First NAS build... Would like someone to overlook it!

[Eddie Current]

Why not do something like this if you any want is a 2T NAS? I have a 4(2R1)TB Netgear Ready NAS and a 16/(8R1)TB WD EX4100 and I like them. I took an old PC years ago and did the FreeNas thing because I was on a tight budget. But it was everything but free! It sucked up a tone of my time getting it set up I could have done a few side jobs and bought a NAS.

 

[KrYsTaLzMeTh0d]

I could definitely just purchase a built nas... but I have always built my own computers, and am very interested in putting together my own server... but 8tb for 475 does seem like a great deal...

 

[Eddie Current]

Its your time and money!

 

[KrYsTaLzMeTh0d]

Well, I do have another question... What are anyone's experience with the WD Blue drives in a NAS? Do I want to go with the Red or Purple drives from WD, or is there a different manufacturer (Seagate?) which might be better for my money?

Anyways, I know this drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339 which I purchased for my desktop has run flawlessly, but my desktop isn't on 24/7...

 

[Automata]

My point is...

Makes sense. Those are usually easier to recover from if something goes wrong.

RAID cards with its own cache and battery backup cost a lot.

Doing a very quick search, prices have really come down in recent years, and I could get a IBM (LSI) M1015 with a BBU for $120 to my door. In comparison to his original build, it seems expensive, but the reliability and ease of use is worth it, to me.

Regardless, I'd still suggest going with ZFS.

Well, I do have another question... What are anyone's experience with the WD Blue drives in a NAS? Do I want to go with the Red or Purple drives from WD, or is there a different manufacturer (Seagate?) which might be better for my money?

Blue drives are not made to run 24/7, but it should work fine as long as you don't use RAID. Do not put anything other than the RE or Red drives in RAID, unless you want gigantic headaches. I did a short write up about it here.

 

[Eddie Current]

I ran 2TB blues in my ReadyNAS at first, now 4TB WD blacks. I have all WD reds in my 16TB and the reds are much quieter.

The blues were giving me errors after about 2-3 months (I don't remember what). I would not run greens (if they still make them) or blues in a DAS or a NAS. The whole idea is to have reliable data storage, right? Its not a high priority but I will replace the black for reds at some point.

 

[Bishoff]

I ran 2TB blues in my ReadyNAS at first, now 4TB WD blacks. I have all WD reds in my 16TB and the reds are much quieter.

The blues were giving me errors after about 2-3 months (I don't remember what). I would not run greens (if they still make them) or blues in a DAS or a NAS. The whole idea is to have reliable data storage, right? Its not a high priority but I will replace the black for reds at some point.

View attachment 171412

You'd swap out blacks for reds??

 

[ATMINSIDE]

You'd swap out blacks for reds??

Yes, Reds are specifically designed for RAID and NAS usage.

 

[Bishoff]

Yes, Reds are specifically designed for RAID and NAS usage.

I'm aware of what the marketing says they're for, but a 5yr warranty vs a 3...I'd stick to black

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I'm aware of what the marketing says they're for, but a 5yr warranty vs a 3...I'd stick to black

It's not marketing, it's about TLER and Intellipark.

 

[rbstern]

I had a DLink 2 bay NAS appliance (2x250GB) that served me well for quite a few years. Installed a couple for clients as well. Only complaint was transfer performance during large volume operations, but it wasn't much of an issue for how I used it. Eventually upgraded to a Buffalo NAS 2x1TB to move up to 1000Mbps port speed. Again, performance is not world beating, but it's plenty for typical file sharing and backups.

Part of my day job involves managing a half dozen Linux servers. While I enjoy tweaking servers for various purposes, when it comes to RAID and file sharing, for average home or small business use, there's just not that much to be gained from building a RAID box, unless you are going for ultra performance and/or capacity and don't want to spend for a device that will do that off the shelf.

For educational/hobby purposes? Sure. But it's really a set-it-and-forget it appliance. My NAS is in a closet with a UPS. I see it about twice a year (when I have to drag the Christmas tree out in November, and put the tree away in January). It reads files. It writes files. Boringly reliable. I use WD green drives.

 

[KrYsTaLzMeTh0d]

Just wanted to post a thanks to everyone who helped out with my NAS build, spent too $$$ much on the kid for Christmas, so I had to delay until payday today to buy all my parts... They'll be here in 3 days! I'll post after I have it up and running... Any last minute advice??

 

[Suppressor1137]

Buckle up and enjoy the little build!

I've always wanted to make a little NAS machine at some point, but as I currently have 4 terrabytes of storage + 120 gb SSD in my main machine, I had no real reason to.

I may do it once I get my hands on my 950 Pro though, and rip all mechanical drives out of my machine to lower its noise output.

Any reason to have a high powered processor and ram in a NAS? I wouldn't think it has a huge benefit, if any.

 

[knoober]

Buckle up and enjoy the little build!


Any reason to have a high powered processor and ram in a NAS? I wouldn't think it has a huge benefit, if any.

I built the one in my sig to be solely NAS but have found it to be nice to use on things that would bog down the main machine. Instead of using somthething like FreeNAS (which as far as I can tell is a "Storage Only" solution) I chose a more robust distro that I could do things with. Ive got vm's "in the pipe" to increase my NAS machines usefullness as well. I havent seen a real need for more power yet, but I imagine I might upgrade the proc and ram someday because th poor little 2 core does get awfull busy And like I said already, its not my main rig doing the tasks so I can let the NAS/etc take its sweet time, while my main rig struggles with the more important issues like world hunger and figuring out how much wood a wood chuck could chuck

 

[Suppressor1137]

If I ever build a NAS, I would go for a completely passive cooled system, or only 1 fan on the cpu to add some circulation. That's why I asked if it needed high end components.

I wonder if Wireless monitors are a thing...maybe I'll have to connect via ip and remote in to it. lol.

 

[knoober]

If I ever build a NAS, I would go for a completely passive cooled system, or only 1 fan on the cpu to add some circulation. That's why I asked if it needed high end components.

I wonder if Wireless monitors are a thing...maybe I'll have to connect via ip and remote in to it. lol.

Headless is a thing basically you have to install with the monitor and then you can just unhook and.... Well what you said^^: remote in. It's kinda schweeeet it's not too tough either if you're not a network novice like myself. But if I can get a setup like this working... Most other monkeys should be able to