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hardware for a 'simple' FreeNAS system?

DCCV44.2223

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I'm looking to make a NAS with about 10TB of storage.

Are you considering using ECC or not?

You need to be sure of your storage needs. Biggest problem with FreeNAS is that expanding storage later on is not trivial, i.e., you cannot expand a 5x4TB RAIDZ2 vdev by adding another 4TB drive to it.

it will stream some video and archive photo's...
Do you plan to run Plex in a jail and will you need to transcode in real time.

and because the photo's are important, redundancy/duplication is important, they cannot afford to be lost.
That's a bit outside the scope of a NAS. Redundancy/duplication in a NAS will not prevent, for example, accidental deletions or ransomware. You'll need to budget in backups and off site copies.
 

Chris

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I'm looking to make a NAS with about 10TB of storage. it will stream some video and archive photo's...and because the photo's are important, redundancy/duplication is important, they cannot afford to be lost.

I use my old pc (i7920 @3.8 GHz, 12 GB ram,x58 mobo) initially using FreeNAS. Due to high RAM requirements for FreeNAS, I switched to Nas4Free. I have 2x3 TB in mirror, so if one drive fails I have a chance to replace it without loss of data. I use my NAS only for storage backup, not for streaming. Adding more storage is easy in Nas4Free. I'll just have to add another pair in mirror.
 

Marzipan

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my wife would be happy if she can stream the shows she's saved over the years. it would be over Plex, I think...working in conjunction with either an Xbox 360 or Amazon TV dongle.

I'm not against an i3 processor and ECC RAM, if it remains affordable. you can get decent two drive NAS for about $250 now.
 

JD

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Why not a QNAP or Synology? My old QNAP TS-469L ran perfectly for a solid 5 years (sold to a friend now) and I'm running a TS-853A currently.

QNAP integrates to cloud storage as well so you can backup to that. If you have Amazon Prime, you can set that as a target and upload unlimited photos (including RAW's). Sadly they removed the unlimited file storage for $99/yr, it's now $125/TB. I'm sure you can find cheaper cloud storage providers. I'm still running the (unsupported) CrashPlan Business to backup my NAS to them.
 

Sagath

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This question comes up every 3 months or so it seems. Usually the sense and experience of forum members says that using a specific OTS nas has more benefits than freenas, and less of the drawbacks. Cost does go up a bit, yes, but I don't think ~500 is unreasonable for a full computer including PSU

I'm on a QNAP 451 and (after some initial setup difficulties) it has been amazing.
 

DCCV44.2223

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I'm not against an i3 processor and ECC RAM, if it remains affordable.

If you don't need to transcode a Pentium is usually enough, but the biggest added expense is that mobos with ECC support are not going to be cheap.

you can get decent two drive NAS for about $250 now.
I have a QNAP TS-231P and it'll work fine as a media server as long as you don't need to transcode or have it do other stuff like security cams. It's an option if 10-12TB is enough storage for you for the next few of years. If you go that route check HDD compatibility, last time I checked the only 10/12TB drives listed for the 231P were Seagates.

In general, if you only need a basic media server with up to12TB mirrored then QNAP/Synology maybe the way to go. If you need more drives, especially if you're weary of RAID5, i.e., you want >4 drives, then the economics start tilting towards building your own, *if*, and that is a big if, you're willing to invest the time to get to grips with FreeNAS, NAS4Free or whatever.
 

Marzipan

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yeh...I was thinking a 2 bay Synology or Thecus NAS, if I go for a pre-config solution.

cost is higher, but it's simpler to build/configure/use.

while Thecus isn't as well regarded, they have just issued some new SOHO level units with very good price points...a 4 bay I think that starts at $200 US. :ph34r:
 

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