Looking for a guide of sorts

[Cadlore]

I am looking to build a Server (growth overtime is a definitive ingredient here) To house NAS, UPS, and potentially Gaming rigs similar to what Linus has for his own home. the problem is i want to start with a NAS but am not quite sure where to begin. I have done a bit of research but there so much information about cheap and home grown methods i am not really certain where to start.

 

What i am looking for to start with is the following.

• a Server rack 24u or larger Similar to this https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133052&cm_re=server_rack-_-16-133-052-_-Product
• a NAS Server that can grow or shrink depending on my needs and the needs of my family that can also operate as a Domain server. as i have friends and family that live with me and friends that would like the use of it as well this may grow much larger over time.

  what i am looking to add in the future is the following:

• a UPS for the server(s)
• one or more Gaming rigs (similar to Linus's gaming rigs in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NshXgisNly4&t=750s)

I know this is a lot and this primarily seems like over kill but i assure you with the number of people pitching in for this and the same number looking to utilize it i fully believe it is worth the cost.

 

thanks in advanced for the assistance!

[leadeater]

Do you actually require a Domain Server? Do you just need the ability to set access permissions and quotas on people and storage volumes/shares? If that is all you need then you don't need a Domain Server.

 

Just a word of warning around UPSs, not all are equal so you have to be careful what you compare to and good ones cost A LOT.

 

How much data are you initially looking to store?

Potentially how large do you think it will grow to (very roughly)?

[Cadlore]

Looking to start at storage of around 4 TB and could grow to as large as 150 TB (probably will be a while before i get there 2 or 3 years maybe)

I Figured a domain server would be easier to set access permissions so that people outside of my direct network could still login and access there storage. however if i dont need that it just makes the whole project a whole lot cheaper. 

[leadeater]

12 minutes ago, Cadlore said:

Looking to start at storage of around 4 TB and could grow to as large as 150 TB (probably will be a while before i get there 2 or 3 years maybe)

I Figured a domain server would be easier to set access permissions so that people outside of my direct network could still login and access there storage. however if i dont need that it just makes the whole project a whole lot cheaper. 

Domain server is more around giving the ability to use your username and password across multiple computers in a network, what you have is people accessing a single server so using local username/password on that will do fine. Everyone will/can have their own account.

 

As for NAS options, yea tons which is great and annoying at the same time.

 

You got any preferences to the type of NAS? Pre-built or build your own?

Windows based NAS or Linux based NAS?

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, Cadlore said:

I am looking to build a Server (growth overtime is a definitive ingredient here) To house NAS, UPS, and potentially Gaming rigs similar to what Linus has for his own home. the problem is i want to start with a NAS but am not quite sure where to begin. I have done a bit of research but there so much information about cheap and home grown methods i am not really certain where to start.

 

What i am looking for to start with is the following.

• a Server rack 24u or larger Similar to this https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133052&cm_re=server_rack-_-16-133-052-_-Product
• a NAS Server that can grow or shrink depending on my needs and the needs of my family that can also operate as a Domain server. as i have friends and family that live with me and friends that would like the use of it as well this may grow much larger over time.

  what i am looking to add in the future is the following:

• a UPS for the server(s)
• one or more Gaming rigs (similar to Linus's gaming rigs in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NshXgisNly4&t=750s)

I know this is a lot and this primarily seems like over kill but i assure you with the number of people pitching in for this and the same number looking to utilize it i fully believe it is worth the cost.

 

thanks in advanced for the assistance!

 

2 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Domain server is more around giving the ability to use your username and password across multiple computers in a network, what you have is people accessing a single server so using local username/password on that will do fine. Everyone will/can have their own account.

 

As for NAS options, yea tons which is great and annoying at the same time.

 

You got any preferences to the type of NAS? Pre-built or build your own?

Windows based NAS or Linux based NAS?

As Leadeater mentioned, Active Directory / a domain controller isn't really a huge issue if it's just a NAS that's going to be authenticating with it. You'll have an AD environment where you have email, network shares, printing, RADIUS (network access) and a plethora of other services all needing usernames, passwords & permissions - the AD server becomes the central point of management. 

 

 

What are you actually looking to achieve? A 24U rack is pretty pointless if all you're having is a 4 bay NAS and maybe a 2U server to play around with

 

 

[Cadlore]

54 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Domain server is more around giving the ability to use your username and password across multiple computers in a network, what you have is people accessing a single server so using local username/password on that will do fine. Everyone will/can have their own account.

 

As for NAS options, yea tons which is great and annoying at the same time.

 

You got any preferences to the type of NAS? Pre-built or build your own?

Windows based NAS or Linux based NAS?

Not sure what you mean by build your own but I am going to guess you mean something akin to a rasberry pi solution. which is something i am not interested in. however if you mean something similar to building my own computer (but in this case a server) i am definitely looking for that type of solution.

 

Definitely Windows Based. While I enjoy Linux and I am currently studying more on it I don't know enough yet to feel comfortable with it.

48 minutes ago, Windspeed36 said:

 

As Leadeater mentioned, Active Directory / a domain controller isn't really a huge issue if it's just a NAS that's going to be authenticating with it. You'll have an AD environment where you have email, network shares, printing, RADIUS (network access) and a plethora of other services all needing usernames, passwords & permissions - the AD server becomes the central point of management. 

