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Help choosing a NAS for home network

M

mikeyd55

Junior Member
I have a home network with 5 PC's that I would like to add a COMPETENT NAS to. I'm currently using a Linksys NSLU2 with an external (USB 2.0 interface) 200 Gb P-ATA drive.

I want to improve upon it for the following reasons:

1) Moving (especially) and accessing large files is S-L-O-W-E-R than I expected (didn't really know what to expect, though). 2) Not nearly enough storage space. 3) Too many separate units to contend with. 4) Hard drive in current setup is not cooled. 5) No redundancy, mirroring (second drive) not used.

I would like the replacement NAS to be:

1) Compatible with "network / storage industry standards" and Windows Vista
2) Capable of simultaneous access from all PC's on network.
3) A completely self contained unit (with power supply and cooling fan(s) for NAS circuitry and - minimum 2 - hard drives built-in).
4) Equipped with two (2) 500 Gb S-ATA hard drives - one mirroring the other.
5) Capable of being accessed from the Internet.

I've been looking at a D-Link unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822155003 and a

Buffalo Technology unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822165021 , which I would have to purchase two (2) of.

Either way it looks like an investment of about $ 550.00 or so.

If I go with the D-Link, I'm on my own to source the hard drives. Is it important to look for 500 Gb S-ATA drives like the recently released Caviar RE2 WD4000YR drive (I don't know yet if this is made in 500 GB), this drive supports Time Limited Error Recovery and Rotary Acceleration Forward Feed operations features?

Thanks for ANY & ALL input!
 
I've got a NSLU2 as well, and I feel your pain 😉

the Dlink unit looks very promising, but I've never had any luck with their products(other than NICs)

Tom's Hardware has a good writeup with comparison's of NAS units
 
I had an NSLU2 before so I know what you mean. Currently, I'm just sharing a drive on one my PCs at home, but I'm also looking for a decent NAS.

Most of the NAS boxes I've seen in the SOHO market require you to install some kind of client software for access to the NAS, and that's one thing I'd really like to avoid, since I get friends coming over for LAN parties and such. The need for a seperate client is a nuisance IMHO.
 
Contrary to the above statement, I've seen very few NAS boxes that require client software. I wouldn't consider that a true "NAS" either. Anyway, as far as redundancy is considered, keep in mind that a RAID NAS (more than one hard drive in the NAS box) only protects against hard drive failure. RAID is NOT a backup solution. My recommendation would be to purchase the buffalo NAS (I have a first generation Linkstation and mine works like a charm) and then also purchase an identical size hard drive for another PC and put some type of backup software (Allway Sync) on a PC and use that for backups either every few days or once a week. If your dead sure on getting a RAID NAS, take a look at the Infrant Readynas: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822329010 But again, I'd still recommend using another PC on your network to backup once a week to another hard drive for true backups
 
This is the NAS I have setup right now Freedom9 4020, you need to buy HD separately and can support upto 4 Drives and has RAID capabilities. I pretty much does everything you need.
1) I am not sure about Vista, but the NAS itself has Linux Kernal OS and looks like a normal drive over the network. and has 2 additional USB ports
2)I have had 4 computers accessing the NAS no problem, not sure what the limit is.
3)Yes, take a look at the manual
4) Have to buy HD separately.
5) Can be setup as FTP.

Comes with DiskExpress Backup software buy I do not use it, you can read up more in the manual.
My only complain is that the fans are loud. Another one, even though it has a gigabit lan port I am only able to get 7-14MB/s while I can get 25-30MB/s when transferring b/w 2 gigabit lan computers on the same network and their support said they get about 15-20MB/s.

Hopefully that helps, good luck.
 
I've never run into a NAS that requires some sort of client software. it kind of defeats the purpose of a NAS.

if the $550 you're looking to spend includes the hard drives, I think you're kind of boned.
 
Easier and cheaper to just put together a headless PC? Run an easy to install linux OS like clark connect? Would be pretty easy to set it up with a windows box as well.
 
The Infrant unit you included the link to is impressive, but out of my price range. Would your back up solution work if I used a second Buffalo unit instead of a PC?

Thanks for your input!
 
The Freedom9 4020 also looks good, but with additional cost of 4 drives it would be in the same $ 899.00 ballpark as the Infrant unit, which is more than I can spend on this.
 
