 5TB in Z2 and have 20TB usable.

 

6 x $209 = $1254/20TB(usable) = $62.70/TB

 

You wanted to do 8 x 4TB drives in Z2 with a hot spare and have 20TB usable.

 

8 x $149 = $1192/20TB(usable) = $59.60/TB

 

So it would cost you you an extra $3 per TB and you would have 2 fewer drives. Two fewer drives using electricity and two fewer drives generating heat in the case.

 

IMO, having a hot spare is a silly idea when you're running Z2. I can see wanting to buy an extra drive to keep on hand so you have one ready to swap in in case of a failure. But to keep a drive plugged in and using power for possibly years on end just to be able to start rebuilding a couple of hours sooner makes no sense whatsoever. Especially when you consider that you have the ability to loose TWO drives and still not have any data loss. 

 

Also, the hardware recommendation thread of the FreeNAS forums states that the Marvel controllers on the ASRock boards have been known to be problematic for some people.

 

As far as ECC goes, it's not a nice thing to have; it is a requirement. You MUST USE ECC RAM if you are using ZFS. It's as simple as that. Anybody that tells you otherwise either doesn't know what they are talking about or doesn't know what they are talking about AND thinks that they know better than all the experts that will tell you that ECC RAM is a requirement.

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Couple of things.

 

Not quite sure what kind of servers ASRock thinks people are building, but servers don't have on board audio. Looks like they took a desktop board and dropped in a c226 chipset.

 

I STRONGLY reccomend you go with a Supermicro board. There's a reason that 3/4 of the recommended motherboards on the FreeNAS forums are Supermicro boards.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819&cm_re=supermicro_x10sll-_-13-182-819-_-Product

 

IMO It's a much better board, from a MUCH more trusted company. It's also cheaper than the ASRock board. It also has IPMI. Allows you to remotely manage the server from a browser, using your mouse and keyboard; imagine remote desktop, built into hardware and working right from the bios screen. You can remtotely turn on the server over the network, enter the BIOS, make changes and even mount an ISO over the network as a virtual cd drive and install the OS. I'll never buy another server board without it.

 

It only has 6 SATA ports, but:

 

You could go with 6 x 5TB in Z2 and have 20TB usable.

 

6 x $209 = $1254/20TB(usable) = $62.70/TB

 

You wanted to do 8 x 4TB drives in Z2 with a hot spare and have 20TB usable.

 

8 x $149 = $1192/20TB(usable) = $59.60/TB

 

So it would cost you you an extra $3 per TB and you would have 2 fewer drives. Two fewer drives using electricity and two fewer drives generating heat in the case.

 

IMO, having a hot spare is a silly idea when you're running Z2. I can see wanting to buy an extra drive to keep on hand so you have one ready to swap in in case of a failure. But to keep a drive plugged in and using power for possibly years on end just to be able to start rebuilding a couple of hours sooner makes no sense whatsoever. Especially when you consider that you have the ability to loose TWO drives and still not have any data loss. 

 

Also, the hardware recommendation thread of the FreeNAS forums states that the Marvel controllers on the ASRock boards have been known to be problematic for some people.

 

As far as ECC goes, it's not a nice thing to have; it is a requirement. You MUST USE ECC RAM if you are using ZFS. It's as simple as that. Anybody that tells you otherwise either doesn't know what they are talking about or doesn't know what they are talking about AND thinks that they know better than all the experts that will tell you that ECC RAM is a requirement.

 

 

If we're going there, Let's go there all the way:

 

SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard - $249

 

When I changed to 4TBs, I dropped the array to 7. 7x$149=$1,043 = 28TB -> ~ 18TB useable

Vs 5TB drives: 6x$209 = $1,254 = 30TB -> 18TB useable (all according to This calculator)

 

That's an extra $200 I could spend trying to find a board that doesn't lock me into only 6 ports if I care to expand in the future.

 

With this board it appears everything else still works in my parts list?

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If we're going there, Let's go there all the way:

 

SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard - $249

 

When I changed to 4TBs, I dropped the array to 7. 7x$149=$1,043 = 28TB -> ~ 18TB useable

Vs 5TB drives: 6x$209 = $1,254 = 30TB -> 18TB useable (all according to This calculator)

 

That's an extra $200 I could spend trying to find a board that doesn't lock me into only 6 ports if I care to expand in the future.

 

With this board it appears everything else still works in my parts list?

 

Highly approve the inclusion of a board that uses LSI 2308 storage controller. Decent Intel network controller too, like that also.

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@leadeater Enterprise disks go to idle state far less often compared to consumer ones simply because of the way they are used. Personal NAS devices are rarely used 24/7 with constant requests towards the drives compared to large enterprise servers. :) 

 

@scottyseng both drives should have the same non-recoverable read errors per bits read numbers. I don't really have an answer to this. I can check with the development guys about this and post back. :)

 

Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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How does this fancy everyone? I think this is going to be the final config I'm going to go with unless someone sees something drastically wrong. :)

Can use a cheaper i3(-4170) or a pentium, Supermicro mATX board and a Node 804 maybe? Smaller and looks nice c: Also, I wouldn't trust that PSU, maybe Antec Earthwatts Green 300W? (That's the only good low wattage PSU I can remember...)

