Suitable NAS storage solution for a domesctic environment

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Yokese

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Mar 6, 2017
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I want to implement a storage solution at home. I'm more of those software people so I'm a bit lost choosing a suitable NAS.

Mainly I want it for storage/backup purposes. I'd like to have 32Tb of storage (5x8Tb HDs RAID 5). Initially I'd put 2x8Tb HDs and I'd like to expand it to 5x8Tb after some time. Low noise and LAN capabilities should be in accout too, i.e. to stream media content.

After looking for some time, I think that Qnap TS-531X could be a good choice, but as I said, due to my little knowledge, this could be a more expensive solution that I really need. Also I don't know the real advantages/disadvantages of using common desktop HDs or NAS specific HDs.

Maybe someone could advise me in this subject or guide me to a good article on thiese subjects.
 
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greens

greens

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Jan 27, 2012
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It seems like you know what you need... But that is extremely expensive.
it is essentailly something like this
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138413
in a fancy case.

Backplanes and removable bays add to the price sure, but i don't think that NAS are worth it at all.

You can get a little embedded for sub $50, add some ram a case and a tiny OS drive and you have yourself a more robust and reliable NAS than anything proprietary you can buy at the store. More expandable, can be easily changed and can serve multiple purposes at end of life.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138413
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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If you are going to run raid 5 then you NEED nas drives as regular desktop drives do not handle that level of work load.

Raid 5 might not be the solution for you.
You dont need redundancy for your backups, and you can always use one of the drives to backup your storage drive.
What is your storage needs exactly?

I personally prefere a widnows/linux system over a NAS box.
Case and PSU chosen for running 6-8 drives.:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($27.78 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($30.64 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill STEALTH ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($46.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $292.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-06 12:01 EST-0500


ADDED:
Reason I prefere a windows box is that you have far more multipurpose options, upgradeability, easier to repair any part that dies and easier to repurpose/sell.
 
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greens

greens

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Jan 27, 2012
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UH, WHAT?!

NAS drives are the lowest quality, lowest power, bottom of the barrel drives you can get. NAS drives are the worst... and NOT intended for heavy use. Maybe you're confusing NAS with Enterprise? Just compare WD RED and Purple to their BLUE BLACK and GOLD. There is no comparison - NAS drives suck.

That g4560 is so much over kill for a freaking NAS. An Atom embedded is MORE than enough to handle a NAS and a fraction of the price.

520W for a NAS?! jesus christ.
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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The entire point of building a windows/linux box over a dedicated NAS is to have options. Getting an Atom processor pretty much defeates that entire puprose. The g4560 is at such a good price it is just silly to not get it.

Yes 520w is massive overkilll, but you have to remember that 6+ hard drives need AMPS to initially spin up. Each drive will take 3-4 amps to initially spin up. Thus you want something with 30+ amps on the 12v rail which is why I chose that particular PSU. You are totally right though, the power supply is the best place to cut corners, no worries about that comming around to bite you.

No, NAS drives are not the bottom end drive. NAS drives are designed for Raid 0 or RAID 5 configuration, hence why they are called NAS drives. Naturally Enterprise drives are better then consumer NAS drives, no arguement there; but those drives come at a much much higher cost and his needs do not warrent it.
Realy though what sources are you bassing this claim off of?
WD Red (while yes only 5900rpm) is designed to be used in a NAS environment, meaing more heat and more vibration due to 5+ drives sitting half an inch away from each other, not to mention made to handle being in a spanned volume.
 
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greens

greens

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Jan 27, 2012
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A drive cares not whether it is a simple volume, a dynamic volume, a spanned image, or an external. It doesn't care if its running GPT or MBR. It doesn't care if it is in NFTS, FAT32, or EXT4. It just stores data. It doesn't even KNOW whats on it. If your GPT or MBR goes the drive can't even tell what its got on itself. It literally DOES nothing. it doesn't care or know. Just the controller knows or cares.

NAS drives are designed to be LOW POWER because they are on 24/7 but not USED 24/7. They are designed to be low power, and therefore are slow. There is no consideration made for heat or vibration lol. They are simply low power - slow drives.

What kind of drive takes 48W to spin up!??!? they do NOT take 4 freaking amps on the 12v rail to spin up! That is insane. 1amp MAYBE for a 7200 drive to spin up, MAYBE. Which means a 520W PSU is enough for like 40 drives to spin up at the exact time.

Where are you getting this info?




 
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Yokese

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Mar 6, 2017
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Thank you for your answer. I hadn't taken into account that I can build my own homebrew NAS. The solution you are proposing really worth it. It seems really less expensive and more customizable.
 
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tiredteck

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Just to throw my 2 cents in. I have "re-purposed" older towers into NAS boxes with as many hard drives as the system could handle. I tried different options and settled on FreeNas 9. It boots from a USB 2 8GB flash drive freeing up the SATA connectors for Hard Drives. Good Luck tt/2

 
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Yokese

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Mar 6, 2017
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Thank you for your answer too, boosted1g. The point of using NAS or common desktop drives it's just that,, what type of drives are going to have a longer life?. I think a slow speed HD will fulfill my needs nowadays.

I won't have the NAS powered on 24h long. Even some days I won't power it on. The reason of I thought a NAS could be the best solution is that I have several external HDs with data, some of them, that are more important, even duplicated.
This has become annoying and even I've lost data because of aging of some of the oldest or more used HDs. That's why I thought about RAID 5, so I could have redundancy to protect me from losing data from dying HDs.
Actually, I could have more that 15TB of data and increasing, and I'd like a solution in the medium or long term. With RAID 5 I want to minimize to the amount of space 'wasted' to have redundancy.

Streaming data over the LAN or even have have some kind of server for other purposes would be desirable too. NAS commercial, servers seem to serve these purposes actually too. But if I build it on my own, as greens and you proposed, this shoudn't be a problem.


 
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Yokese

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Mar 6, 2017
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Experience is always a point, I'll take a look at FreeNas 9 too, thanks :).
 
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