Author Topic: raid fileserver opinion - skuzzy and others? (Read 324 times)

eagl · « **on:** February 15, 2007, 06:38:42 AM »

I'm shopping for an easy to use fileserver with "real" raid... Anyone have an opinion about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822106001

Other than it's a lot of money for a box that doesn't even include any hard drives...

?

Skuzzy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 15, 2007, 08:09:20 AM »

It is just a Linux box running Samba. Aside from the case, they added a WEB interface, which appears to be the only real added value it has.

It appears the RAID implementation is just the Linuix software RAID implementation.

eagl · « **Reply #2 on:** February 15, 2007, 09:15:22 AM »

Hmm. I was hoping it would at least have a hardware raid implementation... It has status lights and everything

I can build my own raid server from spare parts but then I'd have to manage it including the configuration, and I'd mess that up so I'd have to hide it from the internet...

I just want to avoid one of those crummy buffalo box of drives and get something I can stuff in the router closet and forget about.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #3 on:** February 15, 2007, 09:26:02 AM »

Intel lists the RAID support under the "Software Support" category, and they do not list anything related to RAID in the "Hardware Support" category.

So I presume it is all software based. They are using version 2.6 of the Linux kernel.

It may be worth the money for the interface they have. Then again, that interface may actually be available somewhere for free. I have not looked around for it.

It is a one stop solution, of sorts.

I keep threatening to write-up how to configure a Linux box to do this,as well as handle email filtering, and routing chores too. Other items keep getting prioritzed in front of it.

LePaul · « **Reply #4 on:** February 15, 2007, 11:34:32 PM »

What's your budget

I can show you the RAID stuff we use at the bank

Got a spare $14k?

llama · « **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2007, 12:01:36 AM »

That Buffalo stuff is total crapola compared to the stuff Infrant sells, which is also at newegg. I have a couple of Infrant models at different clients', and they are a joy to work with, setup, and maintain.

Still, it isn't all that different than setting up your own linux box with a raid card (I prefer the Promise brand) and any of those NAS linuxes, but the Infrant unit is relatively compact, quiet, and very reliable and well supported.

-Llama

eagl · « **Reply #6 on:** February 16, 2007, 10:39:51 PM »

Do you have any suggestions for any solution in particular?

$500 for an enclosure is pretty steep but as an example of why I think something like that would be desirable, that intel one has hot-swappable drive cages, cooling, and it's pretty small so I could tuck it away.

I have enough spare computer parts to put together my own, but it's an IDE/PATA raid controller, a full size mobo, etc. So I'd end up buying old tech PATA drives that will be getting harder and more expensive to replace, and it would all be in a large computer. Plus I'd have no hot swappable capability unless I bought a bunch of hot swap cages and a PCI SATA controller card. At that point, I'd have eaten up most of the savings from not just going with the specialized chassis.

What would be a good NAS linux distribution to try? I'd want something simple to set up and manage, but it must at the very least offer windows compatible file sharing and RAID 5 with the option to hot-swap, preferrably with the option for a "live" spare. Whether or not that intel box is hardware or software RAID, it has all that, for a price...

I'll look into the infrant ones, but there are a bunch of different types from $499 on up, and I'm not sure whether any particular one would be sufficient for what I want out of it.

llama · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2007, 12:36:56 AM »

Eagle,

(Late-nite comment deleted.)

I'll write something more detailed tomorrow.

-Llama

eagl · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2007, 12:50:41 AM »

The readynas NV+ looks nice... Over $600 bare though.

llama · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2007, 10:43:39 AM »

The readynas units are what I have in service, and as I look at newegg, i see they have open-boxes with 1TB of hard drives already installed for $745:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833329005R

I really can't say enough good things about them.

Finally, I disagree with you about Parallel ATA being a technology on the way out. The installed base of PATA hardware is just too large for the manufacturers to ignore, and it won't be for at least 3 or 4 years still. And even when/if it eventually does happen, the cost difference will be very minor for at least a few years beyond this.

If I had a client who demanded an extremely low-cost RAID setup, I would have no qualms using a promise controller and a pair of PATA drives.

-Llama

eagl · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2007, 08:26:47 AM »

I'm considering the readynas NV+, with 4 500 gig drives. According to their calculator, using xraid that will get me about 1.3 terabytes useful space.

Only prob is that'll run me $1100...