ECC Memory Requirement?

[ericny]

Hi!

I believe TrueNAS lists ECC memory as a requirement. I am planning to install HexOS on a new Ugreen DXP4800 Plus which hardware doesn't have that feature. What are your thoughts on that?

I have experience with Synology, Qnap, Netgear and Unraid but am new to TrueNAS.

Thanks.

Edited November 29, 2024 by ericny

[Magnus]

HI there! ECC is not required to install.

TrueNAS Scale recommends it though, you can read more here: https://www.truenas.com/docs/scale/gettingstarted/scalehardwareguide/

 

 

[RobotsNeverDie]

Not required but nice to have for the extra protection against a bit flip.

[Dylan]

How many TrueNAS users actually use ECC? Curious about anecdotal feedback if non-ECC users tend to experience greater failure rates.

[cake]

HexOS, being based on TrueNAS, means ZFS is being used under the hood, right? In the announcement video, Linus was talking about Raid-Z1 and Raid-Z2, so I assume this is ZFS based. I'm not an expert here, but here is my understanding: ZFS caches file checksums in memory, and it assumes that the memory checksums are the source of truth, which is why the ECC memory is necessary. If the file checksum gets bit flipped in memory, this can lead to file corruptions. Also, it's averaged that bits are flipped in a computer 1-3 times a year on average, so I believe without ECC, there is some risk.

I'd love for someone to jump in here and tell me that I'm wrong, because for the past month I've been jumping through hoops to get a machine with ECC so I could setup TrueNAS locally.

Edited November 30, 2024 by spierce7