Windows Home Server vs. FreeNAS vs. D-Link DNS-345

[MRTECH]

Ok, this post might be a bit confusing, but just seeking some opinions on what I should be doing.

These are going to be questions regarding Network Storage options within my house.

I currently have around 3TB of Network storage, but will likely want to go to 6GB (4x2GB in Raid 5)

Background Info:

I have used pretty much every generation of D-Link's DNS series of 2-bay, and 4-bay NAS options. Needless to say, the performance isn't great..

I am currently running the following as my storage server on my home network:

- DNS-345 running in RAID 5 with (4)x Seagate 750GB drives. (2.25TB)

- Older HP MediaSmart Server with a 320GB, and 500GB drive - roughly 800GB

Total of 3TB

Here are my questions:

Option 1

I have a bunch of older components kicking around that I have been considering using to set up either a FreeNAS box, or a WHS box.

Included in this lot of old stuff are various P4s, some Northwood's with HT, some newer Socket 775 varieties.. None of them are 64bit, so this rules out WHS 2011..

If I could find a copy of the original WHS software, is it worth setting up a box, investing in a decent controller card, and running a Raid 5, or 10 from that box?

I would be investing in 4x2GB WD Red drives

Option 2

Use the same older hardware, but run FreeNas instead

Option 3

Build a new box, with newer hardware

Option 4, just add some new drives to the DNS-345 and deal with the Uber slow Raid 5 performance..

Thanks for any insight / commentary

[Rain]

If you can afford buying newer hardware, I'd say go for it. An older CPU may not provide the performance you want. Also, there is no way in knowing if and when the older hardware will crash and stop working. Use software RAID (FreeNAS + ZFS) so you don't need to buy a fancy RAID controller. Save that money and put it towards a slightly more expensive board and CPU that supports ECC memory (Intel i3s support ECC and have hyper-threading) (see my explanation here as to why). If you want specific hardware suggestions, let me know.

Use FreeNAS, don't run WHS; it is garbage! FreeNAS is more robust in every way!