Why are NAS appliances so expensive?

[Pariah]

I've been looking around for a cheap network attached storage enclosure, and haven't found anything really attractive. Even "discounted" brands like Linksys and D-Link charge an arm and a leg for minimal capability hardware. The Linksys EFG80 looked like what I needed, and 80GB appliance, with a bay for a second HD until I saw the price, over $500. It isn't even capable of utilizing drives larger than 128GB. As the cheapest 2 drive option I've found, why are these appliances so expensive? For $500 I can build a complete SFF PC with 400GB of storage space. Is it the lack of a large market, or is there something really technically complex with these appliances? Am I missing cheaper options, or is there just nothing out there?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Because they're made in very small batches and they are computers too.

A SFF might sell 100,000 while the NAS sells 5,000 and the design cost of the NAS is higher not lower.

So build a 1U linux box and quit whining

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

try this, has a 2nd 2.5" drive bay for an upgrade

 

[EeyoreX]

Most likely because SAN boxes are targeted at big business that can afford to pay those prices. For home users an external enclosure and an inexpensive hard drive, or just an external drive, assuming all you needed was storage space. Bottom line is that it is likely the taget market (business) is willing to pay more than the consumer market.

\Dan

 

[VTEC01EX]

Whiteboy, that box looks awesome. I'm kind of looking at NAS type systems for my dad's business. It's a small 4-seat operation, but TONS of data. Keeping it organized and backed up is impossible. I'd like something that ISNT a computer, that just sits there with a few shared folders on it (for each user) and something that can recieve an automated backup. $$ is always the issue though, I didn't even know those Toshiba things existed.

 

[Pariah]

I'm not interested in building a rackmountable server. They take up way too much space, and I don't have a rack. I was looking for something like this:

EtherFast Network Attached Storage

Very compact and simple. Something I can drop in a closet somewhere and forget about.

 

[skace]

The last NAS that I worked with had a custom OS and a file system that created snapshots of data based on use. I am pretty sure that is what we paid for. The cost came from the design of the system and not the actual hardware.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: skace
The last NAS that I worked with had a custom OS and a file system that created snapshots of data based on use. I am pretty sure that is what we paid for. The cost came from the design of the system and not the actual hardware.

Yep. They charge an arm and a leg because of features like this. You can do similar things with, say, a Linux box running Samba and some custom backup software, but that requires a significant degree of technical competence and doesn't come with a warranty and technical support (which is often the overriding factor for a corporate decision).

 

[Pariah]

Looks like there may be a new option pretty soon. Just saw this over at THG in his CeBit report:

Open-E: NAS Server

I look forward to seeing how one of these works out.

 

[CigarSmokedByClinton]

They are also coming out with routers to which you can plug an external enclosure with a hard drive in it. Voila! NAS.

If these are out already, let me know.

Cigar

 

[CigarSmokedByClinton]

They are also coming out with routers to which you can plug an external enclosure with a hard drive in it. Voila! NAS.

If these are out already, let me know.

Cigar

 

[thorin]

This seems to have alot of potential:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/business/20040323/cebit2004_1-24.html
http://www.open-e.com/
http://www.tmc-uk.com/news/ancom.htm

Thorin

 

[beatle]

I'm guessing the consumer market may not support NAS well. There's probably not just enough demand.

The Ximeta Netdisk (review) lists for $189 for 80GB. The guy reviewing it gripes about network performance only reaching 7995K/sec... which is actually pretty darn good for 100Base-T. It also prompts users before writing to the drive if another is accessing it. They're supposedly releasing better drivers to correct for this though.

 

[Pariah]

The Open-E NAS product looks very good, but unfortunately there are no US distributors listed on their site. I'm interested to see how much the SOHO and 2.0 version cost. Looks ideal for the best storage capacity flexibility.