Originally posted by: mikeyd55
The Infrant unit you included the link to is impressive, but out of my price range. Would your back up solution work if I used a second Buffalo unit instead of a PC?

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

Yes, as a matter of fact it would. The chances of both units failing at the same time are pretty remote. Just so you know though, it would be cheaper to simply buy an internal hard drive of the same size (500gb SATA drive is around $150) and put that in a PC rather than a second linkstation. But yes, it would work.
 
is there a reason you won't just stick a 2nd drive on the NSLU2 and raid them?

the NSLU2 isn't ideal, but for the network you describe it should do everything you're asking about
 
Well according to the numerous reason's he wants to upgrade, none of them would be solved by sticking with the NSLU2. Plus, having three separate things requiring power for just a NAS, come on. These devices that you have to hook your hard drives into via USB IMHO are just crap anyway.
 
the only want that's missing is having the hard drives internal to the NAS. I agree it's a bit of a hassle having to power everything seperately, but once you have it set up, the NSLU2 does work pretty well. (especially when you already own one and don't need to spend $500 more bucks on duplicating current functionality)

that being said

If you're willing to spend $500, you can build a hell of a NAS yourself out of just a regular PC and call it a fileserver. then you can do everything a NAS does and more
 
I would definitely be willing to build a "fileserver" myself as I'm anything but shy about building PC's! My concern, though, is the software interface side of things, which other than the install of Windows OS, I have zero experience with. I've read in other forums that someone building their own NAS typically utilizes a Linux derivative or proprietary OS to make it all work. I'm willing to spend money primarily to wind up with a somewhat tested and polished product. Please correct me if I'm wrong in my understanding of what's involved.
 
Well if this is for 10 or less machines, XP Professional can handle it for you. I don't know if that helps or not though?
 
Originally posted by: kevnich2
Well if this is for 10 or less machines, XP Professional can handle it for you. I don't know if that helps or not though?
Click to expand...

I guess I was hoping to not have to maintain another PC. I really only want the ability to log in to a web page interface occasionally to access the NAS unit for maintenance (firware updates, etc.), which is why I want something as maintenance-free and reliable as possible. Maybe I am looking at this a little close-minded, though. Obviously, a file server PC can do a whole lot more than just serve files up, and one can never have too many PC's.

 
I've got both a NAS (nslu2) and a true fileserver (celeron 2.6ghz, 2gb ram, 900gb hard drive space, running xp pro)

my fileserver is way overkill in terms of power for what's actually required. I just simply had some stuff lying around and threw it together

essentially, all that you do is build an XP machine, throw some big hard drives in it, then map those hard drives across all the other PC's

doing simple things like always naming the shares consistenly will make life much much easier 😉

it really doesn't end up being any less efficient than just a NAS, and it remains scalable, and fully under your control.
 
Originally posted by: Tikker
I've got both a NAS (nslu2) and a true fileserver (celeron 2.6ghz, 2gb ram, 900gb hard drive space, running xp pro)

my fileserver is way overkill in terms of power for what's actually required. I just simply had some stuff lying around and threw it together

essentially, all that you do is build an XP machine, throw some big hard drives in it, then map those hard drives across all the other PC's

doing simple things like always naming the shares consistenly will make life much much easier 😉

it really doesn't end up being any less efficient than just a NAS, and it remains scalable, and fully under your control.
Click to expand...

And the RAID options are dictated by the motherboard I choose?

 
Originally posted by: Tikker
I've got both a NAS (nslu2) and a true fileserver (celeron 2.6ghz, 2gb ram, 900gb hard drive space, running xp pro)

my fileserver is way overkill in terms of power for what's actually required. I just simply had some stuff lying around and threw it together

essentially, all that you do is build an XP machine, throw some big hard drives in it, then map those hard drives across all the other PC's

doing simple things like always naming the shares consistenly will make life much much easier 😉

it really doesn't end up being any less efficient than just a NAS, and it remains scalable, and fully under your control.
Click to expand...

I'm looking at this Intel board (about $ 115.00): http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DQ965GF/index.htm

It's probably overkill for server duty, but I want to hedge my bet in case I later decide to use it for a desktop pc. Most importantly, it's Gigabit LAN, RAID 0,1,5 & 10, and even includes an eSATA port for a "mirror" external HD.




