Using Old Computer as NAS - Suggestions? Tips?

[LAwLz]

Hello everyone!

My Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 is starting to show its flaws/age and I've been thinking of replacing it.

The reason for replacing the Netgear one is to increase the number of drives (from 4 to a minimum of 8) and to enable some extra functionality. The Netgear one is extremely locked down and even if you get root access (it runs GNU/Linux) almost everything running on it is modified by Netgear which makes it near impossible to do simple things like switch from SMB1 to SMB2 for file transfers. I would refer some more customization (maybe run KVM on it) so that I can replace my Raspberry Pi server.

 

I have heard good things about Synology and looked at the DS1817+.

The only problem is that it's really expensive for the hardware it got. A quad core Atom processor from 2013 and 8GB of RAM for ~1000 dollars.

 

So I was thinking of re-purposing my old desktop (2500K, 16GB of RAM) instead. Since it does not support ECC I was thinking of going with OMV and RAID 5 (ext4) over FreeNAS. Opinions? Something I am missing?

I am willing to spend ~1000 dollars if it means I get a good and reliable NAS, but obviously I'd prefer saving that money if possible.

 

Also, the number of SATA expansion cards available in Sweden is pathetically small. Here are the only two cards I have been able to find from trusted retailers:

DeLOCK Expansion card 10 SATA

ST Lab PCIe SATA 6G 8channel (two SFF-8087 ports)

Opinions on these?

[m0nss7erKill]

I'm also thinking about making NAS myself, because of my GoPro videos. 1 ride can be 250+ GB (30min raw video, converted/edited and end product is 150+GB)  

So I think I will need at least 10TB of storage. But I will go for old server. There are some cheap servers second hand. 

You can check Amazon websites for what are you looking for. Or eBay. 

There are servers for 60/70 euro in Bulgaria, but they are old AF DDR2 and Xeon from the core2quad era

[Ericarthurc]

I don't know if it goes against community rules but there are ways to load Synology Nas software on any computer. You install the .img image to a flash drive then boot it up. It uses the flashdrive as the os drive then you can use any drive connected to the computer as nas drives.

 

Head here for more info https://xpenology.com/forum/forum/31-loaders/

[Pixel5]

the thing with synology is that you pay extra for the software you are getting with the hardware you buy, their OS is very good and easy to use.

 

another thing is the question is you need all the power you want to put into you NAS because in a system that is running 24/7 power consumption is a big issue especially if you live in a place with high power cost.

 

[LAwLz]

11 hours ago, Ericarthurc said:

I don't know if it goes against community rules but there are ways to load Synology Nas software on any computer. You install the .img image to a flash drive then boot it up. It uses the flashdrive as the os drive then you can use any drive connected to the computer as nas drives.

 

Head here for more info https://xpenology.com/forum/forum/31-loaders/

Thanks for the info, but I'd rather not entrust all my data on that since it doesn't seem reliable and stable. The first page even says "We do not recommend routine use of XPEnology".

 

2 hours ago, Pixel5 said:

the thing with synology is that you pay extra for the software you are getting with the hardware you buy, their OS is very good and easy to use.

 

another thing is the question is you need all the power you want to put into you NAS because in a system that is running 24/7 power consumption is a big issue especially if you live in a place with high power cost.

Power is not really a concern. Some quick math and it comes out to an additional ~15 dollars a year to my power bill and I am perfectly fine with that. That's assuming my old desktop is very inefficient compared to the Synology by the way.

[Pixel5]

3 hours ago, LAwLz said:

That's assuming my old desktop is very inefficient compared to the Synology by the way.

yea thats also very realistic but if your power cost is that low id say go for it and build your own but it will also require some more tinkering setting things up the first time.

[stratege1401]

just did one here : 

 

First, what is the type of raid you want to create ?

- no raid, software raid, PCI controlor for harware raid ....  This will drive you r options for the hardware.

If, like me, you choose a raid6 config ( 32TO ), you will need a minimum of 6 HDD for the array. You can ether run the OS from another disk, or from a e-sata device, or from an usb3.0  stick/hdd/ssd. You will need a minimum of 6 sata ports on your motherboard.

 

Second, what OS do you want to run ?

- A windows based system, or a Linux, or a freenas/openmediavault/rockstor system ???

This will drive your options for the CPU.

I choose to run Debian, on a AMD A8-6500 CPU, with 8 GO ram. This is almost to much power !

 

Third, scapability and durability of your system.

- Easy hot plug maintenance, or shutdown maintenance.

My Icy dock fatcage support hot-swap HDD exchange.  Also, it help to cool the HDD

 

Fourth: usage.

- Is it a simple NAS sitting box on a local network or is it a real internet appliance. Do you plan to have other services running on it.

FTP/Webdav/LDAP/ or multimedia station + fileserver +printserver ....

This is also to be consider when choosing the OS.

 

Backup: a NAS is not a backup system.

- fire, flooding, electrical problem will definitely kill and destroy your NAS, and all your data will be lost.

You will definitly need to backup your data. My choose is:

First level storage for my data are my laptops, smartphones and tablets ...

Seconde level, is my NAS as a cloud ( https acces, synch apps ). Store locally in my home, behind a FTTH 1GO synchone line.

Third and final level. A online backup, every weeks, to Backblaze backup ( Unlimited files. Unlimited file size. Unlimited speed. )