Network Attached Storage Input needed

[thalzaar24]

Hey guys, I've recently been asked to find a network attached storage device for a friend and most everything i've found has been business/server mount devices.

His requirements are that he can add his own hard drives (wants 2) and they must support Sata2 connectors. He would prefer it run off NTFS so he wouldn't have to reformat drives that have his data, or go through the long process of transferring the data to a temporary device, format, then transfer them back. He's also looking to for 1 or 1.5Tb worth of storage (2 500 or 750gb) drives.

It seems most NAS devices run off linux (for good reason) but ntfs is what he wants. Anyhow, Im having trouble finding any NAS for a home user that allows you to install your own hard drives. I suggest building a regular computer, but he's looking for a small appliance that wouldn't take much room.

So if anyone could point me in the right direction, or post some experiences, that would be great.

[smokie mcpott]

i run a NAS on an old IBM 350mhz machine installed on a 3gb hard drive
www.freenas.org
the format that it uses isnt really an issue...if the thing crashes you just reboot from the cd and move your data or reinstall on another hdd.. very simple and runs FTP.. one could be built for lots cheaper than buying an NAS as it doesnt require much of anything to run
set it up on an extremely low budget build with a gigabit lan and sata mobo pretty easy to come by these days...i say you could have a small machine up n runnin for less than 300 bucks

[nd4spdbh2]

i run a NAS on an old IBM 350mhz machine installed on a 3gb hard drive
www.freenas.org
the format that it uses isnt really an issue...if the thing crashes you just reboot from the cd and move your data or reinstall on another hdd.. very simple and runs FTP.. one could be built for lots cheaper than buying an NAS as it doesnt require much of anything to run
set it up on an extremely low budget build with a gigabit lan and sata mobo pretty easy to come by these days...i say you could have a small machine up n runnin for less than 300 bucks

that freenas looks pretty sweet... ima have to look into that

[smokie mcpott]

im lovin it.. i even set up 2 more for friends after i told them about it...its fast, simple, yet with lots of options, and it doesnt require knowledge of linux, bsd, or networking...hardware requirements are so minuscule that it runs fine on any machine with at least 92mb ram... clean out some of those old compaqs or hps that everyone as lyin around and start playin

[nd4spdbh2]

ya i just downloaded the Vmware version and logged into the webgui.. MY GOD BUTLOADS of AWSOME stuff... i think i may have found a reason to use my old p4 2.0a system... i mean the thing just well works... you boot up off the cd and blam.. you can login to the webgui and start configuring... purty sweet... i just whish someone would give me one of them VIA way small form factor mobo/processors... then i could make a tiny lil box lol.

[freakdiablo]

If your friend doesnt want to pull out a couple of old machines, I think I saw a couple of 300gb ethernet hard drives at compusa a couple months ago. But, you said he just wants the enclosures so that might not be an option. and 1-1.5 TB, hes gonna need to get 4-5, and they werent exactly 'cheap' 300gb drives. they were like $175 a drive.

[emboss]

You're unlikely to find a NAS that supports NTFS. Doing so would require running Windows (embedded version, presumably) which doesn't seem to be very common at all, presumably because it would threaten MS's server business. If you want to go the "small" direction, a Via EPIA board would do the job very nicely. You can pack an EPIA and two HDDs into a pretty small space - probably not much bigger than your average NAS unit anyhow. The main issue would be the case, which would require some thought/work.

[Shuruga2]

I've been looking at getting a NAS with nearly the same requirements, all but the NTFS. I've pretty much decided to go with this comp:
http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=402&l1=1&l2=2&l3=0

and FreeNAS.
It does not have Sata-2, but sata and pata are able to saturate a 100mbit connection anyway (arent they? anyone know how they are with gigabit?).