Storage Solutions Looking for a NAS/custom solution for storing 4-6 HDDS

Status
Not open for further replies.
rahuljawale said:
Sei, it's more than 15 days after you started the thread. Have you bought the system already? Or are you still looking for HW options? :)

BTW, for OS, I compared Windows (any edition) vs Linux (Ubuntu Desktop and Server) vs FreeNAS.

I found that targeted systems like FreeNAS are too limiting when it comes to versatility and flexibility.
Allow me to explain, my current NAS uses Ubuntu Server. I can monitor HDD temps, proc temps, can tune and monitor system with readily available tools like ethtool, smartctl etc etc. Not to forget Webmin plays a big role in system management since NAS is run headless in 99% of instances. I am not sure if all these things can be done with FreeNAS.

During my tests on FreeNAS 0.7.2, Samba performance suffered a lot and was a serious deal-breaker even after I was impressed by its footprint and ease of use. I was kind of helpless since nothing could fix the issue. However, Ubuntu (or Linux in general) support is easy to come by.

IF you are concerned about performance, take this from my personal experience that Ubuntu Software RAID is as fast as anything out there. There is an old review (dont have link handy) that clearly proved Ubuntu Software RAID to be faster than any NAS OS out there.

Window is good but will be an overkill with its GUI which is really not required. It would be perfectly fine if you end up with Windows given the ease of use it offers. However Software RAID is out of question in that case. (Not looking at Intel Matrix Storage Manager).

Note : Do not cut corners by buying cheap PSUs. HDDs are pretty sensitive to voltage fluctuations and are easy to kill :lol:. Go for VIP (by Kunhar) PSUs if you are short on budget. Highly reliable for the price point. I have a batch of VIPs running for more than 5 yrs (oldest is 9 yrs) and are still in active service. :hail:
Click to expand...

15 days gone by = a string of celebrations and gifts and no money left to buy stuff :P

Waiting for my next month's salary.

PS: And I am still trying to source a Gigabyte Atom based board since it has 4 SATA ports built in. 2-3 dealers are saying that the production for those has stopped. If anyone can help me there, it would be great.
Found one link on eBay - http://www.ebay.in/itm/GIGABYTE-GA-...tDomain_203&hash=item5d34a9869b#ht_3521wt_906
But the dealer has quite a low rating. Not sure if I should go for it.
 
Sei said:
15 days gone by = a string of celebrations and gifts and no money left to buy stuff :P

Waiting for my next month's salary.

PS: And I am still trying to source a Gigabyte Atom based board since it has 4 SATA ports built in. 2-3 dealers are saying that the production for those has stopped. If anyone can help me there, it would be great.
Found one link on eBay - GIGABYTE GA-D425TUD INTEL ATOM DDR3 RAM SLOT 3Yrs Warr | eBay
But the dealer has quite a low rating. Not sure if I should go for it.
Click to expand...

PPS: Bought it. Can do with the single core atom. It is going to be only used as a storage server anyways.
 
rahuljawale said:
from what I read, Linux Software RAID is quite is easy to recoever. I have not personally encountered disk failures or others yet. But I did change my OS drive a couple of times and mounting the RAID back was a breeze. Couple of commands at shell and there you go.
Why don't you run a proof of concept system for a week or two. Try different failure scenarios and see if the RAID can recover gracefully. We will try our best to help you. :):)
Click to expand...

Thank you for extending your help. I indeed would love to try it out... but I just wanna make a uPnP server, to store songs.. and maybe a movie or 2. So I don't see the point in making a RAID array for this purpose.
The whole collection will also be sitting on my main machine so there is no point having RAID. Little lag I can live with :)
 
Sei said:
PPS: Bought it.
Click to expand...

Was 500 more than you needed to spend: Gigabyte GA-D425TUD Combo Motherboard | Combo Motherboard | Flipkart.com

Anyway good luck, hope you can progress the build.
@amitkher, yes PCI-E is point to point but the logic controller allows sharing of connections by disabling active lanes to specific devices and peripherals. Two devices can share a lane, just not at the same time.

