I might build a NAS/media server. Would you use this???

[amirm]

Ultimatly, I want something solid that can stay on 24/7 and wont require constant maintenance and troublesome updates, etc. I just want to turn it on and it work good for a long time and help protect my data while using as little disk space as possible.

Get a cheap NAS and put those drives in it and be done.

 

[Aldoszx]

You can use Openmediavault or FreeNAS as software.

 

[jhm]

The first hard disk I used was my uncle's Symbiotic 5 megabyte hard disk for his Apple ][:

http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/19277/SyMBfile-Hard-Disk-for-Apple-II/

I've never heard of Unraid. I just Googled it - it seems to be a proprietary Linux based system of some sort which is not free (as in money) nor open source. For me at least, its web pages seems light on technical details:

https://unraid.net/product

 

[jhm]

Ultimatly, I want something solid that can stay on 24/7 and wont require constant maintenance and troublesome updates, etc. I just want to turn it on and it work good for a long time and help protect my data while using as little disk space as possible.

There are a number of points here:

1) Any Linux based DIY solution will require maintenance (even if only security and other updates) and some expertise on your part.

2) See my comments above about this Unraid OS. Query whether a commercial company with no or little track record is good for you to base your system on - what if they go bust etc ? Their pricing appears to be a one-off fee ... for now at least. What if they change to an annual subscription later ? How long will the company support older releases ? Without looking into it, my fairly strong guess is that there is nothing magic in Unraid OS - it may just be open source components which they have packaged up, put a nice user interface on top and then started selling.

3) If you have the time and want to read up to DIY (rather than rely on someone else to have done it for you), you might want to consider looking into a solution based on something based on Ubuntu's Long Term Support (or similar) which will be supported for 5 years from release - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LTS

4) As far as "protecting [your] data and using as little disk space as possible", you need to determine the balance between the two which you are comfortable with, e.g. RAID5 or RAID1 (mirroring) ?

 

[Aldoszx]

For a reliable solution, you have to use a RAID card. You can buy a cheap LSI HBA and use FreeNAS with ZFS. This way you can choose how many hdd’s you want to use as spare. RAID5 is not a good ideea because of performance loss.
DIY solutions based on dedicated NAS linux or BSD distros are the best choice IMHO, because of flexibillity and posibillity to upgrade. Regarding the maintenance, it is not a problem to apply updates once on a while. I am using DIY NAS servers both on bare metal and virtualized under ESXi, running 24/7 for many years and I have nothing to complain about them.

 

[q3cpma]

* Don't think about hardware RAID, it's a joke nowadays. Unless you're a fan of being slave to the vendor when you want to move the pool somewhere else.
* Your case would be good for a NAS but not for a HTPC, you'll hear these 6 drives rattle like hell in these primitive bays. BeQuiet, for example, makes some way quieter cases with rubber decoupling between the drives and the case.
* I find Windows as a headless server OS a nightmare, personally. If you start using GNU/Linux or BSD, you may learn some stuff, too (you can install LibreELEC and be done with it, too). And since it's about massive data storage with RAID, you'll very much want the better filesystems you can get there (ZFS or (dm-integrity+mdadm+)XFS); unless Microsoft revived ReFS without me knowing.

 

[Aldoszx]

* Don't think about hardware RAID, it's a joke nowadays. Unless you're a fan of being slave to the vendor when you want to move the pool somewhere else.
* Your case would be good for a NAS but not for a HTPC, you'll hear these 6 drives rattle like hell in these primitive bays. BeQuiet, for example, makes some way quieter cases with rubber decoupling between the drives and the case.
* I find Windows as a headless server OS a nightmare, personally. If you start using GNU/Linux or BSD, you may learn some stuff, too (you can install LibreELEC and be done with it, too). And since it's about massive data storage with RAID, you'll very much want the better filesystems you can get there (ZFS or (dm-integrity+mdadm+)XFS); unless Microsoft revived ReFS without me knowing.

