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rdm

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Hi everyone!

 

I recently (accientally/impulsively) purchased a system off of ebay that someone setup to run FreeNAS. As I wait for it to arrive, I'm exploring alternatives to FreeNAS, and that's how I found XPEnology. The DSM 5.0 software looks amazing and more suited to my needs (i.e. expandable storage pool, easy to use interface, mobile apps, etc.) . I'd like your help in knowing whether the DSM 5.0 can run on this system.

 

Here are the system specs:

 

Case: Norco S4 Black Mini-ITX Storage Case

Motherboard: Intel S1200KPR Server Board

Processor: Intel Celeron Processor G530 (2M Cache, 2.40 GHz)

Thermal Solution: Zalman CNPS2X

Memory: Kingston KVR133D3E9SK2/8G 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3 - 10600 CL9 DDR3 ECC 240 pin DIMM

Power supply: Seasonic SS250-SU Flex-ATX Power Supply - 250 W 80 Plus Bronze

Operating system: FreeNAS 9.2.1.5 on SanDisk Cruzer Fit 4GB USB 2.0 Low-Profile Flash Drive

 

I also have 3 x 3TB HDD (that will be used for my storage pool), a 1TB HDD (that would have been used as a cache drive for FreeNAS), a spare 2TB HDD, and a spare Celeron G1610 processor.

 

Also, the motherboard only has 4 onboard sata ports, but has a 16x PCIe slot. I was wondering if I could add a USB 3.0 + SATA PCIe controller card to add those extra ports, and is there such support in DSM 5.0?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Thanks for your quick reply. I'm excited to try out XPEnology.

 

At the moment, I think the 4 onboard sata connectors will be enough. However, I really wanted USB 3.0 capability to attach an external HDD for back up purposes. It seems possible to mount one (maybe two) 2.5" drives in the case. That is why I was exploring a combo USB3/SATA expansion card. I found a syba card on newegg that someone seems to have gotten to work with XPEnology: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6815124130 I may order that after I get a chance to play with the system for a bit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi, I just wanted to give you guys a quick update. I received the system that I mentioned in the original post, but the case was damaged in shipping. I decided to return it to the seller.

 

However, I have an HTPC I built last year, and I was able to convert that to use as my xpenology box. Here are the specs:

 

CASE: Bitfenix Prodigy

MB: ASUS P8H77-I

CPU: Intel Celeron G1610 2.6 GHz

RAM: ADATA 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 MHz

PSU: Corsair CX430M

HDD: 4 x 3TB Seagate ST3000DM001(9TB available, SHR)

 

I'm running a baremetal install of DSM 5.0 using nanoboot. It's been up for 2 days now with stable transfer rates (R/W +100 MB/s). I've got SABnzbd and Sickbeard running. Those were a bit tricky since you have to be aware of the permissions and paths. I still need to try the Headphones app. Overall, it's been a pretty smooth process getting everything going. I have a kill-a-watt that I will use to check the power draw of the machine once I have the software setup how I want it.

 

Cheers :smile:

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The on-board LAN, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 ports work. I have my USB flash drive (with nanoboot) and a USB receiver for my logitech mouse and keyboard connected to the USB 2.0 ports. They were detected and run fine. I also connected a 1TB mobile HDD to the USB 3.0 ports, and it is detected. It is accessible via file station as a usbshare.

 

I will try the WOL feature later. I verified that the MAC address from the onboard NIC is being reported correctly (using nanoboot), and I also defined a unique serial number for my system. I think these are crucial steps to get the WOL going.

 

I'm currently debating on whether it is worth it to use a dedicated HDD for torrents/usenet downloads because of the wear and tear. Once, I figure out that I'll do some power readings of the fully operational machine.

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Won't the drive holding the nanoboot info always be spinning anyway? I can't believe a modern drive would suffer more, but on the flip side, can you make synology download and use a separate hdd just for torrenting and downloads?

 

Thank you

 

J

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I genuinely believe worrying about wear and tear to be more trouble than it's worth.

 

Have a good redundant solution and replace things as they wear out. I guess electricity might be a concern too, but when you sit and work out the actual cost I don't think it's too hard to swallow.

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