The point was the bandwidth and sharing between devices on one physical connection.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Argh, i checked a few weeks earlier on flipkart. It was out of stock. :@
Sent from my HD7 using Board Express
 
@djmykey, you are welcome. In that case a capable router with USB HDD fits the bill. Let us know how your build goes. Would definitely be interested to hear more. Start a new thread if you wish to. Good luck!
@Sei, good choice. Keep us posted.

Do not know why no one is coming up with mini-itx build having more than 6 SATA ports. Do they not know how the end-users have been using their boards.:annoyed:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
^^No, there are many 6 SATA solutions on ITX, Jetway has boards across each generation of the Atom, as has Supermicro.

Even the E350 boards have 5+eSATA so it can be done.

The problem is that India has no market for such solutions, at least none in any size. We are still a very primitive computer market so someone who buys such a basic board would run it with a basic disk.

Fileserver built from x86 parts is a very niche application in any part of the world. Here, it's probably small enough to be termed non-existent.
 
@cranky , Agreed. So in that case availability is the root cause. ;) .

BTW, my build is based on one of the Supermicro mini-itx board that has 6 SATA ports. Just that the board was not easy to come by.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@cranky Do I need to get any newer versions of the Atom processor for my File server. I plan to install Ubuntu server and I don't see any other advantage in buying the new Atom than having a better GPU. Which wont be used anyway coz the machine will be running a CLI.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yawn

For simple storage this is what I bought ;)


ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345448960.600187.jpg


Bought a wd 2tb green

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345448991.182342.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345449057.016265.jpg

That's the arse with the USB and jumper selectors

Most importantly Plug And Play


:D
 
djmykey said:
cranky Do I need to get any newer versions of the Atom processor for my File server.
Click to expand...

Not at all. The 410/425 is sufficient for more people, I felt the 510/525 would add a bit of grunt to the system for remote access and the ability to do some amount of crunching (media re-encoding, tagging, that sorta stuff). For those who do not, the older series is a better buy as long as they are available. I sense they will be close enough to EOL now.

The 230/330 are probably too old and power hungry with the 945 chipset (and not worth it for power savings alone).

The new Atoms are extremely frugal - I have a DN2800MT that runs off a spare hard disk adapter and plays back 1080p rips - but the older ones offer similar power efficiency with smoother desktop performance.

The NM10/D510 is smoother in Windows than the newer Atoms with their outsourced GPU, though the latter will play back 1080p rips and the former can't.

The newer Atoms are better for mini-HTPC applications and the older ones are a better overall package for fileservers, so long as Intel doesn't do something about the Aero performance of the DN series.
 
cranky said:
Not at all. The 410/425 is sufficient for more people, I felt the 510/525 would add a bit of grunt to the system for remote access and the ability to do some amount of crunching (media re-encoding, tagging, that sorta stuff). For those who do not, the older series is a better buy as long as they are available. I sense they will be close enough to EOL now.

The 230/330 are probably too old and power hungry with the 945 chipset (and not worth it for power savings alone).

The new Atoms are extremely frugal - I have a DN2800MT that runs off a spare hard disk adapter and plays back 1080p rips - but the older ones offer similar power efficiency with smoother desktop performance.

The NM10/D510 is smoother in Windows than the newer Atoms with their outsourced GPU, though the latter will play back 1080p rips and the former can't.

The newer Atoms are better for mini-HTPC applications and the older ones are a better overall package for fileservers, so long as Intel doesn't do something about the Aero performance of the DN series.
Click to expand...

the older ones, aka the 330 with ion2 is great as a htpc as well, ( u can see it in my prev post, snap 1 to the left of the storage

;)
 
@babhishek: Is that kind of a storage device even available in India? Seems really something nice to have. I'm in the process of building my storage rig (mainly for my documents, music and photographs).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
babhishek: I'm almost done buying the components for my storage rig but nevertheless can you post a link for the product? Would really like to take a look at the product with more details. It looks a lot like a Drobo box to me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom