I would really like to see some data using FreeNAS and Windows as well as Ubuntu. With the cost of drivers so low both of the NAS systems offer a huge amount of data for home or business.
For zfs, it is recommened to use 1GB ram per 1TB disk space - only if you use deduplication. If not, 4GB in total is enough. Zfs has a very efficient disk cache, if you only have 2GB ram in your server you will not any disk cache, which is no big deal actually. Myself used 1GB ram server for a year with solaris and zfs for a year without problems. Lot of ignorance about zfs. Try it out yourself with 2-4 GB ram server and see it will work fine.
Aside from the front panel having USB3, this case looks identical to one I bought from Chenbro a few years ago for my DIY nas. I'd be a bit concerned about the quality. The plastic locking half of the handle on one of the drive sleds popped when I pulled it out a month or two ago to add an additional drive to my setup. The metal half was still usable to pull the drive out and it appears to be held in place securely from the rear; but the normal latch mechanism is obviously not working any more.
I'm concerned about the presence of a Marvell SATA controller + FreeBSD based OS like FreeNAS, since there's been many reports of drives performing poorly or dropping out of ZFS pools under high I/O.
Data is a little stilted because the Asrock is using an 8C 2750 vs the 4 C in the Advantronix - so anything CPU sensitive is not really fair - particularly since the Advantronix is available with the 8C CPU. That said, I sort of doubt many people will be running DB's on this sort of machine. And the other tests seem to indicate that the faster CPU doesn't really buy you anything.
And...4 SSD's in a RAID 5? The cost per GB for doing things that way is very high compared to spinning disks and if its being used in a home setting the performance of the SSD's is not needed. comparing prices online I could get 4x WD Black 750 GB drives for almost $100 cheaper than the 4 x 128 GB Vectors. Take a look at the read performance of the two units. Theoretically the Asrock with an 8 drive array should get better read speed than the Nimbus 400 with only 4. But it doesn't leading me to believe that a lot of the SSD's performance is wasted. Spinning disks is probably the most cost effective way to go with these.
This CPU has the "AES New Instructions" which I think would offload most of the encryption costs. In practice, I don't have any experience with it to know either way. http://ark.intel.com/products/77982/Intel-Atom-Pro...
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lwatcdr - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
I would really like to see some data using FreeNAS and Windows as well as Ubuntu. With the cost of drivers so low both of the NAS systems offer a huge amount of data for home or business.wintermute000 - Thursday, August 13, 2015 - link
nowhere near enough free RAM for Freenas. 1Gb per Tb is the recommendation. With modern drives @ even RAIDZ1, you do the mathwintermute000 - Thursday, August 13, 2015 - link
Sorry, no idea why but I read it as 4Gb not 4x4Gb, my badBrutalizer - Sunday, August 16, 2015 - link
For zfs, it is recommened to use 1GB ram per 1TB disk space - only if you use deduplication. If not, 4GB in total is enough. Zfs has a very efficient disk cache, if you only have 2GB ram in your server you will not any disk cache, which is no big deal actually. Myself used 1GB ram server for a year with solaris and zfs for a year without problems. Lot of ignorance about zfs. Try it out yourself with 2-4 GB ram server and see it will work fine.DanNeely - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
Aside from the front panel having USB3, this case looks identical to one I bought from Chenbro a few years ago for my DIY nas. I'd be a bit concerned about the quality. The plastic locking half of the handle on one of the drive sleds popped when I pulled it out a month or two ago to add an additional drive to my setup. The metal half was still usable to pull the drive out and it appears to be held in place securely from the rear; but the normal latch mechanism is obviously not working any more.Anonymous Blowhard - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
I'm concerned about the presence of a Marvell SATA controller + FreeBSD based OS like FreeNAS, since there's been many reports of drives performing poorly or dropping out of ZFS pools under high I/O.bobbozzo - Friday, August 14, 2015 - link
Remove USB card and insert IBM 1015 RAID card. Hope cabling is compatible.SirGCal - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
I personally have two 8-drive, one RAID6 and one RAIDZ2, both running Ubuntu. Both of them also run swifter then this. Curious.Ratman6161 - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
Data is a little stilted because the Asrock is using an 8C 2750 vs the 4 C in the Advantronix - so anything CPU sensitive is not really fair - particularly since the Advantronix is available with the 8C CPU.That said, I sort of doubt many people will be running DB's on this sort of machine. And the other tests seem to indicate that the faster CPU doesn't really buy you anything.
And...4 SSD's in a RAID 5? The cost per GB for doing things that way is very high compared to spinning disks and if its being used in a home setting the performance of the SSD's is not needed. comparing prices online I could get 4x WD Black 750 GB drives for almost $100 cheaper than the 4 x 128 GB Vectors. Take a look at the read performance of the two units. Theoretically the Asrock with an 8 drive array should get better read speed than the Nimbus 400 with only 4. But it doesn't leading me to believe that a lot of the SSD's performance is wasted. Spinning disks is probably the most cost effective way to go with these.
lwatcdr - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
Encryption uses up a good amount of CPU time.jamyryals - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
This CPU has the "AES New Instructions" which I think would offload most of the encryption costs. In practice, I don't have any experience with it to know either way.http://ark.intel.com/products/77982/Intel-Atom-Pro...
leexgx - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
all the encryption would be done at very high speed with AES hardware in the CPU (assuming the encryption software uses AES like truecrypt does)WithoutWeakness - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
Will you be doing a review of the Nimbus 2000? I've heard it's the fastest model yet!overzealot - Tuesday, August 18, 2015 - link
You're a server, Harry!toyotabedzrock - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
The idle power usage seems very high. Is that while running Windows or Linux?ganeshts - Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - link
That was running Windows Server 2012 R2 with 4x SSDs in the drive bays.bobbozzo - Friday, August 14, 2015 - link
Hi,1. Is the PSU ATX, SFX, or some other standard form factor?
2. is there any dust filter in the front of the case?
Thanks!
DanNeely - Friday, August 14, 2015 - link
It's an ATX PSU. While not a filter per-se the door is a fine mesh that does block a fair amount of dust.