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-snip-

 

Yeah, with that motherboard, your build should be solid. Just make sure to plan to buy SATA power cable extensions (I think with your PSU you might have trouble getting them all wired...at least for me, I had to buy an extension in my case for the drives near the top) and SATA cables. Everything should just plug straight into the motherboard. I wish I would've bought a IPMI version of my motherboard. Without IPMI, I can't change the fans to spin slower than 50% minimum fan speed, which sucks because I have my NAS in my room. I had to replace the fans with lower RPM silent fans (Be Quiet Pure Wings).

 

You could save more cash by downgrading to the i3-4170 or even a Haswell Celeron (Yeah, even these have ECC support). I think hyper threading won't be much of a benefit to you since your CPU will probably be idling most of its life.

 

@Captain_WD:

Yeah, technically the URE is the same number but in different form, but I'm so used to it being shown as 1 in 10^n bits that when I browsed the WD website for the Red Pros when they first came out, I really though the Red Pro had the same URE as the Re drives (I just say the 10^15 on the end and assumed they were the same). It wasn't until you posted the tables side by side on this thread that I actually noticed the Red Pro said 10 in 10^15. It'll save you some future complaints from customers as most probably assume URE is shown as 1 in 10^n like I did.

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nice nas, although i'm not sure if the cx430 is such a good idea for a machine that runs 24/7 (although the load isn't that great) maybe go with the Seasonic S12II-430GB (if you havent got the parts already), it's more expensive but in my opinion worth it.

#killedmywife #howtomakebombs #vgamasterrace

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Yeah, with that motherboard, your build should be solid. Just make sure to plan to buy SATA power cable extensions (I think with your PSU you might have trouble getting them all wired...at least for me, I had to buy an extension in my case for the drives near the top) and SATA cables. Everything should just plug straight into the motherboard. I wish I would've bought a IPMI version of my motherboard. Without IPMI, I can't change the fans to spin slower than 50% minimum fan speed, which sucks because I have my NAS in my room. I had to replace the fans with lower RPM silent fans (Be Quiet Pure Wings).

 

You could save more cash by downgrading to the i3-4170 or even a Haswell Celeron (Yeah, even these have ECC support). I think hyper threading won't be much of a benefit to you since your CPU will probably be idling most of its life.

 

Yea, I might consider other PSUs. Honestly not sure on the CPU load, as I'm not sure how often PLEX transcodes video on the fly, that's the only reason why I could see value in a bit higher processor. 

 

 

nice nas, although i'm not sure if the cx430 is such a good idea for a machine that runs 24/7 (although the load isn't that great) maybe go with the Seasonic S12II-430GB (if you havent got the parts already), it's more expensive but in my opinion worth it.

 

I think I'll still spend some time looking for a PSU, but I'm going to highly lean towards modular if I can find it for a reasonable price. I just hate the rats nest.

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I'm building a media storage server with a budget of ~$2,000 or less. My current plan is to use FreeNAS in RAIDz2 with 8 drives, one being a hot spare. This will then run the Plex plugin to serve up the media to my rokus. I anticipate maximum of 2 users accessing at any given time, and the media is primarily movie based. What I'm looking for here are any glaring compatibility checks, and any possible improvements to the overall system that you might suggest.

 

Options I'm thinking of:

-Adding a 10th drive, configuring as a RAID 50 in FreeNAS (Would this gain significant performance over RAIDz2? Worth it vs Data Security? Overhead?)

-Changing to higher RPM Drives (Would the performance boost be seen on an array this size? or would it be marginalized because of the RAID overhead?)

 

As always I appreciate any input you might have. This will be my first true media server, and I'm looking to do it right the first time if at all possible ;)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($151.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1777.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-17 01:05 EST-0500

 

Get a My Cloud Pro or something from WD would be a lot better

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Get a My Cloud Pro or something from WD would be a lot better

 

 

Gonna pass on that, as I'd like to be able to do more than basic things.

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Why not a Xeon

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~snip~

 

I got a word from the dev team :) WD Red Pro generally is targeted towards the prosumers rather than regular consumers and is of a bit "higher class". Since it's closer to the Datacenter line and is a multi-bay drive, it was decided to end it in the 10^15 like the rest of the Datacenter. :)
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Why not a Xeon

 

A Xeon is overkill in this case for a basic PLEX and storage NAS. The i3 supports ECC much like the Xeon and is quite a bit cheaper.

 

@Nemockulous:

Have to agree with @LittleCarrot, you should buy a UPS for the NAS in case the power goes out (You risk data loss). It's not critical to buy right away, but something you should really consider.

 

@Captain_WD:

If that's the case, then why does the SATA version of the Re drive get listed as 1 in 10^15, but the SAS version of the Re drive get listed as 10 in 10^16? I know the SATA version of the drive (6TB to 3TB models) is newer as well. Both are datacenter drives. I hate being picky, but I really wish there was just a standard for all of them to be 10 in 10^n or 1 in 10^n or at least be categorized like how you said. Just my take on things since I was thinking the SAS version was 1 in 10^16 instead of 10 in 10^16 since I'm so used to it being just 1 in 10^n.

