I’m planning on using this to run Plex (via app) and a windows VM (for Minecraft bedrock server, AP software controller and for ripping my DVD’s via handbrake
Hardware:
Motherboard: Supermicro x11ssh-l4nf
CPU: Xeon e3-1275v6
RAM: 32gb ddr4 ECC (will upgrade to 64gb when ram prices come down a bit)
Boot Drive: Samsung pm981a 256gb nvme
4x 4tb ironwolf pro hdd’s in Z1 as my main SMB data pool
2x intel 180gb ssd’s mirrored as a data pool to run a windows VM
USB Blu-ray drive.
This will be backed up via rsync to one of my existing qnap Nas boxes, and then a further offline copy too.
From my research 32gb of ram (16 for truenas and 16 for the windows VM) should be “ok” as I’m running pretty small capacity drives
Nics are intel based so should be fine.
The onboard 8x data porta should be ok too? Ive got 2x Adaptec asr-5405z raid cards I can put it if they will be of any benefit?
Any pointers or glaringly obviously noob mistakes I’ve made?
Will set up smart check schedules and rsync jobs etc once it’s up and running
It’s a fairly simple set up compared to what I’ve seen some you guys running!
Price are not so affordable in this moment, but instead of use SATA SSD you can also evaluate to buy a PCIEX-NVME adapter and slap on it 1 nvme each slot (or if the motherboard supports bifurcation, like i think, buy a 4x4x8x adapter directly to put into the main PCIEX slot).
As already pointed, don’t bother with raid cards, and choose a good PSU (IMHO you don’t need high wattage, but instead focus on efficency)
I’ll be using my PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK2 750watt PSU for now. Huge overkill but it’s kicking around spare. Once I’ve got a good idea of power draw I will look into a good quality new PSU (likely 300-400watt ball park, for 50% load hitting peak efficiency)
Sadly the days of 3-400watt high efficiency psu’s seem to be behind us with most only just managing to achieve bronze certification.
I’ll stick with the 8c onboard data ports, should be enough fory needs
The case I’m using has 8 drive bays (2 stacks of 4 side by side) right behind a 200mm intake fan.
Not using HBA’s
I’m not worried about heat in this build
Just wanted to check ice not missed anything major on the truenas side of things. Hardware I’m more than confident with.
Any comments regarding the amount of ram I plan on using? 32gb with 16 for truenas and 16 for the windows VM
I was contemplating running esxi and virtualizing truenas and a windows os but read it was better to run truenas directly on bare metal as it works much more reliable with direct access to the shortage controllers
The onboard SATA ports should be just fine. Do not use the ASR cards as they are RAID Cards and will likley cause issues with ZFS. Use HBA’s (From LSI) if you every need more ports (though those will need planning for extra cooling).
As @Samuel_Tai says - do not cheap out on on the PSU. A quality PSU is vital. Do research
You don’t mention a case - a NAS runs generally 24*7 so any case needs care taken to make sure that the disks run at sensible temps
200m has static pressure issues in my experience - I ending up swapping mine out for 140s. HDDs get hot faster & longer than you might expect during a scrub, resilver, smart test, or anything that stresses them for >8 hours
WRT to power supplies, beware most power supplies prioritize the 12V rails for CPUs/GPUs. For a storage system, you want a power supply that prioritizes the 5V rails for the drive cages, which is why server power supplies are built differently from desktop power supplies.
You can usually tell the difference by the presence of a 5-pin SMBus connector from the power supply that plugs into a corresponding port on the motherboard. On your motherboard, it’s the black connector between your RAM slots and the standoff screw port.
Ah interesting, the case is pretty open and will be running 3x 120mm arctic cooling p12 fans which are fairly good for static pressure, as exhaust so hopefully the 200mm intake should not struggle. But I’ve got loads of 140 and 120mm fans kicking about so can swap out if I need to.
