Weekend Project : Building a NAS from old computer components

[dillihifi]

Well after going through the threads about NAS primarily from our fellow FM Sam9s, I was very much tempted to try out a NAS at home

Well I do not have much movies or songs in the digital format (mostly I have discs) , max will be something around 1TB worth including photos. The idea of NAS appealed to me as it would entail dumping everything into one place and viewing or accessing the same on different devices. It would be super convinient

Initially I thought to spend a bit of money and build a NAS using the recommended components but again had second thoughts regarding the same. I had an old P-IV computer stashed somewhere and a bunch of HDD (IDE) so I thought why not take a plunge and try out the NAS on this kind of hardware just for hands on before jumping on a full blown NAS. On browsing the web I found that Nas4free can run on most basic hardware so I decided to go with it.

Last weekend I bought out the different components, dusted them and after trying out all combinations could get the computer to work again, the config was : P-IV, 1.5GHz, 640 MB RAM, 3 HDD which were working 40GB, 80GB & 20GB (used the 40gig and 80gig drives IDE), also used the old cabinet and CDROM. Completed the build and loaded up the Nas4free Live cd iso burnt into a disk. It is a very basic interface which booted up from the CD drive and I was presented with the screen with the IP to log into for configuring the NAS (after a bit of tweaking I was able to get it right).

After getting a feel of the NAS terminal and logging into the webGUI and playing around I was able manage disks, mounted them, created directories, enabled CFIS/SMB, created users, created shares and enabled uPNP. Finally I decided to use the embedded installation of NAS4freein one of the HDD and create a swap partition as I less RAM, and use the rest for Data. I used the 40gig hdd first and had 35gig left for data after completing the above.

After the configuration I could see the Nas server in my networks and could browse into the shares and add content to it. The uPNP was activated by default it is the Fuppes and I could stream movies, songs & photos over my home n/w. Since my TV is not smart or DLNA compliant but my Blu ray player is so I could stream all the above to my TV over Wifi through my Blu ray player . Finally I also installed apps in my android tablet and could stream movies, photos and songs to my tab over wifi. Finally I can store content on the NAS drive and access the same through my laptop, TV(through the Blu ray player), tablet and phone. Now I spent a better part of the day putting it all together and the NAS has been up since last evening lets see how this journey goes. Well I need to get a battery for my BIOS as the same is dead.

 

[manniraj]

I think you can also try the "Vorterbox" NAS OS as it can do the CD/DVD ripping and other similar stuff. The reason I am suggesting is that you said that you have lots of discs rather than digital files. Check for a thread from one of the FMs here who gave a detailed configuration/steps on how to do it.

 

[haisaikat]

Congratulations, quite a treat for the entire weekend and I can see you have progressed far in almost every aspect Well done and Well spent

I would say do not keep the NAS running 24x7 since these components have been in much use at some point of time and every component has its own life. So enjoy the zero cost build and keep it hanging for as long as possible. Not sure if your motherboard supports SATA drives but for upgrades (more storage space) I would recommend getting a better PSU unless you are already using a 400+ W PSU and then a PCI SATA Card (assuing your P4 mobo did not have PCIe slot) for SATA ports.

NAS is an addictive investment where you keep on dumping and never think of cleanup so sooner or later you will need more space for sure

 

[dillihifi]

Thanks guys. Sure I would love to go all the way. Well the first things are to get used to this and along the way go for either a pre-built or DIY with better components (am sure this will be the route I will be taking in around sometime). My mobo does not support SATA or have PCIe slots (this was a PC put together by me in late 2001) lets see where this journey takes me.

Anyway accessing the media files across various devices is super cool.

@haisaikat read your thread about your flexraid and was interested in the same. I was not sure of the software running on my pc config so went for the freeware. Flexraid is not free right now ? They are only offering a trail after which we need to buy the same.

Special thanks in order to sam9s and haisaikat for their thread on NAS which motivated me to try this out at home.

 

[sam9s]

@ Congratts dillihifi, seems your weekend went worth ... . Welcome to the Hifi-NAS club....

to start off I am with everything what haisaikat said. Do not push this hardware for a 24x7 run, it will give up sooner or later. I ran UNRAID for almost 2 years and I think 6-7 months at a stretch.

At the end my hardware just gave up. Usually first its the PSU, even though I changed it, I think my mobo was the second one to go or may be the proc, I am not sure as I stopped getting the display, even with different RAM. I presumed either of the two things dead. This was with a E8400 C2D and a MSI P400 NEO mobo.

This is one of the other reasons I went for a dedicated NAS device. Infact for my other server activities as well I am planning to go for server grade hardware instead of the usual desktop proc n mobo since most of my servers have to be 24x7. Except maybe my Raspberri Pi.

do keep us updated on the progress and what all you add to your project .......enjoy

 

[sam9s]

My mobo does not support SATA or have PCIe slots (this was a PC put together by me in late 2001) lets see where this journey takes me.
.

You dont need PCIe for SATA add on card , just the good old PCI slot is good enough .........which your mobo will have. Just get a PCI, sata addon card something like THIS, the only draw is that your SATA II or III drives will work on the older SATA bandwidth.

this is ofcourse if you want to continue with P-4 your primary NAS device for long.(coz only then investing on the machine seems logical)

 

[haisaikat]

You dont need PCIe for SATA add on card , just the good old PCI slot is good enough .........which your mobo will have. Just get a PCI, sata addon card something like THIS, the only draw is that your SATA II or III drives will work on the older SATA bandwidth.

this is ofcourse if you want to continue with P-4 your primary NAS device for long.(coz only then investing on the machine seems logical)

+1 to this