Low powered NAS


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Hello all,

 

So i have this huge collection of DVD's, CD's that i going to rip, because I'm tired of cleaning the dust on them :rofl: and to have them all easily accessible, in a digital way. I need plenty of storage for that and so i need a kind of NAS just for file system; i already do have an Android TV box so my idea was to stream the collection via wireless from the NAS into the TV Box.

 

I have lots of computer parts and so i mounted an old computer, powerful enough to run Nas4Free with several HDD's; problem is this thing sucks power (haven't tested, going to buy a power tester to know exactly how much juice it's drawing) and makes so much noise that it's not practical to let it run 24/7.

 

So i need ideas to have a (in order of importance):

- low power system that can run 24/7 without killing my electrical bill (i though about a Raspberry PI but AFAIK the performance for running USB disks AND Ethernet is crap; also an Atom board but i don't want to spend much...).

- low noise (it's a must!).

- can connect several SATA disks or, in worst case, USB ones.

- since this is going to be a media center repository, I'm going to store in there all the photos and other critical media; RAID is probable to be used but I'm going to make backups from this solution, no worries.

- must be small, if possible.

- i work with Lenovo-EMC, QNAP NAS everyday in my clients and i really don't want to buy one of those pre-made solutions; i prefer to build my own.

 

ideas?

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Get an enterprise RAID card with a battery backup unit like the hp p400 for 20$ online and do RAID6.

This supports up to 8 drives and would cost you at least 1k to achieve with a prebuilt nas.

 

Don't even think about wireless streaming, wireless networks suck use Ethernet.

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Get an enterprise RAID card with a battery backup unit like the hp p400 for 20$ online and do RAID6.

 

This supports up to 8 drives and would cost you at least 1k to achieve with a prebuilt nas

 

yeah i know; on ebay i can get for very cheap a BBW that murders entry level NAS in performance. But my question is: what about low noise, low power?

Hello,

Why not?

 

because i'm a geek that likes to build stuff and building my own NAS it's much more fun than buying a pre-made one. Also the cost, right now, matters :D

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yeah i know; on ebay i can get for very cheap a BBW that murders entry level NAS in performance. But my question is: what about low noise, low power?

 

because i'm a geek that likes to build stuff and building my own NAS it's much more fun than buying a pre-made one. Also the cost, right now, matters :D

That all comes from the case\cpu\psu etc. You could even go for a passive cooler if you want with a picopsu I wouldn't compromise on an atom mobo you are limiting your upgrade options with just 1 PCI slot. Get the lowest end haswell CPU you can find (with slat\vr-d)and combine it with a midrange mobo with 3 PCI express slots leaving plenty of room for future upgrades to 2 or 4gig NIC teaming with a nc380T etc. The case should have at least 8 hdd trays behind a large fan (like the cooler master storm enforcer) all that's left after that is a quiet psu\cpu cooler and your all set for 12-18 TB of battery backed RAID 6 storage.

 

RIP Synology trashcans

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Hello,

Don't even think about wireless streaming, wireless networks suck use Ethernet.

:rolleyes:

because i'm a geek that likes to build stuff and building my own NAS it's much more fun than buying a pre-made one. Also the cost, right now, matters :D

The problem is that any DIY will problably be louder than a prebuilt.

Going back to the prebuilt (its all I can recommend you if you want quiet, sorry), the HP ProLiant G7 N54L like InsaneNutter said, has mods here and there where you can put all the HDDs you want and then some on top of the original specs. From what Ive read its pretty quiet too. I have a Gen8 but if wouldnt recommend it right now if you want quiet.

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RIP Synology trashcans

 

lol i share the same opinion: Lenovo-EMC and QNAP are only good for entry level, redundant backup storage; for anything more serious they just fail miserably (i have every month dead HDD's and once per year a dead NAS from them :/)

 

but TPreston: how much power would that consume? That's my main problem; i currently have an old computer with NAS4Free that does it's job but it's noisy and consumes alot of juice (i need to measure up but my electrical bill just went high in the week that i left that powered on 24/7); i wouldn't mind having a server in my house, but wifey doesn't share the same opinion and since she's the boss.. :rofl:

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I've got one of the HP microservers as well (the N40L), brilliant device and I know several other members will highly recommend them.

Check this post of for some insight https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1197581-hp-mircoserver/

 

Major advantages for you are that its just a normal Server with an x86 CPU so you can run whatever software you want, I have Server 2012, I know people who have ESXi, and others running Linux. or you can run a free NAS software like you mentioned you already do.

