Hello all. My company currently uses a Netgear ReadyNAS 316 running BitTorrentSync. We’re using it to mirror over 4TB of data (in the form of 1.5million files) to a nearby offsite backup on an identical NAS. The drive usage has grown significantly since I first designed the solution around 5 years ago, and it’s starting to have trouble keeping up (specifically the sheer number of files is crashing BTSync on the NAS’ dual core and 2GB RAM).
I’m looking at replacing it with a pair of new FreeNAS systems running Syncthing. However, I’m having trouble pinning down what hardware specs I will need to run this (both today, and after the storage grows again over time). I’m fine with it only getting reindexed every hour (instead of every 5 minutes), and I need a small-profile box like a ReadyNAS or FreeNAS Mini (not a rack or giant server). I also need it to stay affordable to our small company… so think thousands of dollars, rather than tens of thousands.
Any guidance on required specs, products, general advice, etc would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I don’t think there is some magic formula that can tell you what you need. Aim as high as you can and ideally get an ssd for the database.
There is no official guidance, but perhaps someone with the device in question can comment. Even then I’d take that with a pinch of salt as it will vary based on distribution of file sizes, how often data is modified etc.
I’d copy the data to a test machine and give it a spin. It’s always a good idea to test things before investing a lot of money in hardware and realizing that nothing works as intended.
But as a general rule of thumb:
the more RAM the better
as @AudriusButkevicius already mentioned: put the syncthing database on a SSD
Very helpful advice! Thanks guys! Currently looking at how to get an SSD onto the FreeNAS Mini with ZFS… Any idea the size that the Syncthing database scales out to? I want my ducks in a row before I buy…