Storage ideas

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Feb 13, 2003
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I've been looking and trying to decide upon a storage solution. A NAS seems to be the way to go. And although I know that I could use a PC, cost isn't much different. At least not for what I've been looking at.

I'm considering this unit: Thecus N4100PRO ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822102026 ) $349

PC wise, I could get a Dell Inspiron 570 (which still only holds 4 HDD's) for $299. But overall, it would take up more space. But in the long run, upgradability cost would likely be less than purchasing a second NAS.

I like the NAS approach as the units are smaller. But I could likely squeeze in a third PC case into my setup somewhere.

So I come to the gurus for ideas. What are you guys using and why? What other products are available and/or does everyone have experience using?
 
For the same price as the Dell, you can assemble your own system with additional flexibility.
Something like the Antec 300 natively holds 6 hard drives, with room for 3 more in the optical drive bays, if needed.
You trade off some size for a huge gain in flexibility.
 
What exactly are you looking for in a storage solution?
 
Was trying to find a storage solution as well. Wanted to used it as a media server for the most part. Looked at this Mediasonic USB 3.0 External Enclosure

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817576009

But $140 for just a case seems a bit much. That Antec 300 seems like an interesting idea. What kind of MB/CPU/PSU/RAM would I need to put in there and would it be possible to keep the price around $150 minus the hard drives and case? I have a Microcenter nearby for MB/CPU combo deals. And also a Fry's.
 
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For the same price as the Dell, you can assemble your own system with additional flexibility.
Something like the Antec 300 natively holds 6 hard drives, with room for 3 more in the optical drive bays, if needed.
You trade off some size for a huge gain in flexibility.

Or if ur antec 300 is anything like my old one modified to hold 16 drives 30 tb :)
 
Just media storage. I'll likely use RAID, but I'm undecided on the version. I'm leaning towards an external unit simply from a size perpective (ie: unit size). Of course, the size is also a limitation to the total storage space (ie: number of HDD's it will hold).

I don't have any experience with the small standalone units, so I was hoping some users here would have some experience with various units and could share their thoughts.

However, I could make a PC work in my situation. My only requirements would be the cost, and preferably the ability to make it a standalone box (ie: no keyboard/mouse/monitor), simply power on and access remotely (if necessary).
 
Speed would only be an issue during file transfer (ie:moving files to storage). Streaming a movie or looking at photos won't strain any of the hardware I'm looking at.

The main points are size and cost. And not having any experience with any of the stand alone NAS units, I was hoping for some feedback for anyone that is or has used any of them.

My biggest issue with going the PC route is parts cost. As I don't have any spare PC's sitting about, I'll be buying everything new. And like most everyone here, I will start out with a cheap parts list, and then for various reasons upgrade most of the parts for various reasons, such as performance, reliability, quality, etc. and then end up spending a big chunk of money.
 
And not having any experience with any of the stand alone NAS units, I was hoping for some feedback for anyone that is or has used any of them.
Hit up smallnetbuilder.com for reviews on NAS units.
My biggest issue with going the PC route is parts cost. As I don't have any spare PC's sitting about, I'll be buying everything new. And like most everyone here, I will start out with a cheap parts list, and then for various reasons upgrade most of the parts for various reasons, such as performance, reliability, quality, etc. and then end up spending a big chunk of money.

To be fair, many of the decent to good NASes out there tend to cost just as much as those PCs.
 
OK. So plan B.

I'm going to redesign my current media server setup. I've used RAID 5 in the past, and I wasn't particularly happy with the write speeds. It may have simply been my setup, RAID controller, or HDD's. But anyway, since then, I haven't wanted to try it again.

The RAID will be simple data storage. With let's say 4x2TB.

