Ok, I’ll make it simple;
These are the things I want:- WebServer, Network Storage for data
These are the things I have:- Old computer self built, I think it had as many as six sata connections & I have a bunch of HDs & SDDS
I’ve been told TrueNas has an upgrade in Nov that might be worth waiting for but any other advice would be great. Not used TrueNAS just wondering if I’m wasting my time.
Welcome to TrueNAS!
This can be problematic. It would be helpful to list the actual hardware. TrueNAS tends to work better with some minimum things, like 8GBs of memory and CPUs that are designed after 2010. (Some old computers are great house heaters… because their CPUs don’t have good power saving.)
Another item is that certain network chip sets don’t work well with TrueNAS. Mostly because they are consumer / desktop grade. Like RealTek. Or some people insist that their NAS must support builtin / internal WiFi, which TrueNAS does not.
TrueNAS Core and SCALE are designed and written for Enterprise hardware and users. iX was kind enough to allow anyone to use TrueNAS for free. But some things like WiFi support are outside of Enterprise usage, (on the actual NAS, not in the Enterprise).
ZFS does not do well with SMR type hard drives. Many consumer models today use Shingled Magnet Recording, (SMR), which can cause either noticeable slowness of TrueNAS. Or outright not work, (WD Reds that use SMR).
You can list the make & model so we can help determine if they will be suitable for ZFS & TrueNAS.
It is always helpful for new users to learn about the pros and cons of ZFS before committing to TrueNAS. Some people make assumptions that are not valid.
For example, in the past, it was suggested, (never required), to have 1GB of memory for each 1TB of storage. But, with compression and more modern computers that can have >100TBs of storage, if your goal is to reduce cost, then even just 16GBs of memory is fine.
Another example is that ZFS does not have an external write cache. RAM acts as the write cache. Some people think a LOG / SLOG device is a write cache, then design their server with that in mind.
Very very much appreciated, I’ve only left of the details of the hardware because it’s currently in storage and I can’t recall the exact items. Story is a set about building a server to host photos but the first motherboard failed and then I was into an house move, covid etc. I was going to use 2 WD reds 300gbs each but guess that may not happen 
I have plenty of SSDs I can use. I thinks the Ram won’t be an issue it’s not that old a system so I’ll be able find at least 32gb
This was just a touch base post, When I have the system out I’ll do a more detailed one. I used to work in IT at a major UK utility company installed Firewalls, email servers, ACE servers etc but not kept up with the last 5 years or so.
As @Arwen has said so elegantly, you just need to have appropriate hardware.
The only issue I can see you might have is the ECC RAM issue. If you are putting any valuable data on the system then you should have ECC RAM. Most consumer computers are Non-ECC RAM, unless you built it with ECC RAM in mind, or you are lucky and have an AMD CPU and motherboard that does support ECC RAM.
Unlike so many YouTube videos have indicated, you cannot just throw an old computer with various hard drives at it and make a reliable NAS. Sure, you can make a NAS but the reliable part is why we recommend you use the correct type of parts. For example, I didn’t believe a RealTek NIC would make a difference, that was when the software was called FreeNAS 8.0 and network connectivity was terrible. I bought a proper Intel NIC and it was a great system. Then I built a real server using real server quality parts.
At a minimum, your old parts would allow you to play and test TrueNAS, see if you even like it, but it will support what you want.
Some advice, just because you have a lot of SSDs, do not create an SLOG/L2ARC to make up for a RAM shortage. It really does not work that way. Build a minimal setup, computer and a few hard drives in a Mirror or RAIDZ (I prefer RAIDZ2 but you may not have the drives to support that type configuration.)
Am new but have my ideas due to my inexperience.
I rather load a VM ( of whatever flavor you feel comfortable using ) and run whatever needs running ( WebServer in your case ) from there.
Yes it uses more electricity but it will survive changes in newer TrueNAS versions and aids with troubleshooting in a familiar environment.
Another good idea is to run a couple of VMs ( 2 disks each, 1 for the TrueNAS OS and a small drive for a pool ) and play around while you learn stuff without the worry of braking something in your “live” environment.
Once you had some experience with all this, …you’ll be the one giving advice
Yes. Probably. Depends on how old, but with six sata ports and depending on the case, adding a 5 in 3 hot swap bay adapter can be a good solution.
1 sata port for boot, and 5 for data. See this
Alternatively, use usb or nvme boots and use 6 sata disks for data.
I’d suggest hosting the web server via docker. Which becomes easy in Electric Eel.
hmm, I had the idea that USB as boot devices was a bad idea. But I guess that 2 USB adapters with NVMe drives would make it fast and wear resistant ?
How do you recommend to use them USBs ?
I too am new at this
Well, USB the interface/protocol is not great for reliability, but is fine for booting generally.
The issue is usb thumb drives are unreliable and wear out. And can be slow.
If using the above, use two in mirror, but it’s better to use a usb to sata or nvme adapter as that will negate the flash reliability issue generally.
Ha ha ! it’s all good brain food folks. At the moment you have me regretting I didn’t snatch some old servers from my old job. I already regret getting some laptops and desktops as we cleared out stuff. We maintained about 10,000 staff and had some really cool vintage stuff but vintage didn’t seem to be a thing then 
Yes, I’m aware of the problems of following YT advice that’s why I start at the source here. It’s not going to be a mission critical machine and any data that does go on it will also be backed up elsewhere. Also I don’t see speed being a veriant I’ll be looking for. But if the are alternative to this Nas I would be happy to here about those too.
Again thanks folks, I’ll be reading with intentions to start in a few weeks.
So found the motherboard in the system Intel DQ77MK - Seems also goes as 21B6E1
Wanted to add the link
With an i7-3770T you could build a performant low power NAS. Still have a PC running that. Manages Win11 with no problem. So more than enough for Truenas.
Thanks, yes I had no idea what I had but reading and looking at a few comments it seems I’ve got something reasonable suitable. I’ve spent the last few days moving data around to free up some SSD & HDs.
I have hit my first snag sort of and I can’t answer this before I do the install so hope you don’t mind what may seem like a stupid question.
I have a 2TB HD Green WD and 2 or 3 SSDs 1TB each and a 125gb SSD (this I thought might hold the OS install). So it seems in total I will have 4tb to 5tb of storage space. I don’t think that’s enough for my immediate needs if I use RAID but I can’t afford to buy anything. it totally stupid or even possible to not use RAID?
TrueNAS is not well suited to a mixed collection of drives, and using SSDs for bulk storage makes limited sense.
The WD Green are not great for ZFS (you might need to set TLER).
Look into UnRAID.
Looking into lots of things, can’t afford UnRAID. Depends on what “not great” means, I don’t much care about speed. Mostly I’m using the project to keep my mind active now I’ve turned 65, got to be more to like than DIY and Gardening waiting for me
“Not great” as in “could escalate minor drive failure into a non-responsive pool”.
Ok then. I have an idea.
You add each drive that does not have a pair and set it on it’s own ( single drive )
Then sync those pools to bigger pools to have a backup of the smaller single drive pools.
That way you can use it and have some level of resiliency on your mixed and match leftover hardware.
So, go at it and build some experience. We only know by doing
Well folks, wet and windy outside so I decided to take a look at this. Got all the hard where together and installed TrueNas without a problem. Only thing is I forgot to format the drive so none are showing it. I don’t think an issue but I’ll format those when I have time.
I think I’m ok with setting for the storage but can someone tell me the procedure for setting up webspace ? I think that’s an easy place to start, I see there is a app for Wordpress but suspect I need https etc first and that’ll do for now.
