FreeNAS setup 2015

Hello everyone!

I need to setup a NAS server to hold my family's pictures, movies, music, network shares etc.

Not only that it will also be used as a Owncloud jail, so I can synchronize school work, documents etc. Over multiple computers.

Specs:
Intel Pentium G3220
ASRock E3C226D2I, ITX server board, 1150 socket with ECC support.
2x Kingson ValueRAM ECC, 4 GB sticks, 1600 Mhz.
4x WD Red, 3 TB disks.
Fractal Design node 304 case.
Cooler Master b500, 6 sata power ports for expansion.

I was planning on using RAID Z2, for more redundancy. Not only that It will backup every day at 2 AM to an external fireproof drive just in case of fire, and later off site.

Tell me what you think, can this fully utilize the 1 Gbit nic and allow in-home bluray streaming?

If possible, try to get 8GB. FreeNAS seems to stress that quite a bit.

EDIT: misread how much ram you had

If you are going to have multiple people connected to the NAS at the same time using CIFS shares on windows then you'll need a CPU with more cores/threads or you could have some performance drops. The G3220 would be fine in most single use cases but it's only a dual core so having multiple users could slow the performance. More cores at a lower frequency and power draw would be optimal. Something like ASRock mini-ITX board with Intel Avoton C2750 Octa-Core. I swapped to a 35 w i3-4130t after using a G3220 for a few weeks. You'll also need to double the RAM. 8 GB is the minimum but you should have at least 1 GB of RAM for every TB of raw storage space for the best performance so 16 GB would be better with this storage configuration.

Edit: My FreeNAS config is in my profile description.

If you want to use RAIDZ2, they say you should have 1GB memory per 1TB of raw storage. While you have enough, I would still suggest doubling your RAM. get 16GB in there.

Also, check this out: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/best-hard-drive/

EDIT: Yeah, what @knight26 said.

Alright, new setup consists of this.

Asrock C2550D4I
4x Hgst IDK Deskstar NAS 4TB SATA-600 7200rpm 3.5"
2x Kingston ValueRAM, 8 GB 1600 Mhz, ECC
Fractal Design Node 304
Kingston DataTraveler Micro 8GB USB 2.0
Corsair RM650 650Watt 80 PLUS Gold
Intel Gigabit NIC, to allow 2 Gbit total network bandwidth.

Looking at about 1200 USD.

This will get you started. I don't know what back ground you have in networking, but be aware that you'll need a smart network switch that supports Link Aggregation Control Protocol in order to link multiple NIC's to increase bandwidth. The cheapest 8 ports run about $80. The 8 GB of RAM will be enough to get you up and running but you'll probably not be able to saturate a 1 Gib link. ZFS file system loves RAM, the more you can give it the better it will perform so plan on buying some more memory later.

I went through a few configurations before I settle on the one I have now. My 6 disc RaidZ2 array transfers at around 85 MB/s on windows share, while 4 disc array in Raid 1+0 consistently saturates the gigabit link at 110 MB/s. I also use a 60 gb SSD for jails. I took it out of my desktop when I upgrade it. I run Plex, transmission, subsonic, firefly, a murmur server for mumble, and Unbound DNS Naming service. Plex loads a little quicker running off the SSD than the main array but I do loose the redundancy if the SSD fails.

You do realize the Asrock C2550D4I has 2x Intel gigabit nics built in.....correct?

It really has 3 total because it has a dedicated nic for IPMI

Hue, I was under the impression that the 2 was 100 mbit once.

I love that board, but it looks mostly unavailable... That concerns me, I wonder if they have a replacement model.

If your not hammering the server it will be fine. I have a personal freenas server and while I am a pain in the ass I rarely challenge it.

Parts are now purchased! Cannot wait until they get here, finally I can get rid of the disks in my system haha!

Will keep you posted!

Update:

I assembled the box, and its working great! Transfer speeds max out my 1 Gbit connection to the box at about 126 MB/s

I did however order a PSU with 4 sata connectors, and noticed AFTER it arrived. I got some molex to SATA converters coming in tomorrow so all good :D

UPDATE:

Build completed, temps are decent at about 50 idle. Personally I would like to see it lower, but only a fan inside the case pointing at the motherboard could fix that.

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