Building a low cost NAS/file server

[mgdelhi]

Hi guys.

I am planning to build a NAS/File Server for my devices (HTPC/PCH/Xtreamer/RPi/Android devices)

I have got:

* Gigabyte GA-E350N
* 4GB DDR3 RAM
* Cooler Master 460w PSU
* An ordinary cabinet (to be upgraded later)
* Gigabit Dual Band Router (TP-Link TL-WDR3600)
* Dual Band USB Wifi Dongles (Tata Sky USB Dongles are dual band )
* CAT6 wiring to be done.

I want to share 3 HDDs (3TB+2TB+2TB). Initially I wanted to keep my HDDs in NTFS file system (I will feel that things are in my control) but I guess that will eliminate many good options so I have dropped that criteria.
I want to keep this system "ON" from morning to late night (not 24 hours).

I have zero knowledge of Linux but can learn basic commands.

The options I have:

1. UnRaid (Thanks to SAM9S's for his thread and this thread on XBMC forum. Question: Is a parity drive must for UnRaid? I am not worried about my disk failure (I have same data in 3 more backup HDDs (3TB_USB + 2TB_USB + 2TB_Internal).
2. Ubuntu Creating A Home Media & File Server With Ubuntu
3. Windows 8 home server (I think less difficult for me) Set up Windows 8 as a home server
* I have a 80GB HDD to use as a boot drive for option no. 2 & 3..

Guys, which is the best option for me and how should I go about it ?

 

[argho]

I had thought about doing this, but finally just gave up and bought a ready made NAS. I have a Buffalo Linkstation Quad.

I would suggest that you simply set it up as a Windows 8 machine, if you are reasonably familiar with Windows. It works fine as a file server. If you have backups, no need to setup storage spaces. Simply format your drives as NTFS, and make them shared.

Housekeeping :
- install Windows Defender (its free) and run a full scan once a week
- reboot the machine once a week

I would actually suggest that you shut it down at night, and start it up every morning.

Rgds......Argho

 

[GeorgeO]

I'm curretnly using a ReadyNAS 4 Bay unit that works very well. To have a server, IMHO you don't really need a full fledged computer, and pay the price for it.

 

[haisaikat]

You can also try Flexraid on windows, worked great for me, it gives you parity based backup you can check my NAS thread as well (in my signature)

 

[GeorgeO]

The advantage of a ReadyNAS or Synology ( or similar) NAS unit is that you dont fill up Microsoft's coffers paying for their bloatware, but invest in hardware instead. Mine shuts down at 11PM ad restarts at 6AM.

 

[rahuln]

You should also look at the running cost. You are going to keep it on for long duration. How much power does your PSU consumes. I have Synology and it's very frugal on power. It also supports sleep, shutdown and wakeup schedule s. Also, I find the app ecosystem quite useful.

 

[mgdelhi]

I would suggest that you simply set it up as a Windows 8 machine, if you are reasonably familiar with Windows.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am comfortable with Windows (and have a spare legal key also) but before going for it, I thought of asking here so that I can get better options, if any.

I'm curretnly using a ReadyNAS 4 Bay unit that works very well. To have a server, IMHO you don't really need a full fledged computer, and pay the price for it.

The advantage of a ReadyNAS or Synology ( or similar) NAS unit is that you dont fill up Microsoft's coffers paying for their bloatware, but invest in hardware instead. Mine shuts down at 11PM ad restarts at 6AM.

That's a great suggestion. Thanks. I was not willing to spend so much for it as of now. But if you talking about Netgear ReadyNAS RN10400, I think this is good and manageable @15k.

You can also try Flexraid on windows, worked great for me, it gives you parity based backup you can check my NAS thread as well (in my signature)

Thanks. I have read your thread few times and subscribed to it for easy access.

For flexraid on windows, I will need one SATA port for boot drive, one SATA port for parity drive and I have 3 drives to share whereas GA-350N has only four sata ports. Whereas I can boot UnRAID from a USB pen drive also. For that I will have to learn few things though.

You should also look at the running cost. You are going to keep it on for long duration. How much power does your PSU consumes. I have Synology and it's very frugal on power. It also supports sleep, shutdown and wakeup schedule s. Also, I find the app ecosystem quite useful.

Thanks. As of now, I don't want to spend my money on Synology which is quite expensive for my budget. I can buy a Netgear ReadyNAS RN10400 though, if it serves the purpose.

--------------------------------------

Guys, I need one more suggestion.

