new home file server

mark2410 · 31 Jul 2012 at 21:16

since my stupid fancy router refuses to reliably deal with usb connected hard drives im tihnking i may need to build a file server. requirements are that it be cheap, that it be low powered, gigbit ethernet and quiet. obviously since i want to attach several hard drives many sata sockets would be a bonus. not married to any brands or type but not sure if atoms or zacatecs are enough cpu wise.

id need everything as i just had a big clear out and got rid of old cases and mobos and a heap of stuff.

any suggestions please.

Zarf · 31 Jul 2012 at 22:37

HP Microserver. With the cashback deal it's unbeatable value and versatility in a low power, compact, quiet package. You can have 5*3.5" SATA drives inside easily, and can fit in a sixth drive so long as it's 2.5" and you run an ESATA to SATA cable back inside the case.
It also has plenty of USB ports and a couple of low profile PCI-E slots.

mark2410 · 31 Jul 2012 at 22:42

i looked at that but im not sure its big enough. id be wanting to put 5 3.5 inch drives in right away so then there would be no room to add anything. granted it would be very neat. i somewhat wish i could see one, its look might have been able to sway me.

VARDY · 31 Jul 2012 at 23:14

Have you considered a NAS? Although these are limited on drive space and can get expensive.

Here is something to get you started. This is from a basket which I have recently made for my own server build. Although I admit, this may be a little extreme for yourself.

The HP microserver is the current choice for a cheap server on the forums at the moment, and should be considered if you are not planning having more than 8TB of internal storage.

mark2410 · 31 Jul 2012 at 23:38

well a nas is essentially what i want, i had been attempting to use router attached usb drives to do the job but the router doesnt seem capable of being stable. this is whats prompting looking inte building a box. the hard drives i mostly have in my main pc but itsa pawor hog and netflix wont do 5.1 via a pc. im just not sure i trast a nas to do all i want and given their price the hp micro is the better option. but if im doing that i think id be aswell to move all the storage drives to one central server that wull be much less power hungry than my aging phenom9500 box.

Hades · 31 Jul 2012 at 23:54

Another vote here for the HP Microserver. I bought one to replace an ageing NAS. It fits 4 drives internally (6 with some modding) and another on the external esata port (or get an expansion box with drives and connect that via esata for several more). In my case I installed Ubuntu Server and configured Samba for file sharing as I want to use it for other things too. But if you're less inclined to fiddle and "roll your own" then installing something like FreeNAS should be fairly simple.

Admittedly I upgraded from 2gb RAM to 8gb which helps slightly. But it absolutely flies for file sharing. It is much, much faster than my ageing NAS and I suspect much faster than most modern NAS because it has a much better CPU and more memory even with the original 2gb. A NAS is usually built to a low cost but the Microserver is over specced for just file sharing so the throughput is fantastic. It's also built very well and has changed my mind about HP products (or at least the high end products).

It's also very quiet (not silent but very quiet and probably no more noisy than a modern NAS). It would consume more power than a NAS but as its based on a low power dual core CPU it is still efficient.

I love the box and don't regret getting it. There's a reason that the dedicated HP Microserver thread has 343k views... it's stunning value and a great piece of kit.