I've got gigs and gigs of stuff spread over, currently, 8 partitions, and it's getting to be a mess. I'm tempted to put together a NAS to collectivize my data and also give me some level of redundancy via RAID- not as good as backups but better than nothing. I intend to do a RAID 5 array (or equivalent - RAID-X?) of SATA disks. The NAS will use new disks - I don't have anywhere to move my stuff, and in any case I only have 2 SATA I drives - 1 80G and 1 200G, and I'd like to have a bigger baseline (300G, more if I can buy the drives incrementally) for the NAS.
So my options are
1. build a NAS from scratch, using freenas or equivalent; or debian.
2. buy something like the INFRANT Ready-NAS off-the shelf solutions.
My budget is ~800, closer to 1000 if building rather than buying a stand-alone. Preferably with only 1 or 2 drives to start; maybe an additional $100 wriggle room if I have to start with three disks (i.e. I can't augment a single drive or RAID 1 to RAID 5)
My benchmark as far as functionality is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822329006,
particularly with regard to its ability to start with a standalone drive, move to raid 1, and ten raid 5 with their proprietary "Raid-X". (yea, I know that box is $600 without drives - I'd probably buy a cheaper stand-alone)
However, given the reported performance problems and that I'd prefer to have a server available, I prefer the build option.
Available hardware:
*a Celeron processor at my disposal (MB and mem are fracked - proc is 4 years old, a buddy's old comp - have not checked out the specs but it's most likely an early P4 celeron)
*possibly a Dell P3 Dimension (proc and mem salvageable - case and mobo probably unreusable for this project)
*I'm currently running an Athlon64 2800 (socket754, no PCIe) box that I'd like to leave untouched. In a perfect world, I'd (use the NAS as an excuse to )upgrade this machine and use its guts to build the NAS, but I'd like to wait for the AMD A2 to mature before upgrading...and due to travel reasons later this year that'd push the whole project back to January. If I end up using PCIe, that'd require a new mobo as well....and the 2800 for the large part works perfectly fine for my purposes, and upgrading now doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, other than to get a PCIe video card.
My questions:
*Are there RAID cards available that will allow me to take a single hard drive, move it to RAID 1, and then RAID 5 (while keeping the data on the drive). It's theoretically possible but I don't see it as a feature. It'd let me buy the drives piecemeal and let me use bigger drives to start so I'm not stuck with a 4x200gb array in 2 years, and rather go 500 single -> 2x500 Raid 1 -> 3x 500 RAID 3, etc.
*I've seen that for perfomance reasons a PCIe card is suggested, even though people also say that a cheap processor like a P3 is sufficient. How important is the raid card interface? Since PCIe would essentially preclude getting older hardware. At this point, with a 2800 on hand, does it make sense for me to purchase a new proc/mobo just for a NAS? I'm operating under the assumption that the RAID setup is inherent to the card - meaning I can't upgrade the card and preserve the data.
*And, given the answers to the above, what's a good RAID card?
*What would a recommended case be for a NAS with up to 6x SATA drives? I'm hearing a lot of recs for mini cases, but I'm concerned about ventilation and cooling. (I'm planning on running the OS separately from the array - experience with linux says that's the way to go....am I wrong?). I'm currently running an Antec Sonata I. My options are to use a small generic case for the NAS, or to use the Sonata for the NAS and get a flashier case (again, using the NAS as an excuse). Are there well-ventilated compact cases?
*What's the preferred software? I used to be a gentoo-head but it's been languishing lately. Moreover, I do NOT have access to a lan connection(router is in my roommate's room), or at least it'd be a PITA, so wireless access is CRITICAL. I've got two usb wireless sticks (one b, one g), and neither work well with linux. Should I just buck up and get a wireless bridge?
So my options are
1. build a NAS from scratch, using freenas or equivalent; or debian.
2. buy something like the INFRANT Ready-NAS off-the shelf solutions.
My budget is ~800, closer to 1000 if building rather than buying a stand-alone. Preferably with only 1 or 2 drives to start; maybe an additional $100 wriggle room if I have to start with three disks (i.e. I can't augment a single drive or RAID 1 to RAID 5)
My benchmark as far as functionality is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822329006,
particularly with regard to its ability to start with a standalone drive, move to raid 1, and ten raid 5 with their proprietary "Raid-X". (yea, I know that box is $600 without drives - I'd probably buy a cheaper stand-alone)
However, given the reported performance problems and that I'd prefer to have a server available, I prefer the build option.
Available hardware:
*a Celeron processor at my disposal (MB and mem are fracked - proc is 4 years old, a buddy's old comp - have not checked out the specs but it's most likely an early P4 celeron)
*possibly a Dell P3 Dimension (proc and mem salvageable - case and mobo probably unreusable for this project)
*I'm currently running an Athlon64 2800 (socket754, no PCIe) box that I'd like to leave untouched. In a perfect world, I'd (use the NAS as an excuse to )upgrade this machine and use its guts to build the NAS, but I'd like to wait for the AMD A2 to mature before upgrading...and due to travel reasons later this year that'd push the whole project back to January. If I end up using PCIe, that'd require a new mobo as well....and the 2800 for the large part works perfectly fine for my purposes, and upgrading now doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, other than to get a PCIe video card.
My questions:
*Are there RAID cards available that will allow me to take a single hard drive, move it to RAID 1, and then RAID 5 (while keeping the data on the drive). It's theoretically possible but I don't see it as a feature. It'd let me buy the drives piecemeal and let me use bigger drives to start so I'm not stuck with a 4x200gb array in 2 years, and rather go 500 single -> 2x500 Raid 1 -> 3x 500 RAID 3, etc.
*I've seen that for perfomance reasons a PCIe card is suggested, even though people also say that a cheap processor like a P3 is sufficient. How important is the raid card interface? Since PCIe would essentially preclude getting older hardware. At this point, with a 2800 on hand, does it make sense for me to purchase a new proc/mobo just for a NAS? I'm operating under the assumption that the RAID setup is inherent to the card - meaning I can't upgrade the card and preserve the data.
*And, given the answers to the above, what's a good RAID card?
*What would a recommended case be for a NAS with up to 6x SATA drives? I'm hearing a lot of recs for mini cases, but I'm concerned about ventilation and cooling. (I'm planning on running the OS separately from the array - experience with linux says that's the way to go....am I wrong?). I'm currently running an Antec Sonata I. My options are to use a small generic case for the NAS, or to use the Sonata for the NAS and get a flashier case (again, using the NAS as an excuse). Are there well-ventilated compact cases?
*What's the preferred software? I used to be a gentoo-head but it's been languishing lately. Moreover, I do NOT have access to a lan connection(router is in my roommate's room), or at least it'd be a PITA, so wireless access is CRITICAL. I've got two usb wireless sticks (one b, one g), and neither work well with linux. Should I just buck up and get a wireless bridge?
