- Sep 9, 2015
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Hi there!
This is an old dog who's trying to leverage ancient hardware on a home project with virtually no budget who's looking for savvy users that can help to get the most out of it. This post is more a finding exercise rather than a specific question, so please all comments and suggestions are welcome. Having said that, I'm afraid I'm stuck with what I have.
Ready?
Objective: create a large JBOD disk server (no raid!) holding x15 old SATA disks from different sizes. This "server" would NOT be on permanently, only a few hours a day.
I have three noob questions:
First: I am building a home 15x hard disk system (sort of "domestic very basic big data server re-using older hard disks in a JBOD fashion"). I've thought about assembling a tower-like system with spare hardware I already have: several SATA2 disks of different sizes internally connected to 3 port multiplier backplanes (each 5x1: http://www.addonics.com/products/diagrams/AD5SAHPM-EA_rear.jpg) and then connecting this "system" to a 4 port-SATA2 PCIe controller in my desktop using eSATA cables.No motherboard no anything else... keeping it plain and simple, huh? For what I've been reading so far, this setup seems to be faster than using a Gigabit Ethernet connection since SATA2=300MB/s although in practice results in my desktop are of some sustained 50-70 MB/s when copying a >1Gb files, right?. I also know that to use a Gigabit Ethernet connection I would have to add a motherboard (plus the lot, in short, add a 'computer' into that box), but if I was to do that, would it be possible to connect the "system" to my desktop directly via a crossover RJ45 cat5 cable without using any router/hub? If so, would speeds be maximised this way to a sustained 1Gbit (=100MB/s), almost doubling what I get now from SATA2??
Second: I like the idea of a NAS, even if not using any RAID (only JBOD), just the ability to share the disk array with other computers in the home network as well as to stream media is appealing. Yet, in a practical case, say I install FreeNAS or similar, how would I "connect" to the array? Say I'm at my desktop and I need access to the "data server" -which is switched off- so... I switch it on and then what? do I have to add shares in Windows (and do that every time I switch on the data server)? is this process automatic as it'd be if it was a mere disk tower? For a long time I've been using a disk tower (Addonics Storage Tower) connected to my desktop via eSATA and when I switch it on, my desktop simple recognizes new units and add them automatically... Sorry if this question is extremely basic but I've never dealt with NAS.
Third: Should I decide to go down the road of a NAS, do you now if FreeNAS (in JBOD mode) boots in a few seconds or does it take a long time to be ready? I'd be installing it on a USB pen drive attached to the motherboard -or perhaps in a regular 80Gb SATA disk if necessary but sadly no SSD. I'm willing to wait up to a minute, but if it takes as long as say Windows 7 -which isn't that bad!-, then I'd be rethinking the whole NAS idea. I understand the aim of 24x7 for a NAS, but I don't want a bunch of HDs on 24/7 moreover when it's going to be a home server... which means it isn't needed, so I am NOT going to keep this "system" on all the time. I will instead switch it on and off as needed.
Suggestions?
Thanks in advance
This is an old dog who's trying to leverage ancient hardware on a home project with virtually no budget who's looking for savvy users that can help to get the most out of it. This post is more a finding exercise rather than a specific question, so please all comments and suggestions are welcome. Having said that, I'm afraid I'm stuck with what I have.
Ready?
Objective: create a large JBOD disk server (no raid!) holding x15 old SATA disks from different sizes. This "server" would NOT be on permanently, only a few hours a day.
I have three noob questions:
First: I am building a home 15x hard disk system (sort of "domestic very basic big data server re-using older hard disks in a JBOD fashion"). I've thought about assembling a tower-like system with spare hardware I already have: several SATA2 disks of different sizes internally connected to 3 port multiplier backplanes (each 5x1: http://www.addonics.com/products/diagrams/AD5SAHPM-EA_rear.jpg) and then connecting this "system" to a 4 port-SATA2 PCIe controller in my desktop using eSATA cables.No motherboard no anything else... keeping it plain and simple, huh? For what I've been reading so far, this setup seems to be faster than using a Gigabit Ethernet connection since SATA2=300MB/s although in practice results in my desktop are of some sustained 50-70 MB/s when copying a >1Gb files, right?. I also know that to use a Gigabit Ethernet connection I would have to add a motherboard (plus the lot, in short, add a 'computer' into that box), but if I was to do that, would it be possible to connect the "system" to my desktop directly via a crossover RJ45 cat5 cable without using any router/hub? If so, would speeds be maximised this way to a sustained 1Gbit (=100MB/s), almost doubling what I get now from SATA2??
Second: I like the idea of a NAS, even if not using any RAID (only JBOD), just the ability to share the disk array with other computers in the home network as well as to stream media is appealing. Yet, in a practical case, say I install FreeNAS or similar, how would I "connect" to the array? Say I'm at my desktop and I need access to the "data server" -which is switched off- so... I switch it on and then what? do I have to add shares in Windows (and do that every time I switch on the data server)? is this process automatic as it'd be if it was a mere disk tower? For a long time I've been using a disk tower (Addonics Storage Tower) connected to my desktop via eSATA and when I switch it on, my desktop simple recognizes new units and add them automatically... Sorry if this question is extremely basic but I've never dealt with NAS.
Third: Should I decide to go down the road of a NAS, do you now if FreeNAS (in JBOD mode) boots in a few seconds or does it take a long time to be ready? I'd be installing it on a USB pen drive attached to the motherboard -or perhaps in a regular 80Gb SATA disk if necessary but sadly no SSD. I'm willing to wait up to a minute, but if it takes as long as say Windows 7 -which isn't that bad!-, then I'd be rethinking the whole NAS idea. I understand the aim of 24x7 for a NAS, but I don't want a bunch of HDs on 24/7 moreover when it's going to be a home server... which means it isn't needed, so I am NOT going to keep this "system" on all the time. I will instead switch it on and off as needed.
Suggestions?
Thanks in advance
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