Dedicated NAS server - Xeon E3-1245 V5 + Fractal 304

[testdasi]

After months of researching, considering options and testing, I have decided to fully jump on the unRAID bandwagon and build a dedicated NAS server.

 

I originally considered and tested having NAS + main system in the same CPU. However, I found my existing workstation hardware is (1) not entirely suitable for an always-on system, (2) not currently fully supported by a stable release and (3) too focused on speed and less on reliability. It then became a very complicated process to pick upgrade parts which are compatible, affordable and available.

Hence, I stick to Occam's razor and started to build a dedicated server.

 

Main intended use:

• Ransomware-resistant NAS
  
• Plex Media Server to manage and stream my media collection
  
• Crashplan for 24/7 cloud-based off-site backup
  
• Windows VM only accessible via RDP (i.e. no GPU pass-through)
  

 

Below are the parts:

 

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 in white

This case ticked all the boxes. It's compact and light-weight, yet still support 6 3.5" bays. The fans are also quiet and the case in my opinion looks good.

I considered the Lian Li Q08 and Q25 but my main concern is that the fan projected airflow does not cover all bays. The 2 front 90mm fans of the 304 ensure air flows across all 6 drive bays. I'm pre-clearing 5 drives simultaneously right now and the hottest one hovers around 39-40C.

 

Motherboard: ASRock C236 WSI

There isn't many mini-ITX motherboard that has more than 6 SATA ports + integrated / on-board GPU and supports virtualisation, 32GB RAM etc. This choice is basically a trade-off to get 8 SATA ports while giving up IPMI.

I considered the ASRock C2750D4I but the Avoton C2750 CPU is a little too "just good enough" in term of power.

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1245 V5

Once the motherboard is picked, this is the best value-for-money option. It supports hyper-threading (unlike the 1225) so support up to 8 threads - great for multiple simultaneous streaming / multi-tasking. It also has (free) integrated GPU so I always have access to the console.

 

RAM: 32GB ECC (2xSamsung 16GB DDR4)

A bit of an overkill but it will get utterly annoying if there isn't enough in the future.

 

PSU: Silverstone Strider Platinum 550W

It is only 140mm deep so it gives me just a little bit more space to tidy cables in the cramped Fractal 304. Review is good and it is 80+ Platinum so great for 24/7 running.

I briefly considered a 80+ Titanium PSU but none is shorter than 160mm.

 

Cache: Samsung 850 EVO 1TB

This was taken from the workstation. 512GB is probably enough but why buy new when you can reuse.

 

Parity: HGST He8 8TB

I paid a bit more here for enterprise-grade hardware, given the parity drive will receive a lot of write and is critical when it is actually needed. In other words, reliability is more important than speed.

 

Array: Seagate NAS 8TB, WD Black 6TB, Hitachi Deskstar 3TB + 4TB

All but the Seagate are taken from the workstation. The last 2 are older (read: slow) but I reckon as long as they don't fail preclear, they can be reused - since everything is gonna be over the network so subjected to the theoretical 125MB/s transfer speed cap.

 

 

That's it in term of hardware. Now if only preclear can run a bit faster. 

[Frank1940]

About the Ransomware resistance, just be careful about mapped drives on VM's and standalone computers.  They can be encrypted as easily as a local drive on any standalone computer.  (The encryption tool runs on the VM or standalone doing its work across the network.  It might take a bit longer but not that much more time on a Gb network.)

 

I am not sure about unRAID shares (both user and disk) that are not mapped.  I haven't really heard that any malware is currently searching networks for SMB shares to encrypt but it is probably only a matter of time...

[Frostyfruit]

Hi,

 

I am new to UNRAID and looking at something similar...

 

What made you go for the Fractal 304 vs something bigger?

 

I have a 16RU cabinet and thinking on weather I should be going for something like the 304 and maybe have 2 units in the future or something big like a NORCO. I am also conscious about power so would prefer to keep it as low as possible with out taking extreme steps.

 

Do you think you have enough bays on the 304 to support future expansion?

[testdasi]

About the Ransomware resistance, just be careful about mapped drives on VM's and standalone computers.  They can be encrypted as easily as a local drive on any standalone computer.  (The encryption tool runs on the VM or standalone doing its work across the network.  It might take a bit longer but not that much more time on a Gb network.)

 

I am not sure about unRAID shares (both user and disk) that are not mapped.  I haven't really heard that any malware is currently searching networks for SMB shares to encrypt but it is probably only a matter of time...

 

Matter of time indeed. I'm planning to have strict user access so most things would be read-only and moving files are done over SSH + console. So even a nasty one will have to really try very hard to get through my swiss cheese layers.

 

Hi,

 

I am new to UNRAID and looking at something similar...

 

What made you go for the Fractal 304 vs something bigger?

 

I have a 16RU cabinet and thinking on weather I should be going for something like the 304 and maybe have 2 units in the future or something big like a NORCO. I am also conscious about power so would prefer to keep it as low as possible with out taking extreme steps.

 

Do you think you have enough bays on the 304 to support future expansion?

 

Space is a premium The 304 is going on a book shelf so it has got to be small and look good. It is also incredibly quiet, even with all the fans maxed out (my HDD during preclear reaches 41C max). My workstation is actually louder and I put a lot of pride in ensuring my workstation is quiet.

An alternative could have been UNAS NSC-800 for more drive bays but (1) it only fits passive cooling motherboard and I do need a bit of power and (2) it is very very hard to get.

If I had a cabinet, I would have opted for rack-mounted solutions.

 

6 bays give me a maximum of 40TB, using current HDD technology (8TB / drive + 1 8TB parity).

That is way more than enough for me for at least medium term. I currently don't even break the 10TB mark.

[HellDiverUK]

 

An alternative could have been UNAS NSC-800 for more drive bays but (1) it only fits passive cooling motherboard and I do need a bit of power and (2) it is very very hard to get.

If I had a cabinet, I would have opted for rack-mounted solutions.

 

 

The NSC-800 is a total and utter nightmare to work in.  I got one, spent a week getting everything right (replacing fans takes a good 2 hours), getting the motherboard and cables wedged in, etc only for the backplane to fail a week later.  It's almost a nice case, but for a few poor design issues, and obvious quality issues with both the fans and the backplanes.

[testdasi]

The NSC-800 is a total and utter nightmare to work in.  I got one, spent a week getting everything right (replacing fans takes a good 2 hours), getting the motherboard and cables wedged in, etc only for the backplane to fail a week later.  It's almost a nice case, but for a few poor design issues, and obvious quality issues with both the fans and the backplanes.

 

I suspected exactly that after watching a Youtube video about someone building a NAS with it. The Fractal 304 is a lot easier to work with.