iXsystems TrueNAS Mini X+ ZFS NAS Review

[Eric Smith]

In our TrueNAS Mini X+ review, we see how iXsystems customizes this platform to make an excellent desktop ZFS NAS platform for TrueNAS Core

The post iXsystems TrueNAS Mini X+ ZFS NAS Review appeared first on ServeTheHome.

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[WillTaillac]

I really just want to buy that chassis and put my own system into it. Mini-ITX with 7 drive bays accessible from the front? Sign me up.

 

[BlueFox]

I really just want to buy that chassis and put my own system into it. Mini-ITX with 7 drive bays accessible from the front? Sign me up.

Ablecom will sell them to anyone, but I think they have a MOQ on chassis: abelcom

 

[BoredSysadmin]

We recently bought a few large capacities Truenas X20-HA arrays for 2nd tier data and at their prices/capacity/features/support nothing touches the value.
However, at home, it's a bit more challenging to justify the price, but then again probably many wouldn't need 8 core cpu and gobs of memory.
Only if you seriously consider this all-in-one home server then the value makes more sense, however for home enthusiasts probably the most resource-heavy app would be the plex server and C3758 cpu without built-in Intel quick sync seems like a poor choice to run plex with hardware decoding. Not to mention AFAIK (please correct me) FreeBSD based Truenas Core doesn't support Quicksync pass-thru to containers/vms
I wonder if something like G5400T would be a better choice? (or more recently launched G6400TE)

 

[BoredSysadmin]

I am wise enough to know what my personal opinion as an IT nerd only goes so far in terms of product many (non-IT) people will buy. As I said I am not 100% sure that TrueNAS mini appliances are the best choice for the home power user. I agree, having an out-of-band port is really nice but is it 100% required for a home? Maybe more so for remote site deployments.
I'd argue that if an aspiring Plex enthusiast would approach me for recommendations for a home NAS I would likely steer such person into NAS like Terrnaster F5-422

 

[Evan]

@BoredSysadmin Getting off topic a bit but why wound you choose Terramaster over synology or qnap ? (Yes I know cost and 10G nic but at the expense of a much smaller company)

Will NAS companies survive ?
They for sure still have a use case but seems an almost diminishing market now.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

@BoredSysadmin Getting off topic a bit but why wound you choose Terramaster over synology or qnap ? (Yes I know cost and 10G nic but at the expense of a much smaller company)

Will NAS companies survive ?
They for sure still have a use case but seems an almost diminishing market now.

You're right. Cost + 10g are the main factors. A similar unit from Synology like DS1500+ has better cpu, SSD cache, but shockingly lacking 10g. Plus it's more expensive. I am surprised that multi-G (2.5/5G) network equipment is still a tiny niche. Especially for Synology which sells both NASes and Networking equipment for high-end homes. getting multi-gig in between these is a no brainer IMHO.

As for the dying market - It's hard to say. Cloud services are surely robust, but no such luck with telco/ISPs. Especially here in the US, they are far behind the tech curve.
Another issue is then Netflix started streaming over the internet and was able to license a decent amount of 3rd party content - it actually made a significantly massive dent in IP piracy. However now with streaming options growing faster than mushrooms after a summer rain and inevitable content diversification from a single platform to multiple, keeping these subscriptions active or manage them actively quickly becomes both tiresome and expensive. I won't be shocked to see IP piracy on the fast rise and people looking to store local "Linux ISOs" may turn to NAS devices once again.

 

[Evan]

Yep, I stream everything now. I only ever shall we say pirated content simply because I could get it no other way.
Once upon a time I would keep everything I downloaded and now excepting some special content I realize I wound never watch it again so why keep it.

As for cloud storage, 1TB of backup to cloud (AWS glacier deep archive) is $1 per month ! Sure I would only use that as a last resort off site backup but it’s cheap.

 

[Peanuthead]

Just so I understand this correctly the backplane is not compatible with SAS drives. Correct?

 

[Evan]

Just so I understand this correctly the backplane is not compatible with SAS drives. Correct?

thats the way it’s described. I mean from a technical point of view SAS and SATA share the same signaling paths, it’s only a question of quality and distances if it can handle SAS3 higher speeds for example.

question is does your chosen SAS card fits with the cabling , it should accept SFF-8643 (MiniSAS) in the right place to make it easy.

 

[Peanuthead]

@Evan - I am more so interested if the backplane can even accommodate SAS drives. It appears in the pictures it can (no separation in the power and data connections) but the description states differently.

 

[Evan]

@Peanuthead see what you mean, should work though, given the short distances I would probably trust it to 12G. Maybe have to email them to ensure it’s really tested and certified for SAS3