Need some advice on this NAS build

[ThatAngryGnome]

Hey guys,

 

I am building a NAS and need some help. I plan on using FreeNAS, and I've done research on how to work with the OS and such. What I want to use this NAS as a backup for both a work and home computer. From what I envision, there will one or more folders on those computers that will be backed up regularly (maybe once every few hours). A secondary goal is to get both computers synced up, so files can be worked on and synced simultaneously.  

 

Here is an example scenario: I work on the home computer, and save the file onto my local disk. The file gets backed up to the NAS, and a few hours later, I go to my work PC, where I access it there and continue my work. Therefore, there are always 2+ copies of the files, one copy on one (or both) of the machines, and one on my NAS. Just as an FYI, my home internet is 20 down, 5 up, and my office internet is 60 down, 20 up.

  

Here is a build I came up with after research: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ThatAngryGnome/saved/#view=mhvH99

 

I realize I need to get ECC RAM, so I didn't reuse my RAM/mobo from an old PC. I am however reusing other things from an old system to save money, such as an old SSD and computer case. I have 3 2tb HDDs in there so I can run them in RAIDz. From what I've read so far, it's the best for my case. If not, I guess I'd be forced to add another HDD and run it in RAID10.

  

If some of y'all could look at this build and give advice on how to make it better, that would be great. Also, if you could lead me in the right direction on how to get setup with FreeNAS to accomplish my task, that would help put a lot too!

 

Thanks!

[Electronics Wizardy]

Id stick with your old hardware and ignore ecc. You should be backing up this server. You can also use something like rockstor or ubuntu server instead to revomove the ecc recomdiation.

 

Id use the stock cooler.

[jwworker201]

For backups and sync you could use Syncthing (available as a jail). I am using Syncthing for backing up the Work-Server to my Server at home and on each server for supplying the PCs with data. (Home-Server syncs private docs and work-server work docs ony my pc, notebook, ...). I am using unRAID for this but I will upgrade my home server to FreeNAS because of ZFS and the option of taking snapshots (and some VM Stuff) .

Your Build looks good for your needs and I think I would take similar parts if I would build a NAS for this usecase. But you don't need the SSD unless you want to cache. For the System a 8GB flash drive works well! 

And for Setting up FreeNAS: There are good tutorials at TekSyndicate and I think at Paul's Hardware as well. I used the tutorial from TekSyndicate for the setup of my test-server (with cheap notebook-drives :D)

[ThatAngryGnome]

12 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id stick with your old hardware and ignore ecc. You should be backing up this server. You can also use something like rockstor or ubuntu server instead to revomove the ecc recomdiation.

 

Id use the stock cooler.

I don't understand why I'd be backing up this server, considering it is meant to be my backup here. I'll be doing external HDD backups weekly or so as well, but even then, I've read many bad things about not using ECC RAM. With the stock cooler recommendation, I can definitely do that, though I already have a 212 Evo laying around.

10 minutes ago, jwworker201 said:

For backups and sync you could use Syncthing (available as a jail). I am using Syncthing for backing up the Work-Server to my Server at home and on each server for supplying the PCs with data. (Home-Server syncs private docs and work-server work docs ony my pc, notebook, ...). I am using unRAID for this but I will upgrade my home server to FreeNAS because of ZFS and the option of taking snapshots (and some VM Stuff) .

Your Build looks good for your needs and I think I would take similar parts if I would build a NAS for this usecase. But you don't need the SSD unless you want to cache. For the System a 8GB flash drive works well! 

And for Setting up FreeNAS: There are good tutorials at TekSyndicate and I think at Paul's Hardware as well. I used the tutorial from TekSyndicate for the setup of my test-server (with cheap notebook-drives :D)

 

Thanks for the help man. I'll look into Syncthing and if its the right thing for me. I'm also binge watching TekSyndicate right now to get caught up on FreeNAS. I have that SSD in the build mainly because I already own it and there's no real use for it. I could use it as a cache drive, but would that make much a difference?  

Finally, would you know if 16 gigs would be enough for ZFS and 6 TB? 

[jwworker201]

15 minutes ago, ThatAngryGnome said:

Finally, would you know if 16 gigs would be enough for ZFS and 6 TB? 

Yes, the recommendations are 1GB RAM per TB so you should even be fine with 8GB. (for FreeNAS with ZFS)

And if you have the CPU cooler and the SSD laying around use it. I have a beQuiet Drak Rock Pro 3 in my home server (but it needs to be quiet). 
But if you are only using one LAN-Port on the server a cache drive is not necessary because WD Reds easily have 100MB/s (I believe peaks arte around 200/220 MB/s).

