Computing on Demand PC News & Reviews
Having a ton of extra hard drives lying around doing nothing seems like a huge waste to me. In my efforts to put some of this storage to good use, I have been toying with the idea of building a NAS using standard hardware and one of the open source NAS packages out there; namely OpenMediaVault. With performance, size, and budget in mind; I am going to guide you on how to build a NAS.
One of the most attractive things about a NAS is its size. These devices do just about everything a BIG server can do, but using little power and taking up little space. Possibly the most attractive feature of a NAS is that you can change RAID levels, add disks, and grow arrays with ease. Try doing that with Windows Server and a RAID card. People have this misconception that a “Server” needs to be powerful and robust. Meanwhile, all they use it for is networked storage and serving up files. You can do all this with little cost and a small footprint. Enter the C.O.D. NAS Project
I am going to show you how to get great storage for under 550.00 (drives not included) without sacrificing performance or turning your home into a wind tunnel.
This guide is based on a new parts list. However, you can save yourself a lot of money by recycling some of your older computers or computer components.
Save some cash, use nas4free and find a motherboard with enough onboard slots and use ZFS. You wont have to buy an SSD (just a usb stick as it runs in RAM), nor will you have to buy a controller card that. If the controller card dies, it will be hard to replace or get your data back. Whereas with ZFS, you can just plug into any other motherboard and re-import.
I just happen to have 8x2Tb drives sitting around, poor mans build my a$$
The build is cheap… the drives aren’t. All the NAS reviews I do… I have much more than 8x2tb lying around. They can be had for 79 a piece now…
would like to know about the 40TB build as i’ve recently filled my 9.5TB QNAP 659Pro+ and want to go homebrew
The build was actually completed before this article/build as I my needs were immediate. However, baby steps… it will be published soon.
oh nice, look forward to reading it!