New ZFS system

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PointandClick

Limp Gawd
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Dec 6, 2008
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I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on some purchases for a new system. My current system is just a Via C7 combo with a single 1tb WD Green. It was intended to be a raid setup eventually, but then I learned about ZFS ;)

I have a pretty good idea of what I want/can afford at the moment, but thought I'd get everybody's input as it's likely that I may have overlooked something.

My basic goal is a nas box. Obviously SMB, but also AFP since I have a Macbook Pro and my i7 rig is also running OS X. For my desktop, nearly everything other than applications are stored on the nas box: music, videos, VM disks.

PSU - Antec Neo 400w

Disks - 3x Samsung F4 2tb
Not the optimal configuration, but I don't feel like I should spend more than I need to at the moment being a student and all.

Ram - 4gb ECC
Yes, more is better, but for current usage I think 4g will be enough. I'm debating between a 2x2 kit or a single 4g stick for expandability though.

MB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128451
Main things I'm looking for: ECC support - Asus and Gigabyte are the main man's I'm aware of
pcie expansion - 1x slot should support a dual gb nic, I don't plan on this system supporting more than 10 drives, but I'd like to have room for the unexpected

CPU - This is where I'm going back and forth. An Athlon II x2 should surely be enough to take care of most of what I want to do. I'm wondering if I shouldn't spring for more cores though for running some VM's. I don't currently have anything in mind so I think I may just go with an x2, then if I find I want to do more I should be able to get a good price on a beefier chip.

Boot disk - My current system is running on a 1gb usb drive. I'd prefer to not have an extra disk spinning, but I don't want to shell out for an ssd either, are there any CF cards with decent performance?


I'll probably just use the integrated Realtek for now. If I manage to get ahold of a switch capable of LACP or otherwise find an efficient way to manage traffic I will add a dual port Intel, otherwise I'll likely add a single port Intel.

As far as additional SATA controllers I'm pretty much at a loss. Like I said, I don't plan on this system needing to support more than 10 drives, but most of the pcie cards I've found seem to be pretty iffy. This isn't so much a concern right now, but it would be nice to know what I'll need in the future.

I will just be using my current generic case for now. Eventually I'd like to build a custom case, preferably with hot swap bays.


OS most likely Solaris Express 11. I'm not an expert with any *nix distributions, but I can manage My current Nas box is running on Ubuntu.


I realize that the 1056 boards are more feature rich and highly recommended, but as a student, adding a couple hundred dollars to a $500 build for a few extra features kind of throws a wrench in things.

Sorry this ended up so long, but hopefully others looking for a budget ZFS build can benefit from this.
 
Your config may work but you have already adressed the problems. Missing virtualization features, Realtek Nics are often reported to have problems and you have no fast pci-e slot beside the Graphic slot which may have problems with Storage controller. So i suppose, your max config is:

1 boot disk + cd (could be old pata), i would suggest to avoid a usb-stick or a cf card
6 Pool disks (5 if you have a sata boot disk)

Modern computers are capable to run multiple operating systems at once. To do so, it would be good to have modern virtualization features like vt-d.

Options:
You may also look at new new HP proliant microserver, they are cheap and good for a small lower power ZFS-NAS. You may also look at a better mainboard like a Supermicro X8SIL-F with 3 x fast pci-e slots, max 32 GB RAM and vt-d capabilities. You could use it with a i3 without vd-t or a Xeon Dual. But such a mainboard has twice the price of yours. But it's worth if you suddenly want to try another os virtualized. See my thread about Solaris based NAS

Gea
 
Not trying to thread steal but I am also looking into possibly using small ZFS build in the future and I had a few questions (on a budget as well).

I have an Atom D525 server board from supermicro. I know its not the fastest setup around but it seems to hold its own. I am only looking to have a five-six disk max RaidZ and really only looking to max a Gbit ethernet connection. I have 4GB of ram and really the only thing I still need to test it out really is one or two more F4 2TB drives.

Two questions really.

1) Would this be powerful enough to handle a basic ZFS configuration?

2) submesa: Better to post here or your forum for answers on your project and hardware configs because I probably will start testing it outside of VM's soon hopefully?

Sorry if you feel like I stole your thread PointandClick
 
No problem. I would think the atom would be enough to handle what you want to do. It's 64bit which is the main thing. If you have a few disks available, trying it out would be the best way to know for sure.


What kind of problem would there be using the x16 slot with a controller card? Only thing I can think of is the board trying to use it as video when the slot is filled.
Even the x1 slots would still be limited by the network at any rate.

I don't plan on using ESXi or the likes for this build so the lack of VT-d shouldn't be a problem.

I know the 1156 socket Supermicro boards are a favorite around here, but honestly I don't see any big advantages for a 10-12 disk system unless you want to use ESXi. As a student I can't really justify an extra 200-250 bucks when both systems will likely perform similarly for the intended usage. Oh and then both Intel and AMD are bringing out new platforms soon too.
 
@PointandClick:

Personally I would not buy a new server MB. The Asus/GB AMD board should work just fine. Yes you may experience some loss in performance but I don't think it would be that big of a deal (5% hit tops maybe). Your looking to be in a home environment anyways. I am in the same boat as you. A poor student.

The way I see ZFS gaining popularity especially on these forums, will be when people retire older machines. (and with Bulldozer and SB and LGA2011, many in the coming year) They will either go the way of HTPC or servers.

Yes people will build dedicated ZFS servers here as well, but they will be far from the majority, so what I think is going to happen is you will start seeing many ZFS systems without ECC Ram, without virtualization processors, 3-4 disk system, 4gb of RAM (maybe 8), and one realtek NIC and wanting low power consumption, and no ESXi. I guess these builds would go in the ways of home ZFS if there is a such thing.

I am not sure if this is a good thing or not but, I see this as a great possibility of where the majority of ZFS users will lie.
 
That's kind of my thinking. I can't see where, for the intended purpose, I'm going to get any more performance to justify the extra cost. IPMI would be nice, but unless something is malfunctioning I can just use ssh/vnc anyway. I can pick up an Intel nic for 10 bucks off ebay.
I may spring for this board even, then I really shouldn't have to worry about expansion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402.

IF I run any Vm's it won't be a huge number and they shouldn't be anything intensive so I think VirtualBox will be more than adequate.


Let me know if/when you manage to test out your Atom setup how it works out. I haven't really had much experience with them.
 
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