Network Storage Solutions (as silent solution)

zordex · Post by **zordex** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 4:51 pm

I am considering a potential network storage solution:

- I can place it in another room (hence quiet)
- Should have capacity for 2 to 4 HDs
- Should be compatible with 1TB drives
- Should spin down when not in use <- important for me
- Should not be noisy (and fully silent when not in use)
- Should be compact
- Wireless is bonus, RAID is bonus, Gigabit bonus

This way I don't overload my computer with hard drives/heat/noise.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions with this approach?

Examples:
Netgear:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage ... SC101.aspx $99
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage ... C101T.aspx $259
Linksys:
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellit ... 3986964B03
SMC:
http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=view ... 3&pid=1616
USRobotics:
http://www.usr.com/products/networking/ ... ku=USR8700

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:18 am

The < $500 prebuilt solutions tend to be dreadfully slow, like 10 Mbps slow. By comparison, internal HD is equivalent to > 500 Mbps and even a USB external drive is good for 2-300 Mbps. One advantage of the pre-built things is they're small, but they're not always quiet. Another advantage they tend to use a very low draw system-on-a-chip type core that will save you 10-30W over something you build yourself. 30W extra draw adds up to $50/year if you're paying $0.20/kWhr like me, but at the same time if really had the need for a dedicated file server I couldn't live with such pathetic transfer speeds.

The route I'd take is get a Socket AM2 Sempron 3000+, an Asus M2A-VM motherboard (supports undervolting in BIOS), and a small amount of RAM (certainly no more than 512 MB) and put it and the HDs in an Antec Solo case. Then I'd power it all with something like this (using molex Y-cables and molex-to-SATA cables as required). I'd load some popular Linux distro as the OS, which would certainly give me the ability to spin down idle disks and could give spiffy software RAID if I desired. Add WiFi via PCI or USB, as desired.

Price (based on Newegg)
Cpu = $30
MB = $70
RAM = $30
Case = $90
PSU = $80
---------
Total = $300 + required cables & optical drives + shipping

Of course if all that sounds like too much work, maybe look into pre-built stuff > $500. Maybe something like this, but even here reviewers complain of noise and it's twice the cost of my DIY. It is 1/4 the size, though.

zordex · Post by **zordex** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 5:35 am

Speed is not a concern as this will be used to store media and for backups. I would only use it a few times a week, and high performance is not required.

I'm not sure what you mean by pre-built.... This is a NAS, not a computer. It does not need a monitor etc etc... Drop in the HDs connect to the network and access from anywhere.

Did a bit more research....

D-Link DNS-323 $171 (2 bays)
Netgear SC101T $199 (2 bays)
Synology DS207 - $329 (2 bays)
Synology CS407e - $529 (4 bays)
Thecus N2000 -
Thecus N2100S - $248 (2 bays, idle spin down)
Thecus N2100BM - $279 (2 bays, idle spin down)
Thecus N4000 -
Thecus N4100+ - $ 587 (4 bays)
Thecus N5200B - $639 (5 bays, idle spin down)
Thermaltake N0015LU
Thermaltake N0001LN - $424 (4 bays)
Intel SS4000ENA - $499 (4 bays)
US Robotics USR8700 - $499 (4 bay)

None of them claim they support 1TB, and even if I do not place in 1TB drives yet, I would like that ability in the future. Some do support 750GB...

Lensman · Post by **Lensman** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:21 pm

Jesse means: Most current consumer level appliances are slow compared to building a super-minimal, cheap server. You can get good performance if you spend $300-$600 on a file server appliance, but you might consider building your own low-cost PC as a server.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:11 pm

A NAS is indeed a computer. It is just a computer with a very limited OS that is dedicated to the job of serving files over a network. For this very reason, you can build your own NAS out of standard PC components. Or you can buy a NAS that somebody else built, sometimes out of standard PC components sometimes out of non-standard ones.

My point is this, if you are prepared to spend between $300 and $500, what you can build yourself is going to be more flexible, faster, and quieter than something that is pre-built. If want to spend less, you should go with pre-built but expect to be disappointed by both performance and quietness. If you are prepared to spend more than $500, you can still get better value building your own, but if it is not worth the hassle there will be pre-built options with fewer compromises.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:34 am

Everyone always says they don't need speed, but their minds change after a few weeks of use. It just starts to grind after some time, and the backup sessions start to feel like a chore.

I've used my main rig as a backup server for my laptop, it's NAS there as any other... and the link speed, even with a 100Mbit switch, started to feel inadequate. You just want to get it done and over with as soon as possible. I haven't used the prebuilts on the market but have heard complaints of them being noisy(maybe because I've been sensitive to those). Fewer complaints about speed, but that's probably because people don't think it's a problem(as in that it could be better).

To get an idea of throughput, see here:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?o ... mitstart=6
Note the DIY NAS speed.

Now when you compare those to the 40-80 MB/s transfer rates of a SATA HDD you'll see how bogged the process may feel.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:43 pm

Das_Saunamies wrote: To get an idea of throughput, see here:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?o ... mitstart=6

The D-Link DNS-323 that is the subject of the above link actually sounds pretty decent. 16 MB/s may not even be external USB2 grade speeds, but at least it's enough to max out the 100 Mbps routers most of us have. Also, $175 ain't a bad price for the feature set. I'd worry a bit about that teensy fan, though. The linked review mentions poor cooling and it could be noisy to boot. Still, I bet power consumption is no more than 10W + the disks, which is going to be hard to come near with DIY.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:10 am

Forget Netgear SC101.......Runs really hot with no fan, uses a special file format that nothing else can read, loses data all the time, runs slow, etc.

Cute little box though.....

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:38 am

Yeah the D-Link I was interested in myself before they got into its cooling. Since it can be locked away in a closet it's not a problem noise-wise, but I'd worry about reliability... and that is a worry I'm trying to get rid of with a NAS backup!

It's true that DIY will be more power-hungry, but it's hardly the end of the world, as you may be able to use it for other tasks as well. Plus since it's a full-blown PC it will have power management and working, adjustable standby.