System Configuration Suggestions

[roysalisbury]

i'm looking to re-configure my home network/lab to better utilize hardware. I currently have the following:

1. Core i7 with 12 cores and 64GB ram.
   1. 2 SATA3 and 4 SATA2 connections
   2. 6 SATA3 connections via PCIe controller controller.
   3. 1 GB NIC (can add a 2.5GB NIC via PCIe).
2. Core i7 with 20 cores and 64GB ram.
   1. 2 NVMe connections (1GB in each)
   2. 2 SATA2 connections.
   3. 1 GB NIC (might be able to fit a 2.5 GB PCIe x1 NIC).
3. Core i3 with 4 cores and 16GB ram.
   1. 2 SATA 3 and 4 SATA 2 connections.
   2. 2 x 1 GB NIC.
   3. This was an old ReadyNAS 516 enclosure that I upgraded to 16 GB RAM

For HD's

1. 3 x 500 GB SSD
2. 2 x 120 GB SSD
3. 2 x 8 TB HD
4. 4 x 4 TB HDD
5. 4 x 2.5 TB HDD

To get the best possible configuration of data redundancy and backup, I was planning on the following

1. Core i7 (20 core) configured as Proxmox host.
   1. 2x NMVe (mirror) for VM storage.
   2. 500GB SSD for boot and storage (ISO/CT template)
2. Core i7 (12 core) configured as Proxmox host.
   1. 2x 500 GB SSD as standard boot drive and storage for PVE.
   2. One VM will be TrueNAS SCALE configured as
      1. 24 GB RAM
      2. 16 TB total storage
         1. 2 x 8 GB SSD (Passthru PCIe SATA CARD, or direct HDD passthru)
         2. 4 x 4 GB SSD (Passthru PCIe SATA CARD, or direct HDD passthru)
3. Core i3 (4 core) configured as Proxmox Backup Server (just for backing up VM's)
   1. 2 x 120 GB SSD (mirror)
   2. 5 TB total storage
      1. 4 x 2.5 TB HD (x 2 MIRROR for 5 TB storage)

The way I am thinking is that the Proxmox Backup is separate from the actual NAS storage pool. The NAS storage is not "backed up" but is redundant (I know, redundancy is not enough, but only have so much to work with). I can (if required) RSync the Proxmox backups to the NAS.

I would have the NAS running of the i3 box, but it only has the 6 SATA ports and would have to boot off a USB stick (which is not good for TrueNAS).

I also thought of running the Proxmox Backup as a VM on one of the hosts, but if that host goes down, then I cant get to the VM backups to spin them up on the other host.

I know running TrueNAS under a VM is not ideal, but it seems to be the best configuration that gives both redundancy and backups with what I have to work with.

Any thoughts?

 

[roysalisbury]

No replies yet, but I will update what I have changed...

I was able to replace add a 2.5 GB network interface via a USB 3.0 dongle to the i3. Along with that I was able to boot an SSD of that as well (via USB 3.0 adapter) and still have 6 SATA drives. Since the limiting factor on that is still the network, the drive performance will be fine at SATA 3GB/6GB speeds. For that reason, I will stick with the i3 as the TrueNAS box. The CPU supports 32GB RAM, so will see if I can upgrade from 16GB.

That means that both i7 systems will be Proxmox hosts. I'll store the backups on the NAS. If the host for the proxmox backup server goes down, it will be easy to spin that up on another host and reattach the storage.

My i3 box also has an eSATA connector and I have a 5 bay eSATA box (SATA II). Not great for the speed, but I can use that for the other 2.5 TB drives for another 7.5 TB (RAID2) of cold storage (or even RSync of the NAS for an "on site" backup).

Roy