Help spec a storage server (NAS)

.temp

.temp

.temp

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Hey all

I'm looking to build my own NAS when I get home (April 10th). Thing is I've never built a server or anything like this from scratch before (can build a desktop fine). Can you guys help me with picking out the hardware?

Budget: cheap as possible
OS:.....no idea :/
Not sure what RAID to use, looking at having at least 4TB's of storage

thanks in advance
 
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Brian8bit said:
Have a gander at this thread in the servers sub section.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18216324

The original machine in the first post is no longer sold, however there is a newer version with a larger HDD. I think the cashback is still good for the newer version if you buy before the end of Feb. See 3rd post in that thread for how to locate the shop selling said server.
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thanks for the quick response

really wanted to try and build it myself though, got that bug for building again :(
 
If you want to build yourself then an Athlon II and an AMD motherboard will be more than enough to power a NAS. You could go mini-itx / Intel Atom. The downside to going mini-itx is there aren't a lot of cases that make good mini-itx servers. The only decent mini itx server chassis really is the Chenbro ESxxxx series which offer a 2 bay cold swap and 2 4 bay hot swap (with different size PSUs and either with the PSU in the chassis or using an external brick). The CFI A7879 is also another possibility. The other problem with mini itx builds is their costs for what you get and expansion beyond 2 or 4 drives. Also finding a board that has enough SATA ports or finding a case that will allow you to use low profile SATA controller cards.

For me I'd build an Athlon II build and use a Fractal Design R3 which has plenty of room for expansion and will cost in or around the same as a mini itx build, but with more grunt should the server require it. The only downside is it won't be as power efficient as an Intel Atom board, or indeed the new AMD fusion boards coming out.
 
.temp said:
that case looks really nice, would the door need to be open whilst it's on?
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The Chenbro? No. You can lock the doors lock on the 4 bay. The 2 bay cold swap, I'm not sure if you have to pop the panel off or if it's on hinges and magnetically held closed.

The only concern would be heat, which wouldn't be much of a problem with Atom or Fusion. But you can squeeze an i3 and an H55 board into it if you need that kind of power in the enclosure.
 
Sorry I meant the Fractal Design. Gonna try and find a case without a door at all on it.

Wouldn't mind if the case had some room for expansion (more HDD's in the future).

I'm gonna go down the MicroATX route, feel more comfortable with that.

Trying to get a basket together to see some opinions. Tossing around which RAID to do.

Athlon II or Core 2?
 
Came up with this (no case)

33277t5.jpg


Not sure about the quality of each part, but the price is about what I want to spend (before putting it in a case)

Any changes?
 
.temp said:
Sorry I meant the Fractal Design. Gonna try and find a case without a door at all on it.

Wouldn't mind if the case had some room for expansion (more HDD's in the future).

I'm gonna go down the MicroATX route, feel more comfortable with that.

Trying to get a basket together to see some opinions. Tossing around which RAID to do.

Athlon II or Core 2?
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Ultimately it comes down to what you're willing to spend and whether or not you care how old the hardware is you're using. Athlon II or Core 2 will both have more than enough grunt for a good home NAS. Personally I would go AM3/Athlon II since in a couple years down the line you will be able to drop a second hand 6 Core AM3 into it as an upgrade, whereas with Core 2 you're stuck with 775 chips. Again, that's just personal preference.

As for the the Fractal Design, there is a Fractal Design mini in the works that should retail for about £70 - £80. mATX and 6 bays. Should you want to use a Fractal but want something smaller than the R3 and XL. No idea who is stocking it though, so if you're interested in that I'd ask one of the Dons if OCuK plan on getting some in.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=58
 
Brian8bit said:
Ultimately it comes down to what you're willing to spend and whether or not you care how old the hardware is you're using. Athlon II or Core 2 will both have more than enough grunt for a good home NAS. Personally I would go AM3/Athlon II since in a couple years down the line you will be able to drop a second hand 6 Core AM3 into it as an upgrade, whereas with Core 2 you're stuck with 775 chips. Again, that's just personal preference.
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Ohhhhhhh I did not realise that with the CPU's, I don't think I'd need much more oomph than what a Core 2 can deliver, but it's always nice for the option.

I want all parts new for this build. I'll have a potter around and try and price up a AMD build now and post a build
 
2nv7bwm.jpg



a 4 bay pre-built NAS works out about 300 BEFORE the hard drives, so building it myself is going to be cheaper anyway

would the doors on the R3/Mini cause any issues with heat?
 
