What special equipment besides a normal computer do you need to run a nas?

[Rekcut722]

I'm wondering if you need some special pcie cards to run a nas. Thinking of building one; i know how to build a computer, just not the special parts a nas needs

[Vitalius]

A NAS doesn't need anything special. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage.

>shares a folder on my Windows 10 Home PC

Boom. It's a NAS. It's basically, technically, that easy. There are OS' and software specifically for NAS' that make things easier and better, but generally, you don't need a lot to make a NAS. 

What would you want your NAS to do? That's the first question to answer.

[Rekcut722]

A NAS doesn't need anything special. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage.

>shares a folder on my Windows 10 Home PC

Boom. It's a NAS. It's basically, technically, that easy. There are OS' and software specifically for NAS' that make things easier and better, but generally, you don't need a lot to make a NAS. 

What would you want your NAS to do? That's the first question to answer.

 

i would want it to be a stand alone small system in the same closet with my router. That way my main pc doesn't have to be running all the time. I would probably use it for storing movies and stuff like that to move it easily between devices instead of something like a usb drive. It would also be used as a mass storage for devices that don't have that much storage to begin with, like my laptop with only a 128 gb ssd

[Vitalius]

i would want it to be a stand alone small system in the same closet with my router. That way my main pc doesn't have to be running all the time. I would probably use it for storing movies and stuff like that to move it easily between devices instead of something like a usb drive. It would also be used as a mass storage for devices that don't have that much storage to begin with, like my laptop with only a 128 gb ssd

Cool.

If you wanted to build a small system, then I'd recommend an M-ITX server motherboard with an SFX (Small Form Factor) PSU in an M-ITX case. 

http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-Mini-A1SAI-2550F-O-Motherboard-Combo/dp/B00HS4N6SE

^4 cores, 4 gigabit LAN ports, M-ITX, 6 SATA ports (two 3.0), four SD-DIMM Slots. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157419

^4 cores, 2 gigabit LAN ports, M-ITX, 12 SATA ports (four 2.0, eight 3.0), four DDR3 Slots.

Those are motherboards with CPUs embedded on them. Intel Atom Avoton. 

I recommend them because I've used them a lot (I personally prefer Supermicro's because they make good server hardware and moar LAN over SATA). 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $58.00)

Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $220.00)

Case: Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915R Mini ITX Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (Purchased For $90.00)

Other: Supermicro M-ITX A1SAi-2750F-O (Purchased For $359.99)

Total: $807.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-23 00:40 EST-0500

You wouldn't have to go with 8GB of RAM (or ECC RAM). I'm running special stuff (ZFS) so I'd prefer that. Or 4TB (ofc it's up to your storage requirements). 

Fully modular is preferred in an M-ITX case for obvious reasons. 

[Rekcut722]

Cool.

If you wanted to build a small system, then I'd recommend an M-ITX server motherboard with an SFX (Small Form Factor) PSU in an M-ITX case. 

http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-Mini-A1SAI-2550F-O-Motherboard-Combo/dp/B00HS4N6SE

^4 cores, 4 gigabit LAN ports, M-ITX, 6 SATA ports (two 3.0), four SD-DIMM Slots. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157419

^4 cores, 2 gigabit LAN ports, M-ITX, 12 SATA ports (four 2.0, eight 3.0), four DDR3 Slots.

Those are motherboards with CPUs embedded on them. Intel Atom Avoton. 

I recommend them because I've used them a lot (I personally prefer Supermicro's because they make good server hardware and moar LAN over SATA). 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $58.00)

Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $220.00)

Case: Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915R Mini ITX Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (Purchased For $90.00)

Other: Supermicro M-ITX A1SAi-2750F-O (Purchased For $359.99)

Total: $807.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-23 00:40 EST-0500

You wouldn't have to go with 8GB of RAM (or ECC RAM). I'm running special stuff (ZFS) so I'd prefer that. Or 4TB (ofc it's up to your storage requirements). 

Fully modular is preferred in an M-ITX case for obvious reasons. 

