I was going to build a NAS using TrueNAS software for two main reasons to 1) backup my photos, videos, and documents and 2) to run Plex to serve TV shows and movies. I have built computers before but not a server so there is some terminology I may not use correctly or misunderstand. I have about 8TB of data and plan to start ripping discs for the Plex server.
I would like to use 12TB Western Digital Red Plus CMR drives. Is this a good choice?
2). I was going to use 6, 8 or 10 drives? Is there a sweet spot?
Should I run all drives in 1 vdev?
Can I run a backup on this server in a separate pool or should that be in a separate server/NAS box?
Would a 2U Supermicro used server with either dual E5 or D series Xenon processers be a good choice? Anything to avoid or watch out for? Can you recommend one on eBay or other site?
I am not understanding the Host bus adapter part. Does each drive need a port from the adapter? So if I have 10 drives, I need 10 ports?
I read something about needing to flash the host adapters, is this done in TrueNAS or before running TrueNAS. I don’t have any Linux skills.
Which host bus adapter controllers would you look for or avoid?
Yes
1.2) I like 6 kinda feels bad in terms of volume, 10 is pushing what I’d feel safe with during a resilver (if a drive fails replacing it stresses the other drives; larger the drives, longer this takes). IMO 8 is sweet spot; others may disagree.
I’d run a single raidz2 (2 drive parity) - 72TB of usage space (try not to go too far above 80% usage of it though)
Depends on your risk tolerance. If you really want, separate server in separate location. Otherwise you can consider setting up snapshots if you don’t want a separate backup or a second pool to back up, but still want a safety net (you should).
IMO way overkill for what you’re doing - a good choice, but you dun need it. My recommendation would be in my signature, but lotta folks got better price/performance recommandations than me.
HBA usually comes with SAS wires that break out into multiple SATA connections, hopefully this image helps visualize it:
Yes, flash into IT mode. Lotta guides. Some come sold & preflashed into IT mode. Once you install yours either sas2flash pr sas3flash command will tell you the firmware version & if it is in IT mode, you can also sure it to flash the HBA… unless you’re not lucky & need to do it from eufi
Anything that is ‘RAID’, anything that is a ‘port multiplier’, anything that doesn’t look like it came from a server, anything with usb.
notes for additional considerations:
I have 618 movies, 50 shows, and some music/photos (which consume nothing in comparison). Almost all ripped using MakeMKV, all of them uncompressed, no loss in quality etc, some uhd, some dvd; all of this is apprx 19TB of data (this is just to guide you on how much/little space you’ll need).
Grab a couple of cheap but fairly reputable sata SSDs for your boot pool; consider mirroring them.
Grab a couple of NVMes for your Apps & VMs; mirror them.
Grab a PSU that is slightly bigger than what you’d want because the rails for 3.3v & 5v may not always be big enough for HDDs’ power demands during boot
Consider getting a cheap intel A310 for transcoding; especially if you’re going to be storing anything in HDR.
Consider getting something at least semi server grade that supports ECC memory for peace of mind
Consider getting something with IPMI so you can remotely manage the server itself, including bios & don’t have to ever physically plug in a keyboard or monitor unless something is critically FUBAR.
Since you’re likely not going to be running things in a server rack with enterprise grade fans (LOUD), make sure you got very good airflow. Consider slapping fans onto everything that has a heatsink. My server is a nightmare & I’m embarrassed by the amount of fans I have pointed at everything due to poor case selection.
Consider buying a MakeMKV license if you plan on using them to rip disks (imo you should, but I’m biased). Either way, it is free for full functionality, even if you don’t.
Don’t forget to set up automated scrubs, smart tasks, email alerts, and snapshots when you’re done.
Consider getting a UPS - ZFS is resilient against power failure, but that doesn’t mean the hardware itself is.
The HBA allows you to attach more drives to the computer than the motherboard has ports (SATA). You would need a plain HBA or a model of card than can be flashed to IT mode. ZFS needs direct access to the disk and doesn’t work well if it has a RAID card interfering with the drives.
Two processors is probably too much. Your stated uses are pretty simple.
A ready to go option would be it iX Systems Mini R (rack model). Advantage is hardware is all compatible and and set up. You pretty much just buy the drives with it or just add your own. Give you 12 drive slots. Link should get you down to the models.
Otherwise, just go through the ZFS primer and other items in the Resources category on the forum. Raid-Z2 would be good for your stated usage and number of drives you want. You’re looking at about 48TB to 96TB, depending on your number of drives you listed. You want to keep usage below 80% in general
Fair choice, but really buy whatever NAS-grade HDD is cheapest per TB at the moment (Wd Gold, HGST Ultrastar, Seagate Ironwolf, Exos, Toshiba N300, MG).
6-10 drives in a single raidz2 is suited to your kind of bulk storage. Decide on the required space, number of drives, and then a corresponding case.
Good for price, but mind that racks are NOISY.
Up to 8 drives you may not need a HBA.
Backup is best in an separate box, especially in another place.
