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Sigeric
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Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 1:38 am

With all the troubles with 3rd party add-ons working with Kodi, streaming any show and movie days seem to be numbered. It has me thinking to build a NAS server and get my own library up and running. I have watched a few YouTube videos and read some guides online but my go to site for PC information has always been Tech Report. I did a search or two on the forums to see if there was a guide but either I didn't look hard or far enough to find one. So if anyone knows where I can find.

1) A TR guide to building a NAS.
2) A good YouTube video.
3) A good site that has a guide.

Thanks!
 
blahsaysblah
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:46 am

Either buy a QNAP or Synology, or roll your own with FreeNAS. All very good and viable options. Just remember to also buy a UPS if you centralize valuable(to you) data.

QNAP live demo
Synology live demo

If you have win 10 pro, enable hyper-v and you should be able to create a few VHDs and create a FreeNAS VM to test out for free on your PC.(havnt tried myself)
 
AutoAym
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:57 am

Another option if you're running Win10 Pro and have the drives to feed it is to enable Storage Spaces, setup a two-way mirror (think RAID 1) and format it with ReFS to get all of your fancy-pants modern file system features.
I also agree with using VM's to run test builds before committing dollars to a production build. A great means to 'Try before you buy'.
 
Sigeric
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:29 pm

Thanks for the replies. I don't have Windows 10 Pro as of right now. While the QNAP or Synology options seem tempting I would hate to not use the equipment I have laying around. I am leaning towards a FreeNAS system but I wonder how power efficient it will be. I still need a few parts if I was to go that route though. I will keep learning how to do it all, maybe as I learn I will figure out the hardware situation. Father's Day is coming up, good time to get something on the wish list at least.
 
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:38 pm

What parts do you have and what else do you intend to get? Mind you if you are serious about the storage having some resiliency you will need ZFS and ECC RAM, complicating things.

If your main system is beefy enough, I would still set up some VM to try out how to setup FreeNAS.
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DragonDaddyBear
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:22 pm

+1 for the FreeNAS VM. FreeNAS 11 was just released, too.
 
Sigeric
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:53 pm

My main system is not beefy. I am almost ready to retire this old girl or like we are talking about turning her into a NAS. I have two old PC's the one I built almost 10 years ago with the help of TR and the forum (I ran into some bad RAM. Not fun to go through on your first build, I thought it was something I did LOL).
Case: Antec 182
PSU: Antec NeoHE 550W
CPU: Core Duo E6750 2.66GHz w/stock heatsink
Mobo: Abit IP35 Pro
RAM: 6GB
SSD: 500GB
GPU: Something cheap since the original died.


PC#2
CPU: i3-2120 @3.30GHz
RAM: 4GB
The case is SFF so it's no good for more storage but the rest of the parts should be usable.

I will look into the ZFS and ECC RAM. Some of that ECC RAM is pretty pricey on Newegg!
 
Waco
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 10:42 pm

You don't *need* ECC to run ZFS any more than you *need* ECC to run any other file system (a bad bit flip can potentially ruin anyone's day, ZFS is no more vulnerable to that than any other but can repair a lot of that online). No online storage should ever be your only copy of something you care about - so keep a second copy somewhere else of your critical data and you can keep the rest on the NAS box.

Your i3 would do well for a NAS build with FreeNAS, but don't expect miracles if you want to run Plex and transcode video on the fly. 4 GB of RAM may be doable, but only if you plan to run nothing other than FreeNAS for NAS access - CIFS or NFS. If you add plugins or jails to the mix, you'll want more. Beware the FreeNAS forums, though they've reigned in the dog recently I hear...

Disclaimer - storage is both my day job and my hobby. I've spent many hours making my FreeNAS box a monster, but I also run and maintain nearly 100 PiB of storage on ZFS at work.
Victory requires no explanation. Defeat allows none.
 
Ummagumma
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:17 pm

I am going to echo a number of comments made elsewhere in this thread.

