FreeNAS Hardware advice

[oxhey]

Hi LTT forum,

 

First time FreeNAS builder here :).

 

I work in a small agency that is undergoing some changes to its IT infrastructure.

As part of these changes (that include some new pfSense firewalls) we are also replacing an ageing file server.

The file server is an old 1st gen Mac Pro with a few 1 TB hard drives in it. Last time I checked it was filled with dust and on its way out.

 

The backup system we have is also extremely stupid. From what I have been told, we use Carbon Copy Cloner to take backups of files that have changed and put then on some extrnal hard drives connected to the mac. This happens every day when everyone has gone home.

 

Being based in the UK, recommended FreeNAS parts are hard to come buy, but I think I have done alright with my parts list.

 

How The Server Will Be Used?
The server will act only as a file server for our design studio.

Normally there will be 4 iMac's with constant access to the file server (Reading files from it, copying from it and sometimes ever just opening a file from it), but it should be able to cope with 1 or 2 extra users for short amounts of time.

 

It should also be visible to both Max & Windows pc's. CIFS share?

 

The files that the server will be storing are images/PSD, Illustrator and Quark Express.

 

My current list:

I have put a Xeon CPU in the list, but it could end up being an i3-4170 as it supports ECC and is £75 cheaper, but it is only dual core.

 

Thats for the budget to decide

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£175.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Memory: Crucial - 16GB (2 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1333 Memory  (£130.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Corsair - Force LS 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£37.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Western Digital - Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£83.99 @ Aria PC) 
Storage: Western Digital - Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£83.99 @ Aria PC) 
Case: Fractal Design - Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£30.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£69.95 @ Amazon UK) 
Other: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C222 DDR3 1600 (£160.99)
Total: £774.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-14 23:51 GMT+0000

 

 

 

So my questions are:

• Is the hardware selection OK for a FreeNAS file server? 
• Storage - what RAID would be recommended. Im thinking RAID 1 as it would be good to have a mirror of the data.

[Electronics Wizardy]

If this is for a buiness, your much better off getting something like a synology. Your getting a supported system that works, and is cheaper here.

 

Id just get this.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Synology-DS418play-Station-4-bay-Diskless/dp/B075ZNKCK4/ref=pd_sbs_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075ZNKCK4&pd_rd_r=9NC5YPVQS8WQ4AQ43T21&pd_rd_w=nuxpc&pd_rd_wg=uJagD&psc=1&refRID=9NC5YPVQS8WQ4AQ43T21

 

About the same cost or cheaper, and about the same speed( your limited by the network and your drives, not the cpu. The system you listed is way overkill. This one is also lower power and smaller.

[oxhey]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

If this is for a buiness, your much better off getting something like a synology. Your getting a supported system that works, and is cheaper here.

 

Id just get this.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Synology-DS418play-Station-4-bay-Diskless/dp/B075ZNKCK4/ref=pd_sbs_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075ZNKCK4&pd_rd_r=9NC5YPVQS8WQ4AQ43T21&pd_rd_w=nuxpc&pd_rd_wg=uJagD&psc=1&refRID=9NC5YPVQS8WQ4AQ43T21

 

About the same cost or cheaper, and about the same speed( your limited by the network and your drives, not the cpu. The system you listed is way overkill. This one is also lower power and smaller.

I know the system I listed is overkill, but I just want to know if it will work.

 

While the Synology is one option I could do, purchasing it with the hard drives works out to more or less the same price here in the UK.

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 minutes ago, oxhey said:

I know the system I listed is overkill, but I just want to know if it will work.

 

While the Synology is one option I could do, purchasing it with the hard drives works out to more or less the same price here in the UK.

Its still a better solution, even if its the same price.

 

Your system will work, but its not a great choice.

 

Ecc board and xeon, but no ecc ram.

 

Id get bigger drives, normally not much more

 

Way overkill cpu, celeron is fine here.

 

4 year old cpu.

 

way overkill psu.

[oxhey]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Its still a better solution, even if its the same price.

 

Your system will work, but its not a great choice.

