self built NAS "how-to" anywhere?

[Jesco Lincke]

Hi,

I'm looking for some reasonably simple instructions on how to build a
NAS-box from scratch. The result should be something like the
Tera-Station
(http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/network-storage/terastation/terastation-pro-ii/),
just not as expensive.

Could anybody point me to some "how-to" on the internet?

I should add that I'm not completely clueless as to hardware assemblage,
just would appreciate some inputs on selection of parts and software.
Emphasis would be on low energy consumption and noise level.

Oh, and I HAVE used google, only I'm not knowledgeable enough to filter
through the overwhelming amount of hits (which each seem to tell
completely different stories).

Cheers,

Jesco

 

[Rod Speed]

I'm looking for some reasonably simple instructions on how to build a
NAS-box from scratch. The result should be something like the Tera-Station
(http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/network-storage/terastation/terastation-pro-ii/),
just not as expensive.

Could anybody point me to some "how-to" on the internet?

I should add that I'm not completely clueless as to hardware assemblage, just would appreciate some inputs on
selection of parts and software. Emphasis would be on low energy consumption and noise level.

Oh, and I HAVE used google, only I'm not knowledgeable enough to filter through the overwhelming amount of hits (which
each seem to tell completely different stories).

Thats because there are a number of perfectly viable ways to do it.

Just what would suit you really depends on what sort of performance you need.

 

[Jesco Lincke]

Thats because there are a number of perfectly viable ways to do it.

Just what would suit you really depends on what sort of performance you need.

Setup is for a home storage system to avoid multiple copies (and/or
versions) of files being used from more than one PC. Nothing too big,
mostly pictures, audio files and (redundant) backup files of said PCs.

Should allow read/write from all connected PCs (don't know if that's an
issue here, it certainly is with the one NAS-drive I'm using now)

I was thinking about a 4 drive RAID5 setup with about 1TB in storage
space (so maybe 4x 320GB or 400GB)

Drive replacement and subsequent raid rebuild should be as user-friendly
as possible, since I might not always personally be around to do it.

Don't know if hard- or software-raid would work better here.

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

Setup is for a home storage system to avoid multiple copies (and/or
versions) of files being used from more than one PC. Nothing too big,
mostly pictures, audio files and (redundant) backup files of said PCs.

Should allow read/write from all connected PCs (don't know if that's
an issue here, it certainly is with the one NAS-drive I'm using now)

I was thinking about a 4 drive RAID5 setup with about 1TB in storage space (so maybe 4x 320GB or 400GB)

Drive replacement and subsequent raid rebuild should be as user-friendly as possible, since I might not always
personally be around to do it.

Don't know if hard- or software-raid would work better here.

The noise is easy to handle, just use quiet drives like samsungs and dont
get too carried away with noisy fans, have a free slot between the drives.

The power use isnt as easy tho, how much do you care about getting that as low as the terastation ?

 

[Jesco Lincke]

The noise is easy to handle, just use quiet drives like samsungs and dont
get too carried away with noisy fans, have a free slot between the drives.

The power use isnt as easy tho, how much do you care about getting that as low as the terastation ?

Well, the TeraStation claims to have an energy consumption of 60W. I can
only assume that this is an average, but still.
A self-built system will certainly need more (peak) power than that, but
it should have a reasonably low consumption when at idle.

As far as I know, idle consumption of HDs is below 10W per drive,
usually around 8W. When active it would be around 12-15W with peaks up
to 30W at spin-up.
So would a 4-drive setup need much more than 150-200W available,
including power for the MB? Would a RAM-buffer help keeping drive
activity low?

I realize this is getting more and more complicated...

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

Well, the TeraStation claims to have an energy consumption of 60W. I can only assume that this is an average, but
still.

Its basically going to be the sum of the drives and some extra for the electronics.

Corse you may well be able to get away with letting it sleep and wake on
lan etc if you use it in bursts, arent continually playing music etc from it
and the actual power use will depend on the nature of the burst use etc.

A self-built system will certainly need more (peak) power than that, but it should have a reasonably low consumption
when at idle.

And might even end up lower if the burst use and sleep is viable.

As far as I know, idle consumption of HDs is below 10W per drive, usually around 8W. When active it would be around
12-15W with peaks up to 30W at spin-up.

What matters much more is the burst use if you allow the drives to spin down.

Does it really matter tho if say it ends up at 100W continuous ? Only you can really say on that.

So would a 4-drive setup need much more than 150-200W available, including power for the MB?

No, you should be able to keep within that fine.

Would a RAM-buffer help keeping drive activity low?

That wouldnt affect the power use, the drive activity would have no real
effect unless the drives are allowed to power down when not being used.

I realize this is getting more and more complicated...

Yeah, it always does. What really matters is whether you care about the cost
of 200W continuous power use or not. If you dont, its all rather academic.

 

[Jesco Lincke]

Its basically going to be the sum of the drives and some extra for the electronics.

Corse you may well be able to get away with letting it sleep and wake on
lan etc if you use it in bursts, arent continually playing music etc from it
and the actual power use will depend on the nature of the burst use etc.