I think hw RAID is not and was not a joke. It is a professional solution, but is expensive. That's why I was thinking about HBA card which can let you access hdd's as JBOD. And you can use filesystems like ZFS to create RAID.
And is not so difficult to install and configure FreeNAS for a basic NAS, for example. There are a bunch of good tutorials on the internet, and all you have to do is to follow them.

 

[essence]

1) Old gear has notoriously bad power consumption/efficiency. The costs add up over time as its running continuously.
2) Decide on the importance of your stored data and the data redundancy plan
3) Healthy data stores requires a lot of tinkering, maintenance so if you wanted more a plug and play system I recommend just getting a NAS box.

Also HGST has been defunct since 2018, HDD RMAs are hard enough as it is let alone from a absorbed company...

I think my first hard drive was 200 meg.

I have an album from 1987, 377MB in flac which would've cost $5377~ to store on hdd storage. (Yes I understand there were cheaper single write storage mediums at the time, flac also did not exist back then)

 

[carlob]

For a reliable solution, you have to use a RAID card. You can buy a cheap LSI HBA and use FreeNAS with ZFS. This way you can choose how many hdd’s you want to use as spare. RAID5 is not a good ideea because of performance loss.
DIY solutions based on dedicated NAS linux or BSD distros are the best choice IMHO, because of flexibillity and posibillity to upgrade. Regarding the maintenance, it is not a problem to apply updates once on a while. I am using DIY NAS servers both on bare metal and virtualized under ESXi, running 24/7 for many years and I have nothing to complain about them.

I did the same last year, but you need a server grade board, ECC memory and a lot of reading. I Have Freenas running under ESXi using a Supermicro board, maybe you can find the parts list useful: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/carlobr/saved/

 

[Berwhale]

I Have Freenas running under ESXi

Yeah, I do the same, but I run multiple copies of the Synology NAS OS, DSM, on my Dell server. I'm just about to upgrade from

With my 4 drives I would only need to use 1 of them as the backup space.

RAID/UnRAID is NOT A BACKUP. I suggest that you research this and understand the difference, before committing to build your server.

He has only even *owned* them for 21,000 hours...but it would have had to run 24/7 for the power on hours to get that high.....I would think home use in a media server is pretty low.

My old 3TB drives had ~45,000 hours (4.5 years) on them when I took them out of duty last year. When you start running a 'server', you have to consider the likelyhood that it will be running 24/7. If you have to switch the server on everytime you want to use it, what's the point in having a 'server'?

 

[mkt]

Don't do it unless it's for fun and you have plenty of time.

You might be happier with a modern quiet case. I just replaced a server/storage computer and used a Fractal Design R5, which was a big improvement from my last build 10 years ago (Corsair 650D). Also power supplies are quieter. Many don't run the fan under low loads. Disk density is higher, but disks are not quieter. All this can add up to lots of time (depending on your experience level) and money.

I went with a "solution" that didn't require me to learn new stuff. So linux, raid 6, LMS (squeeze server), Roon, Subsonic, and NFS (to share with Kodi etc). (What I've read suggests software raid, and that's what I've always used.)

As for HTPC/video, Kodi running on an Amazon Fire is nice if you have local files.

Although I do it, it's hard not to argue that storage is for suckers. You'll still need backup (probably), and one day you'll have to replace it.
PS. If you're doing it for fun, go all the way and learn linux. Things work and there are plenty of resources.

 

[Berwhale]

Ultimatly, I want something solid that can stay on 24/7 and wont require constant maintenance and troublesome updates, etc. I just want to turn it on and it work good for a long time and help protect my data while using as little disk space as possible.

As Amirm says, your best bet would be to buy a dedicated NAS, something by a Synology or QNAP are good choices. Both offer way more features that you will ever need at home.

You can have a play with a Synology NAS here: https://demo.synology.com/

QNAP have a live demo here: https://www.qnapworks.com/live-demos.asp

 

[Apesbrain]

Mine was 10.