 

Has 4 internal SATA bays + you can get a 5.25" caddy and put a 5th in place of a optical drive (just use a USB to load your OS, also has 7 USB ports and 1 eSATA so you can easily attach more drives.

 

Only sucks about 60W of power at peak, I leave mine on 24/7 no problems.

 

The only real disadvantage is that the internal RAID card only support 1 and 0 so unless you do software RAID or just a PCI card you can't do other RAIDs.

 

As much as I really rate, Synology boxes (and would advise them if you just want a buy and forget system) but ts like ?250 at last check for a 4bay and your stuck with their software, I like you prefer a bit more of a do it yourself approach plus the microserver is cheaper and more flexible...

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I have a 2-disk RAID ZyXel NAS320 and I can certainly recommend that. Low power, very quiet, gigabit ethernet + external disks, under $100 if you shop around.

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Hello,

i have every month dead HDD's and once per year a dead NAS from them

Usually these are PBKC.....but then again there is no chair or keyboard here!

Seriously though, Ive had a QNAP TS-469 for about half a year; No problems at all. Plus, all things considered, its pretty quiet by standards.

You have to lean towards one way or another: Prebuilts are built in mind for simply using them as home storage or some higher end ones are prepared for virutalization. When looking for a NAS, DIY usually isnt the best way to go for noise and consuming.

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I just got a N54L HP Microserver today

 

I will have the bios mod in there so i can run 5 full speed drives

 

Low power consumption, cant wait to get home and open it up

 

i can post some pics if needed

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Synology, end of topic :)

 

Only question left is how many internal drives.

i agree. Im a big proponent of Synology. Save yourself the trouble and give in to the pre-built NAS units :D

 

also, how much data are we talking here? that, or how much do you foresee in the future?

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Hello,

I just got a N54L HP Microserver today

 

I will have the bios mod in there so i can run 5 full speed drives

 

Low power consumption, cant wait to get home and open it up

 

i can post some pics if needed

Yes, please do.

Did you do a user review of it?

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Hello,

Usually these are PBKC.....but then again there is no chair or keyboard here!

Seriously though, Ive had a QNAP TS-469 for about half a year; No problems at all. Plus, all things considered, its pretty quiet by standards.

You have to lean towards one way or another: Prebuilts are built in mind for simply using them as home storage or some higher end ones are prepared for virutalization. When looking for a NAS, DIY usually isnt the best way to go for noise and consuming.

 

nope, the problem is: not enterprise grade HDD in Lenovo-EMC (one NAS had 3 HDD dying in less then 6 months) and crappy software in QNAP that makes everything slow, not to mention crappy implementation of SMB ACL, that just doesn't work properly.

 

Also QNAP support is terrible: i asked them about this issue in December 2013, still no answer...

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i agree. Im a big proponent of Synology. Save yourself the trouble and give in to the pre-built NAS units :D

 

also, how much data are we talking here? that, or how much do you foresee in the future?

 

all my DVD / CD's colletion...i dunno, several TB i guess :woot:

oh and important media that i cannot lose: photographs, films and academic stuff; that alone is almost a 1TB.

i do have to start ripping stuff to know how much this is going to occupy... :shifty:

 

So yeah, a HP Microserver is right now the best choice: very versatile and can jam more HDDs then a proprietary NAS.

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all my DVD / CD's colletion...i dunno, several TB i guess :woot:

oh and important media that i cannot lose: photographs, films and academic stuff; that alone is almost a 1TB.

i do have to start ripping stuff to know how much this is going to occupy... :shifty:

 

So yeah, a HP Microserver is right now the best choice: very versatile and can jam more HDDs then a proprietary NAS.

 

 

Synology DS412+ DS413j, DS413, or DS414 can support 4x4TB drives. that's 12GB of usable space when using Synology Hybrid Raid or RAID5

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Synology DS412+ DS413j, DS413, or DS414 can support 4x4TB drives. that's 12GB of usable space when using Synology Hybrid Raid or RAID5

 

That's 1316$ :laugh:  for a Synology DS412+; sorry that's just too expensive. I'm looking for a more cheaper solution that brings reliability but doesn't make my wallet empty in the process :laugh:

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That's 1316$ :laugh:  for a Synology DS412+; sorry that's just too expensive. I'm looking for a more cheaper solution that brings reliability but doesn't make my wallet empty in the process :laugh:

 

Well what is your budget, how many drives do you want and at what size?

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