NAS + RAID 5 to backup a computer or two...advice needed.

[porthacking]

I am just about to build a new computer that will also act as a media server. It will store about 600gig of music (and constantly growing), and my entire DVD and Bluray archive (about 2TB and also constantly growing). The computer will also have my photo library, and a large amount of home movies etc etc. The computer will probably have something like 5TB of storage. I don't want to use a NAS for this at this stage as my computer will be the only one on my network. When this changes in a few years I will setup a dedicated NAS for media.

In the meantime, I want to make sure that my computer is sufficiently backed up. I was thinking about buying/building (I'll probably build) a NAS to act as a backup server. I'll probably configure for RAID 5 or 6.

I haven't built anything for a while and would love some advice.

Is a RAID NAS a good storage solution for a backup?
Does anyone have any links to good articles on building a RAD 5/6 NAS?
Any advice on Hardware vs. software RAID controllers?
What software is good to run the backup? For instance, I probably want something equivalent to Apple Time Machine (although I'll be running a PC), but at the same time I'll probably also keep clean install ghosts as well.
I'd like a set and forget system that automatically backs up either every day, or after every change to the system.
Any advice or opinions on building a NAS over buying one?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am not set on this setup and can easily be convinced to look at other options.

Also, my small network will be running as below (I'm sharing accommodation at the moment and sharing internet)...
Shared Router --> My Router (subnet) --> 8 port gigabit switch with jumbo frames support and VLANs setup. I might also be setting up a VPN.
Any suggestions for overall security? I am behind the times on hardware and software firewalls and have had problems with programs like Norton blocking internet connection before, so just wondering what people thought? Anti hacking, spam, etc and virus protection.

 

[HDClown]

Here's my opinion:

Is a RAID NAS a good storage solution for a backup?

Yes and No. Since you have already indicated that you plan to use your desktop as primary storage, having a copy of your data on another disk/set of disks is the first step in having a backup. A NAS is always online, and easy to backup to on a recurring schedule. So this is where "yes" comes in. Where my "no" comes in is more of a personal preference. NAS is always online, always plugged into power. Potential places for failure. Being always plugged in, even with surge/UPS provides a unique possibility of loosing both your primary PC and the NAS, and all your data. No very likely with proper protection, but a remote possibility. You should also have something that's not always plugged in and online, like a regular ole external USB or eSATA disk, that you only plug in once a day, week, month, etc. to update your backup. If it's not plugged into any electrical source, it can't get fried. So I don't think it's ideal as an ONLY backup source.

If you are going to use a NAS for backup only, RAID5/RAID6 is excessive cost IF you can fit all your data within a 2TB. If so, than 2x2TB in RAID1 is adequate.

Does anyone have any links to good articles on building a RAD 5/6 NAS?

hardforum.com is the best resource for this in my opinion. You have a ton of options here and a lot of them are based around what you want to do and what type of OS you are familiar with (namely windows based vs nix based)

Any advice on Hardware vs. software RAID controllers?

Good hardware RAID will severely increase your cost, but to get equivalent software RAID performance, you need faster processors, so costs can start to equalize. Number of drives comes into play as well on the hardware RAID cost in particular.

What software is good to run the backup? For instance, I probably want something equivalent to Apple Time Machine (although I'll be running a PC), but at the same time I'll probably also keep clean install ghosts as well.
I'd like a set and forget system that automatically backs up either every day, or after every change to the system.

I like K.I.S.S.. And to me, this means something like RoboCopy, Rsync, DeltaCopy (Rsync for windows), ViceVersaPro, or some other similar, very easy to use program.

Any advice or opinions on building a NAS over buying one?

If you have a cache of spare parts, building your own can save you a ton of cash. If we look at software RAID only (or Windows Home Server), you can still typically get better performance from a build your own as compared to buying one. A quick example. For abour $550, you can buy build your own NAS based around a mini-ITX case, Core i3 processor, 2gigs of RAM, and a case that can support up to 6 HDD's. When you look at what $550 buys you in an off-the-shelf NAS, you can get a single core Atom D510 int he new ReadyNAS Ultra 4, but the Core i3 processor will blow it away in terms of performance. However, there is now trade-off in building your own in terms managing the NAS, separate warranties for separate products, supporting yourself, dealing with failure scenarios with only online community assistance, etc.

In general, if someone is looking to use the NAS as a primary storage source, I would not advise anyone to build their own NAS unless they are very computer saavy. However, if the NAS is going to be used strictly as a backup source, then it's more up in the air.

Since you state you want to start with backup only, but also move to primary, you are in somewhat of a predicament (IMO). A backup only NAS can be slow and cheap. It just holds files. Low end 2 disk NAS is perfect. You can get something for $200. However, that's not good enough (IMO) as a primary use NAS. You want something more powerful. 2 disk may be fine (depending on your storage needs), but now you want to be into another level of device that has a faster processor, and thus a higher cost. You may also need 4 drives to provide RAID5/RAID6 while still maintaing the storage space you need, another cost increase. Additionally, a NAS can do a lot more than serve files and stream media. And if you start to use those additional features, you want more processing capability, so that $200 good for backup NAS isn't sufficient to me.

Me personally, I am very familiar with computers. Windows, Windows Server, Linux/Debian/etc. I was looking at doing Windows Home Server, Server 2008, or something like OpenFiler/FreeNAS. I ended up buying a QNAP. I use my NAS as primary storage, and while I could reliably run anything I want on a complete DIY build, I just didn't want to deal with all the initial setup and maintenance. For the most part, it's all hands off to me and it works great. But the QNAP (as well as Synology/ReadyNAS) also provides capabilities for customization of the linux subsystem at varying levels (depending on the product). So I end up with the best of both worlds. There was a price premium however.