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Archive 2014 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?

  
 
lumis beans
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


I've built a dozen desktops, so snapping the parts together will not be a problem, but I'm totally ignorant on a NAS OS and the particulars.

A few points:

1. The only duty for the NAS would be storage--- DNG files straight from LR.
2. I'd like easy expandability---- pop two more disks in, set up RAID and go (if it can be that simple).
3. Back up the RAID array(s) to an external drive every so often.
4. I assume RAID 1 is the way to go for simplicity in this type of NAS?.

Given that, of FreeNAS and NAS4free which is the better OS?

Any good links on the subject are welcome, too. I've read a bit, but what I find seems to be for usage way beyond basic storage. Thanks.

Here's a list of components I have on hand for the NAS:

ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz
8 GB Memory
(2) 3TB Toshiba HDs to start



Jan 09, 2014 at 08:11 PM
15Bit
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


The best link i think you will find:

http://www.google.com/#q=freenas+vs+nas4free



Jan 10, 2014 at 11:55 AM
Garrett Lynch
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


I'd stick with FreeNAS personally. I've tried Nas4free in a lab and didn't care for the rehash, however, for your needs, either will do well. For 2-Drive, your best setup would be RAID-Z in FreeNAS world (based off ZFS, similar to RAID5).

For my home, I ended up scrapping the whitebox solution and went with a Synology DS412+ which has been perfect for my needs (Keep in mind my background - I manage an IT firm for corporate offices).

For any NAS drive, I would strongly recommend using a WD Red drive or any enterprise drive to help avoid array issues, however, FreeNAS' software may help compensate for that (for your toshiba drives).

Hope this helps a tiny bit.

Garrett



Jan 20, 2014 at 10:58 PM
Sarsfield
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


My brother just built a home server and used Windows Server. Painless, flawless and super easy to set up. He got Windows Home Server for about $30 from somewhere. I use both a QNAP and Synology servers in my home and the QNAP has been running 4 years non-stop and the Synology for 2. I have only had to replace one drive on the QNAP and it was simple to replace. The Raid (5) rebuilt itself in about 8 hours with the data still being accessible the whole time. I know it's fun to build your own but I'm not sure you save that much anymore by doing so. If I had to do it over again, I would still stick with either a Synology or QNAP server and the WD Red drives. Their software makes it very easy to accomplish just about anything and the learning curve requires a minimal amount of time.

Edited on Jan 22, 2014 at 09:00 PM · View previous versions



Jan 21, 2014 at 12:50 PM
Garrett Lynch
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


Just to add to Sarsfield, QNAP or Synology are both great. I've owned both brands and used nearly every model from desktop to rack and they're all good. QNAP's recent OS upgrade was nice jump to compete with Synology's OS. Super easy to use and does everything you need in a nice little box. Ridiculously easy to expand if you want to scale later (buy a 4-bay unit).

As for Server, coming from that being my specialty, if you want to learn a little and get your feet wet, it's a great way to do it. The $30 price is a little phishy though... (Server 2012 Essentials is ~$400). There's always EDU copies if you go through a university.



Jan 21, 2014 at 05:18 PM
hondageek
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


I built a FreeNAS machine (1 volume, 6 drives, RaidZ2) a couple of years ago. I used parts from a custom PC that I upgraded. I found out the hard way that FN can be very finicky when it comes to hardware. Some configurations of CPU, MB, etc just don't work. My machine booted up fine, built volumes fine, and everything worked great for a few days. I soon started having random freezing and reboots. I haven't been able to diagnose the problem and FN is not mainstream enough for me to get any local help. It's been collecting dust since a week or so after I built it. Most of the online forums are super tweaker level guys that don't really want to help a newb. I suggest finding a "known good" hardware config and copy it.


Jan 22, 2014 at 11:40 AM
lumis beans
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


Thanks, All.


Jan 22, 2014 at 08:44 PM
ilikeglass
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


To use ZFS a server grade motherboard with ECC memory is strongly recommended. With non ECC - a flipped bit in your memory will result in catastrophic data loss.

With the above hardware I'd use NAS4FREE with UFS as opposed to ZFS.

Don't take my word for it. Go to the FREENAS and/or NAS4FREE forums.


lumis beans wrote:
I've built a dozen desktops, so snapping the parts together will not be a problem, but I'm totally ignorant on a NAS OS and the particulars.

A few points:

1. The only duty for the NAS would be storage--- DNG files straight from LR.
2. I'd like easy expandability---- pop two more disks in, set up RAID and go (if it can be that simple).
3. Back up the RAID array(s) to an external drive every so often.
4. I assume RAID 1 is the way to go for simplicity in this type of NAS?.

Given that, of FreeNAS and
...Show more



Feb 21, 2014 at 12:38 PM
sivrajbm
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


One Word...Synology


Feb 21, 2014 at 12:41 PM
15Bit
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


ilikeglass wrote:
To use ZFS a server grade motherboard with ECC memory is strongly recommended. With non ECC - a flipped bit in your memory will result in catastrophic data loss.

I thought the point of ZFS was to avoid exactly that sort of corruption.



Feb 23, 2014 at 04:08 AM
pmiller228
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


I built a freeNAS server a little over a year ago. If I did it again I'd use synology or qnap. It works fine but there is no easy way to maintain a cloud backup. And I'd use WD red drives instead of blacks. They are fast but ridiculously loud.


Feb 26, 2014 at 11:53 AM
graeme
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


sivrajbm wrote:
One Word...Synology


I will second that -- I used to build my own machines and run RAID and as NAS, but got a 1511+ a while ago and the thing is bomb proof with great admin support and good apps (IOS etc).




Mar 01, 2014 at 05:23 PM
ilikeglass
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · NAS - FreeNAS or NAS4free?


15Bit wrote:
I thought the point of ZFS was to avoid exactly that sort of corruption.


It is not recommended to use ZFS with non-ECC memory.
http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/ecc-vs-non-ecc-ram-and-zfs.15449/

What works great is RAID with UFS instead of ZFS. This is an option with NAS4Free, and I assume FreeNAS.
I have a RAID5 UFS setup, with FTP, SMB and NFS services. Server grade hardware is not needed since UFS is less sensitive to bad memory. Flakey memory with ZFS can be catastrophic for your data. UFS is much more resilient, but doesn't have the benefits of ZFS.



Mar 25, 2014 at 11:03 AM





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