[SOLVED] Building my first home server / NAS - please help with some guidance and suggestions!

[Krish2020]

Hello, I recently bought a used supermicro system that came with C9X299-PGF motherboard. However, I'm now regretting that I didn't do enough research about the product. The motherboard only supports the Intel X series, and it is hard to find one that is reasonably priced. Further, Supermicro website doesn't list FreeBSD as a compatible OS. I don't see any other popular OS such as unRAID, TrueNAS, etc., on the list. There is an Ubuntu version which will be out of support next year, not sure what happens after the OS reaches EOL. Will the motherboard support newer versions?

Before I decide on the OS and start building this system further with other parts, I wanted to get some thoughts whether this is is the right setup for my needs or not. I am planning to build a system to run file server (NAS), media server (JRiver), applications to manage photo library, and manage/create VMs (various operating systems for learning purposes). The motherboard appears to be having lot of capabilities with IPMI like features, so hoping to make best of this use. I wish this motherboard supported Windows Server essentials. If I go with Win 10 Pro, would a limited number of connections impact my needs?

I am also open to changing the system entirely (with AMD Ryzen) as this is just barebone build. I don't want to spend on Intel X CPU and get locked with X299 motherboard if it is not functional or suitable to my needs. I hope you can provide some guidance. Thank you!

 

[kanewolf]

Hello, I recently bought a used supermicro system that came with C9X299-PGF motherboard. However, I'm now regretting that I didn't do enough research about the product. The motherboard only supports the Intel X series, and it is hard to find one that is reasonably priced. Further, Supermicro website doesn't list FreeBSD as a compatible OS. I don't see any other popular OS such as unRAID, TrueNAS, etc., on the list. There is an Ubuntu version which will be out of support next year, not sure what happens after the OS reaches EOL. Will the motherboard support newer versions?

Before I decide on the OS and start building this system further with other parts, I wanted to get some thoughts whether this is is the right setup for my needs or not. I am planning to build a system to run file server (NAS), media server (JRiver), applications to manage photo library, and manage/create VMs (various operating systems for learning purposes). The motherboard appears to be having lot of capabilities with IPMI like features, so hoping to make best of this use. I wish this motherboard supported Windows Server essentials. If I go with Win 10 Pro, would a limited number of connections impact my needs?

I am also open to changing the system entirely (with AMD Ryzen) as this is just barebone build. I don't want to spend on Intel X CPU and get locked with X299 motherboard if it is not functional or suitable to my needs. I hope you can provide some guidance. Thank you!

NAS units are usually low power units. You definitely did not hit that target.
Commercial NAS units typically have a 4 core Intel Celeron/Pentium Gold CPU.
I would re-think your approach. Your X299 might be great for your virtualization host, but for an always-on appliance, not great.

 

[Krish2020]

kanewolf, thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate it. I will surely explore building a new system with four-core processors. Is the power consumption going to high regardless of the usage, based on TDP?

I am not sure how to proceed, and I am probably mixing up server/NAS capabilities. Can Windows 10 Pro be as efficient as TrueNAS? I would like to have the flexibility to run a Windows application. Can you please advise the best approach for setting up multiple servers, e.g., jriver, TrueNAS, etc.? Is virtualization going to help or standalone installation in multiple SSDs? I don't have any prior experience with virtualization. I intend to explore different operating systems such as Linux and perhaps install windows applications like lightroom to connect remotely, using the server's hardware.

You mentioned that X299 might be a great option for virtualization, doesn't that need to be always-on? Also, would I be able to shut down the entire PC remotely through the IPMI portal? Or, some scheduling to turn off the whole system daily?

 

[kanewolf]

kanewolf, thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate it. I will surely explore building a new system with four-core processors. Is the power consumption going to high regardless of the usage, based on TDP?

I am not sure how to proceed, and I am probably mixing up server/NAS capabilities. Can Windows 10 Pro be as efficient as TrueNAS? I would like to have the flexibility to run a Windows application. Can you please advise the best approach for setting up multiple servers, e.g., jriver, TrueNAS, etc.? Is virtualization going to help or standalone installation in multiple SSDs? I don't have any prior experience with virtualization. I intend to explore different operating systems such as Linux and perhaps install windows applications like lightroom to connect remotely, using the server's hardware.

You mentioned that X299 might be a great option for virtualization, doesn't that need to be always-on? Also, would I be able to shut down the entire PC remotely through the IPMI portal? Or, some scheduling to turn off the whole system daily?

I would NOT use Windows 10 as a NAS. File sharing is not Windows strong suit. Neither is 24/7 reliability. Too many "you must reboot windows for updates" issues. Windows doesn't work well without a monitor. If you want network storage, either build or buy a purpose-built device, IMO.

 

[USAFRet]

Disregarding the X299, if you're thinking of "building" a NAS, strongly consider a commercial one instead. QNAP or Synology.
My QNAP will be 4 years old next month, and has been rock solid running 24/7.

A vanilla Win 10 (Home or Pro) won't work well for this. Either Windows Server ($$) or a Linux based commercial NAS.

The QNAP/Synology has many, many aplications available at a click, and multi user access is built in.

 

[getochkn]

We built a unraid server from a amd 2700x. It hosts files, runs a plex server that can transcode like 20 streams at once via a nvidia 1050ti card, and a windows vm with 6 cores, 20 gb ram and its own 1650 super. Dual parity ssd cache drives and a ton of 2, 3, 4 tb drives for a total of like 45tb.

 

[Krish2020]

Thank you all, appreciate your suggestions!