NAS build (noob)

[HamishGeologist]

Hi all,

 

I'm based in the UK. I'm a reasonable user of unix/python etc and have watched linus for a while -> ergo I want to build my first machine  

 

I want to build a NAS type machine to serve two purposes. 1) Principally to store files - ideally capacity for at least 4x3.5" HDD  drives 2) Run some scientific scripts (I'm a research computational geologist in a university) so the ability to remote access my own linux server? (virtualisation?) and run some codes could be quite handy. However if this overcomplicates, increases the cost significantly or reduces functionality then this could be depreciated. I have access to other machines for this purpose. 3) Run plex or something similar as I have a whole stack of dvds.

 

Budget is ~£400-600 excluding the hard drives. I have no existing components to use in my build.

 

Case

I see a lot of people go down the route of these cubes by kolink or fractal design. They both store 4x3.5". I'm not too fussed about the shape of my case and would be happy with a corsair if it meant I could fit a faster processor/more RAM etc for a lower price?

 

Given how much I think the case dictates what types of motherboards or number of hard drives you can fit I think this is a good launch point. There just seems to many different ways to go about this its abit daunting. Im wary of buying old gear from ebay for this first build and would prefer new components. 

 

I'm intrigued by using FreeNAS/unRAID but I'm wondering whether to set it to ubuntu (like this guy) so that I can ssh in and not have to deal with using virtual machines. 

 

Looking forward to hearing some suggestions!

[Radium_Angel]

4 minutes ago, HamishGeologist said:

Hi all,

 

I'm based in the UK. I'm a reasonable user of unix/python etc and have watched linus for a while -> ergo I want to build my first machine  

 

I want to build a NAS type machine to serve two purposes. 1) Principally to store files - ideally capacity for at least 4x3.5" HDD  drives 2) Run some scientific scripts (I'm a research computational geologist in a university) so the ability to remote access my own linux server? (virtualisation?) and run some codes could be quite handy. However if this overcomplicates, increases the cost significantly or reduces functionality then this could be depreciated. I have access to other machines for this purpose. 3) Run plex or something similar as I have a whole stack of dvds.

 

Budget is ~£400-600 excluding the hard drives. I have no existing components to use in my build.

 

Case

I see a lot of people go down the route of these cubes by kolink or fractal design. They both store 4x3.5". I'm not too fussed about the shape of my case and would be happy with a corsair if it meant I could fit a faster processor/more RAM etc for a lower price?

 

Given how much I think the case dictates what types of motherboards or number of hard drives you can fit I think this is a good launch point. There just seems to many different ways to go about this its abit daunting. Im wary of buying old gear from ebay for this first build and would prefer new components. 

 

I'm intrigued by using FreeNAS/unRAID but I'm wondering whether to set it to ubuntu (like this guy) so that I can ssh in and not have to deal with using virtual machines. 

 

Looking forward to hearing some suggestions!

Use a purpose-built dedicated NAS. One less box you have to maintain/patch/update/oversee.

I recommend NetGear's line of ReadyNAS, but there are man out there equally good.

(Signed: A fellow scientist)

[HamishGeologist]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

Use a purpose-built dedicated NAS. One less box you have to maintain/patch/update/oversee.

I recommend NetGear's line of ReadyNAS, but there are man out there equally good.

(Signed: A fellow scientist)

Whilst I accept that this is the most straightforward approach a) I'd like to build b) building would allow me to upgrade in future. I accept I might well just get a dedicated box but I'd really like to explore this avenue and spec something up to which I could compare to one of the pre-built.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

Cheers, Hamish

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, HamishGeologist said:

Whilst I accept that this is the most straightforward approach a) I'd like to build b) building would allow me to upgrade in future. I accept I might well just get a dedicated box but I'd really like to explore this avenue and spec something up to which I could compare to one of the pre-built.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

Cheers, Hamish

A perfectly valid line of reasoning.

Can't help you, but there are tons of posts here on building one's own RAID systems, the search function should reveal a fair number (this is a common topic around here.)

[Phizix]

I too believe that a purpose built box would be a better mainly due to the fact that a nas build would focus on the nas parts and not leave much in the way to actually process anything more stressing such as scientific scripts etc. As I understand it (but don't quote me) most nas software these days actually acts as an os. 

