Critique my FreeNAS build list, please.

[Johnyblaze]

Hi everyone,

I am currently putting together a FreeNAS server that I will use for NAS, SAN, and iSCSI targets in my home. It will host my media via CIFS and also be used with an iSCSI target as a datastore for my ESXi home lab. Any feedback on my build list or potential issues would be highly appreciated. I really want to avoid having to buy/RMA stuff because things don't fit/aren't compatible and I want to get it right on the first try.

Specific questions I have about this build:

• Does anyone have any experience with the Supermicro CSE-836BA-R920B case and the MBD-X8DTi-LN4F-O motherboard in terms of fit?
  
• Does anyone have any experience running the particular Crucial ECC RAM (CT16G3ERSLD41339) with the MBD-X8DTi-LN4F-O motherboard in terms of compatibility?
  
• It looks like the Supermicro CSE-836BA-R920B case has SFF-8087 connectors on the backplane, how does the backplane power the hard drives (Molex, SATA, etc.)?
  
• Does anyone have any recommendations for this combo for a HSF. I just picked an Intel BXSTS100A based on reviews and want to be sure it will fit.

Builds Specs:

OS

Freenas 9.2.1.6 on 16GB USB memory stick.

Storage Layout

16x - 4TB drives.
8 drives per HBA and VDev.
2 zpools.
RAIDZ2 on each zpool. (2 drives can fail per zpool)
24TB usable per zpool, 48 TB usable total. 4 drive failures allowed in total.

Case

SUPERMICRO SuperChassis CSE-836BA-R920B Black 3U Rackmount Server Case 920W Redundant 80PLUS Platinum

PSUs

2x - 920 watt redundant PSU's included in above case.

Motherboard

SUPERMICRO MBD-X8DTi-LN4F-O Dual LGA 1366 Intel 5520 Extended ATX Dual Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 Series Server Motherboard

CPU

Intel Xeon E5645 Westmere-EP 2.4GHz 12MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 80W Server Processor BX80614E5645

HSF

Intel BXSTS100A Active heat sink with fixed fan

RAM

4x - Crucial 16GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Server Memory Model CT16G3ERSLD41339

HBAs

2x - LSI Internal SATA/SAS 9211-8i 6Gb/s PCI-Express 2.0 RAID Controller Card, Single

HBA cables

4x - StarTech Model SAS8787100 3.28 ft. Mini-SAS Cable with Sidebands

HDDs

16x - Seagate Desktop HDD.15 ST4000DM000 4TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

 

[Johnyblaze]

I should also mentioned I already have the following from what I listed above:

E5645 CPU
2x - HBA's
64GB RAM
16x 4TB HDD's

I had listed those because I already have them and would like to reuse as much as possible. I really just figure I can take all that a throw it in a case with a motherboard/hsf and call it a day.

 

[BillytheSkids]

Um, I think it needs more cowbell.

No, seriously though looks like a sweet rig, congrats. RAM seems a bit overkill for quad GbE and that many drives, but a good problem to have.

 

[hotcrandel]

If you're going to be using it for 24/7 work, I'd consider a drive that is built for that.

You of course will pay more.

Here is the data sheet with the drive specs;

http://www.seagate.com/www-content/...12/en-gb/docs/desktop-hdd-ds1770-4-1405gb.pdf

2400 power on hours / year is 8 hours / day.

You might find that you have a high number of drives fail after your second year, since it would have "Three" years of expected use already.

Western Digital Red Drives data sheets say they are 1mm hours MTBF, which is 4.75 years of 24/7 use.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-800002.pdf

Hitachi Drives have a similar specification, though measured differently in "Availibilty", which is 24x7
http://www.hgst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/3C330019E6ED04A48825797700626F0D/$file/DS7K4000_ds.pdf

I get data sheets should be taken with a grain of salt, but my personal experience states I replace a lot of "desktop" seagate drives (in particular that come with iMac's that are on at work 24/7) in less than a year.

And its no fun doing that drive swap in an iMac.

TLDR; i'd suggest WD reds or hitachi drives over seagate. If you want seagate, get 24/7 rated drives (Constellation or ES2)

 

[Nate7311]

As hotcrandel mentioned, check out the Hitachi Enterprise drives HERE for better reliability, especially if you're building a production box... The drive I linked to is only $25 more each but a world of difference in reliability.

 

[BillytheSkids]

Good for future reference but if he already has them (score?) I say use them till they burn out and swap to different drives down the road. Mr.Blaze, if you're checking the drive sheet tech spec run time hours, you probably built something right.

I should also mentioned I already have the following from what I listed above:

E5645 CPU
2x - HBA's
64GB RAM
16x 4TB HDD's

I had listed those because I already have them and would like to reuse as much as possible. I really just figure I can take all that a throw it in a case with a motherboard/hsf and call it a day.

 

[Kelvarr]

As hotcrandel mentioned, check out the Hitachi Enterprise drives HERE for better reliability, especially if you're building a production box... The drive I linked to is only $25 more each but a world of difference in reliability.

Did you link the wrong drive? That link takes you to a Deskstar, that is sold by a 3rd party vendor. That vendor, apparently has taken the drives out of enclosures, or something, because nearly every review talks about the warranty expiring in 2015.

 

[twistacatz]

Everyone has a preference for what drives they prefer or which drives they deem as the best or most reliable. You can't really say XXX brand is the best as each hard drive series is different. I have two great reads for you. The first is from Backblaze where they give reliability stats in regards to the different drives they use. The second read is more information about power on hours and how it relates to MTBF.

One bit information that is telling is that there current 4TB drive of choice is the Seagate ST4000DM000 over Hatachi or WD Red drives.

edit: I forgot to add that I run 11 Seagate ST4000DM000 24/7 without any issues. Five have been running for over a year the other six for six months.

 

[mls1995]

If you're going to be using it for 24/7 work, I'd consider a drive that is built for that.

You of course will pay more.

Here is the data sheet with the drive specs;

http://www.seagate.com/www-content/...12/en-gb/docs/desktop-hdd-ds1770-4-1405gb.pdf

2400 power on hours / year is 8 hours / day.

You might find that you have a high number of drives fail after your second year, since it would have "Three" years of expected use already.

Western Digital Red Drives data sheets say they are 1mm hours MTBF, which is 4.75 years of 24/7 use.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-800002.pdf

Hitachi Drives have a similar specification, though measured differently in "Availibilty", which is 24x7
http://www.hgst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/3C330019E6ED04A48825797700626F0D/$file/DS7K4000_ds.pdf

I get data sheets should be taken with a grain of salt, but my personal experience states I replace a lot of "desktop" seagate drives (in particular that come with iMac's that are on at work 24/7) in less than a year.

And its no fun doing that drive swap in an iMac.

TLDR; i'd suggest WD reds or hitachi drives over seagate. If you want seagate, get 24/7 rated drives (Constellation or ES2)

I agree... but seagate makes a NAS drive: ST4000VN000. I have 4 of the ST4000VN000 drives and they have been running fine for me, no failures. I was previously running WD Reds and I had a 25% failure rate on those.