FreeNAS + eSATA Enclosure Question

A

Adam

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 9, 2003
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So im about to embark on the wonderful journey of making a FreeNAS server. I have two options

1) An old shuttle PC i don't do anything with
2) My old PC (Q9550 processor, 8GB ram - just upgraded to an i7 so its collecting dust).

I plan to use this NAS for my HTPC to store my movies.

The shuttle obviously has NO SPACE and my other pc has room for maybe 3 or 4 drives tops.

Well not good enough. I deal a lot with DVRs and we typically get an iStarUSA storage box that uses port multiplier cards....well my question is this, regardless of which system i end up using as the NAS server..

Can I install a port multiplier card (probably a PCI-X Card) into my freenas box, which uses eSATA cables to connect to the 8-bay "HD tower" and have the drives be read in FreeNAS?

Usually in windows i install some drive software for the port multiplier card and i can see the drives (JBOD). No problems. The HD caddy has a port multiplier built in (so 5 drives per eSATA cable typically) which feeds into my computers card... etc...

Im not sure how this would work with FreeNAS since... well it may require a drive for the port multiplier card?

Never played with FreeNAS yet, prepping myself here...

Let me know, thanks.

These are the products i'd use btw:

Enclosure: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215313
Port Multiplier Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215155


Now my other option is an all-in one setup, using this case which has 8 hot swappable drives:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152241 (500w PS good enough for 8 drives and 3 dvd drives?)
Internal Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132018 (I have 4 onboard SATA, so i'd need 4 additional with this card... or something similar of course)

Not sure which option is best. Server chasis with 8 drives is nice, since its one chasis, less room of course. But it'll cost me $370.
iStar Case is gonna cost me a tad bit more (even at my iStar reseller price, we don't get them for THAT much cheaper then newegg honestly)

Or my 3rd option... go with a hardware raid card to handle my raid purposes, and use FreeNas for the service... but will FreeNas recognize my RAID? (using a HighPoint Rocket Raid card)
 
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3rd option would be your best bet considering the costs and performance of the port multiplier route. As for whether or not FreeNAS will recognize your RAID array, it depends on which hardware RAID care you're using. But considering that you're using FreeNAS, why not just use ZFS + a HBA card rather than a hardware RAID card? That would be significantly cheaper.
 
Okay that makes sense, so an HBA is basically a device that lets my system read the drives. The system (os, in this case FreeNAS) will do the raid... still software raid.

Now is ZFS good/dependable? Ive always been a hardware raid fan, guess i alayws figured its faster/more durable then software based
 
Adam said:
Okay that makes sense, so an HBA is basically a device that lets my system read the drives. The system (os, in this case FreeNAS) will do the raid... still software raid.
Click to expand...
Still software RAID but fairly fast.

Adam said:
Now is ZFS good/dependable? Ive always been a hardware raid fan, guess i alayws figured its faster/more durable then software based
Click to expand...
ZFS is good and dependable. In fact, it's pretty much been the FOTM for the last year or so when it comes to storage here in the Data Storage Systems subforum. Just a do a forum search for "ZFS" and you'll see quite a few people using it.

ZFS can provide fairly fast performance. Maybe not as high as true hardware RAID but still fairly fast for a free solution. As for durability, many decent non-Windows based software RAID actually offers better reliability than some true hardware RAID cards in some cases.

Additional link about ZFS:
OpenSolaris derived ZFS NAS/ SAN (Nexenta*, OpenIndiana, Solaris Express, napp-it)
 
Sounds like a good alternative for what i want. A home media server where i dont want to spend a lot of money on hardware raid and can use spare parts.

And the spare parts i have are pretty good for ZFS. 64 bit capable quad-core processor, 8GB ram, etc... all what i read are good specs.

Now if only hd prices would drop soon. Im getting married end of may, once that happens the money is really on lock down :)
 
Ahh, damn - anybody know any cheap solutions that will work, i only need 4 SATA II, doesnt need to be III since my motherboard isnt III. OR a cheap 8 port SATA III one
 
 
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Thanks. Is there anything on NewEgg you can recommend for the card. I have a preferred account and when i buy all this, im gonna buy it all at once so i'll have a year to pay it off... im actually using the system in my signature under Main (House). I havnt updated my signature yet. The system I'll be using has the following

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz Quad-Core (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041)
Memory: 8GB DDR2 Memory

Its my old home machine, and since i just upgraded the whole system, i have no use for these parts.
 
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Adam said:
Thanks. Is there anything on NewEgg you can recommend for the card.
Click to expand...
There is but it's actually more expensive:
$153 - Intel SASUC8I PCI-Ex8 SATA/SAS Controller Card
Adam said:
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380)
Click to expand...
Do you happen to have a PCI-E x1 or PCI video card lying around? I ask because both of the HBAs that I recommended will basically need that PCI-E x16 slot, normally used by the video card.
 
I don't, but can buy one. I dont have a video card for the system anyway right now, so i'd need to get one anyway.
 
Adam said:
I don't, but can buy one. I dont have a video card for the system anyway right now, so i'd need to get one anyway.
Click to expand...

In that case, do that and get the above Intel card along with the 3Ware cables I linked to earlier and you'll be set in terms of hardware.
 
Sounds good, thanks. Im not getting them now, i want to pay off my balance first before i buy more toys, lol, im anxious though, but HD prices are TOO HIGH
 
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