Network Attached Storage Device Recommendation

[spacesurfer]

I was considering a home server PC but it seems overkill for my purposes. I think for me a good NAS will do because my only goal is to share files and have them accessible without having to have all PC's on.

Can anyone recommend a good NAS, preferably one that also has USB connectivity but not necessary? Also, are there any that supports NTFS. All that I have looked at uses the linux EXT format.

Only reason for NTFS is so if I use it as a USB, then I can access the files. As far as I know, XP can't read EXT partitions, right?

Thanks.

[todarsey]

Have you looked at "FreeNAS"?

[spacesurfer]

I'm looking for NAS HDD (hardware), not software.

[jaclaz]

@Spacesurfer

There are EXT2/EXT3 filesystem drivers allright.

Linux based NAS are less expensive than other ones because the manufacturer does not have to pay MS for the license for Windows XP embedded (which is normally used).

Check the LaCie site, they have both Linux based and XP based BAS devices.

jaclaz

[CoffeeFiend]

From what I've seen over the years, there's 2 kinds of NAS:

-inexpensive ones, usually with abysmal performance (and often various other issues, limited protocol support, a sucky management interface, limited capabilities, etc)

-OK ones, at ridiculous prices, which is especially apparent if they have more than one HD

If they made good/fast and cheap NAS devices, everyone would have one (I'd probably have a dozen). Before you buy one that you can actually afford, check the reviews, you'll likely see it has really bad transfer rates. Why? Because they go for underpowered embedded processors and such to keep their costs down so they can sell for cheaper. As you found out, most also use a ext filesystem or such, also to keep their costs down as jaclaz mentioned.

LaCie products mostly fit in description #2:

-$319 for a 1GB LaCie Ethernet Big Disk (single drive), considering a good 1TB HD can be had for under $140 so ~$179 for the drive-less NAS with no expansion capabilities whatsoever ($179 overhead on every drive, more than double the cost of he storage space itself)

or if you want something closer to what I'd call a "real" NAS i.e. something with more than 1 drive, with some room for expansion, and a good capacity:

-between $850 and $2020 for a LaCie Ethernet Disk RAID with between 1TB and 4TB capacity. You can buy 4TB of space (4x 1TB HDs) for $560 and then throw that in a brand spanking new low power PC (built around an Intel Atom processor or VIA board or whatever you want) for MUCH less $$$ (4TB for less than LaCie wants for their 1TB model). That will also run any OS you want, use any filesystem you can think of, use any level of RAID you might want, and do anything else you want (any protocol, app, or whatever you want it to do). There's even some great specialized software made just for this task e.g. OpenFiler or FreeNAS.

Anyways, a popular option is also the Linksys NSLU2 at around $85, but again, it's single drive (and no gigabit ethernet). Throw one large HD in that, and it'll be sufficient for some mp3's and photos. But if you want more than that (like your video collection and such), you're better off not buying a NAS, at least when it comes down to price.

As for the ext drivers, they work well, but there's been a glitch with them for months unfortunately, so the bug fixing speed isn't stellar... (just try mounting a TrueCrypt disk image, your PC will BSOD).

Edited July 30, 2008 by crahak

[jaclaz]

Yep.

If we are going into details, the $319 1 Tb Big Disk, no matter whether cheap or expensive, is Linux based.

The "corresponding" 1TB XP embedded Ethernet Disk:

http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11017

ships for $669.99

That is the difference that I presume is largely (not only) due to Licensing the OS.

On the other hand, both products are just "unpack and plug in the AC adapter" with very little configuration work to do.

Buying a low cost PC may seem cheaper, but installing and configuring FreeNas or NasLite (the latter costs a few bucks too) needs a few hours, unless you do it everyday.

In other words, if it's a hobby, go for the DIY path, you'll learn some new things, if it's something you need at your workplace by a Commercial solution.

Take your time comparing reviews, I have seen devices, even with a "good" brand name, perform very poorly, as well as almost "no name" ones perform very well.

Moreover some of these devices are re-branded "no name" models, so you can have EXACTLY the same device (if it's enough for you) saving several bucks if you find it under a different brand.

jaclaz

[ReDucTor]

FreeNAS is pretty easy to setup, doesnt take a few hours. A few minutes more like it.

But then it doesn't fall into USB compatible.

If he just wants to use explorer for it, then Samba will work to access FreeNAS.

What do you describe as a good one? What features are you going to use which you want out of an expensive one?

How many clients are going to be accessing it?

