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Overlandr
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Go to solution Solved by 2bitmarksman,

For reference, if you connect a drive via iSCSI the CPU processing needed to write data to the iSCSI drive will be consumed on the PC that it is using it as local storage, not the FreeNAS host.

 

Also to reiterate, unless you have 10g networking, don't bother with the SSD cache, and if you can, try to get an old server that you can cram a ton of RAM into instead like a Dell R710 if you need a highspeed cache. All the spare RAM that ZFS doesn't need on FreeNAS is used as the ARC cache, which is basically a RAM disk filled with the most used data you access. Once it fills, it cycles out the least used/old stuff to the L2ARC, if it has one, or just drops it if it doesn't. For reference, I bought a Dell R710 with 144 gb of RAM without drives and it was 538 bucks. Chelsio 10g NIC is like 25-50 USD and perc h200's are around 32-40 USD. HP servers can also be used and are a little cheaper but usually lower RAM capacities (128gb) and you would need an HBA (they don't have any that are compatible with FreeNAS that aren't for external enclosures).

ZIL is good for lots of random writes (like running a bunch of VM's that all want to write small bits of data at once). Generally though, this really isn't needed for large file sharing in a home like Plex and a Steam library or anything that writes large files all at once.

 

Oh, and make sure you setup Jumbo Frames, if you can. Big performance boost right there for lots of tiny files like textures for games over the network.

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8 hours ago, 2bitmarksman said:

make sure you setup Jumbo Frames

What are jumbo frames? Does it just send large data packets or something rather than constant little packets?

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Also, how do you make a server like that quieter, because those fans are far too loud for my use case as I will have it in a spare room and it has thin walls.

Edit: Another thing, how could I use LFF 3.5 inch HDDs in one of these servers? Would I have to buy a SATA expansion card and have drives external or how would it work?

Thanks

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4 hours ago, Overlandr said:

Also, how do you make a server like that quieter, because those fans are far too loud for my use case as I will have it in a spare room and it has thin walls.

Edit: Another thing, how could I use LFF 3.5 inch HDDs in one of these servers? Would I have to buy a SATA expansion card and have drives external or how would it work?

Thanks

You can make the fans spin slower by butting reistors inline with the fans normally.

 

The rack servers have a lff option normally where you can put 12 drives in 2u.

 

 

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