NAS/Download Box

Conrad11

Conrad11

Conrad11

Soldato
Joined
12 Jun 2005
Posts
5,361
Hi there,

I am looking to create a Mini-ITX system that will primarily be used as a NAS but also as a download box for downloading from rapidshare (I'm a premium user).

I am looking for something that will maximize the throughput of my LAN (Gigabit router & Wireless-N)...so I am looking to get around 37.5MB/s or thereabouts read/write (Wireless-N)

I have already got the drivers (they will be RAID 1) Samsung F2 5400rpm 1TB drives.

Is what I am after possible?

I have been looking at the FreeNAS software, is it any good for this type of thing?

Thanks.
 
I always thought that the external NAS boxes are a bit dodgy when it comes to read/write speeds which is why I am going the server route. Also, going the server route is a lot more flexible.

See I already have my hard drives, I have an 80W silent PSU. Just need to get mini itx motherboard, ram and a case that will take 2 hard drives.

My only issue will be noise. I would like no moving parts when the hard drives aren't being accessed so would have to sort out suspend and WOL but how reliable is WOL these days....I hear stray packets can wake the computer sometimes when it doesn't even need to be woken....I would also like it to be relatively quick to Wake so I can access the files quickly. (Also for it to sleep after 10 mins of inactivity)

Does FreeNas index the files that are shared so that after its Woke on LAN I can still see the files that are shared even (whilst the hard drives are spinning up).
 
Last edited:
I heard the board uses a desktop chipset and that uses 35W alone....thats why I wanted to check.

Anyways, ordered a Case, RAM and that board and we'll see what happens when I put it together.
 
The whole idea for me was the get something really cheap that does a decent job.

That board fitted the bill perfectly as it was less than 60pounds, had gigabit ethernet port (important for me) and had 2 sata ports for my drives. The fact it has only one ddr2 slot was not an issue for me as I got a 2gb stick for just over 16pounds.

The board and ram will be moree than enough to run a desktop version of ubuntu if I wanted to and would be able to download and dserve my media at the maximum throughput.

...I didn't really contemplate the ion board because it was too expensive for my build and I didn't need the extra features it boasted, but the fact it is lower powered and completely passive does make it quite appealing in hindsight.

When I get the hardware I will create a build log. I managed to get the board, 2gb ram and case (with psu) for just over 110 delivered brand new which I think is fantastic value. I won't actually be using the psu the case came with though (ill be using the silent one I have)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom