Need to upgrade/expand my homelab. Please advice.

[FREAKJAM]

Been running the following build for 3,5 years now:

CPU Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 Boxed
MOBO Supermicro X10SL7-F (comes with LSI2308 HBA, running in IT-mode)
HDD WD Red SATA 6 Gb/s WD30EFRX, 3TB (6x)
CASE BitFenix Shadow
RAM Kingston ValueRAM KVR16E11K4/32 (32GB)
PSU Seasonic G-Serie 360Watt
SSD Crucial 2.5" M500 240GB (ESXi datastore)
CABLES Sharkoon SATA III standard (50cm) (7x)
CABLES BitFenix Adapter (Molex to 4x SATA) (2x)
USB ESXi boot

Running quite a few VM's in ESXi 6.5 at the moment, mostly CentOS linux. The LSI2308 HBA is running in IT mode, so I am able to passthrough to a CentOS 7 linux VM, running ZFS (6x3TB RAIDZ2). ZFS pool is currently 91% in use, thus reasons to expand my storage and re-do my setup.

• pfSense (DHCP, DNS & NAT, Internet routing, my cable isp modem is running in bridge mode)
• Centos 7 VM1: ZFS + Samba (RAIDZ2)
• CentOS 7 VM2: Plex Media server (Plexmediaserverdata and media both hosted on ZFS). Also running Emby on the very same server if Plex is failing me for whatever reason.
• Centos 7 VM3: Few applications
• Centos 7 VM4: MySQL and a few other minor things

What I plan on doing:

• Ditch ESXi and migrate to either bare-metal linux with Docker + ZFS or FreeNAS Corral (released today!)
• Ditch pfSense. UniFi® Security Gateway Pro 4 is ready to use.
• Migrate cpu/mobo/ram to a new case. This case looks quite interesting.
• Buy 6 new sata-drives and expand my zfs pool (add 2nd raidz2 vdev to existing pool).
  Not sure yet what drives to buy (either 6tb or maybe even 8tb disks).
• Buy a few new SSD's. Planning on setting up a mirrored OS-drive as well for the container/vm storage.
• Buy a new PSU. More drives = more watts needed.

What I'm asking:

• Is it wise to keep my current hardware and expand my storage by adding a 2nd vdev?
• I have no clue how to connect all the drives (the sata ones) in the mentioned 3u case. What cables do I need? The case has 4 mini-sas connectors (SFF-8087). Would I need a SAS Expander? (RES2SV240)
• I'm open for suggestions too!

 

[Patrick]

If you just need more storage, my first suggestion is to simply use larger drives. 6x 8TB Amazon.com: WD Red 8TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 128MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD80EFZX: Computers & Accessories and this is an easy upgrade path.

Given your current setup, it sounds like you are not RAM/ CPU limited.

 

[whitey]

Ditch pfSense...what what??? heh

 

[K D]

I moved to an all Unifi setup a few months ago. The USG has several limitations compared to their edgemax series. But for a simple setup it is very easy to use and very stable.

If you are currently using pfsense, I would recommend you check that every feature you need and are currently using is supported in USG.

 

[FREAKJAM]

If you just need more storage, my first suggestion is to simply use larger drives. 6x 8TB Amazon.com: WD Red 8TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 128MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD80EFZX: Computers & Accessories and this is an easy upgrade path.

Given your current setup, it sounds like you are not RAM/ CPU limited.

You are basically advising me to swap all current hard-drives for the new ones and resilver them one by one? Will probaby take ages, plus I will end up with 6x3tb drives I will not be able to use. I rather spend some extra money for a larger case and psu so I can house all hard-drives.

When doing so, I'm only unsure how to connect all drives (what cables I would need) and if I would need a SAS expander yes or no.

Ditch pfSense...what what??? heh

Living on the edge!

I moved to an all Unifi setup a few months ago. The USG has several limitations compared to their edgemax series. But for a simple setup it is very easy to use and very stable.

If you are currently using pfsense, I would recommend you check that every feature you need and are currently using is supported in USG.

I'm basically only using pfSense to route my internet at home.

• Internet routing
• DHCP
• NAT

 

[nk215]

I would just get a cheap case like Rosewill RSV-L4500 for $110 and move everything over there. I don't see much point in a hot swap bays for a NAS because you won't be opening the case to add HDD every year.

I like the fan pushing air over the HDD (vs pulling). You don't need to block the empty bays in a pushing setup. You also don't need higher static pressure fans. With red HDDs, you can even remove the fan wall to save some noise and a few watts.

I don't even think you need to change the PSU. 360 watts is fine for 12 HDDs or so.