Smallest case to build my own NAS

cactusweasel · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:13

Hi

I'm consideirng building my own NAS box, as my snyology is strugglinf for space etc.

A typical 2 bay NAS is £150-£200
A typical 4 bay NAS is £300-£400

I have decided on a what UI/OS I want to use after spending 3 days playing with various options on a number of VMs.

Problem I have is size now. I want a 4 bay device, and I'm considering a itx setup (actual hardware tbc) but before i start looking at hardware, I want to find a suitable enclosure/case. I wants something not much better than a syunology DS412+ for example, but struggling to find anything suitable. Any ideas?

eggbert · 17 Mar 2015 at 07:39

HP Gen8 Microserver ./ end thread

Honestly, by the time you start pricing something you build yourself the Microserver starts to look like a decent package, 4 bays, small chassis, a small amount of ram and reasonable Intel cpu included & on the gen 8 both upgrade able if required

f300 · 17 Mar 2015 at 07:53

I've been looking at the same type of cases recently. They are all a bit bigger than a Synology 4-bay though.

Silverstone DS380 http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en
Fractal Design Node 304 http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-304-black
Lian Li PC-Q25B http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-433-LL
Lian Li PC-Q08B www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-186-LL

longplay · 17 Mar 2015 at 08:26

I have five HDDs and an optical hanging off an AM1 mobo using a PCIe SATA expansion board, all running off a (supposedly) 65w DC board (spikes to ~85w at the wall).

If you can keep it to ITX, then the previously mentioned options are good:

Fractal Node 304 - 6x3.5"
Lian Li PC-Q25B - 7x3.5"
Lian Li pc-q08b - 6x3.5"

Most of the BitFenix cases will take 4/5 3.5" drives.

Ace Modder · 17 Mar 2015 at 17:00

This thread is interesting, I'm planning on doing a NAS myself, in fact I posted in software about this and tested some OS's myself, still not decided yet though.

I see the HP microserver mentioned, just checked that out and it looks perfect for my needs, think I may get one of them myself.

Ace Modder · 17 Mar 2015 at 20:13

Well I've just bought the HP Microserver for £179.99, and HP are given £35 cashback at the moment, so it works out at £144.99

Bargain.

eggbert · 18 Mar 2015 at 00:16

I was super impressed with my gen 8 Microserver.

Quiet, small, dual lan, can transcode 1080p in plex and as you say less than £150 (disk less) with the cash back at the moment !

Cracking!

Ace Modder · 18 Mar 2015 at 17:02

Well mine arrived today, its an amazing piece of kit.

so much faster than my synology, 4 bay and half the price. I've installed DSM (Synology software on it too, DDNS works so does, andriod DSM apps etc, it all works the same)

My cable management is terrible I know

Etheco · 18 Mar 2015 at 17:15

Ah they are doing cashback again, pretty sure when i looked awhile ago they had stopped.

Wonder if this will run my development sites on it fine, i really need to replace my 32bit EeePc laptop as a server

Plus i need a decent backup solution for my work.

Ace Modder · 18 Mar 2015 at 18:27

Use the DSM software on a proper file server and itsd far more powerful than the synology in terms of hardware (trust me if you want to know how to setup it up) it has loads of apps and cloud auto backup apps and stuff. some quite complex apps as well that I wouldnt know where to start with, but will never really need either.

Basically you have to install a modded linux OS from USB PEN, then install a modded version of THE SYNOLOGY DSM software which works with any 32bit or 64bit hardware (I run 64bit) and then it all runs like a standard DSM nas, I will be selling my Synology DS210J on the MM soon though - when i finall get round to transferring all my data to my new HP NAS server.

dhallam · 19 Mar 2015 at 13:23

N54l all the way love mine. The Gen8 looks very nice tho may have to upgrade

sastusbulbas · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:02

Would like to build a NAS myself, tried doing a server, gave up before I got it online, had thought of Amahi with all my old drives in an unused TJ08. LGA775 Micro ATX currently sitting with Server 2012R2 3.5tb of drives, a Q9550 and 8gb of DDR2.

Of all the home made NAS I have seen, the Fractal Node in white looks superb, the Lian Li PC-Q25A also looks interesting.

stringsonfire · 21 Mar 2015 at 20:26

If you KNOW you only want 4 bays and don't want to do anything too hard on the CPU, the MicroServer Gen 8 is the best bet at the moment, given the cashback.

However, if you're building it, I'd recommend leaving space for a few extra hard drives - otherwise expanding will cost you more in the long run. I'm replacing a Microserver N54L with my own build rather than the Gen8 for this reason. You'll also need to consider what CPU you'll use, and if you want ECC memory, as this can severely limit your options on itx boards.