Build Your Own NAS (BYON)

Tears4Fears

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2.1.1 NAS Assembly Part 1 is out.
:D

UNAS-NSC400-21.jpg
 
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LocalGod

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actually i am now using dns320 with fun plug.
serve me well as it can download torrent (tranmission) and serve movies via dlna (twonky).

however, it does not support plex and i am looking at my next nas which can support torrent download and plex.

thinking of buying off the shelf or just buy a second hand mac mini. any thoughts?

synology is out as it does not support plex with transcoding or something like that.
 

Tears4Fears

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actually i am now using dns320 with fun plug.
serve me well as it can download torrent (tranmission) and serve movies via dlna (twonky).

however, it does not support plex and i am looking at my next nas which can support torrent download and plex.

thinking of buying off the shelf or just buy a second hand mac mini. any thoughts?

synology is out as it does not support plex with transcoding or something like that.

Seems like you are integrating HTPC function and NAS together? Few options I can think of:

1. Locate an OS (preferably) lightweight that support Plex. To add NAS functionality, run RAID file system on top of OS.

2. Two VMs on a powerful system, each VM serve a purpose.

3. Do not integrate; retain your existing NAS and build another HTPC to support Plex.
 

aeng

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I'm using a n40 microserver with unraid.

For playing media, I use a jail broken Apple TV with xbmc installed.
 

eatsleeplim

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built mine a year ago. running on Ubuntu LTS with newer kernel (default LTS kernel had small issue with the sata6 card). Running software RAID 6, ext4; primarily running with NFS/FTP/torrent/irc.

was srsly considering running FreeNAS.

NAS solutions for >4 drives are too expensive.

Case: Lian Li PC-Q25

PSU: Silverstone 400W

Processor: Intel Core i3 3220
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-I (it's mini-ITX)
RAM: 2x 2GB DDR3
HDD: 7x3TB 2.5" Toshiba (7200rpm)
HDD: 750GB 2.5" WD Black (7200rpm)
PCIe card: MSI Star SATA6 Expansion card (Marvell SE9128)
 

Tears4Fears

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Updated 3.1 Testing methods


This is Draft V0.2
Change Revision
- Updates in red & bold.
- Added performance test for RAID 1.
- For performance test 3 - 6: CIFS / CrystalDiskMark, NAS Performance Tester, run tests twice to ensure consistency.
 

Tears4Fears

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I'm using a n40 microserver with unraid.

Would you like to share your experience on using unRAID?


built mine a year ago. running on Ubuntu LTS with newer kernel (default LTS kernel had small issue with the sata6 card). Running software RAID 6, ext4; primarily running with NFS/FTP/torrent/irc.

was srsly considering running FreeNAS.

NAS solutions for >4 drives are too expensive.

Case: Lian Li PC-Q25

PSU: Silverstone 400W

Processor: Intel Core i3 3220
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-I (it's mini-ITX)
RAM: 2x 2GB DDR3
HDD: 7x3TB 2.5" Toshiba (7200rpm)
HDD: 750GB 2.5" WD Black (7200rpm)
PCIe card: MSI Star SATA6 Expansion card (Marvell SE9128)

The advantage of running a normal operating system with RAID grants you the freedom to explore more features like using it as a normal desktop, watching / streaming movies, etc.

If you run FreeNAS, some of your frequently used features might no longer be available. Also, your built tend to lean more towards a normal desktop, way too powerful for a NAS i felt. It's hard to strike a balance.
 

Thehim

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built mine a year ago. running on Ubuntu LTS with newer kernel (default LTS kernel had small issue with the sata6 card). Running software RAID 6, ext4; primarily running with NFS/FTP/torrent/irc.

was srsly considering running FreeNAS.

NAS solutions for >4 drives are too expensive.

Case: Lian Li PC-Q25

PSU: Silverstone 400W

Processor: Intel Core i3 3220
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-I (it's mini-ITX)
RAM: 2x 2GB DDR3
HDD: 7x3TB 2.5" Toshiba (7200rpm)
HDD: 750GB 2.5" WD Black (7200rpm)
PCIe card: MSI Star SATA6 Expansion card (Marvell SE9128)

You could drop the i3, and go for Celeron instead when you built it though.
Cause you ain't gonna need that much Processing power if the system is just a NAS solution.
Your build is quite power packed for a DIY NAS solution.

