Idea
For about ten years, I used a variety of huge cases to build my own NAS boxes, based on LVM and Linux software RAID 5. I've used ZFS on a HP MicroServer since 2011 and have been very happy with its reliability and performance, on the few occasions I've needed anything above a few MB/s. In order to use iTunes, Netflix, blinkbox, NOW TV and the catch-up TV services, I also need a Windows box connected to my TV and amplifier. I've been using a tired old Dell Vostro with Windows Vista, which took up too much space, was slow and was noisy while playing HD video.
My idea was to run Windows on an a new MicroServer and run FreeNAS within a VM. I don't need more than a few MB/s for downloading or playing video, so I wasn't concerned about the performance loss of running FreeNAS in a VM.
My idea was to run Windows on an a new MicroServer and run FreeNAS within a VM. I don't need more than a few MB/s for downloading or playing video, so I wasn't concerned about the performance loss of running FreeNAS in a VM.
Kit
- 1 x HP ProLiant MicroServer G7 N54L (AMD Turion™ II 2.2GHz & 4GB RAM)
- 1 x Intel 40GB 320 Series SSD
- 4 x WD RED 4TB SATA HDDs
- 1 x Asus ATI Radeon HD 5450 video card
- 1 x Asus Xonar DGX sound card
- 1 x SATA DVD drive
- 1 x Molex to two SATA power cable
- 1 x eSATA to SATA cable
- 1 x SATA to SATA cable
Installation
I wanted to use all of the space on the HDDs for RAID-Z, so I needed another disk for the Windows installation. I connected the SSD to the SATA port that's intended for a DVD drive and stuck it in the space between the HDD and DVD drive bays. In order to use the DVD drive and SSD, I had to run a cable from the eSATA port on the back of the case to the internal DVD drive and make use of the Molex to two SATA power cable.
Windows 7 installed without any issues and seems to boot and run quickly even with VMware taking 1GB of the RAM for my FreeNAS VM. The video and sound card drivers installed easily, so I was ready to go after installing few hundred Windows updates. I am using VMware Player to present the physical disks to the VM directly and was using the FreeNAS VMDK as a file on the Windows SSD.
Windows 7 installed without any issues and seems to boot and run quickly even with VMware taking 1GB of the RAM for my FreeNAS VM. The video and sound card drivers installed easily, so I was ready to go after installing few hundred Windows updates. I am using VMware Player to present the physical disks to the VM directly and was using the FreeNAS VMDK as a file on the Windows SSD.
Issues
I had (for no good reason) assumed that the low profile video card would have come with both regular and low profile brackets, so had to call on the services of my dad to cut some holes into one of the blank brackets that came with the server.
Having said that I didn't regularly need much disk performance, one point where it became important, was for the initial copy of data from my previous NAS. Waiting for my 4TB of data to copy in via the VM would have taken more than a week, so I re-installed FreeNAS onto an old USB flash drive using the internal port on the MicroServer. This allows me to use the same system within the VM or natively, when speed is more important than video playback and the GUI.
VMware doesn't seem to support booting from USB storage devices and the MicroServer doesn't have a boot device menu, so I used the Plop boot manager in both cases. Plop can call the boot loader from a USB storage device, and can be started from VMware using a small ISO or from the Windows boot loader, so works great for me!
Having said that I didn't regularly need much disk performance, one point where it became important, was for the initial copy of data from my previous NAS. Waiting for my 4TB of data to copy in via the VM would have taken more than a week, so I re-installed FreeNAS onto an old USB flash drive using the internal port on the MicroServer. This allows me to use the same system within the VM or natively, when speed is more important than video playback and the GUI.
VMware doesn't seem to support booting from USB storage devices and the MicroServer doesn't have a boot device menu, so I used the Plop boot manager in both cases. Plop can call the boot loader from a USB storage device, and can be started from VMware using a small ISO or from the Windows boot loader, so works great for me!
Results
I now have one fast and quiet box in place of the two that I previously needed for the same functionality. I've yet to try any games or see how the box would deal with 1080p video, as my TV only supports 720p.
