Network Storage

Fraggle1 · **26th November 2006, 02:57 PM**

Hi guys,

I am thinking of getting a NAS (network attached storage) and was wondering if anyone has a recommendation.

I would quite like a NAS that can use SATA disks as most of my disks are now SATA.
Ideally I would also like it not to come with disks and be able to hold 2.

So far I am looking at either:

• Vantec NST-360LS-BK (even though it only holds one disk. I have the eSATA/USB version and am very happy with it)
• NETGEAR SC101 Storage Central - NAS server (its not SATA and I hear that it uses a proprietary disk format not NTFS)

I was thinking of using it to store recorded TV etc from MCE, through a wired network connection.

Any recommendations/comments appreciated.

F.

MJW · **26th November 2006, 03:32 PM**

Fraggle

I recently installed a Maxtor Shared Storage Plus (300Gb) on my home network

It backs up through my network to both my desktop which is wired to my netgear router and my laptop (wirelessly)

Very simple to install but it WONT ghost the entire drive for you. Anything including the OS and currently running applications on the particular machine you are backing up wont' get backed up

Despite that, it does the job and has media streaming capabilities although I haven't set this up yet

Cheers

Mick

TiggerK · **26th November 2006, 05:13 PM**

I've heard many bad things about the Netgear box, probably best avoided.

Depending on your budget, the Thecus N2100 boxes are pricey, but very good.

http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=1&pid=1

Cheers
TiggerK

Fraggle1 · **26th November 2006, 05:38 PM**

Hi TiggerK,

Thanks for the feedback on the N2100 but at more than $440 without disks its just not going to get executive sign-off (wife). It looks great however I think something a bit cheaper and less flash is going to have to pop up.

Mick, Thanks for the heads up on the Maxtor Shared Storage Plus it looks great and I am sure would work well however I would prefer something that took 2 SATA disks.

Thanks gain for the input guys, any information is good even if it helps me change my priorities.

F

impact · **26th November 2006, 07:14 PM**

The problem with most of these devices is that they do not power down the hdd properly - thus giving the possibility of killing your hdd quicker than normal - source dansdata.com

Your better off getting an old pc and using win xp to share the drives or install a free linux on it - that way you can expand as neccessary - 2 drives today, 5 drives next year... and unless your using raid - the drive sizes can be differing sizes without loss of capacity

pantonious · **26th November 2006, 07:54 PM**

expanding on what impact was saying...

take a look at

www.freenas.org

it works very well!!! and is completly free!

Fraggle1 · **26th November 2006, 08:14 PM**

Hi Guys,

you are both right, an old PC acting as a file server would be a great option and I did run that for a long time. I went all the way and had a server acting as a domain controller. It was fairly easy to set up and also a good learning experience.
Since then I have moved house and the family has expended so the amount of room for PCs etc has reduced (even my study is under attack as a bedroom!). Even now it is used as a guests room so having a PC spinning away in the corner doesnt help some people sleep (this may however stop unwanted guests

).

Does anyone use NAS for storing MCE TV?

F

gibbo9000 · **27th November 2006, 07:16 AM**

I used the Netgear SC101 for a while - and am a fan of it as an concept given size, dual disks, mirroring etc. - but ultimately I found it just wasn't stable enough.

Its architecture means it runs a client on each PC that needs to see the SC101 device, and this has proved not to be 100% reliable. They may have worked through this now (go to the Netgear OZ site and read the forum discussions on the SC101 - it is all there), but if they haven't you may find there are times when the MCE wakes up and, for whatever reason, can't see the SC101 box. Then two things then happen: a) MCE sulks cos it can't find a drive that is meant to be there (and causes all sorts of immediate and ongoing grief around standby etc.); and b) The service that runs on the PC and is meant to find the SC101 gets really excited and hammers the network looking for the missing device (in earlier versions running a very effective Denial of Service Attack) creating another set of performance issues. It also uses a proprietary disk format, so if something fails you can't put the disk elsewhere and read it.

The issues that caused this appeared to be related to type of disk used, and some of the smart software to help the drives sleep (but didn't always wake them up). I also had MCE on wireless, and that made it even worse.

So after 6 months or persevering I replaced mine with dedicated file server PC as suggested in earlier posts. I went for cheap mobo/processor etc. - and just made sure I had it a case that had lots of disk drive space. But fortunately I did have space to put it . . . .

Gibbo

Fraggle1 · **27th November 2006, 07:22 PM**

Hi Gobbo,

Thanks for the heads up on the Netgear SC101. I was a bit concerned over the disks not being a standard format and the idea of needing special client software doesnt sound great. I have toyed with using the NAS for storing MP3's, movies etc but if its not 100% then its next to useless.

Anyone got a SAN that does work?

F.

Banjo · **27th November 2006, 07:32 PM**

D-link have an external storage unit coming that will take SATA drives and has a Gigabit network card. The gigabit card is required to take advantage of the higher speeds that SATA can deliver.

http://www.dlink.com.au/Products.asp...Sub2=9&PID=287

D-link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure

(Aud$424.95 via pre-order at expansys)

Takes two SATA HDDs

STANDARDS
• IEEE 802.3
• IEEE 802.3u
• IEEE 802.3ab
SUPPORTED HARD DRIVE TYPE
• Up to 2 SATA-standard drives of any capacity size
• 3.5-inch internal
PORTS
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Port
• USB Print Server Port
• Power
DRIVE MANAGEMENT
• Four different hard drive configurations
• Scandisk
• E-mail alerts
• Defrag
• Power management
DEVICE MANAGEMENT
• Internet Explorer v6 or other Java-enabled browser

HARD DRIVE CONFIGURATIONS
Standard mode: creates two separately accessible hard drives
JBOD: combines both drives in a linear fashion for maximum space efficiency
RAID 0: combines both drives in a “striped” configuration, which provides the highest performance, enabling speeds of up to 23MBps-read and 15MBps-write (184/120Mbps respectively) when using a Gigabit Ethernet connection
RAID 1: makes the drives mirror each other, for back-up purposes. If one drive fails while configured as RAID 1, the unaffected drive continues to function as a single drive until the failed drive is replaced
In addition, the DNS-323 includes a USB Print Server for printing from any computer on the network and a fan to prevent overheating.

vlad · **27th November 2006, 07:33 PM**

I have a Promise RAID card in my server and 8x300 Gb HDD's.
If I did it again I would go for Thecus - but after $800 investment in RAID card my choice is clear(WAF will kill me in my sleep - or so she promised

). If you have a spare box then you choice is much wider - just get a 200$ Raid card and populate with HDD's. But that will be all you box does. So plus the hardware costs of it to the total ROE.
Good luck, I was working in storage area for 15 years now - so ask anything. NAS is the way to go - or so it seems