NAS Build or Off-the-shelf
doabarrellroll
San Jose, CA Icrontian
I've been using the same NAS for about 3 years now, SmartStor 4300N running RAID10 with about 3TB of space. This thing is ancient in perspective and the drives are really starting to get old (from 09').
My thought here is get a new storage array with space for 8 hot-swappable drives. I'd start with 1 WD red 6TB drive and add to it progressively. Ideally, this system would scale for the next 5-10 years and continue to be my media server at home. At some point it would probably increase to 25TB or so. I'm thinking of running Windows Storage Server on it. It's an OS that comes standard on Lacie systems and is a very nice full windows install for a NAS unit.
The current off-the-shelf options are on the expensive side for this size, starting at $800+ for diskless systems. As an alternative, I'm looking at building a Mini-ITX system inside a U-NAS enclosure. For about $600, I've spec'd out a mini-itx mobo, i3 dual-core proc, 8 GB ram, and a ps including the cost of an 8-bay enclosure. Ironically, it's about 5 times the performance of the old AMD box I have running now.
Anybody recently buy and/or build a NAS and liked their results?
Comments
@Annes bought a NAS and could provide feedback about that experience. I think the key to setting it up yourself is to ensure whatever OS you end up with is compatible with a good underlying file system so you can expand and still have whatever backup scheme you want. I know several people around here have gone with a ZFS setup and could probably provide some feedback there. My personal media/file server has zero backup because I don't have anything with permanency requirements, so I can't really provide advice there.
I've built one and can comment when I get a chance. If I haven't posted in the next few days send me a PM or @ me here
built this one about a year two years ago:
http://icrontic.com/discussion/96739/dat-nas-build#latest
i've been really happy with it.
a couple comments:
unless you really want it somewhere conspicuous, no real reason to go ITX over matx or other
i'm not sure it is straightforward to expand from 1-N hard drives. and at the very least i'd want redundancy to start.
keep your eyes out for deals on the WD reds the next month or so, i think there are usually some decent deals for black friday somewhere or other
It's really about how you want to spend your time. I wanted a more turnkey solution when I bought a NAS, not caring about the setting up, building, and maintaining it. So, I bought Qnap. I've been using a TS-259-Pro since December of 2011 and I have not had a single hicup. I'm not sure what Qnap offers in the range of 8 bay systems, but I know they have a lot of them. You won't be able to run Microsoft Server software on a Qnap.
If you are interested, here are the Qnaps on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_pc?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=QNAP&node=541966
or support IC with this affilate link and search "qnap" on amazon:
http://fave.co/1jCkOE9
and the qnap website for more info and to see their latest product offerings:
http://www.qnap.com/i/useng/
Good luck with whatever path you choose!
Jesus shit. What drives the costs of these?
Feature lists and profit margins.
My storage server doubles as my main gaming and HTPC system. The RAID bits are 12x3TB Western Digital Red drives and an Areca ARC-1230 RAID controller. The benefit here is RAID-6 which allows two drives to die without losing anything. The controller is discontinued but either that or a similar card can usually be found on ebay for far less than Amazon and Newegg.
Now for the fun part - since the storage is on my main gaming system, I'm in the process of setting up a virtual machine running Windows Server 2012 R2 to handle the server tasks. Why? Because I tend to goof around with my Windows installs. Using a VM allows me to do this without having to reconfigure all the tasks every time I forget to back settings up. It also allows me to use remote desktop to access the server without locking the screen on the host computer.
I used a Corsair Obsidian 900D because there are enough drive bays available to hold everything without modification (the case comes with three drive cages and has space for two more). The picture below is the system. I forgot to open the bottom panel when taking the picture, but there are two drive cages, a drain system, and the PSU behind it.
I'd thought about this idea, but, it's a bit overkill for me. I'm not much of a PC gamer anymore, truthfully, not much a gamer at all anymore. :/
It would be great for it to be more like a server than anything. Typically, I store my computers downstairs and then hit them with remote desktop via a Chromebook from upstairs. Form factor isn't a major issue, so, a huge case is fine.
The big thing to keep in mind (with your original setup) is the mini ITX boards only come with a single PCIe slot. All of the mini ITX boards I've dealt with assume that slot will only be used for a GPU. If your plan is to eventually have eight drives, you may want to consider moving up to a microATX board.
That's a good idea. It may just make sense to go with a bigger case with a cheaper/more powerful mobo combo.
This looks like a decent Mini-ITX alternative: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163255
Again, you will likely run into issues using a mini ITX motherboard. Based on Newegg's selection, your motherboard would support no more than six SATA drives, possibly across at least two controllers.
If it were you, what case would you choose?
I suppose it would depend on how much of a budget I had for the case.