 

And if you want to set up Syncthing on Windows... There is no official installer yet so you have to download the .zip file and place it anywhere on your hard drive. To start it with Windows set it as service (there is a tutorial in the Syncthing documentation) so you don't have to del with the cmd-window. If you want to access Syncthing you have to type in your browser <ip of your device>:8384 

Edited May 30, 2016 by jwworker201

[ThatAngryGnome]

9 minutes ago, jwworker201 said:

Yes, the recommendations are 1GB RAM per TB so you should even be fine with 8GB. (for FreeNAS with ZFS)

And if you have the CPU cooler and the SSD laying around use it. I have a beQuiet Drak Rock Pro 3 in my home server (but it needs to be quiet). 
But if you are only using one LAN-Port on the server a cache drive is not necessary because WD Reds easily have 100MB/s (I believe peaks arte around 200/220 MB/s).

 

Gotcha. Can I ask, how easy/hard is it to setup everything, and forget about it? I'm worried I'll run into roadblocks and not get the software setup. When reading about FreeNAS, it looks daunting with everyone talking about seemingly advanced stuff (just look at /r/freenas).

[jwworker201]

2 minutes ago, ThatAngryGnome said:

Gotcha. Can I ask, how easy/hard is it to setup everything, and forget about it? I'm worried I'll run into roadblocks and not get the software setup. When reading about FreeNAS, it looks daunting with everyone talking about seemingly advanced stuff (just look at /r/freenas).

Yeah, you can doo pretty advanced stuff with FreeNAS. But what you need is creating a volume with RAIDZ1, then a data set on which you can start to create shares, ... 
It is confusing when you are the first time in front of that massive console but if you have your volume, dataset and a user running, the hardest part is almost done.
I had to learn about FreeNAS first too and I know only the basic functions right now.

If you want a really easy to manage interface you could use unRAID, but it costs $60 for the basic version and you can't take snapshots like with ZFS.
I personally think if you watch some tutorials and consider google (there are some good docs out there) you will love FreeNAS. And if you are stuck with configuring feel free to ask me (but consider that I am in Germany and there is a different time zone).  

[Eniqmatic]

10 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id stick with your old hardware and ignore ecc. You should be backing up this server. You can also use something like rockstor or ubuntu server instead to revomove the ecc recomdiation.

 

Id use the stock cooler.

Don't listen to this, unhelpful advice here. You've got ECC in there from the outset, so leave it.

10 hours ago, jwworker201 said:

Yes, the recommendations are 1GB RAM per TB so you should even be fine with 8GB. (for FreeNAS with ZFS)

And if you have the CPU cooler and the SSD laying around use it. I have a beQuiet Drak Rock Pro 3 in my home server (but it needs to be quiet). 
But if you are only using one LAN-Port on the server a cache drive is not necessary because WD Reds easily have 100MB/s (I believe peaks arte around 200/220 MB/s).

 

And if you want to set up Syncthing on Windows... There is no official installer yet so you have to download the .zip file and place it anywhere on your hard drive. To start it with Windows set it as service (there is a tutorial in the Syncthing documentation) so you don't have to del with the cmd-window. If you want to access Syncthing you have to type in your browser <ip of your device>:8384 

Actually, 8GB of RAM is the minimum recommended amount to run ZFS, without any storage. Then there is the general rule of thumb of 1GB per TB, however in my opinion becomes a non issue after a certain point.

 

8GB will most likely be fine for you, however if you can afford to get 16GB then I would. It's the best starting point for FreeNAS and will greatly aid the times of ZFS scrubbing etc.

10 hours ago, ThatAngryGnome said:

Gotcha. Can I ask, how easy/hard is it to setup everything, and forget about it? I'm worried I'll run into roadblocks and not get the software setup. When reading about FreeNAS, it looks daunting with everyone talking about seemingly advanced stuff (just look at /r/freenas).

On the contrary, I find FreeNAS very easy to manage. Sure there are lots of buttons and features, but it doesn't mean you can't use these if you don't know what they are. As you say, a lot of these are advanced features and do not need to be turned on or used if you aren't sure of them. It will run perfectly fine without them. It's always nice to have these features there in the event that you do want to use them.

 

The documentation is also great, explains almost every button that is in the GUI. And then if there is something the GUI does not do, you always have the CLI option to achieve what you want.