What NAS to get?

blueacid

blueacid

blueacid

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Joined
28 May 2007
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735
Hello,

So I'm looking to pick up a NAS for my parents. My dad's currently in the process of ripping all his vinyl to the computer, and we're storing it in FLAC format. Given the (rough) compression ratios we're getting, we guesstimate it'll be around 500gig worth of data. Add to that the potential of ripping the CD collection and copies of photos and we're looking at around 1tb of stuff.

Currently there's around 60gb of data, so it fits rather nicely on the internal hard drive of the desktop / laptops my parents have.


What I'm looking for is a NAS which:
  1. Supports windows and mac
  2. COULD (maybe?) work as a Time Capsule. Not super important though.
  3. Can be hacked to allow me to run a SSH server / Rsync client / Twonkymedia server. Want to back things up from there to my place also!

There's not a lot more to it than that! Could anyone suggest anything? Currently we don't have any drives either, so really am starting with just a credit card, there's no need to work around any existing hardware :)

Monster throughput isn't essential; it'll be connected to a 100mbit port on the router, and will likely spend the vast majority of its time shifting FLAC audio out in real-time, so it's not exactly going to be working hard.

This would be my first NAS device; for my use here I just built a small debian server, however that'd be overkill for what they need!

Any suggestions or advice?
 
blueacid said:
Hello,

So I'm looking to pick up a NAS for my parents. My dad's currently in the process of ripping all his vinyl to the computer, and we're storing it in FLAC format. Given the (rough) compression ratios we're getting, we guesstimate it'll be around 500gig worth of data. Add to that the potential of ripping the CD collection and copies of photos and we're looking at around 1tb of stuff.

Currently there's around 60gb of data, so it fits rather nicely on the internal hard drive of the desktop / laptops my parents have.


What I'm looking for is a NAS which:
  1. Supports windows and mac
  2. COULD (maybe?) work as a Time Capsule. Not super important though.
  3. Can be hacked to allow me to run a SSH server / Rsync client / Twonkymedia server. Want to back things up from there to my place also!

There's not a lot more to it than that! Could anyone suggest anything? Currently we don't have any drives either, so really am starting with just a credit card, there's no need to work around any existing hardware :)

Monster throughput isn't essential; it'll be connected to a 100mbit port on the router, and will likely spend the vast majority of its time shifting FLAC audio out in real-time, so it's not exactly going to be working hard.

This would be my first NAS device; for my use here I just built a small debian server, however that'd be overkill for what they need!

Any suggestions or advice?
Click to expand...

Yup, I just got a Drobo FS, it is PERFECT for someone who doesn't know much about IT !!!

It supports both Windows and Mac.

Last night I turned on my PC, and loaded the CD that it came with, then i can see the drobo in the Network tab in Windows 7, instantly I can access the data in it, write to it, read from. I don't think you even need to use the CD to do that, but the CD gives you the Drobo dashboard (settings and stuff). I then copy a file into the Drobo from the PC, and I went to my Mac, and I can see that file, and use that file.

It does work like a time capsule, it has something call Drobocopy, which you can tell it to copy a directory from one HD, and copy it into the drobo. There are different settings, like copy everything, and never over write anything, or copy everything and mirror everything (so if you delete something on drive 1, the drobo drive it mirrors also erases automatically) You can set the back up daily, weekly, and at a time of your choice.

As for apps, look at this

http://www.drobo.com/droboapps/apps-for-drobofs.php

It has FTP, SSH, Rsync, etc etc. I have not tried them though.

The entire thing is just one beautifully made product, the only down side is the price. With 2 x 2TB HD to start off with (minimum), it set me back £670.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
*snip*


The entire thing is just one beautifully made product, the only down side is the price. With 2 x 2TB HD to start off with (minimum), it set me back £670.
Click to expand...


... I have read the thread linked earlier, and while you're correct that it's nice to be efficient, I'm happier to tinker a little :P It's more so that I can learn more about Linux that I put myself through this, so it's not just a needless waste of time. If I already knew linux inside out, I could see my opinion changing there!

I suppose you'll understand a little more when I explain that my file server cost me £200 all-in; £10 for the box from ebay, a further £10 for the cheapo 4-port PCI SATA card, then £180 for the drives. A year and a half later, it's still going strongly & silently, and currently drawing 38 watts*

So, I suppose I'm not really in the target market for the Drobo, despite it ticking all of my boxes! I was thinking more along the lines of the current 'equivalent' to the Linksys NSLU-2, but for having a couple of internal SATA bays, and a few alternative firmwares for it.


*I may have taken 5 minutes to power it down, connect a power meter then power it up again to get this reading...
 
If cost is an issue then build yourself a small PC to do it

If energy consumption is your priority then buy a small NAS unit

I bought a Qnap 409 about 2 years ago and I love it , RAID 5 , smb , ftp , web file mananger , sabnzbd , nzbget , twonky media and so much more

http://www.qnap.com/
 
The cost of dual bay or better NAS's is prohibitive. Cheapest option is to get a couple of inexpensive 1TB or 2TB external USB drives and set up a script to sync the contents.

If you've got a bit more cash, build or recycle yourself a cheap FreeNAS (or Distro of your choice) box in a RAID1 config.

Drobo is ok, but very expensive. If you've got some technical skills you're usually better off saving money and putting a little time into a custom setup.
 
Or why not build an unRaid server? You should be able to build a 2TB Raid 5 type (1x parity, 2x1TB) for about £250 with the added flexibility of being able to add lots more drives than any of the commercial NAS solutions (max 22 I think) when you want to expand... I built mine a couple of months ago, basic processor (Semperon 140) & mobo, 2gb ram and a decent PSU and case and you're off... faster than FreeNAS, it based on Linux Slackware distro so different addons are possible (torrent clients etc) and totally stable, you don't even pay for the software unless you use more than 3 drives! As an added advantage all the drives spin down when not in use and you can put the whole thing to sleep and wake from LAN etc.
 
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I've looked at unRAID, not too keen on the way directories are handled since you're limited to the size of the drive that any directory is stored on. I've got a couple of directories on my array that are over 2TB in size.

Sure, you can have multiple folders and use symlinks but it's too messy for me.
 
Well... I was looking at one of the smaller devices. I had in mind the Buffalo Linkstation, as I could flash that and put Debian onto it.

I don't require any RAID, as I'll be doing a nightly rsync to an offsite server. Considering that the linkstation plus a 1.5tb hard drive can be had for under £100 (second hand linkstation here!), I was wondering if anyone could offer any other advice.


A little like routers, everyone knows that the WRT54 can be flashed with custom firmware, I was looking for the NAS-equivalent of the WRT54.
 
Zarf said:
I've looked at unRAID, not too keen on the way directories are handled since you're limited to the size of the drive that any directory is stored on.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that was a limitation. I haven't yet got a single directory that is greater in than 1tb (the largest drive size in the array) but my largest directory spans multiple disks.
 
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