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~snip~

 

As I said, the guys at the dev team decided to keep the drives in the same groups in therms of the 10^n part, not the 1 in or 10 in. I do admit that it may look a bit confusing. I will give your feedback to the guys. :) Thank you!
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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 I recommend getting a low-power zeon instead of a gaming cpu. you will notice better server capabilities out of the system that way.

I like Computer Stuffs. Have you tried unplugging it and plugging it in again? Automation Expert (Bots, scripts, etc)! Add me on Xbox Live: JollyPlanet449 And on Steam!: Baxtmann Wanshow.tips is a cool place too

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 I recommend getting a low-power zeon instead of a gaming cpu. you will notice better server capabilities out of the system that way.

 

What capabilities will be missing? IPMI is native to the chipset and motherboard, not the CPU. The i3 supports ECC the same way the Xeon does.

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Buy a UPS

 

@Nemockulous:

Have to agree with @LittleCarrot, you should buy a UPS for the NAS in case the power goes out (You risk data loss). It's not critical to buy right away, but something you should really consider.

 
It's already in my most recent parts list. I've had a UPS on my desktops for this reason as well as a cleaner input power since I can remember. I'll post my updated parts list below. 
 

 

Why not a Xeon

 

A Xeon is overkill in this case for a basic PLEX and storage NAS. The i3 supports ECC much like the Xeon and is quite a bit cheaper.

 

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Xeon-E3-1220-v3-vs-Intel-Core-i3-4360

 

Honestly the Xeon and the i3 I have currently selected are pretty close in performance. The board I've also selected can accept either, so it really isn't a decision that impacts much. I do agree that for my usage pattern I think it'll be a bit of overkill.

Final Parts List:

 

 
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($251.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
UPS: CyberPower CP1000AVRLCD UPS  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1911.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-20 13:09 EST-0500
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I mean a Xeon is based for server use like 24/7 performance I though as the other teirs aren't as much

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I mean a Xeon is based for server use like 24/7 performance I though as the other teirs aren't as much

 

A stock speed consumer CPU can last many years even at 24/7 in NAS environment. This i3 also has ECC RAM for correction. Xeons are meant to be pushed to the limit 24/7, which this NAS will probably never do at all.

 

@Nemockulous

List looks pretty solid to me. Nice PSU as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Looking at purchasing some of these items as a few are on sale on cyber weekend. Upon looking at motherboard reviews:
 

After I received my board and core i3 4360, I put 16GB of ECC Crucial/Micron RAM in it and started to bench test the board. I troubleshot the board for a few days but noticed in the IPMI that the BIOS was not listed at all, no version or date, so I returned the board to Amazon and they VERY quickly replaced the first DOA board. On to what I figured out the hard way:

If you get a Supermicro X10SL-7 with the bios from 2013, it will NOT P.O.S.T. No beeps, no video, no nothing. However, if you are planning on using a Xeon processor you should be fine. If you have a Xeon that is compatible with the 2013 BIOS then you can download the update and flash the BIOS to support the 4th generation core i3 processors.

It's a catch 22: if you want to use the core i3 for the lower power consumption and order that with the board, you'll be stuck. If you can't get the system to POST, you can't put the upgrade BIOS on a USB device to upgrade it. So you either have to buy a Xeon just to upgrade the BIOS or just use a Xeon.

There IS a way to upgrade the BIOS through the IPMI interface OOB but it is a feature you must purchase through Supermicro and from what I understand, it is more targeted towards businesses. If you get stuck in a situation like I did, I'd recommend contacting Supermicro to see if there is anything they can do for you. I found a workaround with help but my situation was unusual. I'm sure as the old stock X10SL-7 boards sell out and they get stock with the newer BIOS this won't even be an issue.

After upgrading my BIOS to the latest revision, it booted right up, no problems.

 

 

With this, I revise to a Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz. An extra $50 to ensure no issues and upgrade to a Xeon isn't that bad. I'll likely wait to purchase the drives and UPS, build and configure the system, and test connectivity.

 

 
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($245.88 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
UPS: CyberPower CP1000AVRLCD UPS  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1847.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-29 23:40 EST-0500
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There IS a way to upgrade the BIOS through the IPMI interface OOB but it is a feature you must purchase through Supermicro and from what I understand, it is more targeted towards businesses.

 

True IPMI or iLO (now OneView) in HP speak is targeted for businesses but then so is the motherboard. The free license does allow you to do firmware upgrades and other basic functions like turn on/off the server, the paid feature is usually just the remote view KVM access. Never used supermicro's IPMI so can't confirm this but it is the case for HP and IBM servers, firmware upgrades don't require the license.

 

Anyway, nice choices and I hope it goes perfectly with no issues.

 

Edit: Just read the review replies and seems firmware upgrade ability is a paid only feature for supermicro. Shame on them this should be standard like everyone else.

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