Cheap NAS box?

[11Blade]

My home network depends on my PC for filestorage needs, and the two mobile laptops archive alot of stuff on my PC. I'm looking for a cheap NAS solution so I can turn off my PC but leave a storage box online for access to mp3's, video files, doc files and such that currently are served via my PC.

I see alot of firewire/USB 2.0 enclosures that take cheap IDE drives. Does such a beast exist with some embedded RTOS or Linux
that I can take some cheap drives, throw them in and make them available to the network.

I don't want to gear up a small PC etc. Just a quiet little box that plugs into the router.

So far I found a Linksys 80Gb cheap NAS at Amazon/Buy.com
and a "Tritton Technologies" NAS box with 120Gb for 299.00

I'd appreciate some help and pointers...

p.s. RAID not necessary but a nice bonus. (About 200Gb)

Thanks

11Blade

 

[SoulAssassin]

Shoot me for ignoring your requirements, but I would buy a p2/400 or something similar off ebay for around $40-50 which gives more than enough of a budget for HD space. The p2 will provide more than enough power to run a file server for a home network. I've heard of alot of problems with file permissions on NAS boxes and some actually limit you to defining one permission level for the entire box which may or may not suit your needs.

 

[11Blade]

Thanks for the response. I was hoping for a small form factor, low power, silent enclosure type NAS solution.

I have an old celeron box here that I could retool and install Linux but it generates heat, noise and takes
up space.

 

[tart666]

the tritton box is by far the cheapest "appliance" NAS in a while... i really doubt you will find anything cheaper any time soon...

that said, dont forget to think about software quality / security / patch frequency. Also, nas box can be stored in the basement / closet where size don't matter, no?

 

[11Blade]

I'd like to keep the NAS box near the router which is actually in my office. It looks like the tritton might be vaporware since it remains unavailable. I am thinking about building a general purpose server instead now with a mini-ITX ViA solution that can drive the printers, fileshare and possibly record tv shows with a All-in-wonder type solution.

Thanks for the input, I didn't find anything reasonable, even used Snap 40Gb are still pricy.

11Blade

 

[vortix]

If I were you, I'd get a Mini ITX case and throw your HD's in there:
http://www.mini-itx.com/

These are very small form factor cases, and can be ordered with a motherboard and CPU. Also, they are all very, very quiet, and some are completely silent (they use a low-power, low-heat CPU that doesn't require much cooling). The motherboard has everything onboard you will need, including a NIC and TV out.

 

[jimmyhaha]

same here, looking for cheap NAS but no solution found yet..

> but I would buy a p2/400 or something similar off ebay for around $40-50 which gives more than enough of a budget for HD space

not another noisy pc power 24/7 wasting electricity...

looks like ITX is the most feasible solution now.

or if u are geeky enough, u can buy some SBC (single board computer) and roll your own custom linux..

here is another option... looks like linksys OEM.

http://www.provantage.com/buy-22074906-enhance-technology-internas-ns5210-shopping.htm

 

[11Blade]

This internas box is exactly the type of thing I was looking for.. unfortunately after I pay for the 2 drives, the internas box its upward of 500.00.

Maybe the mini-ITX is the way to go, gives me more for my money but I'll spend a while configuring Linux.

11Blade