Build vs. Buy NAS

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kronik8

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 16, 2002
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I recently purchased 4 WD RE2-GP 1TB disks that I want to throw in a RAID5. I'd like all of the functionality of the ReadyNAS NV+ (http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/ReadyNASNVPlus/RND4000.aspx) - data backup of PCs, file-serving, etc. without sinking money into a sole-purpose unit. I'm unsure as to how difficult it would be to build an identical solution, mostly from an OS standpoint. I've done some very cursory reading about FreeNAS which seems to fit the bill? WHS may also work, though RAID is not a reality using it. Has anyone done this? If so, what parts did you ultimately go with? I'd have to purchase everything as I have nothing spare laying around.

Are there any SFF cases that can take 4 3.5"s? A Dell Perc should sate my needs, shouldn't it? I know I need to go hardware RAID but the price of an Areca or Adaptec is relatively prohibitive though I suppose I could suck it up if it was the only way to go. All that being said, would it just be better to go with a ReadyNAS NV+ or a Promise NAS setup? I am sort of diametrically opposed to the idea of buying a box that essentially is a PC that can only serve one purpose, instead of specifying a unit's role which can later be re-purposed.
 
built nas solutions are always to limiting, I like the freedom to run any drive configuration i want on any os i want and be able to run any service/application i want. So my vote is go build one.
 
I originally wanted an NAS for a long time, but when I saw that for a few more bucks I could have a HTPC/gaming machine I went that route.
 
I hate prebuilt stuff, its always limited by crappy firmware, bad design etc. If I build my own I have no one to blame except myself. And If I want to add functionality or "features" I usually can fairly easy.

For instance I'm about to build myself an HTPC...I looked at MCextenders but the ones that would do HD are $400 dollars and have crappy firmware that cant be tuned and i'm at the mercy of company for updating it. Whereas I can get myself a SSF case, psu, matx w/hdmi, AMD x2 45w proc, 2gb ram for $300. I can then run vista, linux, OSX or tripleboot all three if I feel like it. But lets say I go the easy route with just vista, i can then add functionality to it like netlfix instant view, someone created a plugin because you can develop stuff for OS's, you cant develop for linksys, or dlink firmware.

I know your talking about a NAS but its the same concept. Build your own you'll be happier in the end. Plus when its time to upgrade you can reuse prob a lot of the parts.

BTW I'd stay away from FreeNAS I think its transfer speeds are slow and it has a very slow development cycle.
 
I was thinking of buying a pre-built one too but decided I'd rather build on to my liking.
 
So your budget for a NAS is roughly $800 since you're looking at the RND4000, correct?

Hmmm, here's what I'd build:

Dell Perc 5/i Card from ebay - ~$125
2 x SFF-8484 to 4 x SATA Cables - $25
Silverstone SUGO SG02W-F White mATX Case - $70
Lian-Li EX-23NA Silver 3in2 Internal HDD Kit w/80mm fan - $27
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ CPU - $58 (FS)
Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 AMD 740G mATX AMD Motherboard - $60
mushkin 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $24 (FS)
Corsair 450VX 450W PSU - $66
Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $62 (For OS)
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Total: $517 plus tax and shipping.

Still plenty of room with your budget. The Dell Perc 5/i card should be more than sufficient for your needs. However your budget does allow for a new and faster Areca card:
Areca ARC-1220 PCI-E x8 8 Port SATA II Controller Card (Hardware RAID) - $435

With the Areca card, the total will be $805.

However, do note that the SFF case I chose above will only fit four drives for your RAID array. Don't use the RAID array for the OS install since it's not a good idea. If you only need 4 ports, then get this Areca card:
Areca ARC-1210 PCI-E x8 4 Port SATA II Controller Card (Hardware RAID) - $290

Though if you do get the Dell Perc 5/i or Areca 1220 card and want to use all 8 ports and don't really need a SFF setup, I recommend this case combo:
Antec 300 ATX Case - $60
Cooler Master STB-3T4-E3-GP 4 in 3 Device Module w/ 120mm Fan - $22 (In Stock tommorrow)
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Total: $82 plus tax and shipping

The above case combo should fit all 8 drives of your future array as well as one OS drive.
 
Thank you for your recommendations and especially the build which is exactly what I was hoping for. Here's a question: do I really need to go with an Areca? I mean, I know they're phenomenal cards and all but this will be a fileserver/backup server for a 5-6 PC household. What benefits would I see from the Areca over the Perc?
 
kronik8 said:
Thank you for your recommendations and especially the build which is exactly what I was hoping for. Here's a question: do I really need to go with an Areca? I mean, I know they're phenomenal cards and all but this will be a fileserver/backup server for a 5-6 PC household. What benefits would I see from the Areca over the Perc?
Click to expand...

Better compatibility (as said earlier, the Dell Perc cards are pretty finicky about which motherboard they work with), faster speeds, an actual warranty since you're buying the Dell Perc used off eBay, probably better support here on the forums since many people on this forums do have Areca cards.

Not much benefits for you, really.

Read these threads for more info on the Dell Perc5 card::
Finally went to a Hardware Raid5 controller...
Dell Perc 5/i - Mainboard Compatibility List
Solution for Dell Perc 5/i for Intel Chipsets
 
I am not an expert, but I wanted to add a few things. If you like the ReadyNAS form factor, you can check out this case for your server/NAS. It requires an ITX motherboard, so it will cost a bit more than normal cases, but I think it looks awesome.

On a related note, I may know of a readyNAS that will be going up for sale in the near future... :D

Also, I see a lot of people recommending hardware RAID cards for NAS systems, and I am not exactly sure why. Maybe I am just envious of everyones 'BitchinFast' RAID cards ;), but it seems a tad overkill. With gigabit ethernet, the fastest possible transfer rate is 125MB/sec. I am able to get 172 MB/sec with my software RAID array in Linux running on the 'cheap' SATA card. I will therefore run into the limit of my networking gear before I max out the array speed. Also, from what I understand, if your RAID card fails with hardware RAID, then you need to get another of the same exact card to rescue your array. In the case of software RAID (at least in Linux), all I need to do is take my four drives to another working computer with MDADM installed and type a command to resurrect my array. This seems like a 'safer' option. I guess if you plan to do a bunch of other stuff with the computer, then software RAID is a bad idea as it hits your CPU a bit, but for a NAS or home server, this is not a problem (for me at least).

As I said, I am no expert, so maybe there are benefits I don't know about for going hardware RAID. plus none of the big RAID cards will fit in my chassis. If you are set on hardware RAID, don't let me discourage you, but it seems a bit overkill for what you need.

Edit: To respond to your original question, build. I started out with the ReadyNAS, and liked the simplicity of it, but that simplicity came at the expense of functionality. If you just want something that you can plug in and it works, get a prebuilt NAS, but if you are willing to spend a bit of time to configure it, building your own is the way to go. You can also consider some type of Linux for your OS. I chose Ubuntu Server, and it was surprisingly easy to setup. As long as you are willing to do a bunch of Google searches, there are some pretty good guides to setting up a basic server. I put up a bunch of pictures and stuff here if you are interested.
 
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