nas storage

[Ciano]

im looking to build a NAS for home use  but i need direction i want something that will last but i want somthing that is reasonably price 

i would welcome any suggestions on everything from hardware to software and how to set it up

advice would be appreciated

thanks 

[Mansel]

for the os i would say freenas, tek syndicate have a good vid on it.

[FlakeyBanana]

are you looking to buy a NAS case or build one in an old computer case?

[alpenwasser]

If you're looking to buy a prebuilt NAS I can highly recommend Synology.

They're not cheap, but they do have excellent customer support and their

operating system is pretty good IMHO (plus you can give it a test run on

their website and see if you like it). Also, my brother works in IT and

he says they sell/install these quite frequently and his experiences with

Synology have been very satisfactory in general.

How much storage space do you need? Their most affordable dual disk unit

is the DS214se, it's pretty resonably priced. If you need more storage,

prices rise obviously.

Or do you wish to build your own?

[wpirobotbuilder]

If you're just looking for easy storage, Synology is one of the best out there. Very highly recommended.

 

If you're looking to buy a prebuilt NAS I can highly recommend Synology.
They're not cheap, but they do have excellent customer support

Good guy Synology.

[d33g33]

I have a Synology DS1511 with a DX510. I cant rate them high enough.

 

They Can seem pricey, but for what you get they aren't, compared to a QNAP anyway.

 

It all depends on what you want to do with it. Please try be specific, eg how many computers, if just to stream what size files that sort of stuff and we can help you more.

[Ciano]

sorry i forgot to say i was going to build one but thanks for the suggestions i have 1 or 2 old pc lying around would they work ???

[alpenwasser]

sorry i forgot to say i was going to build one but thanks for the suggestions i have 1 or 2 old pc lying around would they work ???

What parts do you have?

[Ciano]

i don't know much but it is an amd system from around 2002 but i need to get a few hard drives for it 

[nathanhd123]

i don't know much but it is an amd system from around 2002 but i need to get a few hard drives for it

What OS were you planning on using?

[Ciano]

i have no clue but free nas  looks good

[nathanhd123]

i have no clue but free nas looks good

FreeNas is great but there are a few things you need to consider especially if you are using old hardware.

First you need ECC Ram or you will definitely have problems later on.

Also you need roughly 1Gb of RAM for each Tb of hard drive space you intend to use as the ZFS system needs it.

[alpenwasser]

FreeNas is great but there are a few things you need to consider especially if you are using old hardware.

First you need ECC Ram or you will definitely have problems later on.

Well, you don't need to go with ZFS, you could just use the normal UFS:

If your RAM is limited, consider using UFS until you can afford better hardware.

source: FreeNAS docs#RAM

Also, while ECC memory is recommended, problems when using non-ECC

memory need not necessarily arise. Sure, the data integrity checks of ZFS

will be rendered rather pointless, but that doesn't make ZFS useless, it just

reduces its data integrity features to those of pretty much every other file

system which doesn't have them in the first place.

 

If your system supports it and your budget allows for it, install ECC RAM.

source: FreeNAS docs#RAM

Don't get me wrong, I definitely recommend using ECC with ZFS (after all,

my new server will have ECC RAM exactly for this reason),but it's not an

absolute and unconditional necessity if you're really strapped for cash,

although as said, UFS might be the more reasonable choice in that case.

 

Also you need roughly 1Gb of RAM for each Tb of hard drive space you intend to use as the ZFS system needs it.

If you plan to use your server for home use, you can often soften the rule of thumb of 1 GB of RAM for every 1 TB of storage, though 8 GB of RAM is still the recommended minimum. If performance is inadequate you should consider adding more RAM as a first remedy. The sweet spot for most users in home/small business is 16GB of RAM.

source: FreeNAS docs#RAM

ZFS does work with less RAM. I've been using a system with 4 GB or RAM and

a 17 TB raw/12 TB usable capacity pool since last summer and it works just

fine (although it's Linux with ZFS on Linux instead of FreeNAS, if FreeNAS differs

in this, feel free to correct me). More would be preferable, but as long as my

sytem doesn't do much else it's adequate (if something else on the system

starts hogging RAM though, write performance for my pool drops noticeably).

In general I'd say it's important to distingiush between recommendations

(RAM >= 8GB, ECC) and what you can get away with if your budget is really

restricted, if necessary by using UFS instead of ZFS (which would probably

be my personal recommendation if ECC is out of the question).

@Ciano : It would be helpful to know exactly what hardware you have,

how much storage you need, what the purpose of the NAS will be (backup,

media server, general storage or w/e ) and so on. It's a bit tricky to

give adequate advice when we're in the dark.

Also, since your system is from 2002, it might not be a stupid idea to

abandon it and go for a prebuilt NAS IMHO. Sure, getting the maximum

life span out of old components is nice and all, but old components are

far more likely to fail than newer ones (yeah, I know it's obvious, but

it's also important to keep in mind), and the power consumption of a

newer NAS will very likely be quite a bit less. Not that you need to,

but I'd say it's at least worth a thought or two.

[Ciano]

right so i ve decided to a new build one whit around 4 tb of storage for media and backup using freenas what be good components

to use everything from prosser's to psu's

i live in ireland and this is the most competitive website

/http://www.dabs.ie/

[alpenwasser]

To be honest, it would probably be cheaper (and certainly easier) to buy a

Synology unit than building your own. However, if you really want to go DIY,

start out with this:

If you want to go FreeNAS + ZFS, ECC memory is recommended. You don't

need a high-power CPU, something like the Pentium G3220T (has ECC support)

should suffice. There are alternatives, but I need to start somewhere.

As for boards, you're going to need to pick something with ECC support too,

which means money (either this one or this one if you stick to that shop).

Alternatively, Supermicro also make C222 and C224 board AFAIK (though again, pricey).

Then some ECC memory (there are tons in that shop, and I con't have time to look

at them all, I recommend you look up which models are compatible with your chosen

M/B on the M/B vendor website and then go from there).

And some NAS drives (WD Reds or Seagate NAS ones), and the rest is pretty much

the same as in any other PC.

[Tek_Addict]

i have just bought  a  Synology NAS and they are brilliant, run really well come highly rated , most definitely the best money i have spent on a NAS.