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I need more storage

J

jhh979s

Member
Well the 700GB of drive space in my current machine is approaching the full mark and I need some ideas for expanded storage.

I've thought about putting a Raid Controller in my current setup. I still have 4 open drive bays I could use for HDDs. But I'm not sure if I want my rig to be a /server. My roommates like the idea of having more storage and I'm going to let them store media on these new HDDs as well, but I dont know how much CPU time/resources it will use on my PC when they are streaming audio from it or writing files to it, etc.

The other option would be to just build a cheap file server with 750GB-1.5TB of storage. But I wouldnt even know where to start when it comes to building the server. I'm guessing a cheap CPU/MOBO combo with a decent Raid card would do the trick? Any suggestions on CPU/MOBO/Raid cards?

The first option would obviously be the cheaper, but I like the idea of having a separate server. I'd like to keep this at $750 or less, but I could go up to $1k if necessary.

Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.
 
If you're thinking about getting something with that much storage space, also think about how you're going to back it all up. "RAID is not a backup." You'd be better off adjusting your build / budget so that it incorporates a backup rather than winging it with something that doesn't, accumulating all that data, and risking total loss.

I'd build something with on-board video, RAID 5, and on-board non-PCI gigabit. (Or software RAID 5 if I was going with Linux.) Ideally with a free wide PCIe slot for a storage controller option. I'd add a gigabit switch to the picture. And probably an external USB/Firewire/eSATA drive or two for periodic backups. If the storage got really large, I'd consider building two servers -- one which is a full backup. The backup server could be spec'd much lower, and made with old parts, etc., but it would still need to be maintained.

A more cost-effective backup solution would be to partition the data into critical/original and reproducible, and backup up the data by priority; omit the parts of the reproducible that don't fit.
 
Originally posted by: Madwand1
If you're thinking about getting something with that much storage space, also think about how you're going to back it all up. "RAID is not a backup." You'd be better off adjusting your build / budget so that it incorporates a backup rather than winging it with something that doesn't, accumulating all that data, and risking total loss.

I'd build something with on-board video, RAID 5, and on-board non-PCI gigabit. (Or software RAID 5 if I was going with Linux.) Ideally with a free wide PCIe slot for a storage controller option. I'd add a gigabit switch to the picture. And probably an external USB/Firewire/eSATA drive or two for periodic backups. If the storage got really large, I'd consider building two servers -- one which is a full backup. The backup server could be spec'd much lower, and made with old parts, etc., but it would still need to be maintained.

A more cost-effective backup solution would be to partition the data into critical/original and reproducible, and backup up the data by priority; omit the parts of the reproducible that don't fit.
Click to expand...


Why bump when you have a very well thought out solution to your problem. At least post how this solution does not fit your needs.
 
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