Creating First Cheap NAS! Need Help!!

[Maxakheron]

Hi All,

 

This is my first post in the forum's here. I have been reading and researching for almost a month and then I saw Linus install a server for Slow-Mo guys and I thought why not ask him. Here is my dilema:

 

I need the server to:

1. replace Portable Hard Drives ( I have 3 2TB Portable HDDs and 2 ruined), due to their reliability being low.

2. Only Storing photos and videos and done other files. (Online storage are costlier over time).

3. Data will be accessed over wifi mostly with 4 to 5 windows and Android devices. (High speed is not a concern)

4. My budget is very tight. Budget < $300 (INR 20000) + Drives. Preferably start with 3 drives 2TB each in Raid 5 with future expansion possibility. (Hoping 8 x 2TB in Raid 5)

I am open to suggestions, recommendations and questions.

 

Thank you in advance

 

P.S. - just to mention I will prefer 3.5" hdd drives as they are lot cheaper in India than 2.5".

[SorryBella]

12 minutes ago, Maxakheron said:

4. My budget is very tight. Budget < $300 (INR 20000) + Drives. Preferably start with 3 drives 2TB each in Raid 5 with future expansion possibility. (Hoping 8 x 2TB in Raid 5)

I am open to suggestions, recommendations and questions.

At a budget that low, just get a prebuilt NAS and run in RAID 1. Synology DS220J can easily be had for around 200$ and you can find 4TB drives at around 70$. Or, you can just find any used PC with a LAN port, run TrueNAS, and load it in with new HDD with the rest of the budget that you have.

[SEAL62]

Other Option would be to get yourself a raspberry pi with any linux distro on it and run a samba share (or alike) file sharing server off of it. connect your HDDs for storing data via USB to the raspberry and share them over the network or with your own vpn server on the raspberry even on the go.

[SorryBella]

1 minute ago, SEAL62 said:

Other Option would be to get yourself a raspberry pi with any linux distro on it and run a samba share (or alike) file sharing server off of it. connect your HDDs for storing data via USB to the raspberry and share them over the network or with your own vpn server on the raspberry even on the go.

I would recommend that but i honestly have massive distrust with USB for any backups that isnt short term.

[SEAL62]

2 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

I would recommend that but i honestly have massive distrust with USB for any backups that isnt short term.

SATA or SAS are the better option of course but as you already stated, the budget is very tight, so you have to make some compromises. USB isn't that bad and does work, however that would be the first thing to switch as soon as there is some money available again.

[Maxakheron]

Thank you for so many replies. But my budget is for the server, not the drives. Drives will be purchased seperately, probably Seagate Ironwolf 2TB x 4.

And I was hoping for running a free NAS OS like trueNAS or freeNAS. And Case and Matherboard with 4+ SATA slots to accomodate 4+ drives. Again Gigabit connection is not a requirement for me, slow connection will also work. This server will be used for storage only within the house. And Portable Hard drives will be used for temporary storage outside the house.

My work takes me to extreme hills, we don't have network connectivity in hills, so remote usage is not required.

 

P.S. - in my reading I also found that we can use a PC build for the server as well.

[SorryBella]

1 hour ago, Maxakheron said:

Thank you for so many replies.

Remember to quote us so we can respond to you.

 

1 hour ago, Maxakheron said:

But my budget is for the server, not the drives. Drives will be purchased seperately, probably Seagate Ironwolf 2TB x 4.

My statement would still be the same, get a NAS system, in this case you can go all the way up to ds420j or Asustor AS1104T. 300$ is not a lot for a full on system imo, and while you could get more SATA ports for your buck, youre stuck with software raids which is not ideal.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Athlon 3000G (14nm) 3.5 GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL19 Memory  ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar MX331 MESH ATX Mid Tower Case  ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: ADATA XPG PYLON 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $294.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-09-03 06:16 EDT-0400

[Maxakheron]

2 hours ago, SorryClaire said:

At a budget that low, just get a prebuilt NAS and run in RAID 1. Synology DS220J can easily be had for around 200$ and you can find 4TB drives at around 70$. Or, you can just find any used PC with a LAN port, run TrueNAS, and load it in with new HDD with the rest of the budget that you have.

I get the point. I will look into this and also try to adjust my budget.

 

55 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Remember to quote us so we can respond to you.

 

My statement would still be the same, get a NAS system, in this case you can go all the way up to ds420j or Asustor AS1104T. 300$ is not a lot for a full on system imo, and while you could get more SATA ports for your buck, youre stuck with software raids which is not ideal.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Athlon 3000G (14nm) 3.5 GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL19 Memory  ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar MX331 MESH ATX Mid Tower Case  ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: ADATA XPG PYLON 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $294.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-09-03 06:16 EDT-0400

Thank you for the past list. This will help me in a long way.

[Maxakheron]

2 hours ago, SEAL62 said:

Other Option would be to get yourself a raspberry pi with any linux distro on it and run a samba share (or alike) file sharing server off of it. connect your HDDs for storing data via USB to the raspberry and share them over the network or with your own vpn server on the raspberry even on the go.

 

2 hours ago, SEAL62 said:

SATA or SAS are the better option of course but as you already stated, the budget is very tight, so you have to make some compromises. USB isn't that bad and does work, however that would be the first thing to switch as soon as there is some money available again.

Thank you for the suggestion. But my displeasure with USB Hard drives is why I wanna opt for NAS storage.

[Electronics Wizardy]

7 hours ago, Maxakheron said:

Drives will be purchased seperately, probably Seagate Ironwolf 2TB x 4.

Why get those drives? Id get fewer bigger drives, how about 2x 8tb or 2x6tb drives. THen its much easier to upgrade, uses less power and makes less noise

 

Whats your backup plan for this nas? Make sure the only copy of data isn't on this nas.

[Blue4130]

11 hours ago, SorryClaire said:

 

My statement would still be the same, get a NAS system, in this case you can go all the way up to ds420j or Asustor AS1104T. 300$ is not a lot for a full on system imo, and while you could get more SATA ports for your buck, youre stuck with software raids which is not ideal.

Synology qnap and asustor all use software raid. 

[GreatCrouton]

On 9/3/2021 at 10:11 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Whats your backup plan for this nas? Make sure the only copy of data isn't on this nas.

What do you suggest?  I need to build a new NAS and this is one of the things I'm wondering about.  I like using FreeFileSync as I'm used to it, do either of FreeNAS or Unraid work well with it or do they have a built in utility to backup to an external HD?