Cheap NAS?
14 June 2004, 10:23 AM
#1
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cheap NAS?
Does such a thing exist as cheap NAS equipment? What are the cheapest options for home users (OK, geeky home users!) who want storage without a particular PC constantly being switched on?
14 June 2004, 11:04 AM
#3
I've just got together the following bits...
PII 450
Adaptec PCi Raid controller
2x 120Gb HDDs
NIC
Minimal graphics card
etc
That'll be providing NAS for me on a Mirror
Nothing flash, nothing expensive. Could run it using W95 or any of the server offerings, depending how geeky you really are!
I'll probably be using a part of it as an area for online backups - saves farting about with tapes etc.
Oh & either install VNC or TS to admin it should it need it. Otherwise it'll be screenless & keyboard less, sitting in a remote part of my office wiring away...
PII 450
Adaptec PCi Raid controller
2x 120Gb HDDs
NIC
Minimal graphics card
etc
That'll be providing NAS for me on a Mirror
Nothing flash, nothing expensive. Could run it using W95 or any of the server offerings, depending how geeky you really are!
I'll probably be using a part of it as an area for online backups - saves farting about with tapes etc.
Oh & either install VNC or TS to admin it should it need it. Otherwise it'll be screenless & keyboard less, sitting in a remote part of my office wiring away...
14 June 2004, 11:29 AM
#4
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm actually running something pretty similar right now (2* P3-700s, 2*40Gb in RAID-1 for, O/S not RAID'd). Running XP Pro. I just got fed up with having another PC to patch etc!
That Buffalo kit looks nice. Apparently it includes USB ports for additional storage and also features a print server. It's about £190 from DABS. I'll have a read about the others...
That Buffalo kit looks nice. Apparently it includes USB ports for additional storage and also features a print server. It's about £190 from DABS. I'll have a read about the others...
I've been looking into this stuff too, I need more than my 500GB at home now... tis getting a little full.
14 June 2004, 12:00 PM
#6
Scooby Regular
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Dunfermline,Fife Xbox/PS3 Gamertag: RB5black
Posts: 4,746
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
http://www.nwfusion.com/net.worker/c...209miller.html
Review of the buffalo gear
X2 USB2.0 for adding HDD's..... it's only 120GB as standard
Review of the buffalo gear
X2 USB2.0 for adding HDD's..... it's only 120GB as standard
Trending Topics
14 June 2004, 12:05 PM
#8
Scooby Regular
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Dunfermline,Fife Xbox/PS3 Gamertag: RB5black
Posts: 4,746
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
looking at a search on dabs for NAS 
looks like all this gear is still very expensive. As PTMW says I think I'm going to use a cheap old PC but I'll run the HDD's just from IDE and wireless it to my existing network that way.
looks like all this gear is still very expensive. As PTMW says I think I'm going to use a cheap old PC but I'll run the HDD's just from IDE and wireless it to my existing network that way.
14 June 2004, 12:52 PM
#9
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
14 June 2004, 10:45 PM
#11
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
PTMW: that's basically what I want, yeah. Perhaps 'NAS' was the wrong term. All I want is network-accessible storage. By the way; the HDD in the Buffalo unit *can* be replaced with another drive if 120Gb is insufficient. The only proviso is that you partition/format it with the units own software utility.
14 June 2004, 11:02 PM
#13
Scooby Regular
Depends what you mean by cheap?
£250, £500, £1000 ???
We have a PowerVault 725N at work. That's cheap in NAS circles, but certainly not for the home.
Stefan
£250, £500, £1000 ???
We have a PowerVault 725N at work. That's cheap in NAS circles, but certainly not for the home.
Stefan
15 June 2004, 08:15 AM
#15
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Stueyb: overkill, mate, but thanks for the suggestion.
Ozzy: in this case, "cheap" is under £200.
R1916v: most of those are only USB-connected. Only the Ximeta device (on Scan, above), is also ethernet-connected in addition.
Ozzy: in this case, "cheap" is under £200.
R1916v: most of those are only USB-connected. Only the Ximeta device (on Scan, above), is also ethernet-connected in addition.
15 June 2004, 08:21 AM
#16
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Never do names esp. Joey, spaz or Mong
Posts: 39,688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Buy one of the 400watt ebuyer 6x 3 1/2" bay cases, get an all in one motherboard with processor, ram graphics, sound, gigabit lan, and raid controller card. Should manage this for £70 off e-buyer, fill with cheap SATA drives in RAID array. Connect network together - done.
15 June 2004, 08:44 AM
#17
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Never do names esp. Joey, spaz or Mong
Posts: 39,688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fully integrated motherboards here:
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.a...h&Category=111
from £58 for a 1500 processor - £78 for a 3000 processor
Just add SATA raid controller and as many drives as you need.
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.a...h&Category=111
from £58 for a 1500 processor - £78 for a 3000 processor
Just add SATA raid controller and as many drives as you need.
15 June 2004, 09:03 AM
#18
Going back to yr reply to my first post
Depending how geeky you really are, if you have W2K Server or above, you could install & run SUS Server (see recent thread in this forum for discussion). Auto-patching to yr hearts content!
Otherwise, just leave it unpatched as this device *should* be well inside a protected network & as XP Pro permissions being used etc.
However, to be really really geeky (& the idea appeals to me too) why not install a TRUE File & Print Server in the form of a Novell Netware 4.x or 5.x device? Both support IP, run for years on minimal kit & I'm sure no-one writes viruses for them!
Old no longer used copy from a m8/work/ebay & robust/secure file storage shall be yours.
fed up with patching
Otherwise, just leave it unpatched as this device *should* be well inside a protected network & as XP Pro permissions being used etc.
However, to be really really geeky (& the idea appeals to me too) why not install a TRUE File & Print Server in the form of a Novell Netware 4.x or 5.x device? Both support IP, run for years on minimal kit & I'm sure no-one writes viruses for them!
Old no longer used copy from a m8/work/ebay & robust/secure file storage shall be yours.
15 June 2004, 09:41 AM
#19
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, I've got PC parts a-plenty (thanks lightning101, but I don't need to shop!), including oodles of IDE drives. I've never played with Novell (other than as a 'client'), that sounds interesting. I'd never heard of SUS, so I'll have a read of that. Actually I do have an ununsed W2K Standard Server licence! Maybe I'll have a play with that. It's moving away from my original intention, but I'm always 'up' for learning new stuff.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post