What RAID version do you guys recommend? and a RAID card that supports that RAID version?
 
im using the Fractal R3 and I have 9 drives in it, works great. pretty quiet too
 
Don't want to highjack your thread but what's people's opinions on Drobo? Also would this be a good case Fractal Design Define R3 up to 9 hard drive bays with noise dampening foam.

http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2010/10/fractal-design-define-r3-review/Fractal-Design-R3-5-l.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQsC9dHEX-A
As far as I know there are far better options than a drobo. I haven't heard great things about them. Qnap, Synology, etc. might be better options I love my DS1511+
 
antec 300 with a core2duo build would be great for you, and cheap. would be plenty for a file server.
 
OK. So plan B.

I'm going to redesign my current media server setup. I've used RAID 5 in the past, and I wasn't particularly happy with the write speeds. It may have simply been my setup, RAID controller, or HDD's. But anyway, since then, I haven't wanted to try it again.

The RAID will be simple data storage. With let's say 4x2TB.

What RAID version do you guys recommend? and a RAID card that supports that RAID version?
Probably RAID 5 or 6.

Your OS choice actually determines what RAID card you get. For Windows, it's often recommended to get a true hardware RAID controller as the motherboard's onboard RAID (sometimes known as fakeRAID or software RAID depending on the definition) implementation as well as Windows software RAID implementation is not that great. Low performance and relatively not that great reliability. A true hardware RAID controller tends to be around $300+ and up. But you do get really great performance.

As for Linux, BSD, or virtually any non-windows OS, they tend to have a really good software RAID implementation. In some cases, they can match some of the cheaper true hardware RAID controllers in performance. As such, you don't need a RAID controller at all with those OSes. All you need are SATA ports, even the ones found on a motherboard. So if a motherboard has six SATA ports and you only need six SATA ports, than that's it. There's your RAID setup right there.

The three common software RAID implementations I see hereabouts are:
1) ZFS based setup withFreeNAS v7 (I think)
2) OpenIndiana with Napp-It application/appliance (Also ZFS based)
3) Linux with MDADM.

You're gonna see ZFS mentioned quite a lot here on the forums so I recommend reading this thread (ignore the ZFSguru references/questions):
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1036644362&postcount=2
Don't want to highjack your thread but what's people's opinions on Drobo? Also would this be a good case Fractal Design Define R3 up to 9 hard drive bays with noise dampening foam.
The general consensus that I can tell is that the Drobo is not worth getting unless the user is looking for an absolute dead simple solution at whatever the cost. The cons of the Drobo outweigh many of its pros from what I can tell. The Fractal Design case is good.
 
Don't want to highjack your thread but what's people's opinions on Drobo?

Stay away from Drobo unless someone just gives you one. We purchased a DroboPro for work and could never get speeds over about 65-70 MB/s. The only thing I would ever possibly recommend them for is a backup unit, and even then you are tied to their proprietary design. If the unit ever goes out, the only way to get the data back is to purchase another of the same model... which generally isn't cheap.

We retired the unit from work since it couldn't handle anything we would need it for and I got to bring it home. Even being free I don't know if I want to bother using it for backup of my home server...
 
I will be using Windows. Still using XP currently.

So I will need a hardware RAID card, with 4 or 8 ports. Any preferred brands or models?
 
I will be using Windows. Still using XP currently.

So I will need a hardware RAID card, with 4 or 8 ports. Any preferred brands or models?

Areca and LSI's MegaRAID seems to be the more common recommendations. Dell's Perc 6/e and 6/i RAID cards are also an option if you're willing to buy used.

If you don't mind older generation RAID controllers, check out these RAID controllers:
$430 - HighPoint RocketRAID 4320 PCI-Ex8 8 Port SATA and SAS RAID Card
$450 - areca ARC-1222 PCI-Ex4 8 Port SATA and SAS RAID Card

If you want a newer generation RAID controller, check out these RAID controllers:
$510 - LSI MegaRAID 9260-8i 8 Port SATA and SAS RAID Card
$580 - areca ARC-1880i PCI-Ex4 8 Port SATA and SAS RAID Card
 
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