    - Consolidating all of your files into a single storage server/system is not smart. Having a NAS is no excuse to not have backups.
    - Non-ECC memory can be used with ZFS; I have a number of those systems working flawlessly for 5+ years to prove it.
    - ECC corrects single bit flips in memory and is supposed to help prevent file corruption ("bit rot"), but I can't prove or disprove that claim.
    - Adding additional work to the NAS like transcoding (PLEX, etc.) certainly loads down the server and will require more CPU "grunt" and more RAM. So consider your needs.

Can you build your own NAS? Yes, but if you don't decide in advance of your building regarding what you want the system to do you will be disappointed and want to start all over again. So:

    - Do you want a fancy GUI to manage the NAS? Either use premade software or "roll your own" if you are a decent programmer.
    - Do you need an "expandable" storage array? Either use premade software or learn how to use all the intracate aspects of whatever RAID software you choose. Hardware is also a factor.
    - Do you need transcoding? Prepare to buy a more powerfull CPU and more RAM.
    - Do you need ECC or non-ECC RAM? Decide for yourself on that one.
    - What filesystem do you want to use? Do you need the ability to directly read the storage drives in a Windows or Apple OS?
    - What types of OS will access the NAS over the network? Linux? Windows? Apple? Other?
    - You do have a network, right?
    - And that network is "stable", right? IMHO any network using Wi-Fi does not qualify as "stable" because Wi-Fi is heavily susceptible to interference whereas "proper" wired networks are not.
    - How do you plan to backup your NAS system?
    - How do you plan to update your NAS system?
    - Do you plan to make files accessible over the Internet through some method? And how will you control who accesses which files on the system?
    - Is noise going to be a problem for you? Fans running constantly and dust filters to clean.
    - Is heat generation going to be a problem for you? That is irregardless of whether you run the system 24x7 or just when you need it.
    - Is power consumption going to be an issue? If your electric rates are high now, then running a 24x7 server simply "feeds the beast".
    - What are your power protection plans? NAS with UPS is a good idea, but UPS runtime and automatic NAS shutdown have to be considered.
    - Who will access your NAS system?
    - Do you have to share your network and possibly your NAS with roommates? :-? Fraternity buddies? Beer buddies? Other gerbils? :lol:
    - Who will maintain your NAS system? Do they have the time to do the job right? Do they actually understand what they are doing?
    - If something happens to the NAS, are you prepared to do without your files while the system gets fixed? What if the system can't be fixed?

I could go on and on based on my own experiences of running both premade (store bought) and homemade NAS systems at home for the past 10 years or more.

There is a lot to think about when considering your question. :o
Did you expect to read anything useful here?
 
blahsaysblah
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Thu Jun 15, 2017 2:49 am

Sigeric wrote:
PC#2
CPU: i3-2120 @3.30GHz
RAM: 4GB
The case is SFF so it's no good for more storage but the rest of the parts should be usable.

Keep in mind the big constraint/reality check for home NAS currently...(w/o $$$)
gigabit ethernet's 100MB/sec or even AC wifi's supposed 170MB/sec

You will be much better off building a home NAS or HTPC with 2.5" drives that use/generate much less power/heat/noise. There is not much difference between 2.5 and 3.5 drives unless you go to 10k+/SAS drives or need the extra capacity.

I used six 2.5" drives in my Sugo SG13B itx case(sheet of paper by 7" high) with full size GTX 1060 card and 140mm case fan. No heat/noise issues.
 
Waco
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Thu Jun 15, 2017 10:20 am

Ummagumma wrote:
I am going to echo a number of comments made elsewhere in this thread.

    - Consolidating all of your files into a single storage server/system is not smart. Having a NAS is no excuse to not have backups.
    - Non-ECC memory can be used with ZFS; I have a number of those systems working flawlessly for 5+ years to prove it.
    - ECC corrects single bit flips in memory and is supposed to help prevent file corruption ("bit rot"), but I can't prove or disprove that claim.
    - Adding additional work to the NAS like transcoding (PLEX, etc.) certainly loads down the server and will require more CPU "grunt" and more RAM. So consider your needs.

