Nas

[incisor]

for the IT pros...

what NAS solutions you guys using that supports raid and SBS2000 and under $2K?

lacie ? adaptec snap ?

[dmdigital]

At home I'm using a Buffalo-Tech Terrastation NAS, supports RAID 0/1/5 with 1Gb NIC. No longer in IT work wise (thankfully) but when I was the gear was all Compaq-HP and I can't think of it being under $2K.

[George130]

OK.
What is the current view on NAS systems.
Been drooling over the QNAP units but $649 for the unit without drives seems a lot.

[abaddonxi]

I'm using an Intel SS4200e
Intel SS4200-E: PC-Based NAS Evaluated : Intel And EMC Tackle NAS (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ss4200-e-nas-raid,2076.html)

Can't recall if it does unsupervised torrents, or media streaming, but does mirrored backup, which is what I bought it for.

Bays for four HDDs, blah, blah, blah.

I bought it and two 1TB drives for about $550.

[DiscoCam]

I'm using a Dlink DNS323 D-Link ShareCenter? 2-Bay Network Storage (http://www.dlink.com.au/products/?pid=DNS-323) which is now about $280 plus drives. Things I like:


Raid 0 & 1 as well as JBOD
Bit torrent client inbuilt
UPnP server & FTP access
low power consumption when sleeping

Works nicely with the supplied software to constantly back up mine & the wifes computer.

[mowog]

The DNS323 lacks cooling capacity. They tend to cause the drives to run hot if there is a lot of activity. I had to use a small desk fan to keep the unit cool.

I have shut-down the DNS323 since it ate a hard drive.

[Aussie]

Get yourself a QNAP NAS box. I have one at home running RAID1, supports jumbo frames and has many very features, Webserver,FTP,Itunes Server plus heaps more. Also allows Intergration in to AD on domain. can also do DHCP, Very good little box, runs on Linux OS

[woody]

I'm using an old low spec (low power usage) pc running a modified version of linux called NASlite ( Network Attached Storage Server Operating Systems (http://www.serverelements.com/index.php) )

cheap program and works well

when the current hardware dies I'll probably upgrade to the NASLite-M2 version

[DiscoCam]

The DNS323 lacks cooling capacity. They tend to cause the drives to run hot if there is a lot of activity. I had to use a small desk fan to keep the unit cool.

I have shut-down the DNS323 since it ate a hard drive.

No problems with mine in 18 months including moving 100gb of video to & from my PC a couple of times (drive problems on my desktop:mad:).

But if money was not something that I accumulated so bloody slowly:( I'd have a QNAP or the Intel box abaddonxi noted.

[gatesy]

for the IT pros...

what NAS solutions you guys using that supports raid and SBS2000 and under $2K?

lacie ? adaptec snap ?

What do you want to use it for? I have been using netgear NAS for backing up servers too etc. They seem to be extremely reliable but not 100% sure on price. They are linux based, with full AD intergration, DHCP server and a few other options. I have them configured for RAID 5. From memory (as I said not 100% sure) they were around $1800 each.

Due too having to add more servers I am looking a some HP NASs. But these are a fair bit more $

Have you had a look on the Dell website? I think they used to sell them, they are usually fairly cheap.

Another option would be to build a server to be the NAS, this maybe the cheaper option if you use SATA drives etc. I would stay away from software raid etc.

[gatesy]

Sorry about my last post!! I just saw the original post was from ages ago. :angel:

[abaddonxi]

Sorry about my last post!! I just saw the original post was from ages ago. :angel:

:D:D:D

Didn't even notice.

[steveG]

I'm using an old low spec (low power usage) pc running a modified version of linux called NASlite ( Network Attached Storage Server Operating Systems (http://www.serverelements.com/index.php) )

cheap program and works well

when the current hardware dies I'll probably upgrade to the NASLite-M2 version
Another vote for NASLite. Been running one for about 4 years at work on an old PIII with IDE disks. Mainly just a dumping area for server logs and downloaded software etc to keep it off the main servers.
Not sure whether it meets the "supports SBS200" criteria.

If you want reliable hardware maybe NASLite on a entry level HP server.
Something like a HP DL160 (currently on promo for just over $1600 incl GST ), throw some big SATA drives in it with , run NASlite and away you go.
You get a server grade rackmount unit with 3 year onsite warranty, hardware raid, 2 Gigabit NIC's, 4Gb RAM for around the $2K mark.

If you don't need that grade of hardware, just build your own in an old PC with some big drives and hardware RAID card.

Steve

[George130]

Chears guys.
Original post was old but I decided to use it rather than a new thread.
I will use the unit at home as a media server and data storage. Currently have 4 1tb usb drives running of the computer.
I want to cut down on power points, power consumption and upgrade the storage capacity. Network connection just makes it an easier option as it doesn't have to sit at the pc in the lounge then.

[mowog]

I use a mixed bag for data storage at home.

I use a WDShareSpace with 4TB for media storage and as a media server. It also holds network shares for family members to store documents.

WD ShareSpace 8 TB Hard Drives ( WDA4NC80000 ) (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=584)

I have a PC running windows home server with 4TB for backup and various other little jobs... The 4TB on this is via USB drives and the time for that setup will be coming to an end soon.

[gatesy]

I use a mixed bag for data storage at home.