My data is in 1 x 3TB and 2 x 2TB HDDs. Out of this, 3TB HDD is filled only with full blu ray disk movies (20-40gb each). If I leave it in HTPC and share just 2 drives on the file server, I guess I will not need to get the wiring done, they can be streamed over wifi. Is that right or am I missing something ?

I have got the wire and other stuff but getting an electrician to do such stuff is a pain in my area (can someone in Gurgaon suggest me an electrician?). If wiring is the only option, I will get it done somehow.

 

[manniraj]

I think many of these NAS servers (out of the box) as well as the one you are trying to built (Linux based ones) will need to format your HDD once you connect them so you will loose all the data unless backup is available. But for Windows based I think the NTFS HDD will be accepted.

Please keep this in mind when you are going for NAS boxes are DIY Linux based builds that you need to have a proper backup as the installed HDD will be formatted completely before you can start using the same.

Thanks

 

[haisaikat]

For flexraid on windows, I will need one SATA port for boot drive, one SATA port for parity drive and I have 3 drives to share whereas GA-350N has only four sata ports. Whereas I can boot UnRAID from a USB pen drive also. For that I will have to learn few things though.

This is true, and one of the reasons why I went for mobo with 6 SATA ports, definitely an advantage of unraid. However even my future upgradability plan is like below
1. If I run out of SATA ports then I have to install cards like this to allow for more SATA ports PCI-E 2 SATA + 2 ESATA CARD X1 SLOT | eBay
2. The other option is to upgrade your HDDs that you put in the array to greater capacity, like I upgrade 2 x 1 TBs to 2 x 2TBs and so on, but this will work if your data fill up rate is lesser than average drive age.

One other reason (apart from my windows preference) was that in case of Flexraid if at any point I decide to take out an HDd out of array then the underlying file system is still NTFS which can be read easily.

My data is in 1 x 3TB and 2 x 2TB HDDs. Out of this, 3TB HDD is filled only with full blu ray disk movies (20-40gb each). If I leave it in HTPC and share just 2 drives on the file server, I guess I will not need to get the wiring done, they can be streamed over wifi. Is that right or am I missing something ?

your assumption is good and can save you wiring at the cost of your home dcor, assuming you intend to stream the rest over wifi

 

[GeorgeO]

I have their ReadyNAS NV+ V2, which has GbE and 3 USB 3.0 jacks. I currently have 3TB X internal 4 HDDs running in RAID, and 1 X 3TB external connected up.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

I advised Mukesh ji to go the linux way. A simple headless debian boot will be perfect for a simple fileserver. More importantly I suggested he could mount his existing ntfs hdds as read only and tgat irradicates the need to format the disks.

More importantly the way he backs up his data using a 2 port dock in windows, he can pull out these disks anytime and backup. Best part about a debian boot is he could boot through usb.

I was suggesting him to wire up since the base requirements will only increase moving forward. Already we talking and thinking of the new 4k standard and I feel wire is the best way to go moving forward

tapped on Note II cdma

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am comfortable with Windows...

Entering the conversation a little late to say... stick with what you know. Any Windows machine since [IIRC] 3.11 will act as a file and print server and it is simple to set up and share directories.

I think many of these NAS servers (out of the box) as well as the one you are trying to built (Linux based ones) will need to format your HDD once you connect them so you will loose all the data unless backup is available. But for Windows based I think the NTFS HDD will be accepted.

Please keep this in mind when you are going for NAS boxes are DIY Linux based builds that you need to have a proper backup as the installed HDD will be formatted completely before you can start using the same.

Are you talking about using those disks as, eg, part of a RAID setup? If so, then I guess that the data would have to be taken off and the disk formatted. Otherwise, a disk with NTFS partitions could be inserted into a Linux system, and the NTFS stuff should be easily visible.

One thing to remember when swapping discs between machines...

Linux can see, read, write Linux and Windows file systems.
Windows cannot see, read, write Linux file systems.

 

[manniraj]

Are you talking about using those disks as, eg, part of a RAID setup? If so, then I guess that the data would have to be taken off and the disk formatted. Otherwise, a disk with NTFS partitions could be inserted into a Linux system, and the NTFS stuff should be easily visible.

One thing to remember when swapping discs between machines...

Linux can see, read, write Linux and Windows file systems.
Windows cannot see, read, write Linux file systems.

Yes I agree that Linux can see, read and write both linux and windows file systems but the Unraid or other NAS OS's and also the pre-built boxes from Netgear/Synology are all based on some Linux distros (customized) which will initially format the HDD once inserted and I think they do not allow the HDD to be just put in and start using the same. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[GeorgeO]

Manny is right, any disk inserted into a ReadyNAS will first get formatted and wipe out any data on it. I added two disks last week and they initially got restriped and then the "volume" got added.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

That's clear now. Thanks.