Requirements: 8+ hard drives (I'm going 9 to include an OS drive)
$300+: Lian Li PC-D8000
$250-299: Corsair Obsidian 900D
$200-249: NZXT Phantom
$150-199: Antec Twelve Hundred or Antec Ninteen Hundred
<$100: Antec Nine Hundred
Of the cases in this list, I have at some point owned the 900D, Phantom, and Nine Hundred. The Twelve Hundred is just a taller version of the Nine Hundred. The Nineteen Hundred looks like another extension with a toned-down exterior. The PC-D8000 (and similar cases) is on my list for future batshit crazy builds.
For the money I'd say the Antec Nineteen Hundred is going to be one of the better values. It strikes me as a less expensive Corsair Obsidian 900D, probably a bit narrower. The NZXT Phantom (original model) is also a great option if you can handle the plastic panels.
Oh nice. I should be able to find a mobo/cpu combo thats much more powerful in the ATX format over micro or mini. This is a great idea.
As a computer enthusiast, who loves building new boxes, I hate to say this but go with an off-the-shelf option. The major reason for this is power consumption. I have yet to see a decent home-built option that can get the power consumption down as low as a decent off the shelf unit. Sure, you'll be paying more up front, but considering this box will be running 24x7x365, you will likely save in the long run on your power bills.
I'd recommend getting a DS415+. "But that's only 4 drives!" I can hear you scream. Check out the backside of that mofo though. See that funny shaped port, next to the USB 3.0 there? That's an eSATA port. When (or, more accurately, IF) you get to the point where you need more drives, you can buy a drive expansion unit and use it to add up to 5 more disks. You can also use those USB ports to add USB hard drives if you're into that sort of thing. All that and it only uses ~17W when idle and ~46W when in use. What more could you ask for?
Oh, and with regards to your plan to put a single disk in to start? Yeah, I wouldn't do that. Start out with at least a redundant pair. You don't want to migrate all your data to a new device just to have it all wiped out to a faulty drive. The data put out recently shows that drives are somewhat more prone to failing in the first year of operation than in years 2-5. If you're going to consolidate your storage to a NAS, don't gamble it all by cheaping out and putting it on a single drive.
Oh, and as an addendum, if you do build your own, don't run Windows Storage Server on it. Run FreeNAS. Way better feature set. ZFS is far better storage technology than anything Windows has to offer and less wasted overhead having a bloated GUI running on your NAS.
Five more drives or five more units? Couldn't tell from the link, but the specs on the Synology site make me think it's units.
This x 1000. All of my 3TB drives have been solid performers, but several years ago I went through 13 RMAs across three hard drives in a one year period.
I thought it would allow you to add drives to your storage pool. It does, on the higher end systems, but after some additional reading the 415+ won't let you add expansion unit drives to your pool, it just lets you add the drives as external storage, which is less useful. My mistake.
If you were to spring for a DS1513+, then you would be able to expand your pool using an expansion unit. Of course, the 1513 is 170$ more expensive than the 415+. I'm still of the opinion that buying an off the shelf unit makes more sense for the power saving and the fact that it is a purpose built device. If you want to use your NAS just as a NAS, then don't build a server that has a bunch of features you don't need.
Also, perhaps you should consider if you will really need that much storage.... are your storage needs actually growing that quickly? Are you sure they're going to continue to grow that quickly? I personally plan to buy a DS414j for my house in the near future. If I max it out (18TB of storage, using 6TB drives in a Synology Hybrid RAID setup) it will provide far more storage than I need for the foreseeable future. By the time I need more than that, it's likely I'll want to replace the device anyway... that or storage technology will have changed enough that larger drives will be available, and I should be able to expand past the 18TB anyway. Synology, from my understanding, makes upgrading your storage pretty easy too.... replace a smaller drive with a larger one, it will rebuild and expand your pool, similar to how RAID-Z in ZFS works. Info: http://forum.synology.com/wiki/index.php/What_is_Synology_Hybrid_RAID?
Fun tool: https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/RAID_calculator
I can't stress enough though, even if you choose to build and disregard what I said, don't go single drive at any point.
Yea, that's a good call on not having a single drive. These are all great ideas.
I have the 1513+ for home use. Despite having one less drive bay I do wish I would've went with the 415+ due to it's CPU. The 1513+ cannot be used as a Plex server without pushing the encoding to the viewing device, therefore losing a major feature of Plex itself. It simply doesn't have the CPU power.
The 415play should also be able to handle on-the-fly encoding with no issues and costs a bit less than the 415+. However, the 415play doesn't have eSATA.
Now I'm starting to think I might want a 415play instead of a 414j... it would allow me to use Plex directly from my NAS to my Chromecast. CURSE YOU @Annes!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2008778
4 wd red 3tb drives for $400