Hello everyone,
I posted a while back asking whether it'd be cheaper to buy a multiple-disk (3+) RAID NAS or just build a small computer with RAID on it. Most people said that building a small computer with RAID would be the most cost-effective and flexible solution and wouldn't require more (or much more) power than a dedicated NAS.
So the time has come to build this and I would love to get some recommendations.
Here's my optimal spec:
HD: Supports 4 or 5 3.5" drives as I'd want to set up RAID 5. Preferably there would be space for an extra 2.5" or 3.5" drive for the OS to go on and the storage array to be completely separate.
RAID: Controller not necessary - I'd be happy with Software RAID-5
CPU: I'd be happy with a 1.2 GHz+ but if I can pack some more power on it, perhaps I can use it to do my Virtual Machines work on.
RAM: 2GB should be sufficient, 4GB would be nice to have.
Network: On-board 1Gbit + space for an extra 1GBit network card (one goes to modem, the other to my desktop)
Noise: As little as possible - in fact if it can be made completely quiet I'd be extra happy! I own an Intel-based iMac right now and I'd like to match that kind of sound performance!
Power: Again, as little as possible - the RAID array will only be needed for short amount of time at a time so I hope I can set the OS up to spin the hard-drives down while they're not in use.
No sound card, fancy graphics or DVD drive needed!
I'd love to get your recommendations on cases and components that will make this project possible! I won't say that cost is not a concern because it always is but I'm willing to spend a bit more to get as close to this spec as possible.
Thanks in advance!
Small, quiet, low-power disk array/small server?
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