Need help to build a new server!

TrueNAS General
,
1

Hello everyone.

First of all, I apologize because I already asked for help a long time ago on the old forum.

Anyway, over three years ago, I wanted to build a NAS with an old computer to find out how it worked.

Today, I use this NAS every day, to work, manage game servers, cloud, VM, stream media and, soon, manage e-mail and VPN.
What started out as a fun project has turned into an indispensable tool for me.

So, my problem is this: Today, the data stored on this server is very important to me, and I know that my current server is not really reliable. Old gaming motherboard, no ECC RAM, old Core i5 3570, small amount of RAM…
So I’m looking to build a new server, with quality hardware to guarantee the security of my data. Therefore, I would like to migrate from Truenas Core to Truenas Scal.

To clarify, at the moment, I have :

  • Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33
  • Processor: Intel I5-3570
  • RAM: Viper 2*8gb 1600Mhz DDR3
  • System installed on a PNY 120GO SSD connected via SATA 6Gb/s
  • Storage: 3x 3 TB western digital red RAIDZ1 connected in SATA 3Gb/s
  • Iocage on PNY NVME SSD connected via USB
  • Corsair CX430 power supply
  • Aerocool case.
  • Latest version of Truenas Core

And I want to upgrade to :

  • Motherboard : ASRock Rack E3C246D4U2-2T (260€)
  • CPU : Intel Xeon E2176G/2276G/2278G/2288G (50-150€)
  • Graphic card : NVIDIA T400 (80€) or T600 (130€)
  • RAM : Samsung 2 x 32 Go ECC UDIMM DDR4-3200 (Here limited at 2666 Mhz) (400€)
  • System installed on a SSD NVME 250 Go WD RED connected on the motherboard
  • Stockage : 3x 3 To WD RED RAIDZ1 connected in SATA 6 Gb/s (then 6x 6 To RAIDZ2)
  • Iocage installed on a SSD NVME 250 Go WD RED connected with PCIe adapter.
  • PSU : Seasonic Focus PX-750.
  • Fans : Arctic P12
  • Case : Nanoxia Deep Silence 4
  • Latest version of Truenas Scale.

I want a graphics card so I can do hardware acceleration, such as NVENC transcoding on Plex or hosting OS on a VM. I also want 64GB of ECC RAM and IPMI.
To transition from core to scale, I plan to keep my current server running while I install Scale on the new one without putting any data on it. Then, once Scale is working perfectly with all my applications and data, I will migrate my three disks to the new server, put it into operation, and remove the other one.

I have several questions concerning all this:

Firstly, does anyone have an opinion on my new configuration? Or any suggestions?

Secondly, do you think the price of these components is reasonable? The RAM seems expensive to me, but I understand that this is normal.

Thirdly, I think I’ll need to handle a maximum of three simultaneous Plex 4K transcodes, as well as perhaps one or two virtual machines. Should I go for the T400 or T600 graphics card?

I also saw the Intel CC150 processor. However, I have some doubts about it. Would it be a good idea to consider it? It’s an unknown processor that isn’t on any QVL… I don’t know.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and help me!

2

Good part list. But why 6*6 TB? I’d go for less but (much) bigger drives.
The iGPU of a Xeon E-2000G can do your Plex transcoding better than a T600. Or get an Arc A310 to have the latest codecs.

Custom parts are never in ARK, and need no QVL. Do further research as you please, but the CC150 lacking an iGPU is enough of a reason not to consider it for your stated use case.

1 Like
3

I’m brand new to this. But the price of ram seems on par from what I found during my search. Esp with ECC.

Some of the comments that were given to me was to go with a CPU that doesn’t have the GPU built in and get a decent GPU card. But in my case, the AMD Pro seemed to only be available with the GPU. But I think it’s barely powerful enough to transcode, so if I do ever transcode with Plex, then I’d likely have to get a secondary GPU.

i was tottering on the same MOBO, but went a different direction due to a sale. Hopefully it will all work our for me.

One more thing. what do you mean by “locage” in the 7th bullet? Trying to figure all thsi stuff out and wondering if I missed purchasing something. Thanks.

4

I wanted 6 TB discs to make RAIDZ2. I read that this was the best combination, because 4 8TB or 3 12TB discs would not be optimal in RAIDZ2 at all. I want RAIDZ2 because I often don’t have physical access to my server for several days/weeks.

The iGPU of a Xeon E-2000G can do your Plex transcoding better than a T600. Or get an Arc A310 to have the latest codecs.

Can you explain to me why the Xeon iGPU would be better? I had seen the ARC A310, but it seems to be more consuming and less powerful than a T600. I also understood that the drivers were less stable than those of NVIDIA. Reliability and power consumption being my two big criteria, I naturally turned to the T600.

the CC150 lacking an iGPU is enough of a reason not to consider it for your stated use case.

Even if I use an external GPU? In fact, I thought the CC150 would be very good because of its limited frequency (and its price, €30). I have 8 cores, but with good stability and less power consumption. Coupled with a T600 that consumes little more than a T400, I thought I would make the right choice between stability/performance and power consumption.

What do you think of all this?

5

Some of the comments that were given to me was to go with a CPU that doesn’t have the GPU built in and get a decent GPU card. But in my case, the AMD Pro seemed to only be available with the GPU. But I think it’s barely powerful enough to transcode, so if I do ever transcode with Plex, then I’d likely have to get a secondary GPU.

That’s exactly what I was thinking!

One more thing. what do you mean by “locage” in the 7th bullet? Trying to figure all thsi stuff out and wondering if I missed purchasing something. Thanks.

Iocage on TrueNAS CORE is a jail management system that uses FreeBSD jails to create lightweight, isolated environments for running applications. It provides an easy CLI- and GUI-based way to create, configure, and manage these jails with features like snapshots, templates, and networking controls. I installed this on a separate SSD on my NAS. I don’t know how it works on SCALE to install applications like Plex or Nextcloud? Is there on a specific pool?

6

Raidz2 starts at four disks. Less disks is always better for noise and power. And 6 TB feels desperately small these days.

Intel GPUs are heavily optimised for video transcoding at low power. Other GPUs, or CPU trancoding, can provide better quality… several times the power.

I have no idea what you could have read to teach you away from QuickSync on these… But there are probably people out there who’d go for Windows Phone over an iPhone.

Yes, thoroughly crippled part: Locked frequency, no HyperThreading. And possibly no ECC: