New build review

TrueNAS General
1

Howdy,
I’m an existing TerraMaster 2 bay (3TB mirror) user and while this device works fine as it stands today it’s also 8 years old so I’m building a DIY NAS. I’m also starting a part time drone business so I need space for my video files and such. I’ve narrowed down the hardware and will use TrueNAS Scale. I’m a network/cyber security engineer and while I have FCOE experience with WWNs (Nexus 5k for which I wrote the book on FCOE integration) and such with the big iron boxes, I always worked with storage guys so I never got into the nitty gritty of how their servers were actually built. I do play with ESXi and Hyper-V as well but don’t run these full time anymore.

My needs are somewhat basic in that I’m storing family photos, old customer data, videos, movies, music and other miscellaneous things. This is all very much archived stuff. I’ve started backing up my Android photos to my existing NAS, I have OneDrive (1TB plan that comes with Office) and Google Drive 200 Meg plan as for access to needed files and short term photo/video cloud backup.

I use Plex today and plan on continuing with on the new NAS. I also like quite a few of the other apps that are available like Tailscale (my ISP doesn’t allow inbound access except for a business account that costs a lot more) and maybe arr family apps and PhotoPrism to get some search ability of my photos. Each app will be jailed and permissions given as necessary and proper to the media.

Hardware purchased:
Q670 8-Bay NAS Mini-ITX Motherboard (integrated ilo for remote access without monitor)
Intel i5 13500T CPU
32GB ECC DDR5 ram (Confirmed the CPU and MoBo support this)
JonsBo N3 case
SFX 650W power supply
2 12TB spinners
Already have:
2 Samsung 970 NVME
1 Kingston 120Gb SSD for boot

Network wise I have gig and really with client access this is all I need but since I work for a manufacturer of firewalls and such I’m getting a 2.5G capable switch because why not and it’s free to me as long as I demo it to customers. Server will sit on it’s own vlan with firewall rules containing its access to network and internet. I really love geo-blocking and will apply AV and IPS profiles to the policy as well. Internal access to the server will also be restricted and AV/IPS profiles applied for protection.

I’ve read that the first disk pool is used for logging and such by the system so I plan on adding the mirrored NVME drives first and will use those for apps and if allowed short term storage for files (around 400 gig) that I need regular quick access to.
The mirrored 12TB disks will be for data at rest and as my drone videos and other needs increase I’ll add more mirrored drives.
I’m considering moving the 2 TerraMaster 3 TB disks into the new NAS as well once I’ve migrated from that box just to have more space, I’ve never heard anyone say they wish they didn’t have so much disk space. I can then start backing up my desktop machine to the NAS, today I rely solely on OneDrive for this.

The TerraMaster will then be repurposed and flashed with TrueNAS, new big disks will go in and this will live as offsite backup in my RV where I have solar, 75kWh of battery and inverters as well as standalone cellular and Starlink internet. I’ll shutdown the NAS when I move the trailer to save the disks. When the RV is home it’s on my home network so syncs are easy. This will also give me Plex service in the RV for when we’re out and about. Critical family stuff like pics and data and the TrueNAS config file will still backup to OneDrive as well for a second offsite spot. Movies and music can be easily replaced if somehow I lose the house and trailer together in a fire.

I plan on monitoring the TrueNAS install with Home Assistant so that I can get alerts for any issues from a console I already monitor and get alerts from. HA runs on a Raspi which only backups to the NAS and it’s local SSD.

Thanks for reading and if you see any holes or misconceptions on my part please let me know.

2

For me, your plan everything correctly.
Just 2 tips, maybe you already know:

  • this awesome script provided by Joe Will help you monitoring your drive, and provide you and automated weekly config backup on your email
  • don’t know if 2.5 LAN Is a good choice, normally i see that the advice Is go on 1gbps or 10
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Thanks for the script link, looking this over now.
I’m not hard set on 2.5, just the board is capable. Maybe i’ll stick with gig then. I won’t be pressing the network that hard anyways.

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Q670 does NOT support ECC, you need W680 for this.

The rest of the plan sounds very solid.

I prefer going for older hardware—and this i5-13500T can still use 92 W (congratulations Intel!), which may be an issue in the case.
Assuming you have the opportunity to return some purchases, what could be the server-grade options with ECC, mini-ITX, 8 SATA ports and 2xNVMe?

  • My spontaneous pick of an A2SDi board (low-power high-SATA) barely matches “2xNVMe”, if one boots from SATADOM (or USB-adapted SSD) and use the x2 M.2 and x4 PCIe slots.
  • AsRock Rack EC246D2I (2xDIMM) or E3C256D4I-2T (SO-DIMM) with Xeon E-2100/2200 or E-2300. Still high TDP.
  • AsRock Rack X570D4I-2T (SO-DIMM) with Ryzen CPU or, better, APU Pro (Ryzen 7 PRO 5750GE to keep with the high-core low-TDP theme).

There would be a lot more options by going for a micro-ATX case. But if IPMI is not required and unofficial ECC is acceptable, there may be further mini-ITX options with AM4/AM5 boards.

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Thank You, I’ll double check with CWWK, they said that their bios will support it but i do see elsewhere where the chipset doesn’t.
Luckily it’s returnable as I still haven’t received it.

6

“Support” as in “works with ECC UDIMM in non-ECC mode” or “working ECC”? Or even confusing on-die ECC for real ECC?

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7

With a lack of definite answer from CWWK (Manufacturer) beyond it’s supported to the contrary of the Q670 details on the Intel site I canceled the MoBo and case.
I’ve ordered an ASUS Pro WS W680-ACE board which is far overkill for a NAS but was the same price as the Q670 board with a deal I found. This still supports the i5-13500T chip and is definitive with ECC support on the ASUS site. Plus I like their boards, never had an issue with one. This board also works with the ram that I already purchased so I’m happy and has two more slots for doubling ram when I need too.

Case wise I chose a:
DARKROCK Classico Storage Master Case ATX Computer Case Mid Tower
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQZS7KN5?
This is bigger than I wanted but i’ll make it work. This has 10 3.5 slots and 3 2.5 slots. This will be easier to work on with the extra space and i’m saving money on the case and power supply. Power supply with be a Corsair 850 with 9 SATA power outputs.

Thank You @etorix for your input, I really appreciate it. I would’ve been a bit more than angry if I pulled up the memory dashboard it said non-ecc.

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Looks like a nice practical case. I like that it comes with 4 fans too.

Lmk if they’re PWM fans pls. Perhaps make a build thread?

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Hi,
I’ll definitely let you know.
I was thinking about a build thread as well and maybe a Youtube video series.

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