I currently have a ReadyNAS NV+ that has worked well but that I have now decided to replace as it is too slow. After some experience of using Debian squeeze on another server and inspired by the experience of other people in the forum, I decided not to buy an off the shelf NAS but to build my own.
My proposed build is:
CFI A7879 Case, £89
E35M1-I DELUXE, £91
OCZ Technology 32GB Onyx 32Gb, £50
Kingston Valueram 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1066MHz, £22
disks in from my existing NAS
OS Ubuntu Server
Total £252
Case
I also considered the Chenbro es34169 but decided that the extra £30 was not justified.
Motherboard/CPU
I chose this over something like the Gigabyte GA-D525TUD with Intel Atom D525 as I the CPU is a little faster and 5xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports, 1xExternal SATA 6Gb/s and 2 USB3. I figure this gives me better performance and more options.
I want the NAS to be efficient but powerful. Is it worth spending the extra to get a mobo capable of taking a low TDP CPU such as the i3-2100T or a Xeon E3-1220L (or an MAD equivalent)? Although these have a higher TDP, I understand they are very good when idling, which the NAS will do most of the time, and have the extra power when needed.
OS
Which file system is recommended. I was planning to use ext4 in a RAID 5 eventually, but wondered if XFS will be better? I have also been reading about ZFS, but that would push me towards Opensolaris with which I have no experience. I am also concerend about ZFS performance and a relatively low powered CPU.
I am also toying with the idea of using the box as a VM server, either using KVM, VMWare or Cisco. Will the atom/Zacate processor be pwoerful enough, or do I have to move to a more pwoerful CPU.
I welcome your thoughts and opinions!
Many thanks
Mergwyn
My proposed build is:
CFI A7879 Case, £89
E35M1-I DELUXE, £91
OCZ Technology 32GB Onyx 32Gb, £50
Kingston Valueram 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1066MHz, £22
disks in from my existing NAS
OS Ubuntu Server
Total £252
Case
I also considered the Chenbro es34169 but decided that the extra £30 was not justified.
Motherboard/CPU
I chose this over something like the Gigabyte GA-D525TUD with Intel Atom D525 as I the CPU is a little faster and 5xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports, 1xExternal SATA 6Gb/s and 2 USB3. I figure this gives me better performance and more options.
I want the NAS to be efficient but powerful. Is it worth spending the extra to get a mobo capable of taking a low TDP CPU such as the i3-2100T or a Xeon E3-1220L (or an MAD equivalent)? Although these have a higher TDP, I understand they are very good when idling, which the NAS will do most of the time, and have the extra power when needed.
OS
Which file system is recommended. I was planning to use ext4 in a RAID 5 eventually, but wondered if XFS will be better? I have also been reading about ZFS, but that would push me towards Opensolaris with which I have no experience. I am also concerend about ZFS performance and a relatively low powered CPU.
I am also toying with the idea of using the box as a VM server, either using KVM, VMWare or Cisco. Will the atom/Zacate processor be pwoerful enough, or do I have to move to a more pwoerful CPU.
I welcome your thoughts and opinions!
Many thanks
Mergwyn