I'm on AMD APU build for a HTPC cum File storage setup.
It's not on 24/7 as I'm the only 1 in the family using it,
it's quite affordable compared to your setup.
 
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eatsleeplim

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You could drop the i3, and go for Celeron instead when you built it though.
Cause you ain't gonna need that much Processing power if the system is just a NAS solution.
Your build is quite power packed for a DIY NAS solution.

I'm on AMD APU build for a HTPC cum File storage setup.
It's not on 24/7 as I'm the only 1 in the family using it,
it's quite affordable compared to your setup.
yeah i would have to agree that celeron is cheaper - it was in my consideration. but wat swung in i3's favor is that:
- i3 3220 has lower TPD than celeron G555 (!)
- i was thinking of using the NAS with video playback. so yeah, wasn't a pure NAS in that sense.
-- not sure if video playback will be ok with celeron's compared to the i3's.
-- AMD's video playback on linux (AMD APU)... isnt that good at all, is it? on the other hand intel's drivers on linux are good.

moreover amd's itx mobos didn't have 6 sata slots. i wanted to max out the casing/mobo's sata (7 3.5" and 1x 2.5"). the cost of a 4x sata pcie card is much more than a 2x sata pcie (and i dun need the hardware raid features)
-- cant remember the exact price difference between celeron and i3. was ard $50-80? i was more willing to go for the overkill than getting something underpowered. turns out that i only watch videos on it occasionally.

- i didnt do too much homework on PSU :/

Linux over freebsd: actually freebsd have quite a number of software too, most that i need are available. but BSD's intel video driver is not good compared to linux's, esp the lastest gen bits.

ZFS on linux: i wouldnt wanna touch that cos it ate my data when i was running tests on it on another computer. :O
 

Thehim

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yeah i would have to agree that celeron is cheaper - it was in my consideration. but wat swung in i3's favor is that:
- i3 3220 has lower TPD than celeron G555 (!)
- i was thinking of using the NAS with video playback. so yeah, wasn't a pure NAS in that sense.
-- not sure if video playback will be ok with celeron's compared to the i3's.
-- AMD's video playback on linux (AMD APU)... isnt that good at all, is it? on the other hand intel's drivers on linux are good.

moreover amd's itx mobos didn't have 6 sata slots. i wanted to max out the casing/mobo's sata (7 3.5" and 1x 2.5"). the cost of a 4x sata pcie card is much more than a 2x sata pcie (and i dun need the hardware raid features)
-- cant remember the exact price difference between celeron and i3. was ard $50-80? i was more willing to go for the overkill than getting something underpowered. turns out that i only watch videos on it occasionally.

- i didnt do too much homework on PSU :/

Linux over freebsd: actually freebsd have quite a number of software too, most that i need are available. but BSD's intel video driver is not good compared to linux's, esp the lastest gen bits.

ZFS on linux: i wouldnt wanna touch that cos it ate my data when i was running tests on it on another computer. :O

I think the lower TDP doesn't really affect your electricity bills so much, what affects the dollars and cents are mostly on bigger appliances i.e. Refrigerators, Aircons, Plasmas.

Read somewhere along this forum that Celeron can handle Video output well enough.

I couldn't compare AMD APU video playback on Linux with Intel's version, as only had this 1 system, btw I'm using XBMC for movies and such using only 1 HDMI, which i think is ok.

I'm using mATX board, didn't thought into small size factor yet, cause was reusing my old casing Centurion 5, so i wasn't restricted.
The mATX board had 6 Satas, all used up for 5 HDDs + 1 DVDrw.

Didn't tried out the readily available OSes such as FreeNAS and such, as I failed trying to install them over CD, went to Ubuntu, then to Lubuntu as Lubuntu is more lightweight.

Another 2 cents
you can switch the 2.5 for 3.5 for bigger storage space if you like.

Well if you ever wanted to get a dedicated HTPC setup, you could use Celeron for budget constraint. :)
 

Tears4Fears

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I have started phase 3 testing!

Final revision to 3.1 Test Methods and Setup
Minor revision1: I discovered a bottleneck on my Testing desktop HDD. Changed Testing Desktop HDD from WD 3TB to Toshiba 3TB.
Minor revision2: Revised Test Files to include 7 files that are larger than 4gb.
 
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