 
A nas is more convenient than a file server. But a file server is nice for expandability and control. There's nothing you can't do with a file server (mail, web, ftp, hosting, etc). But it's larger and consumes more power.
 
Originally posted by: mikeyd55
I'm looking at this Intel board (about $ 115.00): http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DQ965GF/index.htm

It's probably overkill for server duty, but I want to hedge my bet in case I later decide to use it for a desktop pc. Most importantly, it's Gigabit LAN, RAID 0,1,5 & 10, and even includes an eSATA port for a "mirror" external HD.
Click to expand...

I've heard of some surprisingly good RAID 5 write figures on that board or sibling, via the on-board ICH8R. I'd like to check that out myself, and think this board is worth looking at.

Note however that RAID 5 is limited to 4 ports on that board (and similar ones), despite there being 6 SATA ports on-board. With very large capacity drives becoming increasingly affordable, this is much less of an issue that it used to be in the past, but is something to be aware of.
 
Originally posted by: kevnich2
A nas is more convenient than a file server. But a file server is nice for expandability and control. There's nothing you can't do with a file server (mail, web, ftp, hosting, etc). But it's larger and consumes more power.
Click to expand...

Life is hectic enough and a little convenience once in a while is fine with me. That said I am giving serious thought to building it myself for all the reasons you mention. I did consider the power consumption (and noise) issue but that all goes along with a more robust & capable piece of equipment. I?ll be using an Antec 400 watt ATX 2.0 power supply. Do you have any thoughts on cooling the 2 ? 4 500 Gb. hd?s in a NAS vs. ?SOHO file server? case? I?ll be using an Antec SX1040BII case, which is about three years old and limited to 80mm fans (2 up front & 2 in rear). The hard drives mount up front in slide out cages and are cooled by the rear mounted fans pulling air from the front vents across the drives. I may, however, be able to mount two drives behind a front fan, which I think would be ideal.


 
Originally posted by: Madwand1
Originally posted by: mikeyd55
I'm looking at this Intel board (about $ 115.00): http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DQ965GF/index.htm

It's probably overkill for server duty, but I want to hedge my bet in case I later decide to use it for a desktop pc. Most importantly, it's Gigabit LAN, RAID 0,1,5 & 10, and even includes an eSATA port for a "mirror" external HD.
Click to expand...

I've heard of some surprisingly good RAID 5 write figures on that board or sibling, via the on-board ICH8R. I'd like to check that out myself, and think this board is worth looking at.

Any thoughts or recommendations for 500 Gb s-ata hard drives? When I was considered going with with the Infrant NAS, I was looking at Hitachi units (primarily because they're on Infrant's approved drive list). What features should I look for in drives used for soho file server duty or should I buy strictly based on best price?

Note however that RAID 5 is limited to 4 ports on that board (and similar ones), despite there being 6 SATA ports on-board. With very large capacity drives becoming increasingly affordable, this is much less of an issue that it used to be in the past, but is something to be aware of.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: Madwand1
Originally posted by: mikeyd55
I'm looking at this Intel board (about $ 115.00): http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DQ965GF/index.htm

It's probably overkill for server duty, but I want to hedge my bet in case I later decide to use it for a desktop pc. Most importantly, it's Gigabit LAN, RAID 0,1,5 & 10, and even includes an eSATA port for a "mirror" external HD.
Click to expand...

I've heard of some surprisingly good RAID 5 write figures on that board or sibling, via the on-board ICH8R. I'd like to check that out myself, and think this board is worth looking at.

Note however that RAID 5 is limited to 4 ports on that board (and similar ones), despite there being 6 SATA ports on-board. With very large capacity drives becoming increasingly affordable, this is much less of an issue that it used to be in the past, but is something to be aware of.
Click to expand...

Any thoughts or recommendations for 500 Gb s-ata hard drives? When I was considered going with with the Infrant NAS, I was looking at Hitachi units (primarily because they're on Infrant's approved drive list). What features should I look for in drives used for soho file server duty or should I buy strictly based on best price?


 
Look at newegg at the Seagate 500gb. I picked up one for $120 the other day. I'll probably be buying another one here pretty soon for that price. A NAS vs an actual file server isn't an easy decision, currently I'm kind of using both because of that.
 
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