NAS build

[Jetster]

I've been seriously playing with the idea of building a NAS. Mostly because I want to learn the skill and learn more on seting up Linux for servers. I'm not apposed to a bought distro or even another os. I just want reliability. I have a G3258 and a Z97 board 4 Gb ram a case that will hold 8 drives. I was considering purchasing a Lsi raid controller. Prices on large drive are falling so that's a plus too. The chalange is I no little about Linux I mean I can install Mint and get it working but that's about it

If you have some favorite walkthroughs or instructional videos, readings go ahead and post them. Or any ideas you have

 

[Solaris17]

I've been seriously playing with the idea of building a NAS. Mostly because I want to learn the skill and learn more on seting up Linux for servers. I'm not apposed to a bought distro or even another os. I just want reliability. I have a G3258 and a Z97 board 4 Gb ram a case that will hold 8 drives. I was considering purchasing a Lsi raid controller. Prices on large drive are falling so that's a plus too. The chalange is I no little about Linux I mean I can install Mint and get it working but that's about it

If you have some favorite walkthroughs or instructional videos, readings go ahead and post them. Or any ideas you have

Cool! I can find some stuff in a bit, get a raid controller though. do yourself the favor!

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Is there a "tipping point" when a raid controller is needed? I was thinking of just doing a 2 drive raid one....

 

[Jetster]

I'm definitely going with a controller. It's just which one. They get pricy and I'm not sure of the fetures or if $150 or less would do the job. I would like for it to monitor the drives health like my Synology does.

 

[Kursah]

You don't HAVE to run Linux on a NAS BTW. You can run an old copy of Windows 7, you could run a server OS, you could run BSD, etc. Windows 7, if used as a file server should have a couple of minor registry tweaks used to ensure reliable connectivity to data.

What are you doing with this NAS? I see folks say NAS and while I understand them and use them for specific tasks, mostly as network accessible storage (NAS) for backups of my core server.

Are you planning on storing your media files on the NAS and streaming from it? The G3258 should be able to do some Plex streaming but probably not more than a couple of 1080p streams.

If you do choose to go Linux and aren't too familiar with it, I'd suggest Ubuntu or Mint. I like Ubuntu 17 and Gnome honestly so I'd probably go that route. Debian isn't a bad one either but is more work. Really there's enough good documentation out there it wouldn't be too bad.

You could use Unraid/software RAID rather than hardware RAID, though I am a fan of LSI cards, and a 9270/71 + BBU is affordable and can provide good performance.

Choosing what type of RAID you want to run is also something you should discuss and understand. Most RAID cards offer 1, 0, 10, 5, 50. I prefer 10, but you only have 50% of your hardware available. The performance and level of redundancy is worth it if your data is important. Depending on what you expect from your storage in usable space, performance and resiliency, a level of RAID (hardware or software) or JBOD may be a way to go.

I hope that gives you some ideas to research, which I hope you spend some time doing as it is a great way to learn about the different options and help you decide which direction you want to go and why. Then we can work with you to roll up your sleeves and make this NAS a reality!

 

[Jetster]

Thanks, it would be a media server 2x 1080 and backups. Raid 5 or 10. My Synology ds216 can handle it but it's raid 0 right now. I just do a hard backups

 

[Kursah]

What do you mean by hard backup? File copies by drag and drop, copy/paste, robocopy, batch file? System/drive image by backup software?

 

[Jetster]

What do you mean by hard backup? File copies by drag and drop, copy/paste, robocopy, batch file? System/drive image by backup software?

Just drag copy all my data to a 6 tb drive and put it in my closet. I do this maybe twice a year. It's not the only backup I do. The important stuff is continous back up elsewhere. The plan is to start with three drives and grow it if that's possible.

 

[Jetster]

Solaris17 Waiting on some references when you get a chance. Including controller cards

What do you think about FreeNAS ?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

There's a lot of info in this thread: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/80tb-nas.237538/post-3733664

 

[Jetster]

So I was thinking something like this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002...raid+m1015&dpPl=1&dpID=414UEe6OfnL&ref=plSrch

With a breakout cable will this work with standard sata drives?

 

[cdawall]

I use one of these with break out cables for my NAS, but it is a little more built up then what you are looking at.

https://storage.microsemi.com/en-us/support/raid/sas_raid/sas-71605/

 

[Jetster]

That's nice. I'm reading and learning. I'm on the part about HBA and RAID cards.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

RockRAID 640 w/ 4-Port 6Gb/s Sata PCI-Express 2.0 x 4 Card - $30

 

[Kursah]

That's nice. I'm reading and learning. I'm on the part about HBA and RAID cards.

That's the way to do it man, research it up. Choose if you want JBOD, software RAID, unRAID, hardware RAID, etc. Take your time, and this will surely be a very worth-while project that you'll be quite proud of!

