Advice for home NAS setup

[DefecTalisman]

I am sure this topic comes up all the time and there is allot of threads already regarding NAS so sorry for making another.  I did browse a few and it seems others concerns differ from my own.
The time has come and I really need to move my storage to a independent machine.  Currently I am just running mirrored 2x xTB drives with storage spaces.  I have not run into any issues with storage spaces as of yet(touch wood) but the drives are at capacity.  I could just add another mirrored set of drives to my desktop, but that would max out all my SATA ports and I might need those at some point.

I will mostly be using the space to store 2k/4k GoPro footage, some music and a few feature films.  It would be nice if the server could stream movies to other devices on the network(no more than 1 at a time).

My largest concern is power consumption, I am moving from a machine that I turn on when I need to use it to something that will be on 24/7.
I have been checking out second hand servers, but I have little to no knowledge of what I should be looking for.  Initially I will just stick 2x 4tb NAS drives mirrored, but would like options to add more at a later date.  I have briefly looked in to FreeNAS and have the general idea as to what is needed for it to run reliably.



Would I be better off getting something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Supermicro-2U-8-Bay-Storage-Server-8-Core-24GB-RAM-great-for-NAS-build/183481620012?hash=item2ab85b562c:g:JpsAAOSw0T9cwDip
or
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Supermicro-2U-8-Bay-Server-with-8-x-1Tb-Seagates-for-NAS-Storage-or-similar/183720687569?hash=item2ac69b37d1:g:dAAAAOSwIk9ahYpL
(no doubt the 8x 1TB drives are crap would just go in the bin)
or
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Supermicro-2U-8-3-5-Bay-Server-2-x-6-Core-E5-2620-32Gb-RAM-Quad-LAN-NAS/183323236838?epid=23015640349&hash=item2aaeea99e6:g:NusAAOSwPqFdEJnE
(not sure if 6x cores would be needed)

OR
*Cheap consumer grade build for about £200+-*
...

 

 

(1) - Could I replace a server PSU with something more efficient?
(2) - What other brands should I look out for other than SuperMicro?
(3) - Would I be better off putting together a cheap consumer grade desktop for a similar budget and focus the majority on a decent efficient PSU?
 

[SenioRR]

(1) - Could I replace a server PSU with something more efficient?

Possibly.

You would need to look at e-bay and read through the tech spec sheets of the servers to see whats available.

(2) - What other brands should I look out for other than SuperMicro?

Depends. If you are set on servers, you also have two other major players: HP ProLiant and Dell Poweredge.

(3) - Would I be better off putting together a cheap consumer grade desktop for a similar budget and focus the majority on a decent efficient PSU?

The problem with rack servers is that they get really loud so a consumer grade desktop would have noise level as it's main advantage.

Server hardware can be really good value and they usually do have high-efficiency PSUs, but do take noise into consideration.

 

If I were you, I would look at older enterprise grade tower servers which will be quieter and should still be near your budget.

They usually do also feature things such as hot-swap bays, raid cards and all other enterprise features.

 

Here is a cheap example. You can definitely look for better equipped ones:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Proliant-ML350-G6-PC-Server-1x-Intel-Xeon-E5504-2Gb-RAM/223487249775?hash=item3408e0cd6f:g:PUMAAOSw2CFcuOGj

[RozRocks]

NAS's are a slippery slope. It starts off as just a couple of drives in an old pc. Then it runs out. You find yourself buying more drives for the NAS but its never enough. You buy expansion cards but you still need more. Next thing you know you have 2 pc cases full of hard drives all running the same server, but even that isnt enough. The Linux Isos are taking too much space! So you buy a budget 24 drive chassis from amazon, but now you have open slots. Gotta fill the slots to get your moneys worth right? Great, now to buy more drives. Oh, no! Now the 8Tb drives are cheap and your 2Tb drives are getting old. You go on /r/datahoarders and see that WD EasyStores are on sale at Best Buy, so you buy all that they have in stock to shuck the drives. MUST FEED THE NAS. The clerk is giving you a dirty look when you come back for more drives again and again, time after time... send help.

[DefecTalisman]

4 minutes ago, SenioRR said:

(1) - Could I replace a server PSU with something more efficient?

Possibly.

You would need to look at e-bay and read through the tech spec sheets of the servers to see whats available.

(2) - What other brands should I look out for other than SuperMicro?

Depends. If you are set on servers, you also have two other major players: HP ProLiant and Dell Poweredge.

(3) - Would I be better off putting together a cheap consumer grade desktop for a similar budget and focus the majority on a decent efficient PSU?

The problem with rack servers is that they get really loud so a consumer grade desktop would have noise level as it's main advantage.

Server hardware can be really good value and they usually do have high-efficiency PSUs, but do take noise into consideration.

 

If I were you, I would look at older enterprise grade tower servers which will be quieter and should still be near your budget.

They usually do also feature things such as hot-swap bays, raid cards and all other enterprise features.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Proliant-ML350-G6-PC-Server-1x-Intel-Xeon-E5504-2Gb-RAM/223487249775?hash=item3408e0cd6f:g:PUMAAOSw2CFcuOGj

Thank you for the advice and link.  Noise is definitely a concern, but I had assumed this could be dealt with by replacing the fans with some maglev ones and sticking some sound absorbing material on the case.  Out of curiosity what would be the cause of rack servers being so noisy?

I had read somewhere that a standard ATX PSU would fit in an 2U case?  

[RozRocks]

Rack servers are not built with noise in mind, nobody cares, its a server. So they generally are made of all aluminum and to maximize air flow with no consideration for noise.

[DefecTalisman]

15 minutes ago, RozRocks said:

NAS's are a slippery slope. It starts off as just a couple of drives in an old pc. Then it runs out. You find yourself buying more drives for the NAS but its never enough. You buy expansion cards but you still need more. Next thing you know you have 2 pc cases full of hard drives all running the same server, but even that isnt enough. The Linux Isos are taking too much space! So you buy a budget 24 drive chassis from amazon, but now you have open slots. Gotta fill the slots to get your moneys worth right? Great, now to buy more drives. Oh, no! Now the 8Tb drives are cheap and your 2Tb drives are getting old. You go on /r/datahoarders and see that WD EasyStores are on sale at Best Buy, so you buy all that they have in stock to shuck the drives. MUST FEED THE NAS. The clerk is giving you a dirty look when you come back for more drives again and again, time after time... send help.

This sounds familiar 

I can safely assure you that my other hobby(FPV) takes all my expendable income.  If I get any itches its usually to build a new quad .
This PC purchase is out of necessity...

[SenioRR]

24 minutes ago, DefecTalisman said:

Thank you for the advice and link.  Noise is definitely a concern, but I had assumed this could be dealt with by replacing the fans with some maglev ones and sticking some sound absorbing material on the case.  Out of curiosity what would be the cause of rack servers being so noisy?

I had read somewhere that a standard ATX PSU would fit in an 2U case?  

Rack servers are height-limited so they all have small fans that run at high speeds to keep the server cool.

As RozRocks said, server designers do not care about the noise it will produce as its meant to be locked up in a cabinet inside a datacentre.

 

The ATX PSU thing will only really apply if you get a 2U chassis which is built to accomodate regular ATX parts.

Server manufacturers use proprietary PSUs.