I use a WDShareSpace with 4TB for media storage and as a media server. It also holds network shares for family members to store documents.

WD ShareSpace 8 TB Hard Drives ( WDA4NC80000 ) (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=584)

I have a PC running windows home server with 4TB for backup and various other little jobs... The 4TB on this is via USB drives and the time for that setup will be coming to an end soon.


That looks like a pretty good solution for a home enviroment!!

[mowog]

It works for us. We also use XBox 360's to stream media.

[abaddonxi]

It works for us. We also use XBox 360's to stream media.

'Darling it's not for playing games, it's for network storage.':D:D

[Doodey]

Get yourself a QNAP NAS box. I have one at home running RAID1, supports jumbo frames and has many very features, Webserver,FTP,Itunes Server plus heaps more. Also allows Intergration in to AD on domain. can also do DHCP, Very good little box, runs on Linux OS

Totally agree!!!

Rock Solid unit.... their media players not so great, but i use the QNAP 4 bay NAS and then other brand media players, like mediagate or astone

[mowog]

'Darling it's not for playing games, it's for network storage.':D:D

Actually of the 3 of them in the house only one gets used for games on a regular basis.

I haven't played a computer / Console game in years. And I discourage my now adult children from wasting time on games.

Blizzard Software needs to be shut down....

[5teve]

server here with 8 x 500gb sata disks connected up to a dell perc5i hardware sas raid card (will run sata and is a bargain) all in 1 array in Raid 5 plus 2 x 500gb boot drives in raid 1 currently but wll switch to 0 soon for speed as all data resides in the array. HTPC also has 4 x 500gb disks in 2x500gb raid 0 for boot and 2 x 500gb raid 0 for recording

was looking at a nas for backup.. just not got round to it yet...

Steve

[abaddonxi]

4TB NAS $499.

Dunno much about it, but seems a decent price.

Mwave Australia: Buy Cheap DIY Bundle Deal - Icy Box Gigabit Dual RAID NAS + 4TB Storage (2 x WD 2TB Hard Drives) in Sydney, Australia Online Computer Store! (http://www.mwave.com.au/productdetail.asp'sku=99990315)

Techware Labs - Reviews - ICY BOX NAS Enclosure (http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/storage/icybox/)

ICYBOX (http://www.icybox.com.tw/page/nsa_products/nas_ib-nas5220b.htm)

[George130]

Solved my problem.
Scored an old server.
dual 1.6mhz dual core processors, 1 gig ecc ram. dual sata raid controlers and 2 2TB drives in the hot swap bays so far. Now to set it up!

[dmdigital]

Thought I'd add to this thread. Got a new NAS this week to replace a few other drives and my old Buffalo Terrastation.

The unit is a Drobo FS (clicky (http://drobo.com/products/drobo-fs.php)) and it is brilliant, dead simple to use and configure and basically self managing. I've put five 2TB SATAII 7200rpm, 64MB cache WD drives in it. With two disk redundancy this gives me 7.22TB of space.

The only downside at present is I've just spent 28 hours copying the 667GB off my old Terrastation to the new NAS and it's only 60% completed. Not the Drobo's fault but the slowness of the old Terrastation :(

I seriously looked at the 4 and 6 bay ReadyNAS as a friend has one and it is excellent, but I couldn't get one without buying it with smaller drivers than I wanted and stock was very limited from all suppliers. Also the ReadyNAS is very particular about which drives it uses.

[abaddonxi]

I'm using an Intel SS4200e
Intel SS4200-E: PC-Based NAS Evaluated : Intel And EMC Tackle NAS (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ss4200-e-nas-raid,2076.html)

Can't recall if it does unsupervised torrents, or media streaming, but does mirrored backup, which is what I bought it for.

Bays for four HDDs, blah, blah, blah.

I bought it and two 1TB drives for about $550.

And we've got a problem.

I received a not so cheery email telling me that one of the drives might be dead.

Which is all good, no data lost, I think it's still under warranty, and that's why I set it up as raid1.

But it turns out that the machine, which is pretty bare to start with, is even less forthcoming when things go wrong. The upside is it takes me back to playing duke nukem, through the secret door, type in the hidden password, download the double-encrypted file, and then work out which drive is toasted.

And the Intel help forums give helpful advice such as, 'have you plugged the drive into another computer?' Which is the logical next step, but reaching this point I've suddenly started to want the machine to do a little of the heavy lifting itself.

No complaints here, but rather thinking I should have thought about how the equipment handles catastrophic failure, it's now worrying me just a little that I didn't look earlier, and that the manual doesn't actually include a section on how to deal with drive failure, replacement, etc. And just think, you can download the manuals from the internet, so I've really got no excuse.

Worthwhile considering before the next purchase.:D

[CU55TM Disco]

I know this is an old topic, but im thinking that NAS is the way I have to go, currently running an old 500Gig USB External thats full to the brim. Looking at a couple of Buffalo units on the "bay" atm, the Linkstation Pro Duo LS-WVL and the Linkstation Duo LS-WXL, I know one is better than the other, but im having trouble convincing myself that I need to spend the Xtra $$$, Only really want to stream a few movies to my DLNA enabled TV and have better access to files from either PC/Laptop. Will store all my music on there as well and stream. Oh, and would like to torrent with the NAS as well!

Anyone with a little more knowledge on the subject feel free to comment!