DIY or buy used?

[ypar]

Hi everybody,

I am looking for a new NAS solution for my office.

1. SITUATION

I use with video files and animations a lot. The big video files for editing are kept on the local machine, but animations, graphics, sounds, etc etc should be accessible from different machines (Windows - getting less, Macs - becoming more) over the network.

A typical project is: hundreds of image files in various directorys, some large files (like sounds or huge graphics) and mostly graphic applications.

Speed is important, to a lesser extent is data security, because only the "results" need to be backuped once a project is finished, so I don't have to keep *everything* forever.

SOLUTION 2A. USED NAS RAID5

I could buy a used (approx. 1 year old) Zyxel NSA-2400 with 4 500 GB discs installed for approx. 500 USD.

Pro:
- Plugin, install, works - that's it
- Might still have manufacturers support
- Has been tested by others

Cons:
- How good is the performance with Mac? (doesnt support AFP?)
- Performance is good, but not great

SOLUTION 2B: DIY RAID

I have a ASUS P5B Deluxe Board that comes with 6 SATA plugs and makes
RAID 5 possible out of the box. I would have to buy disks, to some work in the basement and have a 1GB Ubuntu RAID monster.

Pros:
- Performance is fantastic (?)
- Might come cheap, I only need to buy the drives
- Can put more disks in/configure it any way I want to

Cons:
- PC Hardware fails more quickly? (Rumor?)
- Powerhungry
- I might run into some bizarre problem during setup and spend xmas and new year in the basement trying to figure them out (you KNOW what I mean )



I'm sorry for the long post, but I tried to cover my need as thoroughly as possible.


If anyone could give me some advice, I would be very thankful.

thanks
ypar

 

[justin2net]

definitely the DIY.

1. the failure rate is probably higher because of the extra points where it could fail, but i don't think this is should be a huge concern.

2. powerhungry, definitely. does depend on what processor you pick, i think you could manage sub 75W easily with lowest CPU state, but still thats alot compared to a small NAS box

3. relatively simple setup, you have lots of options (openfiler, freenas, naslite, unraid, etc.)

but with a dedicated PC you can do lots more upgrades, add a RAID card later, or dual gigabit cards, etc, MUCH faster.