 

[GeorgeO]

Since my last email. I seem to have a failure of my ReadyNAS and am trying to see how to fix it! I had connected up an external HDD to back up some of my data onto it, but this happened even before I could do anything. I have my audio backed up as well as a lot of my my video, and a lot of essential stuff, but not ALL of it. I have to do some step by step diagnostics to figure out what happened and how to set it right.For now I will use streaming audio while I figure things out. Any factory default setting will wipe out all the data on the disks-so that is a plus for those who are going the Linux route. Bottom line, BACK UP,BACK UP, BACK UP!!

 

[haisaikat]

Bottom line, BACK UP,BACK UP, BACK UP!!

Why don't you take the HDDs out and back them directly? Is it because you do not have another Linux machine? If that is the case this might help you 3 Ways to Access Your Linux Partitions From Windows which essentially shows that Linux FileSystem "can" be read in Windows by workarounds.

This was one problem that I anticipated and went for Flexraid since it leaves the underlying file system untouched (NTFS) and also allows you to start using your disks by directly inserting them without any need of formatting (an obvious feature I would say)

 

[GeorgeO]

Saikat

To back up my stuff, which I had planned to, can only be done with the disks inside the NAS. I cant take them out and access them-the striping and RAID stuff will not allow me to access any disk. ALl I can do is to check if the disk is ok and format it outside of the NAS. This is what I had alluded to in my earlier post(No 14).

The amount of stuff to back up would have been upwards of 3TB. The critical stuff would have been less, though-and this is only partially( though mostly) backed up.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

Absolutely. Reading of a seperated disk from a raid pool wont work.

tapped on Note II cdma

 

[sam9s]

Hi guys.

I am planning to build a NAS/File Server for my devices (HTPC/PCH/Xtreamer/RPi/Android devices)

I have got:

* Gigabyte GA-E350N
* 4GB DDR3 RAM
* Cooler Master 460w PSU
* An ordinary cabinet (to be upgraded later)
* Gigabit Dual Band Router (TP-Link TL-WDR3600)
* Dual Band USB Wifi Dongles (Tata Sky USB Dongles are dual band )
* CAT6 wiring to be done.

I want to share 3 HDDs (3TB+2TB+2TB). Initially I wanted to keep my HDDs in NTFS file system (I will feel that things are in my control) but I guess that will eliminate many good options so I have dropped that criteria.
I want to keep this system "ON" from morning to late night (not 24 hours).

I have zero knowledge of Linux but can learn basic commands.

The options I have:

1. UnRaid (Thanks to SAM9S's for his thread and this thread on XBMC forum. Question: Is a parity drive must for UnRaid? I am not worried about my disk failure (I have same data in 3 more backup HDDs (3TB_USB + 2TB_USB + 2TB_Internal).
2. Ubuntu Creating A Home Media & File Server With Ubuntu
3. Windows 8 home server (I think less difficult for me) Set up Windows 8 as a home server
* I have a 80GB HDD to use as a boot drive for option no. 2 & 3..

Guys, which is the best option for me and how should I go about it ?

Hi mgdelhi, Unraid is very a very good NAS OS, personal experience in my 2-3 years of usage. The only thing as I must have mentioned in my UNRAID thread as well is that, in order to use extra multimedia features and plugin, quite a bit of command line executions needs to be done. Apart from if you gonna use it just for Storage, with drives mapped on you local PC, its THE best out there.

Flexiraid on windows is another option, haisaikat is using it for quit sometime now and can guide you on that properly.

I would also like you to consider .....

1. recently I cam across this supposedly good NAS OS NAS4FREE ... this is not freenas as most of us get confused, but its has the same history. You can try if you like the interface, speed etc. Else FreeNAS is always there. YOu can reuse the drives you create on NAS4Free on freeNAS as both use the same architecture.
FreeNAS 8 I have heard is much more polished and "media" oriented than earlier versions .....
2. Another one is AMAHI
3. Last one is Open Media Vault OVM

All have their advantages and disadvantages ....... personally I will suggest then all on a VM machine is you can manage and then decide. Or you can physically install then as well, use it for couple of days and see if it suits you and your needs else shift and try the other .....

Lastly no you do not need a parity drive for UNRAID to work, its just for the backup with one/two disk fault tolerance incase any of your data drive crashes ...

Also consider a pre-built NAS like Synology, saves much of the hassle and is multimedia enriched box. My review on synology in my sig ...

Avoid windows as home server ....

Let me know if you need any specific information

regards
Sammy