File Server Builder's Guide
by Zach Throckmorton on September 4, 2011 3:30 PM ESTConclusion
Home file servers can be enormously useful in a multi-system residence. Adding such a specialty system to a home network is easy, and certain file server operating systems are also very simple to set up and administer. A home file server is also an easy introduction to servers in general. Remember, the primary purpose of a home file server is storage - so rather than building around the CPU or GPU, build a home file server around the HDDs. Home file servers don't need powerful CPUs - instead focus on power savings and adequacy rather than raw processing muscle. While it's difficult - perhaps impossible - to know what HDD models are most reliable, choose your case carefully and take time managing cables so you can maintain optimal environments for your drives. Buy high-quality PSUs so your HDDs are supplied with clean power. And of course, back up your data!
"The files are in the computer. It's so simple!"
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TheeVagabond - Thursday, September 29, 2011 - link
Seriously, people's responses... like they must be rolling in the money. Overkill much, what kind of home data do people have.DanNeely - Sunday, September 4, 2011 - link
With the cheapest 10GB nic's on newegg being almost $500 each it's still far too expensive for the typical home network. You'd also probably want a significantly more powerul system than what was described in the article. Feeding a 10GB NIC generally eats an entire core of a XEON chip.JohanAnandtech - Monday, September 5, 2011 - link
Our measurement show that a 10GB NIC needs even more than one core. 14% of 12 2 GHz Xeon cores, that is about 3.4 GHz of Xeon power.http://www.anandtech.com/show/4014/10g-more-than-a...
Described in desktop terms, that means that you need at least one of Core I5 2400 system just to power your 10G cards. And you probably need more.
DanNeely - Monday, September 5, 2011 - link
Ooops. Guess i skimmed that article too fast; didn't realize it was a hex-core chip.DanNeely - Sunday, September 4, 2011 - link
10c/kwh is roughly $1/wattyear, so it'd only take around a year for the lower powered Intel box to save more than the AMD equivalent.yottabit42 - Sunday, September 4, 2011 - link
No mention of OpenFiler as a NAS distribution?It's based on a funky, little-known Linux distribution, but I found it much easier to setup and more advanced than FreeNAS. I've been using it for years to host 10 TB of RAID-5 storage and 2 TB of RAID-6 storage, served via FTP, Samba, and rsync. Both arrays are soft-RAID, too. Virtually no problems ever, even with frequent power outages and using XFS as the filesystem (prone to corruption with power outages due to high degree of caching).
HMTK - Monday, September 5, 2011 - link
Yep. I also like OpenFiler. Easy to set up NFS and iSCSI if that's your thing.whaler_99 - Sunday, September 4, 2011 - link
I am surprised as you mention WHS and FreeNas, as well as drop the Drobo and such name around, that you did not look at unRAID. This is a solution a lot of us are turning to - a basic system license is free, and a 20 drive data system with parity and cache runs you $150 for the license. And can run on pretty much whatever you have laying around. You can start small and grow big. Definately worth a look.jnmfox - Sunday, September 4, 2011 - link
+1000unRAID is easy to use has great community support and like was mentioned is free and can be put on leftover hardware. For basic media storage it is one of the best options for a file server. unRAID doesn't have the limitations of RAID, you can use any combination of HDs and add more as needed, data is protected via the parity drive so you don't have data duplication giving you more HD space.
3DoubleD - Monday, September 5, 2011 - link
+ another 1000Unraid is awesome. It is a shame that it was left out of this review. It has to be one of the most flexible solutions out there. It is super easy to use, yet offers an unlimited amount of customization. The community support is fantastic as well.
As far as DIY home storage server software goes, I think it's the best around.