Building a NAS - OS?

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  • 88E30M50

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    I'm repurposing an old PC to run as a NAS for the house and am trying to decide on the OS. I don't have the hardware needed to support FreeNAS and am looking at maybe running Unbuntu Server instead. This will connect a mixed environment of Win 10, Mac OSX, Linux and possibly iOS systems. I'm beginning to think that it might be better to upgrade the hardware to accommodate the FreeNAS requirements but am also looking at trying Unbuntu or EasyNAS before doing that.

    Anyone been down this path before? Recommendations?
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    If I recall correctly freenas is designed for old hardware. Install the os to a thumb drive , configure the hard disks of the computer as storage pools. Then if the os goes belly up, you replace the thumb drive and your data is safe.

    However it's been a few years since I played with it. So if things are different now. I would suggest a headless Debian or CentOS install. Both solid stable work horses.

    Whayvare your plans for configuring the storage itself? Are you planning on any kind of redundancies? Or just straight jbod?

    And while on that subject. Keep in mind the standard for data back up. Folks really should be adhering to the 3-2-1 backup scheme. 3 copies of your data, 2 on site, 1 off site.


    If you were to put he only copy of all your photos on this computer. You have an archive, not a back up.


    I'll climb down off my soapbox now.
     

    88E30M50

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    For right now this will just be a JBOD setup. I am not going to use this for backup purposes but mainly to consolidate and share data among systems. System backups are still going to be handled as they have been in the past.

    I am installing the OS to a small 32 gig SSD. I have read of issues updating the OS with thumb drives that disappeared when using a small SSD. This first system is more exploratory in nature. My main concern at the moment is connectivity for the various systems that I want to attach to it.
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    Fair enough, my suggestions still stand if the os then. Debian or cent.

    If you run into more specific questions I can help with both.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    You dont want JBOD. You want RAID.

    JBOD and a drive fails, possibly all data lost.
    RAID1 or 5 and if a drive fails you get a warning that the drive failed, but no data loss.

    I'll second the appliance. I considered it and realized that life is short and data is important.

    Just add drives.
    https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Read...=UTF8&qid=1533090076&sr=8-3&keywords=readynas

    RAID explained: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels

    EDIT: Old version, half the cost. (used)
    https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Read...rd_wg=0160F&psc=1&refRID=FSC1GDRKG5B9V3SMXB88
     
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    Cameramonkey

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    Oh, and we use RAID redunancy for WHEN a drive fails. Not IF. They WILL fail. And if all your important shared stuff isnt on redunant storage, you will lose data eventually.

    Data loss sucks.

    Oh, and I REALLY love my ReadyNAS. It also supports multimedia streaming and other cool features. Western Digital and others make similar ones, with slightly different feature sets.

    There is something to be said for purpose built systems. I installed mine, added an external USB drive for backups (2 actually), and I forget about it. (outside of rotating the USB drive offsite for disaster recovery) So not only do I have mirrored drives for when one fails, if both fail within hours (I've seen it personally) Ive got a nightly backup on the USB drive. House burns down? I have a 30 day old copy offsite. And if I wanted to get really crazy, I could subscribe to a cloud solution and back it up there.
     

    Hop

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    I have lost two drives back to back on my NAS. It took me months to get most of my files back. I lost 2TB of ripped Blueray movies and all my downloaded 3D printer gun files (I suspect that the .gov caused my hdd crash). Ferserious!!!

    Sent from my QTAIR7 using Tapatalk
     

    Cameramonkey

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    I hear ya, Hop. I worked on a Dell server with RAID1 years ago. Got the call on Tuesday afternoon that they got a drive fail alert. Wednesday AM I arrived and called Dell and arranged for the NBD replacement. Hours later at 4 I get a second call. They cant reach the server anymore. Arrived the next AM about the time the first replacement drive was scheduled to arrive. second drive also failed.

    Raid is great, but still have a backup.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    Part of the fun is building it.

    Also all the advice about raids is spot on. But if data protection isn't important, then jbod is "good enough"

    I have yet to find any data worth hanging onto is OK to lose. Somebody may say that now, but when a drive takes a dump, suddenly they realize just how important that data really was. MANY people underestimate data value. (you dont know what you had until its gone)
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    I have yet to find any data worth hanging onto is OK to lose. Somebody may say that now, but when a drive takes a dump, suddenly they realize just how important that data really was. MANY people underestimate data value. (you dont know what you had until its gone)

    I couldn't argue with you in the least. I come from a background of data backup and storage. I could tell you sob story after story.
     

    Caleb

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    Aside from cost, what difference does a machine make thats made to be a NAS vs a Desktop computer being used as a NAS?
     

    jkaetz

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    Aside from cost, what difference does a machine make thats made to be a NAS vs a Desktop computer being used as a NAS?
    One is a black box appliance that you shouldn't have to do much with other than grant access. The other requires OS updates and other maintenance things. For me the system is much more than just storage box, it also runs my Sandbox VMs and Active Directory domain controller VMs for DHCP, DNS, etc... Yes I'm doing much more than I need to for a home network but I'm a control freak and it keeps me up to date with how those bits all function together. Plus it holds many more disks (currently over a dozen with space for more) than an appliance would hold. I use RAID 1 for most things and try to pair disks that were not purchased together. In theory they should be on different life cycles to prevent any coordinated failures.
     

    JettaKnight

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    Why not just buy a prepackaged product that is plug and play?

    [video=youtube;oWnkLlD8wWE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWnkLlD8wWE[/video]

    It about building something, not the final product. If the data on it is nothing but ripped movies from torrent sites, then build whatever.


    But, If the but is important, then yeah, get a ReadyNAS, use RAID 5. Good Stuff.

    Aside from cost, what difference does a machine make thats made to be a NAS vs a Desktop computer being used as a NAS?
    Far less setup time.
    Semi-assured reliability.
    Lower power consumption.
    Smaller size.


    My ReadyNAS can run a few lightweight applications, too. I have a bit torrent client on it and a DokuWiki server. It's SSL server protects a small embedded box w/ a web server that I route through the NAS and to the outside world.
     

    Caleb

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    One is a black box appliance that you shouldn't have to do much with other than grant access. The other requires OS updates and other maintenance things. For me the system is much more than just storage box, it also runs my Sandbox VMs and Active Directory domain controller VMs for DHCP, DNS, etc... Yes I'm doing much more than I need to for a home network but I'm a control freak and it keeps me up to date with how those bits all function together. Plus it holds many more disks (currently over a dozen with space for more) than an appliance would hold. I use RAID 1 for most things and try to pair disks that were not purchased together. In theory they should be on different life cycles to prevent any coordinated failures.

    Yea...extent of my need is to store backup files, firewall, and at some point, perhaps a data storage for recording security cameras
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    I'm glad to see I'm not the only one around here with my own home server.

    For a while I ran VMware bit have given up on that have just have a Debian box living in a cabinet for data storage as well as a few other tools I have written myself.
     

    88E30M50

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    This initial NAS is just a project to explore while on the mend from shoulder surgery. It's not replacing any existing backup routines and is mainly to help decide how much time and money I want to invest in a permanent solution. I appreciate all of the advice so far
     
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