 

I was wondering why those boards were both so expensive until i saw the specs, they come with the cpu, Thanks!

[Rekcut722]

I was wondering why those boards were both so expensive until i saw the specs, they come with the cpu, Thanks!

 

Cool.

If you wanted to build a small system, then I'd recommend an M-ITX server motherboard with an SFX (Small Form Factor) PSU in an M-ITX case. 

http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-Mini-A1SAI-2550F-O-Motherboard-Combo/dp/B00HS4N6SE

^4 cores, 4 gigabit LAN ports, M-ITX, 6 SATA ports (two 3.0), four SD-DIMM Slots. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157419

^4 cores, 2 gigabit LAN ports, M-ITX, 12 SATA ports (four 2.0, eight 3.0), four DDR3 Slots.

Those are motherboards with CPUs embedded on them. Intel Atom Avoton. 

I recommend them because I've used them a lot (I personally prefer Supermicro's because they make good server hardware and moar LAN over SATA). 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $58.00)

Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $220.00)

Case: Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915R Mini ITX Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (Purchased For $90.00)

Other: Supermicro M-ITX A1SAi-2750F-O (Purchased For $359.99)

Total: $807.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-23 00:40 EST-0500

You wouldn't have to go with 8GB of RAM (or ECC RAM). I'm running special stuff (ZFS) so I'd prefer that. Or 4TB (ofc it's up to your storage requirements). 

Fully modular is preferred in an M-ITX case for obvious reasons. 

Do you run windows on the nas or something like free nas? 

[Vitalius]

I was wondering why those boards were both so expensive until i saw the specs, they come with the cpu, Thanks!

You're welcome.

For Operating Systems, I recommend Amahi if you want Plug N Play. FreeNAS if you'd like Plug N Play to an extent, with the option to modify it via command line, and Debian Server if you want to stick to Command Line (mg2r, a moderator, has a guide on LTT for that). 

I mean, you can do Windows, since Windows 10 is basically free and doesn't require a product key (click skip on the two times it asks for it during installation and it won't care or matter in 99% of cases when using it). I'd just prefer a NAS/Server oriented OS.

 

Do you run windows on the nas or something like free nas? 

Read above.

[Rekcut722]

You're welcome.

For Operating Systems, I recommend Amahi if you want Plug N Play. FreeNAS if you'd like Plug N Play to an extent, with the option to modify it via command line, and Debian Server if you want to stick to Command Line (mg2r, a moderator, has a guide on LTT for that). 

I mean, you can do Windows, since Windows 10 is basically free and doesn't require a product key (click skip on the two times it asks for it during installation and it won't care or matter in 99% of cases when using it). I'd just prefer a NAS/Server oriented OS.

 

Read above.

 

Would you recommend Amahi for someone like me who wouldn't even be using the system with a monitor 99% of the time? Can Amahi allow the system to be configured remotely, because i think free nas can and i really like that. 

[Vitalius]

Would you recommend Amahi for someone like me who wouldn't even be using the system with a monitor 99% of the time? Can Amahi allow the system to be configured remotely, because i think free nas can and i really like that. 

>configured remotely

You create an Amahi account when you install the OS.

http://www.amahi.org/features

http://www.amahi.org/how-it-works

 

It has built-in VPN features. 

I like FreeNAS as well. It's really up to what you feel would be best for your needs. Just be aware of FreeNAS' requirements when setting up the storage. 

If you use ZFS, you should probably have 8GB or more RAM, and preferably ECC. 

If you use UFS, then 2GB is the minimum, and ECC is essentially irrelevant, but you lose some features.

[Rekcut722]

>configured remotely

You create an Amahi account when you install the OS.

http://www.amahi.org/features

http://www.amahi.org/how-it-works

 

It has built-in VPN features. 

I like FreeNAS as well. It's really up to what you feel would be best for your needs. 

 

Ok thanks! I think i know all i need to for configuring the system!

[Vitalius]

Ok thanks! I think i know all i need to for configuring the system!

Cool. Good luck.