 

Have you thought of going down the purpose built box like a synology disk station route and then for your scientific calculations using something like a VPS which you can rent? Or have it the other way round where you can rent a VPS and place owncloud on it and then use the main system for your scientific stuff?

 

Just a thought.

[HamishGeologist]

18 minutes ago, Phizix said:

I too believe that a purpose built box would be a better mainly due to the fact that a nas build would focus on the nas parts and not leave much in the way to actually process anything more stressing such as scientific scripts etc. As I understand it (but don't quote me) most nas software these days actually acts as an os. 

 

Have you thought of going down the purpose built box like a synology disk station route and then for your scientific calculations using something like a VPS which you can rent? Or have it the other way round where you can rent a VPS and place owncloud on it and then use the main system for your scientific stuff?

 

Just a thought.

OK so running the scripts not on the NAS seems impractical due to the usage requirements - I had thought this. Still I'd be interested in building a NAS...but seems like people are doing their utmost to persuade otherwise!

[Phizix]

Haha I don't think it's that so much but most NAS boxes that you can buy these days are full proof, where as when you have a computer running them one wrong keystroke and everything can go wrong. It's a bit extreme but I think you get what I mean. 

 

I have a Synology DS216J which is a 2 drive NAS and it does everything I need and was cheap as chips. Like I say then use the case to buy a cheap computer than will run sciency stuff all day. 

 

Wait to see what others say then might have other ideas.

[Electronics Wizardy]

How much cpu power and ram do you need for your scripts?

 

Id probably suggest a os like proxmox so you can keep different tasks in their own vms. And you get ZFS for storage aswell.

 

Id probably suggest a build like this if you don't need much cpu power.

 

h270 and g4560 as no good am4 itx boards here that fit what i want, 16gb dimm as ram is very nice to have here, and im assuming you don't need the performance.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fqqgbX
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fqqgbX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($53.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - H270M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($93.59 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($155.99 @ Adorama) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 304 (White) Mini ITX Tower Case 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.80 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Total: $503.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-14 14:33 EDT-0400

[Egg-Roll]

1 hour ago, HamishGeologist said:

Given how much I think the case dictates what types of motherboards or number of hard drives you can fit I think this is a good launch point. There just seems to many different ways to go about this its abit daunting. Im wary of buying old gear from ebay for this first build and would prefer new components. 

Buy something refurbished or used from craigslist (or alike) you should be able to get a full system for a decent price. Go junkyard wars on the market if possible?

 

I found this:

https://itzoo.co.uk/collections/pc-base-units/products/refurbished-lenovo-m81-desktop-i5-2400-3-10ghz-4gb-500gb-win-10-home

 

It might be cheaper than any other option going, and it should work for your scripts. Scrap the case buy the one you want and the additional drives.

This case has 7 slots for drives (sadly currently out of stock, you can use newegg to go threw the cases)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewill-Viper-Tower-Gaming-Computer/dp/B00SB2207K

[HamishGeologist]

13 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

How much cpu power and ram do you need for your scripts?

 

Well, its newish software and I havent used it on several different machines yet. It runs sufficiently on my 2014 macpro with 8gb ram and a 2.6 ghz i5 so I guess the answer is not a lot of power overall.

9 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

Buy something refurbished or used from craigslist (or alike) you should be able to get a full system for a decent price. Go junkyard wars on the market if possible?

 

I found this:

https://itzoo.co.uk/collections/pc-base-units/products/refurbished-lenovo-m81-desktop-i5-2400-3-10ghz-4gb-500gb-win-10-home

 

It might be cheaper than any other option going, and it should work for your scripts. Scrap the case buy the one you want and the additional drives.

This case has 7 slots for drives (sadly currently out of stock, you can use newegg to go threw the cases)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewill-Viper-Tower-Gaming-Computer/dp/B00SB2207K

 Thanks for the advice. Love the newegg site. Really handy search functionality!

[Egg-Roll]

2 hours ago, HamishGeologist said:

Well, its newish software and I havent used it on several different machines yet. It runs sufficiently on my 2014 macpro with 8gb ram and a 2.6 ghz i5 so I guess the answer is not a lot of power overall.

 Thanks for the advice. Love the newegg site. Really handy search functionality!

How's the ram use on the mac when it's on vs off? if it barely changes then it's likely cpu based.

 

Also yea NE is actually quite useful when looking for stuff(esp the powersearch on the US site), sadly not always able to find it in some geo locations...