Help with NAS build

[jasanab334]

I'm trying to build a NAS, but haven't yet decided if I want to use a pre-made one, like a Synology or build my own on Qnap or FreeNAS.

I will be using it mostly for storing movies and other data, as well as source code. I'd go with RAID 6 (or equivalent). I also wanted to connect it to a tape drive, so the Synology would not work for that.

I read that it is not possible to expand a VDEV in FreeNAS, so that also wouldn't work for me.

What would be the best OS for such a NAS?

Can you add a drive to Unraid without rebuilding the whole array? Is the data safe?

Can you set up SFTP on Unraid (I wanted to use port forwarding to access it outside my home network)?

 

What would be the best solution?

Thank you for the help in advance.

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

Can you add a drive to Unraid without rebuilding the whole array? Is the data safe?

yes, easily.

4 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

Can you set up SFTP on Unraid (I wanted to use port forwarding to access it outside my home network)?

Yea you can, but there are better ways to copy files over a wan normally. LIke using a vpn, or scp

 

4 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

also wanted to connect it to a tape drive, so the Synology would not work for that.

You sure you want a tape drive? There normally very expensive, and syncing to hard drives is cheaper and easier unless you have hundreded of tbs

 

How many tb do you want?

[jasanab334]

I thought about getting a board that would support Intel XEON and ECC ram, but is there any way to extend the RAID on FreeNAS? I have 6 8TB drives, that would be 32 TB of data, there is no easy way to transfer that much data from and to the the NAS.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, jasanab334 said:

I thought about getting a board that would support Intel XEON and ECC ram, but is there any way to extend the RAID on FreeNAS? I have 6 8TB drives, that would be 32 TB of data, there is no easy way to transfer that much data from and to the the NAS.

Freenas uses zfs, so you would have to put all bigger drives in or add anouther vdev in the pool

 

 

[jasanab334]

I will use LTO 3 for now, as this is the one I already have. Each tape holds 400GB of data, so not all the data would be backed up. But later I will get myself a LTO 5 or 6

[jasanab334]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Freenas uses zfs, so you would have to put all bigger drives in or add anouther vdev in the pool

 

 

Exactly. I tested it in VirtualBox. That is why I don't think I'll go with it. Is there any way for me to test Unraid in a VM?

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

I will use LTO 3 for now, as this is the one I already have. Each tape holds 400GB of data, so not all the data would be backed up. But later I will get myself a LTO 5 or 6

How does the LTO3 drive attach to the system? You probably need to go DIY to use this as its probably SAS or FC

 

How do you plan on managing the tapes? You can't just copy files to them, as they were pre ltofs

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, jasanab334 said:

Exactly. I tested it in VirtualBox. That is why I don't think I'll go with it. Is there any way for me to test Unraid in a VM?

I think there are some ways, but its kinda ugly.

 

You can also just run a linux distro like ubuntu, and then use snapraid + mergerfs for a very simmilar storage setup as unraid

 

Or use btrfs or mdadm for a more traditional raid config.

 

But zfs has a lot of nice features, id ust make the array and then copy the files over from backups.

[jasanab334]

I would write a script that would use tar to compress all the files I wanted to back up, and transfer them to the tape with that.

The LTO 3 drive attaches to the system with SAS. I already have the card for it.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, jasanab334 said:

I would write a script that would use tar to compress all the files I wanted to back up, and transfer them to the tape with that.

The LTO 3 drive attaches to the system with SAS. I already have the card for it.

Then id go with a diy nas.

 

Since you already know how to script, id probably just setup a linux setup and do the config your self from there, and use something like btrfs or mdadm or snapraid + mergerfs for the drives.

[jasanab334]

I wouldn't trust myself with the safety of the data. I can write a script for writing backups, but I don't think the data would be as safe as it would be with some commercial solutions. Is there any way to test Unraid? I use Ubuntu as my host OS.

[jasanab334]

Also, I have a lot of power outages, so would the NAS survive that?

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

Also, I have a lot of power outages, so would the NAS survive that?

THe hardware doesn't really case, but some software can have issues. ZFS is very good with power outages normally, and you only lose a little bit of data that was written recently.

 

But if power outages are common, get a UPS

 

5 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

I wouldn't trust myself with the safety of the data. I can write a script for writing backups, but I don't think the data would be as safe as it would be with some commercial solutions. Is there any way to test Unraid? I use Ubuntu as my host OS.

Have you looked up guides for running unraid in a vm? There are lots out there.

 

Id just run ubuntu, its about as good as unraid, or better at storage data, and there are always backups if something goes wrong.

 

unraid isn't any special when it comes to keeping data safe.

[jasanab334]

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

unraid isn't any special when it comes to keeping data safe.

What software focuses on data safety then?

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

What software focuses on data safety then?

backups, backups and more backups, any softwarae can faile.

 

But zfs is about as good as it gets with dat protection on a single system.

[jasanab334]

3 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

backups, backups and more backups

That's why I'm thinking about buying a better tape drive.

 

Also, is there a way to resize the vdev without destroying the data on it?

I know you can destroy the vdev, and create a bigger one, but it will wipe the data. I also know you can add a second vdev, but that kills the redundancy.

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, jasanab334 said:

That's why I'm thinking about buying a better tape drive.

 

Also, is there a way to resize the vdev without destroying the data on it?

I know you can destroy the vdev, and create a bigger one, but it will wipe the data. I also know you can add a second vdev, but that kills the redundancy.

Id probably use hdds to backup, there much easier to work with and normally cheaper than taps.

 

You can expand a raidz raid array.

 

But if you want it easy to expand, use mirrors in zfs, the you can add a drive a pair at a time.