Can you build your own NAS? Yes, but if you don't decide in advance of your building regarding what you want the system to do you will be disappointed and want to start all over again. So:

    - Do you want a fancy GUI to manage the NAS? Either use premade software or "roll your own" if you are a decent programmer.
    - Do you need an "expandable" storage array? Either use premade software or learn how to use all the intracate aspects of whatever RAID software you choose. Hardware is also a factor.
    - Do you need transcoding? Prepare to buy a more powerfull CPU and more RAM.
    - Do you need ECC or non-ECC RAM? Decide for yourself on that one.
    - What filesystem do you want to use? Do you need the ability to directly read the storage drives in a Windows or Apple OS?
    - What types of OS will access the NAS over the network? Linux? Windows? Apple? Other?
    - You do have a network, right?
    - And that network is "stable", right? IMHO any network using Wi-Fi does not qualify as "stable" because Wi-Fi is heavily susceptible to interference whereas "proper" wired networks are not.
    - How do you plan to backup your NAS system?
    - How do you plan to update your NAS system?
    - Do you plan to make files accessible over the Internet through some method? And how will you control who accesses which files on the system?
    - Is noise going to be a problem for you? Fans running constantly and dust filters to clean.
    - Is heat generation going to be a problem for you? That is irregardless of whether you run the system 24x7 or just when you need it.
    - Is power consumption going to be an issue? If your electric rates are high now, then running a 24x7 server simply "feeds the beast".
    - What are your power protection plans? NAS with UPS is a good idea, but UPS runtime and automatic NAS shutdown have to be considered.
    - Who will access your NAS system?
    - Do you have to share your network and possibly your NAS with roommates? :-? Fraternity buddies? Beer buddies? Other gerbils? :lol:
    - Who will maintain your NAS system? Do they have the time to do the job right? Do they actually understand what they are doing?
    - If something happens to the NAS, are you prepared to do without your files while the system gets fixed? What if the system can't be fixed?

I could go on and on based on my own experiences of running both premade (store bought) and homemade NAS systems at home for the past 10 years or more.

There is a lot to think about when considering your question. :o

This is an excellent starting list of things to thing about!


blahsaysblah wrote:
You will be much better off building a home NAS or HTPC with 2.5" drives that use/generate much less power/heat/noise. There is not much difference between 2.5 and 3.5 drives unless you go to 10k+/SAS drives or need the extra capacity.

The cost per bit difference between 2.5" and 3.5" drives is still pretty vast - and the power differences are minimal unless you're hammering it 24/7. My NAS with a quad core Xeon, 16 GB of RAM, dual RAID/SAS cards, an SSD, and 16 2 TB 3.5" drives idles at well under 100 watts, and I have my drives set to never spin down. I'd drop another 20 watts or so if I removed the RAID/SAS cards. I should re-measure it now that I've finalized the config but my last spot-check was around 50 watts.

It's so little I don't even consider turning it off. Ever.

The cost per bit stored difference is so vast it would take a long time to make up the difference. Heat is directly related to power usage, and if you can't stand an incandescent light bulb being on, then you shouldn't have any computers. :P
Victory requires no explanation. Defeat allows none.
 
DiMaestro
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Re: Is There a TR Guide to NAS Building?

Mon Jun 26, 2017 4:26 pm

The first question is: What do you want your NAS to do?

I have a ESXi 5.5 server running on a SuperMicro w/ a e3-1230v3 32gb ram hosting my Sophos UTM, my Xubuntu encode box, and Unraid with direct pass-through to two SAS cards capable of hosting 16 drives. It has 512gb SSD and 1 TB spindle for all esxi storage and 10 3tb spindles for my NAS.

Right now I have this connected to 5 Kodi Devices (PCs, FireSticks, etc) using my windows Ceton HTPC hosting the MySQL database. One of my goals is to move the SQL database to my Xubuntu encode box.


Sigeric wrote:
With all the troubles with 3rd party add-ons working with Kodi, streaming any show and movie days seem to be numbered. It has me thinking to build a NAS server and get my own library up and running. I have watched a few YouTube videos and read some guides online but my go to site for PC information has always been Tech Report. I did a search or two on the forums to see if there was a guide but either I didn't look hard or far enough to find one. So if anyone knows where I can find.

1) A TR guide to building a NAS.
2) A good YouTube video.
3) A good site that has a guide.

Thanks!

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