 

 

What are you actually looking to achieve? A 24U rack is pretty pointless if all you're having is a 4 bay NAS and maybe a 2U server to play around with

 

 

Fair point but the goal of the 24u rack is so that i wont have to worry about upgrading in the future if/when i build a server rack gaming rig. and add in a ups or 2 again depending on my needs. my intention is to provide myself and my family/friends with a center point of storage that for the most part is unlikely to fail. providing them with offsite storage and backup and myself with onsite backup separate from my current solution (hard drive that i backup to manually once a month.)

[leadeater]

1 hour ago, Cadlore said:

Not sure what you mean by build your own but I am going to guess you mean something akin to a rasberry pi solution. which is something i am not interested in. however if you mean something similar to building my own computer (but in this case a server) i am definitely looking for that type of solution.

 

Definitely Windows Based. While I enjoy Linux and I am currently studying more on it I don't know enough yet to feel comfortable with it.

Yea I was meaning building a computer versus buying a QNAP/Synology.

 

For what I'm going to say below this keep in mind, I use Storage Spaces myself and I do like it but...

 

So for a Windows based NAS you have two main options regarding the OS, using Windows Server or Windows Desktop. This is both a cost and feature difference.

 

Windows Desktop

• Cheaper
• Limited options for Storage Spaces
• Limited number of allowed connections, 20

Windows Server Essentials

• Cheapest server edition, $501 USD
• Requires no CALs, 25 users and 50 devices maximum

For configuring disks in to a pool of storage you have quite a few options: Storage Spaces, Hardware RAID or custom software.

 

Storage Spaces

Storage Spaces which is Microsoft's Software Defined Storage technology (software RAID but not really) allows you to pool disks together and create virtual disks inside this pool with different resiliency configurations i.e Mirror or Parity. The actual features of Storage Spaces is different between Windows Desktop and Windows Server.

 

Windows Desktop only supports a basic pool and a single virtual disk from my understanding, I really only use Windows Server, and doesn't support Storage Tiering. Storage Spaces Parity performance is rather terrible for writes, around 100MB/s, so you'll want to use SSDs for Journaling or use Mirror configurations instead at the cost of usable storage space.

 

Windows Server allows you to use more advanced features of Storage Spaces like create multiple virtual disks in a pool and also tier a virtual disk across SSDs and HDDs. Tiering works best in Windows Server 2016 as it is fully dynamic and all writes always hit the fastest tier even when modifying data on the slower tier.

 

The basic take away from this really is around virtual disks and Parity, if you want to use it you must Journal/cache it or use Storage Tiers else you'll be highly disappointed.

 

Hardware RAID

Not too much to say here other than only buy a decent RAID card with cache module and battery module (BBU) and use RAID 6. This will perform very well and can be easily expanded with more disks. The other benefit is the array is OS/system agnostic and features are independent of the OS. Also make sure patrol reads are scheduled to pickup any errors and fix them to ensure data integrity.

 

Custom Software

There are a number of options and I have not used any of them so hopefully other members will chime in here with some good advice, like @AshleyAshes. FlexRAID or Drive Bender are two options I know of that work quite well.

 

 

As for the three basic types and which one is best to use that is mostly up to you. Personally I would use Storage Spaces but I've been using that for a long time and know what it is and isn't good at and how to get it to perform well, for other people I still would recommend hardware RAID for a Windows system as it's 100% guaranteed to work.

 

Quite honestly a QNAP is usually the best and safest option than building your own NAS when all said and done and you compare all parts brought over 1-3 years.

 

@scottyseng

You might have some good input on this.

[Cadlore]

So As much as i want an easy solution I am much more tempted to build my own for a few reasons. this means that I learn as I build and hopefully through the process I enable myself to fix issues that I may come across. it opens up the potential for me to make it something better. For example I can create one or more virtual machines on the system and upgrade it as needed without spending large amounts of money everytime i want to upgrade it. also QNAP (once purchased) limits the expansion possibility.

 

I do have to admit this is also an opportunity for me to learn and showoff as my knowledge grows.

 

That being said what should i be looking for as far as hardware I know the parts (such as https://www.neweggbusiness.com/product/product.aspx?item=9b-0ux-0088-00075) can get to be quite expensive but starting out at that will enable me to add more as needed without having to worry about upgrading the chassis but thats about where my knowledge in this area ends. I have built many computers but i feel like I am stepping into a bigger arena when it comes to server building...

[Cadlore]

also to note I appreciate the assistance as this is definitely something out of my league to start and you have given me a TON of information that provides me with jump off points to go and study and make sure i understand everything your saying as well as the ways each choice might affect me directly!!

[leadeater]

For me it's rather late so I'll post some more stuff tomorrow, as a quick bit of advice jump on ebay and have a look at some used servers as they are incredibly cheap and still extremely reliable. Old servers get replaced once their warranty ends so there isn't actually anything wrong with them and they make great starter platforms for home servers and you can expand them yourself with more HDDs/RAM etc.

 

Also they are often cheaper than a new rackmount chassis alone, you can even buy a really really old one and gut it and put different motherboard in it.