 

Ecc board and xeon, but no ecc ram.

 

Id get bigger drives, normally not much more

 

Way overkill cpu, celeron is fine here.

 

4 year old cpu.

 

way overkill psu.

I thought the ram was ECC. I have changed it ECC ram.

 

I think the 3TB will be fine. We havent even filled the few 1TB drives we have now.

 

Like I said in the post, if the budget will allow ill go for the xeon, otherwise I can go for an i3 or celeron.

 

4 year old cpu yes, buts its and LGA1150 mobo. Even the celeron will be 4 years old.

 

Power Supply - it may be overkill, but its the cheapest Gold rated psu I could find.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, oxhey said:

I thought the ram was ECC, guess ill change that.

 

I think the 3TB will be fine. We havent even filled the few 1TB drives we have now.

 

Like I said in the post, if the budget will allow ill go for the xeon, otherwise I can go for an i3 or celeron.

 

4 year old cpu yes, buts its and LGA1150 mobo. Even the celeron will be 4 years old.

 

Power Supply - it may be overkill, but its the cheapest Gold rated psu I could find.

Really go with a little nas box, its a much better solution here.

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

20 minutes ago, oxhey said:

I thought the ram was ECC. I have changed it ECC ram.

 

I think the 3TB will be fine. We havent even filled the few 1TB drives we have now.

 

Like I said in the post, if the budget will allow ill go for the xeon, otherwise I can go for an i3 or celeron.

 

4 year old cpu yes, buts its and LGA1150 mobo. Even the celeron will be 4 years old.

 

Power Supply - it may be overkill, but its the cheapest Gold rated psu I could find.

Why lga 1150 then, go 1151, newer, faster(dmi, not just cpu), lower power. Why that old socket?

 

Id just get a ~300w 80+ psu, overkill psu's often are less efficent as they aren't very efficent at low loads.

 

 

[alex75871]

Don't use Registered ECC RAM, your motherboard doesn't support it. Use UDIMM (unregistered) ECC memory modules.

[Razor Blade]

Well at least I could chime in on the RAID... Yes RAID 1 is a good idea. Especially if you're only getting 2 disks. On that note if you're going to use freenas consider software RAID as opposed to a hardware controlled RAID. It seems to give some good options when it comes to expansion, maintenance, and recovery.

[oxhey]

6 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Why lga 1150 then, go 1151, newer, faster(dmi, not just cpu), lower power. Why that old socket?

 

Id just get a ~300w 80+ psu, overkill psu's often are less efficent as they aren't very efficent at low loads.

 

 

On second thoughts, you were right. I'm better off with a Synology. 

After looking it's either going to be DS418 or the DS418play. 

 

Which would you go for?

[NelizMastr]

5 hours ago, oxhey said:

On second thoughts, you were right. I'm better off with a Synology. 

After looking it's either going to be DS418 or the DS418play. 

 

Which would you go for?

The DS418 play has a faster CPU overall and it's rated for some pretty kickass speeds for a little NAS box like this. You'll want to take advantage of the dual LAN ports for sure  

[oxhey]

9 minutes ago, NelizMastr said:

The DS418 play has a faster CPU overall and it's rated for some pretty kickass speeds for a little NAS box like this. You'll want to take advantage of the dual LAN ports for sure  

Would the play not be better for compatibility with packages because its an intel cpu?

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 hours ago, oxhey said:

Would the play not be better for compatibility with packages because its an intel cpu?

what packages are you using?

 

do you need  stuff like AD?

 

 

[oxhey]

14 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

what packages are you using?

 

do you need  stuff like AD?

 

 

Not at the moment, but im sure that as we get use to a server that can actually do things, we will want to try some of the packages.

 

The intel one just seems more future proof. Also the ram is upgradable which is a plus.

[Electronics Wizardy]

6 minutes ago, oxhey said:

Not at the moment, but im sure that as we get use to a server that can actually do things, we will want to try some of the packages.

 

The intel one just seems more future proof. Also the ram is upgradable which is a plus.

yea id probably go with the intel one.