Design Objectives
Having decided to build a new Toaster RAID, I had to think seriously about what I wanted to accomplish. This was going to be an expensive hobby project so I set out to design something worth the cost. I wanted a platform that represented all the changes and improvements in technology since the 2001 Toaster RAIDs, and it was important to me that it would have an attractive, artistic appearance. After considering the costs and capabilities that would be useful in a home file server, I wanted Toaster RAID #4 to have the following design and hardware features:
- an attractive retro appearance
- to look like a toaster with no visible external changes
- shiny and reflective surfaces
- lights that made use of the reflective surfaces
- enough drives to make use of RAID 5
- a platform that illustrated all the changes and improvements in form factor, capacities, speeds, and performance compared to previous Toaster RAIDs
- an x86 CPU architecture
- the capacity to serve all my personal storage needs
- DHCP capabilities to service all the other clients running at my house
The inside of the cover was polished to enhance the reflective surfaces so that the flashing and blinking colored lights would be more visible.
