NAS build

[Jetster]

Question; Ho do you navigate to a public folder (or PC) on you network that does not show up under network

I managed to find it by using a shortcut to my Synology NAS, then changing the name to my BuiltNAS then I can access my shared folders

I'm sure I'm just having a brain lock up. BTW I'm using UnRaid now

 

[Kursah]

UNC path from Windows: \\FILESERVERNAME

I'm assuming you're attempting to access your NAS from a Windows workstation? If so, open File Explorer (manilla envelope icon) and in the address bar you'd type the UNC path, \\YOURNAS, \\BuiltNAS or \\IP ADDRESS, either should work.

Depending on how your DNS is setup, the system's network name may or may not be accessible. Using your router, which most do for DNS, should provide this if all devices look at your router for DNS. Otherwise, accessing devices by name over UNC may not work reliably if at all.

 

[Jetster]

Thank you.... its was the \\ I was missing.

 

[Jetster]

So here is where I am. I was able to get it running with UnRAID, created a group and user, permissions and it worked. Then deleted that and I went back to FreeNAS, created a dataset, group, user and got it working too. So I feel like I'm making some headway. Both these I set up wit just one drive for now. I have three drive coming Monday. Still looking at RAID controller cards. Its still really confusing but I'm learning. UnRAID seams easier to get set up. FreeNAS seams to be more secure and has more options. Just my first impression, may not be the case. Both are almost twice as fast as my Synology NAS

 

[LFaWolf]

Last time when I researched FreeNAS I remembering reading a raid controller card is not recommended, as FreeNAS is supposed using a software raid and want to have as much control as possible. My recollection could be wrong but you might want to check the FreeNAS forums.

 

[Jetster]

Last time when I researched FreeNAS I remembering reading a raid controller card is not recommended, as FreeNAS is supposed using a software raid and want to have as much control as possible. My recollection could be wrong but you might want to check the FreeNAS forums.

No your right, if you use a controller card you have to set it in HBA mode. I was wanting to try a hardware RAID with Linux. Im not sure which route I want to go yet

My plan is to build this to back up my Synology NAS that is in RAID 0. Then eventually switch them as a built NAS has much more potential and speed

 

[Jetster]

Just an update, I have three drives running in RAIDZ on FreeNAS up for 2 days now. Just working it hard and learning more about servers, permissions, VM, SSD Swap disks, Plex server. Stuff like that monitoring the system. Its working well. Easily saturates my network at 113 Mbs sec. Only 50% CPU utilization with 6 of 8 Gb ram being used.

I've heard a couple of different opinions about software vs hardware RAIDS so I'm still up for any opinions at this point. Looking for a deal on a controller card but I'll let this run for a bit to see how it holds up.
Any imput is welcome

 

[Aquinus]

I've heard a couple of different opinions about software vs hardware RAIDS so I'm still up for any opinions at this point. Looking for a deal on a controller card but I'll let this run for a bit to see how it holds up.
Any imput is welcome

What do you plan on using the NAS for? More often than not, software RAID is more than enough for what people are going to use a NAS for. A RAID card becomes nice when you need every little bit of bandwidth with minimal latency or every drop of CPU performance (likely for something like an application server or database,) and even then, it still might be enough. When I had a tower running as my gateway/vm host/nas, MDADM with 3 disk RAID-5 was good enough for just about everything I did on the machine. It wasn't the fastest but, it was fast enough.

 

[Jetster]

That's basically it, just a NAS and back up for a few systems. Right now its just backing up my other NAS. The speed is good. Would like to test its reliability

Is there software I could stress the server? Or could someone help me write a batch file to keep it busy for a while. You know to test its reliability? Or have ay other ideas?

Eventually this will be my NAS, I just want to understand everything and make sure its reliable before I use it

 

[phill]

I run a Synology hack system, been running wonderfully with 6 4Tb WD Reds for about a year now.. Very stable I find unless numpty here plays with it, it can get plenty of updates which is good if you want to keep updating it but tend to leave alone to be honest..

I can put up some screen shots if anyone requires Using a G3258, 16Gb ram (way over the top, think 4Gb would do...), the WD Reds, raid 1 for the drives, 3 sets of drives.. Using an Asrock board I think, 6 SATA ports on board and a basic 2 SATA 3 extension PCIe card that was about £15 I think.. Put in an Fractal 804 case.. I like it, certainly does the job Just remember extra drives for the backups of the raided drives you have in the NAS box.. I don't treat raid 1 as a back up setup.....