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.temp said:
a 4 bay pre-built NAS works out about 300 BEFORE the hard drives, so building it myself is going to be cheaper anyway

would the doors on the R3/Mini cause any issues with heat?
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The Fractal Define R3/XL and Mini are all built with a focus on silence rather than air flow. And when it comes to a home NAS/Server, silence is everything. Your components won't be doing much that would generate massive amounts of heat so I wouldn't worry about it. There is the option to remove sound deadening covers from various ports on the R3 and XL and add more fans, should you require them. Which I'd assume the Mini does as well.
 
Brian8bit said:
The Fractal Define R3/XL and Mini are all built with a focus on silence rather than air flow. And when it comes to a home NAS/Server, silence is everything. Your components won't be doing much that would generate massive amounts of heat so I wouldn't worry about it. There is the option to remove sound deadening covers from various ports on the R3 and XL and add more fans, should you require them. Which I'd assume the Mini does as well.
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Sweet :) thanks for that

what do you think of the 2nd build i posted?
 
Do you need such a beefy CPU for a NAS? I run Server 2008R2 on an Atom D510 (dual core, ~1.6ghz) with 3gb ram. It's plenty powerful enough.
 
.temp said:
Sweet :) thanks for that

what do you think of the 2nd build i posted?
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Looks grand. I used that motherboard in a build I did for my brother for a desktop machine. Good features on it. Though I'm not keen on the "instant on" feature Express gate or whatever they call it. But that can be disabled in BIOS.
 
lokkers said:
Do you need such a beefy CPU for a NAS? I run Server 2008R2 on an Atom D510 (dual core, ~1.6ghz) with 3gb ram. It's plenty powerful enough.
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See this post.

But no you don't really need such a beefy CPU, however it's nice to have it there. That said, Atom aren't particularly good for anything other than a NAS anyway. I jumped on Atom when they were originally released. I have a box running a 270 right now that I ssh into for downloading torrents and running irssi. But there's no room for expansion as a storage system due to the board only having two SATA ports and there being no decent ITX cases aside from the ones I mentioned earlier and a lack of affordable SATA controllers that would fit in a mini itx chassis. And when mini itx are in most cases the same price or more expensive than a cheap Athlon II or Core 2 and respective motherboard, there's no real point in going itx unless space is at a premium or you're an itx / sff enthusiast.
 
Brian8bit said:
See this post.

But no you don't really need such a beefy CPU, however it's nice to have it there. That said, Atom aren't particularly good for anything other than a NAS anyway. I jumped on Atom when they were originally released. I have a box running a 270 right now that I ssh into for downloading torrents and running irssi. But there's no room for expansion as a storage system due to the board only having two SATA ports and there being no decent ITX cases aside from the ones I mentioned earlier and a lack of affordable SATA controllers that would fit in a mini itx chassis. And when mini itx are in most cases the same price or more expensive than a cheap Athlon II or Core 2 and respective motherboard, there's no real point in going itx unless space is at a premium or you're an itx / sff enthusiast.
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I put mine in a Lian Li PC-Q08B Mini-ITX case. My main concern was power consumption, hence the Atom. You are right though, the lack of onboard SATA ports will become an issue for me eventually, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it (either an expansion card, or a new low power board/CPU).
 
The SATA ports aren't to much of a problem if you have a big case, as there's plenty of "ordinary" sized SATA controllers about. My main gripe is the cost of decent, multi-storage mini itx cases. The Fractal Array is about £150. The Chenbro ESxxxx series is topping out at £130 or £140 depending on retailer. The CFI 4 bay is touching £100. And the Array is the only one that can handle more than 4 drives. But doesn't have an optical drive. So you'd either need to boot by USB or external disc, which is added cost again. And then any mini itx boards with more than 6 SATA ports to make use of the Array are few and far between. There's Zotac, but those boards are again expensive for what you get, you can get the Athlon II and required MB for the same price. You can get four plus an optical disc in the Chenbro 4 bay.

Then you can pick up an 8 HDD bay Fractal for around £80.

I like mini itx form factor. It's just a nightmare to find any decent cases or boards that don't have severe drawbacks for particular purposes. Boards aimed at servers/NAS often don't have enough SATA ports. Boards aimed at HTPCs often have too many SATA ports. The server ITX cases have too few drives IF you manage to find a motherboard that supports the total number of drives. The HTPC cases have too few drive places for the number of SATA ports.
 
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