[CoffeeFiend]

The "corresponding" 1TB XP embedded Ethernet Disk:

http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11017

ships for $669.99

Yikes! That's a whole new level of expensive for a NAS.

You can roll out a full featured iSCSI SAN using OpenFiler (also has NAS features like NFS, SMB/CIFS, HTTP/WebDAV, FTP, rsync, etc) for a fraction of a cost of that NAS... But yeah, it's not exactly something portable you'd plug in using a USB cable (neither would I want to lug around that LaCie 1U server either)

But yes, there's the ready-to-use vs roll-your-own factor for sure (unless your time has no value), and there's nothing wrong with spending more for a pre-made solution either.

[spacesurfer]

Ahh! Now that just killed my hopes. But all was good inside information not readily given to consumers by manufacturers; especially regarding why NTFS costs more than EXT2/3.

The main reason for my NAS was two purposes - for backup of my files (documents, videos, music, and programs). Second, have my files available using my laptop and the two desktops. And perhaps even stream videos to a media center pc in futures.

I appreciate your information. It seems a home server pc seems to be a better options, but as I was deciding to build a media center pc, i'd have to pass on the home server for now.

[jcarle]

It seems a home server pc seems to be a better options, but as I was deciding to build a media center pc, i'd have to pass on the home server for now.

If you plan it right, you could do two birds with one stone...

Since from what I gather, all you really want from a NAS is always-on availability and you're planning on building an HTPC (Home Theater PC), you could essentially do both at the same time. If you get yourself a good quality motherboard at a reasonable price that has on-board Intel RAID, you can easily accomodate a storage system for backup, sharing, etc at a very low cost. Something like the ASUS P5K-E would be perfect for this. Combine this with a well thought out HTPC case with lots of internal bays, such as the wonderful Silverstone CW02, you've got the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

Silverstone CW02 : http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_c...ts.php?pno=cw02

Asus P5K-E : http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&amp...amp;modelmenu=2

[ReDucTor]

If its media centre you want and your not too fussy about raid, etc.

Grab one of these

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/3-5-HDD-Media-Playe...1QQcmdZViewItem

Or essentially get an old xbox, chip it, then use xbmc (alot cheaper)

Then if you want it running 24/7 you might need to mod it to keep it cool a bit.

[CoffeeFiend]

If you plan it right, you could do two birds with one stone...

Yep. You can put some storage in a HTPC for sure

Or essentially get an old xbox, chip it, then use xbmc (alot cheaper)

XBMC is truly and by far the best solution when it comes to playback of most standard def stuff. Unfortunately, the old xbox is starting to show its age (old P3 chip), and struggles to play SD content encoded in H.264, and is useless for anything in high def

If one only needs playback, personally I'd suggest a Popcorn Hour A-100. If they also want PVR abilities and such, then MythTV all the way

[spacesurfer]

I actually did think about having the media center play two roles.

I may have to reconfigure things. Like bring the cable modem to the living room as I believe it would have to be plugged into the home server and not a client computers, ie the two desktops. Then I would have to add wireless to both desktops as my house is not wired for networking. But I really don't want wireless on my desktops; I still trust the traditional wires. Humm....

[CoffeeFiend]

Then I would have to add wireless to both desktops as my house is not wired for networking. But I really don't want wireless on my desktops; I still trust the traditional wires. Humm....

Many ways around this...

If the HTPC runs MythTV (i.e. Linux), it can handle NAT/DHCP (act as a router) just fine using standard tools like iptables, just add a 2nd NIC going to your switch. Google will find a million different how-to's for this.

If you decide to run Windows on it, then there's always ICS but it's not exactly a great way to share internet (low on features, not very reliable), I'd sooner spend $50 on a Linksys WRT54GL (not G or GS) and throw a good 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT or Tomato on it, and just plug everything into that.

[jcarle]

Also keep in mind when thinking about how to plan changes to your network, you can easily split the network in a multiple of ways. You'll find network switches to be quite nimble. You could even go as far as putting your cable modem in your living room, sending the cable downstairs to the router and sending a return cable back to your HTPC and find absolutely no loss in performance. Although by far not the ideal solution, it's simply to illustrate that there are multitude of ways to solve networking issues without resorting to wireless.

Ideally you'd want to place your cable modem with your router (regarless of where) and arrange your configuration for the least amount of there-and-back. Configurations such as having your router and your cable modem under your stairs, then going to a switch for downstairs then next to a switch for upstairs are perfectly good configurations for example.