Best disk/raid configuration for media server

TrueNAS General
1

Hi,

I’m a total newbie when comes to Truenas, and RAID in general. so please show some mercy if I use the wrong terminology.

I want to build a Truenas setup to serve as media storage for my plex, which runs on a separate pc. I have 4 10TB drives and 3 4TB drives available. I want to get the best balance of available space, read speed and data protection. Of the 3 data protection is probably the lowest priority. I can always re-download the media, it would be a major PIA, but I could do it.

Which configuration would be best? Mirrored?RAIDZ-2? RAIDZ-1? :person_shrugging:

Thanks!

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So far your terminology is right.
Sanity check: What’s the model of the 4 TB drives? Are these CMR?

Best resiliency: raidz2
4*10 TB = 20 TB raw (ca. 16 TB usable)
no use for 4 TB

Best space: raidz1
4*10 + 3*4 TB = 38 TB raw

Maximal read speed: mirrors, 2-way
2*10+2*10+2*4 = 24 TB raw

3 Likes
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@etorix , thanks for the reply.

Both sets of drives are CMRs.

Unfortunately it looks like my motherboard, Gigabyte B450M, only supports up to 4 SATA drives. So I guess I’ll have to go with just the 10TB drives. Those are WD Red Plus 7200rpm 256 cache drives. Unless I can find a way to add SATA ports to the MB. Need to investigate that one. Either way the 4TB drives are Seagate Constellation ES.3. Not the best, but the best I could afford at the time. This project has started and stopped several times over the last 18 months, LOL.

So using the 4 10TBs RaidZ1 would give me around 18TBs? And Mirror around 20TBs?

Is there really that much of a difference in speed between Raidz1 and Mirror 2-way?

Thanks!

4

4*10TB Z1 = 30 TB raw (80% usable); read = 3 (disks)
2*2*10TB = 20 TB raw (80% again); read = 4

To add ports, look for a refurbished SAS HBA (LSI 2308 or 3008, 9207/9208/9211/9300).

1 Like
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Awesome. I found a LSI 9211 online, should be here Sunday, so a Father’s Day gift for myself, LOL.

@etorix , Thank you so much for your help!

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Dont be so sure of that… depending on where you’re getting it from.

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Lol just wrote a paragraph about the 9211 but etorix covered it and it’s on the way. Enjoy Sunday! That 9211 belongs in your GPU slot because it needs x8 lanes and your board only supplies x16 to the gpu slot and x4 to the other big slot unfortunately.

Shouldn’t be a big problem; I have headless, no gpu servers side by side here, the cpu’s provide video once or twice when I need it.

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Please make sure that it is flashed to IT mode

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Yeah, what he said. I forgot to thump that bible; every HBA you want to use from LSI must be flashed to IT mode, unless you’re skilled enough to get any old LSI card and use the sas2/sas3flash utilities built in and flash IT mode yourself. That’s a short list, about 90% of sellers know that and advertise it in the listing along with name dropping some popular NAS operating systems that need it.

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Flashing isn’t that difficult. Put your things on a USB thumbdrive and boot to UEFI shell.

The advice should actually be to flash the latest IT firmware (P20.00.07.00 for a 9200 series card). Emphasis on “latest”, or at the very least last “phase”. Latest P20.00.07.00 IR would be acceptable, according to our revered former Resident Grinch. RAID controller mode is not acceptable, and neither would be P18.xx.xx.xx IT (despite “IT”).