OS Recommendation for NAS

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Grentz

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May 5, 2006
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Here are my requirements:
-Software RAID
-Windows File Sharing (Samba, etc. if linux)
-FTP
-Easy to recover data from array if something goes wrong.
-RAID 2x 400gb SATA and 2x 160gb SATA drives


I am not that great with linux, but I am good at following guides in linux and usually catch on quick in scripts and such (I have edited smoothwall scripts to my liking and done lots of mod installs following guides for example).


So far I have found these options (but am VERY open to more):
Server 2k3
-I use it a lot, very familiar, etc.
-Nice as it can do other things besides just be a NAS


OpenFiler
-Seems nice, but does not give me much over just using Server 2k3, plus I loose ability do other non-NAS things.
-I would have an easier time recovering the windows raid since I am more familiar with windows file systems

unraid
-Again I lose Server2k3 ability of doing other things BUT I also gain 160gb since it uses its own cool idea of 1 parity drive.
-Recovery, adding drives on the fly, etc. seems awesome
-SUCKS that it is freakin $70 for the more than 3 drive one (a must for me)
-Have to mod in FTP support :(


So, ideas, suggestions, etc?
 
Yup, fits in the same category as openfiler, but Openfiler seems a bit better for what I want.
 
why not just go with something like Ubuntu as this will give you the extra options that you want

however personally for ease of use i would just use server 2003
 
Grentz said:
So far I have found these options (but am VERY open to more):
Server 2k3
-I use it a lot, very familiar, etc.
-Nice as it can do other things besides just be a NAS
Click to expand...

What other things are you looking for it to do?
 
Well if it had windows I could install things like a torrent client, good backup software, and any other windows programs I would play around with.

At this point I think I might just go with server 2k3, unraid seems awesome but just too limiting and Openfiler really gains me nothing over server2k3.
 
ubuntu, it does what you want, you get to learn a little in the process, and it uses less resources.
 
Rogue71 said:
why not just use windows home server??
Click to expand...

Looked into it, but it would cost me the $170 or so and the file corruption issue is worrying to me as this is a backup server used for important data.
 
Ubuntu or a similar distro is a good choice. There are some good torrent clients available, you can either use a standard desktop, or set them up as a web interface, which is nice. The software raid for linux is the best you'll find. It's totally hardware agnostic, you can mix&match drives (ide/sata, different manufacturers, its all the same, as long as capacities match, or it will just take the smaller of the two). You can take the entire array, put it into another Linux machine and start it up again with just one command. Fantastic if you have hardware failure and want to recover.
There are tons of good guides available online, and once you learn the basics, it's a very easy tool to manage.
 
might want to give open solaris a shot, if only for the ZFS filesystem.

I'm building one right now, there's plenty of options if you decide you want to add additional roles to it.
 
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