Looking for a storage solution

A

-=Antimatter=-

2[H]4U
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Feb 8, 2005
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Right now I'm a little overwhelmed on storage options....at present time all my drives are in my main rig.

2xWD Green 1TB
1xWD Green 500GB
1xWD 250GB (on my desk)

I try to keep 1:1 backups by purchasing twin drives whenever possible; I've filled up my 1TB capacity and I'm using the 500GB for spillover right now. I've been looking at options and I think that getting my storage away from my actual PC is something I want to do.

My current network setup is a WRT54GL, and I use the wifi for my printer and ipod. Without gigabit, I think that an eSATA RAID enclosure might be the best option for me. I'd like to have space for 4-6 drives, initially I'd toss the 1TB drives in there and add a pair of 1.5TB drives shortly after.

Can anyone recommend such an enclosure? I'd like to have network functionality as well if I switch to gigabit in the future. I'm also trying to stay away from small/loud fans.
 
Also, has anybody used the HP mediasmart servers? I have a feeling that they're overkill for what I need, but they are pretty sexy...
 
Windows Home Server that is used in the HP servers is a great option. Even if you just have some older pc parts that you can throw together and add some large hdd's as a cheap option it's a great OS. Before you decide I recommend reading up on WHS a bit.

For networking I suggest adding a gigabit switch, they're cheap enough at about $30. I have a similar setup (below), and it'll is just a plug in - no configuration required.

internet-----cable/dsl modem----WRT54GL-----gigabit switch--------PC's/server
 
Good point, I didn't think adding a switch would be that cheap.

I just built a cheap little server on newegg, and it came out to about the same price as the HP mediasmart server, and that was using my own spare HDD, motherboard, cpu, and ram. It's looking like a NAS enclosure+gigabit switch is my best option right now, as much as I'd love to play with WHS.

I also came across a newegg-brand 8-bay eSATA enclosure that looks badass, but the 5-port version has horrible reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132016
 
-=Antimatter=- said:
Good point, I didn't think adding a switch would be that cheap.

I just built a cheap little server on newegg, and it came out to about the same price as the HP mediasmart server, and that was using my own spare HDD, motherboard, cpu, and ram. It's looking like a NAS enclosure+gigabit switch is my best option right now, as much as I'd love to play with WHS.

I also came across a newegg-brand 8-bay eSATA enclosure that looks badass, but the 5-port version has horrible reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132016
Click to expand...

Spend the extra $150 for a HP WHS its really fast....just look at smallnetbuilder.com charts it was at the top for like 8 months or something. Plus you can do so much with it including adding external storage if you run out of bays. Which is freaking cool.

BTW Ockie has one of the HP's so hopefully he will chime in.

I have built two of my WHS boxes and could not be more pleased with the results.
 
eagleknight said:
What is your budget? How much do you think you'll expand to in the future?
Click to expand...

Looking at $500 in the next few weeks, toss in the storage drives I have and expand with 1TB or 1.5TB drives to max capacity of the enclosure/server. 4TB total would keep me happy for another year or so of accumulation and ripping.

edit: That's 4TB backed up, so 8TB in a box. I suppose stuffing 6TB into a MediaSmart server would work nicely for now. Not very ambitious compared to some projects around here, but hey....
 
I went for the Mediasmart server, it should get here this week. I'll post pics with my initial thoughts.

Overkill ftw!
 
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