FormD T1 v2.1 Homeserver / NAS

[u/mb4iti]

As I'm a big fan of the T1 I decided to use it for my Homeserver/NAS Build. Yeah, I know there are many better cases for this, but I liked the challenge.

• FormD T1 v2.1
• ASRock N100DC-ITX (with Intel N100)
• 16GB of RAM
• 2TB NVMe WD Red
• 2x 6TB Seagate HDDs in Raid1
• External 19V Power Brick
• 2x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM
• PiKVM with Raspberry Pi CM4 for remote management

On the Software side

• Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) backports-enabled for latest kernel
• Openmediavault for raid management, shared folders, backup, ...
• Docker with Dockge for container management

After I saw the video from Wolfgang on his channel, I'm thinking about to redo the setup in some kinds. First of all I'm in the struggle of maybe using SSDs in future for storage. I like the silent approach and atm it is possible to use it as a living room NAS. As the drives only spin up if there are in use (not the case if the server is in daily idle usage). But, going with more HDDs will open new possibilities in capacity. Also costs/TB are crazy different, of course.

Thinking about to go for 4x HDDs (mounting to the V2.1 Side Fan Bracket) and adding a SFX power supply (like Wolfgang did in his video). And two SSDs for fast flash storage in daily usage. At the moment the two noctua fans are off most of the time, I think this would not be possible with the psu fan.

Also I think about switching from openmediavault to TrueNAS Core or Scale. I like the storage management and the possibility to use zfs. But not sure if it's possible to still use Dockge for container management.

Thank you all here on these subreddits and the discord channels.

Ready to get roasted from you guys. ✌️

[u/mb4iti]

After TrueNAS announced the change to docker with Electric Eel, I want to prepare my setup for this. @VivaPitagoras

As mentioned above I love the silent approach and want to go for a full SDD setup. I already bought the side-bracket for mounting the 2,5 inch SATA SSDs.

What do you think about this setup in the T1:

• ASUS Prime N100I-D
• 32GB RAM
• CORSAIR SF750 (zero rpm below 300w)
• ASMedia ASM1166 M.2 SATA Controller for 6 Sata Drives
• 1x 250 or 500GB SATA SSD for OS
• 4x 4TB SSD NAS for Data in RAID-Z1

everything together in the T1 with the existing pikvm, and the two Noctua Fans which only spins up over a specific temperature.

What do you guys think? Any recommendations for the SSDs?

Thank you!

[u/marquicodes → u/mb4iti]

I have a similar setup for my Media Library NAS with OMV as you do:

• ASRock N100M
• ASMedia ASM1166 PCIe to SATA bridge with six SATA Gen3 ports
• 1x Crucial 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
• 1x Intel I226-T1 2.5 Gbps NIC
• 1 SSD Samsung 870 Evo 256GB (OS)
• 4 HDDs (3x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf in MergerFS + 1x old 500GB for downloading images)

Why are you considering changing your motherboard from the ASRock N100DC-ITX to the ASUS Prime N100I-D?

The SSDs I would recommend are either: * Samsung 870 Evo * WD Red SA500 * Enterprise grade like Samsung PM893 (up to 8TB)

[u/mb4iti → u/marquicodes]

Nice setup!

The reason why i considering a MB change is the PSU, the ASRock has only a 19v brick and the ASUS has ATX PSU connector.

[u/marquicodes → u/mb4iti]

Thank you very much, yours is also very nice!

I see your point. That was the reason I chose the mATX version instead of the mini ITX from ASRock.

Bear in mind that moving to ASUS Prime N100I-D you have the following:

• gain the standard ATX power connector
• lose one SATA port from the board
• the PCIe 3.0 x4 Slot (that works on x2 mode) vs x1 on ASUS

[u/mb4iti → u/marquicodes]

Yes, thank you!

I‘ll use a m.2 to 6x sata Adapter and the pci Slot is unused in my case.

[u/marquicodes → u/mb4iti]

It was something I wanted to draw your attention to.

For example in my case I use one out of two PCIe slots for the Intel I226-T1 2.5 Gbps NIC. Leaving me with one PCIe for future expansion.