However, before you press that old 386 system into service as a NAS device, there are several aspects you should consider.īefore building your own NAS, there are a few things you have to consider. Say hello to your soon-to-be home-made NAS device.
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You know, that box that nobody wants because it's got a single-core CPU in it and only 512mb of ram, a machine that wouldn't boot Vista on a bet, and is barely usable under Windows XP. If that's the case, then why not build it yourself? After all, a NAS is nothing more than a dedicated file server, right?Ĭhances are pretty good that you have some almost-ancient hardware laying around. Remember, you've spent $500 so far and STILL don't have any drives installed in it. The same is also true of a homemade NAS device, although you automatically start out over-spec'd because I assume that like me, you'd be using fairly modern hardware (even if you start out with used hardware).Īs far as pre-built units are concerned, I've found (by reading user reviews of various devices) that service is spotty, reliability is a crap shoot, and anything even remotely adequate starts at about the $500 price range, and that's for a diskless 4-disk NAS device that supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD, and allows hot-swapping and unlimited (but variable) drive sizes.
The more money you spend, the more capable the pre-built NAS is. Why would you want to? There are several commercial items available, ranging from simple single-disk units targeted at home networks to veritable behemoths, supporting as many as a dozen drives in a single rack. If you intend to share files (videos and music) across your LAN, you're pretty much on your own as far as adequate hardware is concerned, but I suspect that everything I say below is applicable to the most extreme usage. Also, my intended use is currently just a way to conveniently store incremental backups and the occasional restore point for all of my machines. Note: This article deals expressly within the realm of a trusted networking environment where you don't have to worry about local intruders (your kids and their friends), idiot users (your spouse and your friends), and your LAN is not exposed in any way to external access (the internet). It's a pain, and I have to baby-sit the process. Sure, an occasional backup to DVD is probably warranted, but not every backup.
I'm also tired of burning DVD's (I've probably spent thousands of dollars on blank media). I don't want to have to think about it beyond the initial setup. Yeah, you can buy pre-built devices the size of a hardcover book, but what fun is that? The reason I'm building one is that I need to automate backups of four systems in my house. You can use one solely as an automatic backup device, share videos and music across the LAN, or even stream content to a HTPC. Possible uses for a NAS device are as varied as the myriad of choices of hardware made to support it.
Network Attached Storage - otherwise referred to as NAS - is probably the best way to add storage that is generally available across your LAN.
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