Re: Self Build Alternative to QNAP

PDD

Hi Folks,

I was thinking of buying a QNAP 209 Pro but I read that they stop updating firmware once a new version of the product line comes out which instantly put me off buying. Im a linux n00b and I've wanted to get my hands dirty with it for a while but never had any good reason so i was thinking of building a NAS machine so I have a good excuse to play around with stuff.

The biggest reason I wanted to get a NAS enclosure was so that I could have a backup on a RAID array and all the network/media stuff after that was a bonus. The small form factor and minimal power consumption was also appealing. Price is a big influence too and I know that for the price of the QNAP enclosure alone I could buy better hardware.

I was thinking of maybe using an all in one nano-itx board but Im not sure if I can get a compatible RAID card and as Im a n00b I would be most comfortable using something like Ubuntu but Im not sure if it would be powerful enough to run it. Any and all feedback welcome.

Dave

SouperComputer

ITX is a good way to go and has good linux suport. Decent RAID is only a PCI card away, or you can soft-RAID

Linux wise: clarkconnect community edition is a great way to get a running server on linux with minimum fuss and very little overhead.

Also there is an abundance of guides for Ubuntu Server and Debian.


[quote=Im a n00b I would be most comfortable using something like Ubuntu but Im not sure if it would be powerful enough to run it.[/quote]

Powerful enough to run what? TBH you could serve TB's of data to multiple workstations with a PII500. Really you are setting up a file server, which is the lest CPU-dependant thing you can do with a server.

PDD

Hi Souper,

Cheers for the feedback, after reading up some more (mostly on silentpcreview) I think Im going to retask an old PC. nano-ITX seems to be a non runner due to power and cost factors, a little bit more cash and power means alot more flexability with a standard mobo and chip. As I wish to setup a RAID 5 array the drives will be the biggest power consumer.

Can anyone recommend reasonably priced low power miniITX board (with RAID support) and silent power supply?

Dave

SouperComputer

TBH, unless you are sure a particiar board has 100% Linux compatible onboard RAID, I wouldnt get to fussed about having it onboard. Multiple HD channels are nice of course, but the board has onboard RAID, chances are you wont be using it with linux. The ideal siutation is to get a decent, hardware RAID card. Soft raid on Linux is pretty decent these days, however it might be a bit more hassle than its worth for a relative newcomer to Linux.

PSU wise, most half-decent PSU's with 120MM fans are fairly quiet. Of course with multiple drives in the case, you will be wanting to make sure you have good case airflow, ideally keeps the HD temps below 39deg C.

Any MiniITX board will do, you could get a used one on ebay. Although if you think this machine will be doing anything CPU intensive in the future (Video encoding, running virtual machines, certain game servers etc) the bear in mind that on a performance per watt basis, the Core2Duo is hard to beat, so dont discount it.

IDE/PATA drives and controllers are at great prices right how, it might be worth looking into those rather than SATA.

PDD

Cheers for the info Souper, I got offered a free mobo and case so I think Im going to try and retask it rather than buying all new kit (I wonder how that would do from a carbon reducing point of view). Im not so concerned about the performance now as its primarily just for storage, torrent client and maybe a general server so I think a Duron (I think its 900Mhz should do that comfortably). I looked at some of the prices of Core2Duos and they look pretty expensive.

I will want to quieten it down substanially so Im thinking a good quiet and energy efficient PSU, heatsinks for the bridgechips, a Zalman fan for the CPU and 120mm fans for the case.

As for drives I found some good priced SATA-II drives on Overclockers.co.uk
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-120-WD but I'm wondering how good they are in price coz I haven't shopped much to be honest. Plus Im not sure about how many drives Im going to need, Im assuming 4 for a RAID 5 array but It seems like alot of drives for 500Gb's of space so Im wondering if I should just go with 1+ 0 or something.

Dero

PDD wrote: »

Im assuming 4 for a RAID 5 array but It seems like alot of drives for 500Gb's of space so Im wondering if I should just go with 1+ 0 or something.

Three is the minimum for RAID 5.

SouperComputer

Yea, the Duron will be fine. Above 256MB RAM helps, depending on how many services you have running.

RAID 5 is a good way to go, I would persevere with that if I was you. Here is a guide where you can calculate the total usable space that your RAID 5 array will have.

Your RAID controller does not HAVE to be supported by linux. By that I mean, once it works well as a non-RAID controller you can use soft RAID or LVM's. Ideally avoid putting the OS on the array, if you have an old laptop drive or somthing you could use that instead.

Another thing you could do is just go for some PATA drives and get an older, but hardcore PATA RAID controller.

Ideally, you will want drives from different batches, thats not always practical.

Dont for get the GB NIC and switch too

Cooling wise, keep the HD's cool and the rest will almost take care of itself. What case are you using?

colm_c

SouperComputer wrote: »

...Ideally avoid putting the OS on the array, if you have an old laptop drive or somthing you could use that instead.

Why would you not but the OS on the array?

Surely this introduces a single point of failure within a RAID array?

That drive goes down and you've got no recovery, which is surely the point of a RAID array.

OP: be sure to have an 'extra' drive handy - if the RAID array goes down you'll want to swap the drive in to rebuild the array, and having a drive on hand is a lifesaver. Ideally this should be in the enclosure so it will automatically rebuild should a failure occur but in your case with the small form factor having another drive in there might not be feasible.