• #1

Hello all, building out my first TrueNAS server, and had a few (well, many) questions.

Clarifying use case(s) / purpose of TrueNAS server:

• I want to use this as a backup server / storage server that will run automated weekly backups / cron jobs from my home PC / laptops / homelab mini-pc. Or that I’ll power on maybe once or twice a week to access large video projects / music projects, etc.

• (I have various external HDD’s mucking about, one has failed already, not sure what’s on what drive, etc.... just aiming to centralize my data storage in one spot, while also moving towards a 3-2-1 backup scheme (while staying independent of 3rd party cloud providers, and subscription costs)).

• I did recently get my Sec+ cert, and would like to learn and apply things

• Building out a home network that is solid and will last me for the next 10 years or more, and be reliable, and be able to fulfill the following real-world (and educational) purposes:

**Educational Goals **(for personal learning and to become more employable):

• Properly run and leverage a server (or servers) for home use, to be independent from 3rd parties (as much as possible)
• Proper backup protocol, to never lose data again, and organize / back it up in an intelligent and effective manner
• Scripting / Automation
• Web scraping, to feed into a local LLM from select sources, to more quickly be able to make educated decisions on particular areas, such as research on a certain topic, or finance, etc.
• Training / Using local LLMs
• Security focused stuff: Red Team / Blue Team / OPSEC / etc. (Though lower down in priority list)

Current Setup:

• Local PC (for work, everyday use, and learning LLMs)

• Ryzen 9950X + ASUS X870E + 128GB RAM + RTX 5060 16GB + 1000W Seasonic (in a Fractal Define 7 XL case, for expandability).

• Homelab (for running services and learning)

• HP EliteDesk 800 G4 i7-8700T + 64GB RAM

• OS: Proxmox

• Low Power and Quiet: Always on

• 1 x 1TB NVME (Storage); 1 x 256GB NVME (OS)

Services / Functionality to Achieve:

• TrueNAS Scale backup server

• Solid backup solution, that will run automated backups from Local PC, Homelab, and possibly other devices connected to network (laptops, phones (photos), etc)

• Will include a BDXL-capable drive, for burning long-term cold storage 25 GB M-Discs, for important projects (to store both locally, and offsite at a family members house, etc.)

• Homelab (or run some of these services on the TrueNAS Scale backup server?)

• Syncthing (for pc, my iphone, tablets, other laptops, other phones, etc. So I can access them when I’m outside the house too).

• Nextcloud

• PiHole

• Plex(?) - just light use or to experiment though I think

• Private VPN

• Reverse Proxy

• Firewall?

• Tandoor (recipe website)

• AI Services (for home security camera, etc, via Coral TPU Adapter, to learn object identification, etc.)

• Running scripts at night, doing website scrape jobs at night, or any type of script jobs I might need done. Maybe pulling data from APIs, to feed into PC in the morning, for LLM processing, etc

• PhotoPrism? (Photo backup)

• Immich? (Self-hosted photo and video backup and management system (Google Photos replacement).

• Pangolin

• Metube (YouTube video downloader)

• Whisper (transcribes audio into text)

• (Script: Metube download —> transcribe video (Whisper) —> feed into LLM for summary / action items)

• Unbound is an open-source recursive DNS resolver (from NLnet Labs). (So ISPs can’t see your DNS queries)

Future Projects / Infrastructure to Implement:

• 2nd TrueNAS Scale backup server (offsite, mirrored backup to original server)

Current updated parts list:

• Mobo: ASRock B550 Pro4 - $155
• CPU: Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G ($99 used, off ebay) (has onboard graphics, for Plex. Supports ECC)
• HDD storage: 5 x WD Ultrastar DC HC580 (24TB SATA) - $340 each - (5 wide vdev in RAID2Z)
• ECC UDIMM RAM: 2 x 32 GB Micron MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2R (used) - 2 x $185
• OS DRIVES: 2 x used Intel Enterprise SATA drives
• BDXL Drive: ?

Parts I already have:

• Cooler Master HAF 922 Case (5 x 3.5“ bays + 5 x 5.25“ bays)
• PSU
• CPU Liquid Cooler

Questions:

• ECC UDIMM RAM

• Will the 2 x 32 GB Micron MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2R (used) work for my setup? I believe another RAM SKU is recommended, but I cannot find any of them

• HBA

• Since 2 x SATA SSD Boot Drive + 5 x SATA HDDs will exceed the mobos 6 x SATA ports, should I get a cheap PCIe-SATA card for the second boot SSD, **or install an HBA (LSI 9300-8i) **to add headroom for more drives later? (second 5 drive vdev)

• BDXL Drive

• Any recommendations for a solid BDXL drive for burning 25 GB cold storage archival M-Discs?

• General

• Any other suggestions / recommendations / advice? Anything I missed?

Last edited: 4 minutes ago

• #2

(redacted, posted reply by mistake)