Network Attached Storage

I

Imagine3

New Member
I have 3 computers at home that I use for different purposes, I am tired of having a file on computer and needing it on a another. I have been looking into getting a NAS (network attached storage) device to solve this problem. I am not looking for a $1000 setup that is expandable up to 100 TB. This is only for personal use (not company). I would love it if I could get a good enclosure that can support at least 2 IDE drives (both being about 300-400 GB), but 1 400GB would be ok. I already have 1 400 GB IDE drive but want the option to add another if I need the extra storage.

I have been looking around and only find $70 enclosures that support 1 IDE drive. I can get by with this, but I see mixed reviews on most of them. I have always thought that on sites like newegg and tigerdirect, that the bad reviews are normal people like you and me, and then the glowing reviews are employees of the company that are trying to get more units sold. That is why I am asking all of you.

What do you think? any suggestions?
 
well, I am not a fanboy of any OS, but a very cheap and easy plus extremely stable solution would be

Get a cheap desktop, load linux on it, set up a samba server, toss in a few striped drives for storage, back up linux server to an external device. Which would allow you to share access securely over your network to each work stations, every platform is able to acces SMB shares (macs, linux, windows), Linux is free, and hard drives are cheap. This also doesn't require a killer system hardware wise.
 
tlarkin said:
well, I am not a fanboy of any OS, but a very cheap and easy plus extremely stable solution would be

Get a cheap desktop, load linux on it, set up a samba server, toss in a few striped drives for storage, back up linux server to an external device. Which would allow you to share access securely over your network to each work stations, every platform is able to acces SMB shares (macs, linux, windows), Linux is free, and hard drives are cheap. This also doesn't require a killer system hardware wise.
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I have one extra computer that I am not using. It is a pentium 4, 2.6 ghz, 2 GB RAM. I would be willing to use that, I have the room for up to 4 hard drives in that. I have setup Linux on 1 computer before, but I am a little unsure of the samba server. I have never tinkered with that before so if you know of a relaly good HOWTO or tutorial on it, that would be great.

As for the Netgear NAS, I have seen mixed reviews on it, eventhough it is netgear and I konw they are a qualit company, im still a little unsure.
 
I can walk you through it, I just got done setting up a SAMBA server for an AutoCAD lab doing network rendering (via back burner) to a samba share, then shared to a mac to compile the frames into final cut studio to render it into a movie, and post edit.

What distro of linux are you using?
 
ok, I am somewhat familar with ubuntu, I had it on my laptop but took it off and put SuSE 10.1 on it.

I would first download and install this package, called webmin. It allows you to configure and set up your servers from one simple web based interface

www.webmin.com

During the installation of ubuntu did you opt to have samba installed, or is it installed by default, I can't remember....:confused:

Once webmin is installed we will use your web browser to configure samba, set up a samba user, then enable that samba user. Then we will make a directory on the linux box and give owership to that samba user, so anyone who has the samba user log in can read/write/execute files from that share, but can not access anything else on the linux box. If you are hooked up to a router give the machine a static IP, or use static DHCP if your router enables this.

Then all you have to do is connect to the IP, map the share and authenticate, then you can read/write data from any work station all day long. The linux box will be safe and secure because no one has permission to access anything else (except the linux admin, and that is you), and it will be stable because linux has a reputation of not crashing.
 
lot easier than i thought it would be. lol

THat will be my project for next weekend. this weekend I had planed on researching it and getting the stuff to set it up, but since i already have it, I can take the rest of the weekend off and just chill out all day today, and then watch the Bears dominate Miami tomorrow.

Thank you for you help. seeing how easy it is, there is really no reason to even consider buying a NAS enclosure.
 
Jet said:
Why can't you just make the files shared on your computer?
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Having a dedicated file server takes the load off the machine you are using. Running Linux bypasses the need to buy another license for windows. Also having a dedicated machine means you can toss tons of HD space on there and keep all your data in once place, making it easy to make redundant back ups.

All file storage on one file server, then back up that file server with an external back up device (tape, imaging, or external HD) gives a user a good solid set up with not spending lots of extra money.

This also puts them in a good place for future file sharing. Say backing up a 20 gig music folder, or whatever.
 
Imagine3 said:
lot easier than i thought it would be. lol

THat will be my project for next weekend. this weekend I had planed on researching it and getting the stuff to set it up, but since i already have it, I can take the rest of the weekend off and just chill out all day today, and then watch the Bears dominate Miami tomorrow.

Thank you for you help. seeing how easy it is, there is really no reason to even consider buying a NAS enclosure.
Click to expand...

No problems when you get it set up and run into snags just post here and I'll see what I can do for ya. Welcome to Linux.
 
well, while i was just waiting around to go out. I installed Ubuntu 6.10. Beautiful as always. Installs no problem. Boots up no problem. Updates no problem. Click on Firefox which is installed and even now uses the real logo instead of the blue globe...Beautiful. Connects to the internet, BEAUTIFUL. I just don't understnad why people are so stuck on using Windows. Now that Linux in general is becomming so stable and user friendly, there is no reason not to switch.

Also since governent agencies and many schools are now using it as their standard, I truely believe that in the next 5 years, it will take at least 20% marketshare.

And for the welcome to Linux, I have been using it for about a year, but never really got too far into it. I just know the basics that i needed before. I will enjoy learning a little more now that I am going to be doing this.
 
I meant no offense, but was simply stating you have barely scratched the surface of Linux. There is much to learn, I consider myself a newbie at some aspects of Linux still.
 
lol. well, i installed win...and samba. I dont have time to configure it yet, but im sure i will get that done tomorrow. Thanks again for your help
 
ahajv4life said:
How much does it cost to keep a dedicated server running day/night; in terms of cost of electricity??
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The same as it would cost a regular computer. Obviously if its not in use it will run in powersave mode and comsume less power. Plus if its just a file server you can easily stop a lot of unneeded services and run just the file sharing services.

There are lots of configurations you can do to save power. I have 4 computers running constantly on my personal network and it doesn't really up my electricity bill as far as I can tell. I compared mine to my neighbors who have like one computer and its pretty much the same.

Most utility companies allow you to track power consumption on their website when you pay their bill. I think looking into that would probably best answer your question considering cost of electricity varies from city to city.
 
Ok. Say you have the server going 24/7. When you're not using it, will the HD's still be running? Or are they ona powersave mode as well? and if they're runninng 24/7 wouldn't that shorten their lives dramatically?
 
if you are wanting to use a current PC this seems like a good solution:
http://www.openfiler.com/
I ahve never used it, although it supports samba, ftp, http, web based management, raid and a whole load more. It is build specifically for file servers, so unlike with ubuntu you won't have an unecessary GUI running, which takes up resources
 
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