And might even end up lower if the burst use and sleep is viable.


What matters much more is the burst use if you allow the drives to spin down.

Does it really matter tho if say it ends up at 100W continuous ? Only you can really say on that.


No, you should be able to keep within that fine.


That wouldnt affect the power use, the drive activity would have no real
effect unless the drives are allowed to power down when not being used.


Yeah, it always does. What really matters is whether you care about the cost
of 200W continuous power use or not. If you dont, its all rather academic.

Judging by your last answer, I would only get near the TeraStation
consumption values if I allowed the drives to power down when idle, right?
But this would mean a hight peak value when HD use is actually required,
which could be optimized if I used a RAM-buffer.

So it all comes down to "how often do I want to transfer how much data"...

If I look at how I use my present (inadequate) NAS-drive, I should think
that the system would actually be idling most of the time, with actual
traffic in about 10% of the time - at most (especially if the buffer
would handle the minor write-transfers for a while).

Assuming that I want to end up with a system that has a low idle
consumption, what would your recommendations be regarding drive model
and manufacturer?
What would be the best way to set it up as simple to use (and
troubleshoot) as possible?

By the way - thanks for the help and thoughts so far!

Jesco

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

Judging by your last answer, I would only get near the TeraStation
consumption values if I allowed the drives to power down when idle, right?

You arent likely to get close otherwise because you are going
to have more drives than they have and because gp hardware
is going to take more power than theirs uses unless you
deliberately go for a low power system.

But this would mean a hight peak value when HD use is actually required,

The peak value normally doesnt matter much because its such a small
percentage time wise, so it averages out to insignificant unless you have
set the system up badly so its always spinning up and down all the time.

which could be optimized if I used a RAM-buffer.

Thats unlikely unless the same stuff is used all the time.

So it all comes down to "how often do I want to transfer how much data"...

Nope, like I said its more about whether you really care if say you end up with 200W.

Its not a huge cost over the terastation.

If I look at how I use my present (inadequate) NAS-drive, I should
think that the system would actually be idling most of the time,

Yeah, it should do unless you uses it as a source of background music.

with actual traffic in about 10% of the time - at most (especially if the buffer would handle the minor
write-transfers for a while).

Assuming that I want to end up with a system that has a low idle consumption, what would your recommendations be
regarding drive model and manufacturer?

I prefer the samsungs, just because they are nice and quiet and dont
need aggressive cooling when you have a spare slot between the drives.

What would be the best way to set it up as simple to use (and troubleshoot) as possible?

Its not clear what your linux capabilitys are like.

The win OSs are simpler to use for most, particularly if you dont bother to pay for the OS.

By the way - thanks for the help and thoughts so far!

No problem, thats what these technical newsgroups are for.

 

[Doug White]

Keywords:

Hi,

I'm looking for some reasonably simple instructions on how to build a
NAS-box from scratch. The result should be something like the
Tera-Station
(http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/network-storage/terastation/terasta
tion-pro-ii/),
just not as expensive.

Could anybody point me to some "how-to" on the internet?

I should add that I'm not completely clueless as to hardware assemblage,
just would appreciate some inputs on selection of parts and software.
Emphasis would be on low energy consumption and noise level.

Oh, and I HAVE used google, only I'm not knowledgeable enough to filter
through the overwhelming amount of hits (which each seem to tell
completely different stories).

This ought to get you started:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/27840/77/

Doug White

 

[Jesco Lincke]

Keywords:


This ought to get you started:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/27840/77/

Doug White

Thanks for the link. I had read through it before, but was a little
worried it might be out of date...

 

[Gary Seven]

: Hi,
:
: I'm looking for some reasonably simple instructions on how to
: build a NAS-box from scratch. The result should be something
: like the Tera-Station
:
(http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/network-storage/terastation/terastation-pro-ii/),
: just not as expensive.
:
: Could anybody point me to some "how-to" on the internet?
:
: I should add that I'm not completely clueless as to hardware
: assemblage, just would appreciate some inputs on selection of
: parts and software. Emphasis would be on low energy
: consumption and noise level.

What about something like this?

Link: http://www.drobo.com/products.aspx#products_nav

/G7

 

[Jesco Lincke]

: Hi,
:
: I'm looking for some reasonably simple instructions on how to
: build a NAS-box from scratch. The result should be something
: like the Tera-Station
:
(http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/network-storage/terastation/terastation-pro-ii/),
: just not as expensive.
:
: Could anybody point me to some "how-to" on the internet?
:
: I should add that I'm not completely clueless as to hardware
: assemblage, just would appreciate some inputs on selection of
: parts and software. Emphasis would be on low energy
: consumption and noise level.

What about something like this?

Link: http://www.drobo.com/products.aspx#products_nav

/G7

Looks interesting at first glance.

Two points, though:

1. It connects via USB only, so I would need to interface the USB to my
LAN. (ok, there's plenty of hardware that can do that)

2. It actually comes with a high-temperature-warning-LED installed,
which together with the rather crampy design does not help to win my
confidence regarding drive cooling issues.

I'll keep a look at it, though...
Thanks for the link,

Jesco