FreeNAS Components

[martward]

Hi all, I am planning to build a NAS and I chose the components. It will not be storing any critical data, mostly some data sets I may need to use for mu studies and media.

It will be running FreeNAS from the usb that is included. I don't really need ECC memory since the data is not critical and it is very expensive. I plan to upgrade the power supply later on (using the one that comes with the case for now). I already have a G3258 from a previous build that I am planning to use in the server.

 

 

I was wondering if there would be any problems with this setup.

 

Thanks

[Oshino Shinobu]

I would switch out the WD Blues for WD Reds that are actually designed for NAS/RAID operation. 24/7, close proximity operation on drives not designed for it is a sure way to kill them fairly quick. 

 

EDIT: Also, are you planning on using ZFS with FreeNas? You're going to need 8GB RAM minimum if you are. (Any apps, such as Plex, require ZFS)

[Lolucoca]

I think it will be fine I'm running Freenas on an old PC atm

[martward]

I would switch out the WD Blues for WD Reds that are actually designed for NAS/RAID operation. 24/7, close proximity operation on drives not designed for it is a sure way to kill them fairly quick. 

 

EDIT: Also, are you planning on using ZFS with FreeNas? You're going to need 8GB RAM minimum if you are. (Any apps, such as Plex, require ZFS)

I will be using ZFS, but I thought the recommended amount of memory was 1gb per TB. Since I only have 3 TB, 4 gb of ram should be enough right?

[Lolucoca]

@martward ZFS uses A LOT of memory... I'm using almost all of my 3GB right now with only 1 TB attached...

 

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

I will be using ZFS, but I thought the recommended amount of memory was 1gb per TB. Since I only have 3 TB, 4 gb of ram should be enough right?

The best way to get the most out of your FreeNAS® system is to install as much RAM as possible. If your RAM is limited, consider using UFS until you can afford better hardware. FreeNAS® with ZFS requires a minimum of 8 GB of RAM in order to provide good stability regardless of the number of users or size of the pool. The more RAM, the better the performance, and the FreeNAS® Forums provide anecdotal evidence from users on how much performance is gained by adding more RAM. For systems with large disk capacity (greater than 8 TB), a general rule of thumb is 1 GB of RAM for every 1 TB of storage. This post describes how RAM is used by ZFS.

 

http://olddoc.freenas.org/index.php/Hardware_Recommendations

 

The 1GB per TB rule only applies for 8TB + Systems. For ZFS, 8GB is the minimum you need, and 4GB is the minimum for UFS. 

[GoldenBE]

WAIT!

Is that ram/mobo/cpu ecc ( compatible ) ?

You need to use ecc ram for Freenas, it will corrupt your files if you don't. If you don't believe me browe a bit around the Freenas forum, everyone there is like "use ECC or don't use ZFS ( Freenas' only compatible file system )"

nevermind, found something intresting: http://jrs-s.net/2015/02/03/will-zfs-and-non-ecc-ram-kill-your-data/

But why use Freenas when there are other alternatives that don't need as much ram ( because they don't use ZFS )

[alpenwasser]

But why use Freenas when there are other alternatives that don't need as much ram ( because they don't use ZFS )

Indeed, FreeNAS is not the only thing out there. There are alternatives which are more frugal when it comes to hardware requirements/recommendations.

As for ZFS's memory needs: Last I checked, FreeNAS recommended 8 GB of minimum RAM, regardless of how much storage you have. ZFS itself can run with less, I've fun it on 4 GB (Linux, not FreeNAS, though). But if other stuff starts using your RAM, performance can degrade almost to standstill (happened to me a few times).

The "1 GB of RAM per 1 TB of storage" is no longer really true as best as I can tell, especially not for home setups. I have 30 TB raw storage in my pool and 24 GB of RAM in my machine, and it usually sits between 10 GB and 15 GB of RAM usage.

Anyway, as said, instead of dealing with all the possible headaches which can occur when you're running FreeNAS with stuff below its specs, I'd recommend looking at alternatives (Amahi and Openmediavault come to mind, though there are more). It might be fine. Hell, it probably will be fine, but it might also not be.

In the end though, decision is yours, of course.

[martward]

@alpenwasser, @Lolucoca, @Oshino Shinobu

 

Okay so 8gb of ram then, I am able to do that. I chose FreeNAS over Ubuntu server because it gives you the option to use a GUI while still being able to use a terminal. I prefer FreeNAS over Amahi since I am planning to use ZFS, if that only means adding a little more ram then that's fine. Thank you for the information!

 

@GoldenBE

 

I thought that at first too, untill I read that post. ECC memory isn't even that expensive and the CPU does support it as far as I know, but a motherboard which supports ECC is just so incredibly expensive. For a home server which does not store any critical data I just don't think its worth it to be honest. Besides, since this is the first time I will be building a server I don't want to go all out and spend alot of money on it. Thanks for your answer .

[GoldenBE]

@alpenwasser, @Lolucoca, @Oshino Shinobu

 

Okay so 8gb of ram then, I am able to do that. I chose FreeNAS over Ubuntu server because it gives you the option to use a GUI while still being able to use a terminal. I prefer FreeNAS over Amahi since I am planning to use ZFS, if that only means adding a little more ram then that's fine. Thank you for the information!

 

@GoldenBE

 

I thought that at first too, untill I read that post. ECC memory isn't even that expensive and the CPU does support it as far as I know, but a motherboard which supports ECC is just so incredibly expensive. For a home server which does not store any critical data I just don't think its worth it to be honest. Besides, since this is the first time I will be building a server I don't want to go all out and spend alot of money on it. Thanks for your answer .

I did the following: use some place like Tweakers.net to find a cheap rig with enough sata conectors that's also energy efficient. Then just put Windows on it and use the sharing options to share the hdd's to the network. You can always use the server for extra stuff like Plex, rendering, torrents, ...

Make sure to browse around a while you can get pretty sweet deals in The Netherlands that's the reason I drove all the way there just to buy a used PC