We called them "Winchester" drives then, which was the style at the time.

 

[SPOautos]

*
* I find Windows as a headless server OS a nightmare, personally. If you start using GNU/Linux or BSD, you may learn some stuff, too (you can install LibreELEC and be done with it, too). And since it's about massive data storage with RAID, you'll very much want the better filesystems you can get there (ZFS or (dm-integrity+mdadm+)XFS); unless Microsoft revived ReFS without me knowing.

With LibreELEC, cant you only run Kodi? I wouldnt be able to run anything else would I? (Except addons that are in Kodi of course). I thought it was basically a platform just for Kodi.

Which I like the idea of using Kodi but I would like to have the ability to run Roon Core as well. I dont think there is a Roon Core addon for Kodi.

I thought about running Linux and installing Kodi and Roon Core on it. Do you have any thoughts on the full version of Linux as compared to LibreELEC? Is my view of LibreELEC wrong?

 

[renaudrenaud]

I build something with a Supermicro motherboard, a 1u rack and a Xeon Low Consumption processor, with 12go Ram. Total consumption is 38W and when I start a W10 virtual machine inside it, this is a the cost of 10 more watts.
I use only 2.5" for lower consumption. And a low cost SSD for cache with a great impact on performances.
Naughty boy I use Xpenology because I like their GUI.
I think it's a good compromise. For 200€ (motherboard + processor) it is by far more powerful than a real Syno, and for the remote access, I do not care at all the one from Syno, I use Zerotier with a lot of confidence.

 

[carlob]

A diy server built on your specs with (also) Freenas is 100 times better than every commercial proposition from Synology or Qnap, obviously it is something you do if you like to build computers and learn something in the process (and spend more $$$) otherways you are better off buying a commercial NAS. I have my whole house running on a couple of servers, like domotics, 24 cams, nas, intrusion detection, a couple of operating systems, music, video, everything.

 

[SPOautos]

A diy server built on your specs with (also) Freenas is 100 times better than every commercial proposition from Synology or Qnap, obviously it is something you do if you like to build computers and learn something in the process (and spend more $$$) otherways you are better off buying a commercial NAS. I have my whole house running on a couple of servers, like domotics, 24 cams, nas, intrusion detection, a couple of operating systems, music, video, everything.

Initially I was looking at Qnap nas but my tinkering side got the best of me and I started thinking about what I could build for the same money. To me a NAS just looks like fairly low performance computer parts. The only thing they bring to the table is hot swappable drive bays, but I dont care about that or need it. At home if I need to pull a drive out I can just turn it off and pull it out in 5 minutes. The other thing is you dont have to wade through the sea of options....that is the hardest part about custom. And I have to admit, once I switched gears from qnap to custom theres been a couple times I thought "I dont have time to wade through all this and what if at the end it feel pieced together and no one else can use it...maybe I should go back to a qnap."

BUT I'm pretty stuck on a custom box now.....probably run some derivative of Linux or Unraid and have Kodi and maybe Roon on it. Itll just be SO much more flexible and I think itll be as easy to use for the whole family as a qnap would be.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Yeah.
Maybe mine was 20 meg and $200 -late 80's...

Mine was 10 and it was huge, attached to a PDP-11.

 

[SPOautos]

A decision - So I think I'm going to take you guys advice and look at new cases. I dont think the one I have will be able to deal with the heat of these 4 drives. I'm going to look at some already suggested but I REALLY want to put it in a specific place where I will only have about 6.5" width for the computer. So a tower style that supports 4 standard sized 3.5" hdd's and I also have a ssd I can put in it. Top priority for me is great air flow at the hdd's and quiet. I think the hard drives themselves may be a bit noisy so I'm like a case that keeps noise inside (in other words not one that's like half mesh).

 

[mkt]

My impression is that noise is hard. My new build is quieter than the old one but I'm still thinking about moving it to a different room.