 

[Jetster]

Scored a used lsi sas9211-8i for $35. It's an HBA card to add more drives. I'll see if I can get it working

 

[TheLostSwede]

I'd suggest looking at https://www.openmediavault.org/ for those of you considering building your own NAS. It's easy to install and runs on top of Debian. It might not be quite as fully featured as FreeNAS, but it's a solid option if you don't need a thousand different add-ons. That said, there is a dedicated website for plugins for OMV and most of the commonly used things are available http://www.omv-extras.org/

 

[Jetster]

Update:
Installed LSI SAS 9211 8i

Plugged my three drives into it. Booted to FreeNas. The RAIDZ Array is still intact. Able to read smart data and it appears to work fine. That was easy
So now I have 8 additional SATA ports. I noticed some people put fans on the card. Its a little hot, should I? Its right at 140f 60c

FreeNAS
Hardware:
Pentium G3258
Z97 Asrock Board
DDR3 1600 8Gb
LSI SAS 9211 8i Host Buss Adapter
3 X HGST Ultrastar 3Tb drives

Now to get more 3 Tb drives

 

[phill]

I think the LSI card might be a bit overkill but depending on the NAS software you use, I'm sure it will possibly help the performance of the hard drives installed Please do keep everyone updated I can run a few tests from my WD Reds and Synology if you'd like to compare just for fun sake

 

[Aquinus]

I noticed some people put fans on the card. Its a little hot, should I? Its right at 140f 60c

These cards are typically put into servers where there is airflow over the cards. I would put a fan or something if airflow is relatively poor. Also, if you have the controller and are using 8 disks or less, I would let the RAID card handle the RAID, it's likely to be far faster to read, write, and rebuild.

 

[phill]

Update:
Installed LSI SAS 9211 8i
So now I have 8 additional SATA ports. I noticed some people put fans on the card. Its a little hot, should I? Its right at 140f 60c

I found the same thing with my Adaptec 5405 and 5805 cards, airflow definitely needed, one reason why I decided against using them in my NAS box.. The software one was more than decent enough for what I wanted to do

 

[Jetster]

I found the same thing with my Adaptec 5405 and 5805 cards, airflow definitely needed, one reason why I decided against using them in my NAS box.. The software one was more than decent enough for what I wanted to do

Yeah i'm going to have to play with some fan comfigurations. I put a 140 in the side panel now its a little loud. Maybe a small 80 mm on the card might be better

 

[phill]

Any air flow is better than nothing, if you have something quiet, that will be more than enough just to keep the card cool

 

[Jetster]

Any air flow is better than nothing, if you have something quiet, that will be more than enough just to keep the card cool

Yeah the 80 mm is much better

 

[Aquinus]

It's worth noting that most server hardware runs on the assumption that there is some airflow from the chassis because there are usually fans mounted along the length of the server to push air across the entire chassis and further more, even plastic guides to force airflow in certain directions. So whenever using server hardware, it's worth keeping that in mind.

 

[Jetster]

I was looking at Chenbro server cases and motherboards on e bay just to get the drive bays and the back plan but I didn't think it was worth the extra cost this time.
This will work

 

[Jetster]

So I ran both NASs thru a power draw meter from the wall to check the power use

My NAS build was 55 watts idle and 70 watts transferring files

My Synology DS216 Play was 23 watts idle and 32 watts transferring files

I'll do some 1080 streams later my guess is the build will handle much more

 

[Aquinus]

So I ran both NASs thru a power draw meter from the wall to check the power use

My NAS build was 55 watts idle and 70 watts transferring files

My Synology DS216 Play was 23 watts idle and 32 watts transferring files

I'll do some 1080 streams later my guess is the build will handle much more

I bet the transfer rate on the NAS build is probably better if they're not both already saturating 1Gbps Ethernet.

 

[Jetster]

I bet the transfer rate on the NAS build is probably better if they're not both already saturating 1Gbps Ethernet.

They both saturate it to my SSD 113 Mbs but when transferring files to the Synology its more like 60 Mbs. The built one saturates both directions

One plus about the Synology is it's dead silent

 

[Jetster]

I was looking at NAS cases. Ran across this company in Tulsa OK http://www.u-nas.com/xcart/home.php