Feedback on NAS Build

[nuance415]

Hello everyone, newbie here looking for feedback on a proposed NAS build. Apologies in advance for dumb questions and thanks for your patience if I've made any obvious errors.

Case: Jonsbo N3
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B760-i Gaming WiFi 6E mini-ITX (4 x SATA; 2 x NVME)
CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K
RAM: Lexar 32 GB DDR5 5600
PSU: Lian Li Sp 750W 80+ Gold
Fans: Noctua (CPU fan and 2x additional fans)
OS NVME: Samsung 990 Pro SSD 1 TB
Cache NVME: Crucial P3 Plus 4 TB for read/write cache and metadata
SATA Card: PCIe 3.0 4 Port
HDD: 8 x 18TB Ultrastar (renewed from ServerPartDeals)
OS: TrueNAS with drives configured in RAIDZ2 (I figure the likelihood of two drives failing at the same time is low-ish)
Purpose: mass file storage for stuff that can be replaced

Comment: Went with an Intel CPU for transcoding.

 

[itronin]

a few things:

Have you perused the pinned notes on the truenas forums about hardware?
Obviously the chassis and the motherboard put some restraints on your design.
No ECC support with Motherboard.
Am assuming you are going to runTN Scale.

Your os disk is wasted if you are using an out of the box configuration. There are some how-to's floating around on how to use the OS disk for other purposes. Its advanced and non-standard and not supported last I checked. For boot burning an x4 (or even x2) nvme is also really a waste.

MAX your memory before you start trying to use special vdevs (metadata, disk based ARC, and slog). and honestly with a 2.5 gbe nic you can probably read and write from your spinners at line speed or close enough you won't notice the difference.

Consider using an IT mode SAS HBA (like an LSI 3008 based one ~20USD) instead of a SATA card. There are well supported SATA controller cards (see TrueNAS hardware recommendations) if you are intent on going down that path. You might need to slap a fan on the HBA depending on the cool in this chassis (I have no experience with the Jonsbo N3).

You should be able to saturate (or come really close) the 2.5gbe nic with even a single 8 wide RaidZ2 vdev.

If your motherboard x16 slot supports bifurcation (x4,x4,x8) then you might consider getting a dual nvme to x8 (data /x16phys) riser - your Half height hba plugs into the top and you get 2 more x4 nvme slots (though likely pcie 3 speed). It should fit correctly in the slot.
Not a recommendation, just an example. so please do your homework.

For dockers, vm's etc. Consider using two matched nvme disks in a ZFS Mirror for that storage.

Do mirror your boot pool disks

Consider using a couple of cheap enterprise SATA SSD's for boot (like intel DC S35xx or S36xx ~15 each), at least 80gb and 120-160gb better using onboard SATA ports. Mounting might be tricky and don't burn LFF hot swap bays for these. Velcro tape?

You might also be able to use a pair of SATA DOMS (check physical mounting) for OS if you can get power cables for them and adapt to get power from your PSU. Make sure SATA DOMS are at least 64GB and 128GB might be better.

 

[Tech Junky]

Intel CPU for transcoding.

I use an A380 and an AMD setup. The A works a lot more efficient than the CPU stuff ever did. It's worth the $100 as it's low power and quicker.