I'm not a fan of RAID5 or even 6 as often anymore unless you're running smaller drives. I've seen rebuild times get too ridiculous over 3TB drives, at least for my own taste. Anymore I default to RAID10 and have been very happy with the results and for the loss of space, the peace of mind in redundancy and overall performance are worthy trade-offs for me. With LSI RAID cards being so common, having a spare ins't a big deal either. Every option has its pros and cons, and the best way to weight those out is to research and maybe even mess around with an option or two.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this project grows in this thread. Subbed!

 

[Jetster]

I use one of these with break out cables for my NAS, but it is a little more built up then what you are looking at.

https://storage.microsemi.com/en-us/support/raid/sas_raid/sas-71605/

So you ruining this as a controller or HBA mode? What OS?

The LSI 9271-8i might be an option. Information overload right now.

 

[cdawall]

So you ruining this as a controller or HBA mode? What OS?

The LSI 9271-8i might be an option. Information overload right now.

I have had some new years alcohols so bear with me. It's running 10 drives in raid 50 so that means not in HBA mode. Using server 2012R2 standard. It's the rig in my signature.

 

[Jetster]

I have had some new years alcohols so bear with me. It's running 10 drives in raid 50 so that means not in HBA mode. Using server 2012R2 standard. It's the rig in my signature.

Thanks
I'm starting to understand the value of a nice RAID controller and proper case. Have a awesome New Years

 

[Jetster]

Okay now its time for "i don't know what I'm doing" PC is running and I installed Freenas. I figured I would start here as I have no controller and just one drive. I'll be trying other types as well
Managed to get it running and logged into the web interface. Created a Volume with the one drive. (striped) What now? Add Windows share? I tried that one time already. How do I get it to be accessible to my network?

 

[Jetster]

I need a switch, I have to unplug my printer just to test it, any suggestions?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127450&cm_re=switch-_-33-127-450-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704179&cm_re=switch-_-33-704-179-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122609&cm_re=switch-_-33-122-609-_-Product

This last one is on sale but the specs contradict itself its says 10/100/1000 but the spread sheet comparison says 10/100

 

[Kursah]

I'm on my phone and service is super slow out in the sticks. But I'd recommend a Netgear gigabit switch. Should be able to get a good one with lifetime warranty for $60-100. Worth it.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Solaris17 Waiting on some references when you get a chance. Including controller cards

What do you think about FreeNAS ?

I really considered FreeNAS earlier in the year before I ultimately got a Synology unit that I love. Corral was due around then but then the project lead left and the year long project was scrapped at the last minute Now FreeNAS 11.1 just released a couple weeks ago. I played around with it A LOT in VMware and things were very difficult for me to figure out and im not sure why. I could create the folder shares but could never access them from another computer. Didnt get why. And if I did manage read access somehow, I couldnt write.

Ultimately like i said, I went with Synology. Plopped in my 16TB worth of storage and gave it a memory upgrade and I love it. I would like to dabble with a physical FreeNAS system again rather than a virtual one someday.

My suggestion though if you do go FreeNAS, get ECC memory. The OS loves it and from what I have read you will be much better off with ECC ram than non-ECC. Get a compatible motherboard and a quad core CPU and you should be golden.

 

[Jetster]

I really considered FreeNAS earlier in the year before I ultimately got a Synology unit that I love. Corral was due around then but then the project lead left and the year long project was scrapped at the last minute Now FreeNAS 11.1 just released a couple weeks ago. I played around with it A LOT in VMware and things were very difficult for me to figure out and im not sure why. I could create the folder shares but could never access them from another computer. Didnt get why. And if I did manage read access somehow, I couldnt write.

Ultimately like i said, I went with Synology. Plopped in my 16TB worth of storage and gave it a memory upgrade and I love it. I would like to dabble with a physical FreeNAS system again rather than a virtual one someday.

My suggestion though if you do go FreeNAS, get ECC memory. The OS loves it and from what I have read you will be much better off with ECC ram than non-ECC. Get a compatible motherboard and a quad core CPU and you should be golden.

I had the same issue with Freenas. I was thinking mabe get some older server board with ecc. But right now Im just trying to learn a few things. I think the next step is to get a controller card

 

[Kursah]

I wouldn't worry as much about ECC and Supermicro gear, especially if its primarily a media server. Server-grade hardware is nice but by no means required. Don't let the FreeNAS forums make you think otherwise.

Keep redundant backups and don't OC your file server. Use a decent RAID setup with some sort of parity or mirroring. That's my (on the road from cell phone) take on it.

 

[Jetster]

I wouldn't worry as much about ECC and Supermicro gear, especially if its primarily a media server. Server-grade hardware is nice but by no means required. Don't let the FreeNAS forums make you think otherwise.

Keep redundant backups and don't OC your file server. Use a decent RAID setup with some sort of parity or mirroring. That's my (on the road from cell phone) take on it.

Appreciate the help, I'm on the fence about using a full RAID controller or a HBA and a OS like Freenas or UnRAID. I think i'm going to have to try both