Is it worth buying a dedicated NAS?

[hotdog]

As above really, is it worth buying a dedicated NAS or NAS enclosure or could i do the same thing with bits of old kit i have in the attic?

I dont know how low i could get the build to get in terms of power draw bearing in mind it will be on 24/7

Is there anything else i should think about or is it easiest just to save up and get the dedicated machine.... Just pondering at the moment, does anyone have any views on this idea

many thanks

 

[Sin_Chase]

A NAS at the heart of it is just a normal PC aimed at storage. Plenty of Linux ditros etc you could use for a home-made NAS.

A dedicated appliance is nice but you pay the price for it. If you do not need enterprise level connectivity and feature sets then an old box with a controller card and a load of disks is just as good for home use. The consumer level NAS products are much cheaper than enterprise kit but for a reason, you also lose a whole lot of control over a home-made effort.

A home-made box may well draw more power than an appliance but that really does depend on the HDDs you use and the rest of the system as a whole.