Raid 5 NAS dedicated computer or specialized hardware?

[cuillini]

Hi,
I would like a NAS with RAID 5 and wanted to buy dedicated hardware instead of building a computer for the nas for these reasons:

The dedicated hardware:

- Would be cheaper than buying a new computer + case
- Would be smaller than a new computer
- Would use less power/cost less to run 24/7
- Simpler as i would only need to add drives and setup rather than build a whole system

I really want to buy dedicated hardware however, I need a few features that seem to push me to build a new comp:

- Encryption - I would like encryption/decryption of the entire NAS as files are put on and moved off
- Easy online back-ups: This type of thing would be easy on a xp box which would run client software but, seems a lot harder on dedicated hardware
- Easy streaming - would like to be able to stream audio/video files with ease. Again it is easy on a xp box

So right now I am leaning towards building comp. I have never build one with RAID hardware.

Thus, if anybody has good links for reviews/tutorials on RAID 5 hardware it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lemon-tree]

If your going to run it on a computer, I recommend you use a distro of Linux rather than XP. It will be cheaper and a little easier on the system. I have too been looking into NAS hardware and see that some of them run FreeNAS, which is a Linux again.
If you want to go really cheap there are small adapters that turn a USB drive into a NAS drive and use very little power; however, you wouldn't be able to get any RAID, s it's not really suitable for you.

 

[Smith6612]

I Can look to see what is around for you. Other than that, what's wrong with getting a Pentium II/Pentium III Box and using Damn Small Linux on it to run backups, and program the computer to run only when the backups are being saved to the HDDs? I know it's more of an issue with power and such, but I find a PC to be more convenient should things happen to go wrong, that plus you can use a PC for other things as well.

 

[Zangetsu]

I Can look to see what is around for you. Other than that, what's wrong with getting a Pentium II/Pentium III Box and using Damn Small Linux on it to run backups, and program the computer to run only when the backups are being saved to the HDDs? I know it's more of an issue with power and such, but I find a PC to be more convenient should things happen to go wrong, that plus you can use a PC for other things as well.

well then why not get an Atom based motherboard and a 100-200 watt power supply its power consumption is much smaller then a P2 or a P3

 

[Smith6612]

well then why not get an Atom based motherboard and a 100-200 watt power supply its power consumption is much smaller then a P2 or a P3

That's perfectly fine. I haven't had any chance to get my hands on an Atom system (which means I need to find a netbook for a sure start) to try to see how much those can take, but considering atoms run at 700Mhz+ range (up to 2Ghz I believe I've seen), an Atom should do fine (not sure about Gigabit. I've been able to choke a crap load of machines trying to even transfer at 890Mbps at home). The real question is though, is whether or not the motherboard that works with the Atom has enough SATA ports on it for a RAID 5 array (typically only servers have this amount of SATA ports since servers have large and fast drive controllers), if it even supports RAID in the first place, and if it has expanded capabilities for adding more drive controllers and such.

But I am still sticking with a dedicated PC set up with Linux. Besides using a PC as an NAS, you can make it a router (given you have some spare NICs laying around, I do!), a web server for experimentation, a Folding/Rosetta/Seti@Home box, etc. More bang for the buck and certainly much faster from what I've heard than a dedicated NAS when things are tweaked.

 

[steronius]

I'm not certain about all options, but in my experience i've seen NAS devices from HP and Compaq, and guess what... It's a windows server with raid. "so... umm..., yeah." -- try a low-end PC, Atom, whatever... with linux and samba.

 

[cuillini]

That's perfectly fine. I haven't had any chance to get my hands on an Atom system (which means I need to find a netbook for a sure start) to try to see how much those can take, but considering atoms run at 700Mhz+ range (up to 2Ghz I believe I've seen), an Atom should do fine (not sure about Gigabit. I've been able to choke a crap load of machines trying to even transfer at 890Mbps at home). The real question is though, is whether or not the motherboard that works with the Atom has enough SATA ports on it for a RAID 5 array (typically only servers have this amount of SATA ports since servers have large and fast drive controllers), if it even supports RAID in the first place, and if it has expanded capabilities for adding more drive controllers and such.

But I am still sticking with a dedicated PC set up with Linux. Besides using a PC as an NAS, you can make it a router (given you have some spare NICs laying around, I do!), a web server for experimentation, a Folding/Rosetta/Seti@Home box, etc. More bang for the buck and certainly much faster from what I've heard than a dedicated NAS when things are tweaked.

I have no experience builind a pc with raid. Do you use a dedicated raid card or do it some other way?

Any recommendations as to where I can find good info about raid cards? I would like to get a reliable fairly cheep

thanks

 

[Smith6612]

I have no experience builind a pc with raid. Do you use a dedicated raid card or do it some other way?

Any recommendations as to where I can find good info about raid cards? I would like to get a reliable fairly cheep

thanks

They're not really "RAID" Cards, they're simply a drive controller that supports using RAID. Many of the custom built PCs now a days (at least the gaming ones) have built-in controllers that support RAID arrays. Not sure what level they support an array to, but I'm pretty sure it's dependent on the amount of drives that are in the PC. Pretty much anything that supports SATA drives and that isn't OEM branded from a big box company should support RAID. It's going to take a bit of Googling around though.

 

[steronius]

not to bump something too old but i found this pertinent link.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/freenas