View Full Version : A rather cool NAS - anyone else have one?
Readers in the UK will find a significant bargain on the Maxtor Shared Storage II this weekend for 99 pounds (as opposed to about 150). It is only the 320GB, but you can always format and install your 2TB drive next year. :)
This little baby comes with a small distro of Linux, so with a bit of help, you can telnet in and use twonky. Moreover, it supports a USB hub! It automounts my four USB hard drives better than Mepis, and talks to my four-year-old USB stick!
/ # df -k
Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda6 306407192 98424 303195856 0% /share
/dev/sdb1 20472816 16 20472800 0% /mnt/HTS42121_0H9AT00_1
/dev/sdb5 77200324 68344 77131980 0% /mnt/HTS42121_0
/dev/sdc1 245111704 221035316 24076388 90% /mnt/Maxtor_6_B250R0
/dev/sdd1 60050300 42566064 17484236 71% /mnt/IC35L060_AVER07-0
/dev/sde1 312568640 312439856 128784 100%
/dev/sdf1 256756 246746 10010 96% /mnt/256MB_HardDrive_/mnt/Hitachi_HDT725032V
I have no relationship whatsoever with the high-street electronics firm offering this deal (well, except that I bought the bloody thing, obviously), and have only scratched the surface wrt its hackability.
BOFH
Bushfiva
26th Aug 2007, 14:46
It's a very nice toy, but it is exactly that. Anyone playing with NAS would expect the NAS device to exhibit robustness and redundancy, which this box doesn't achieve. No matter how it's dressed up, it's just a hard drive. No problems with that per se, but it's not a serious backup target.
I suppose I'd consider it as a backup target, but I wouldn't want my only copy of anything on there. If data is not in two or more separate places, it could be lost at any time. Some NAS boxes do RAID-1 (drive mirroring), e.g. the D-Link DNS-323.
At least this one supports Linux & Macs: avoid the Western Digital boxes, which work via some bizarre 3rd-party Windows driver. :suspect:
Bushfiva and bnt
important stuff goes on here:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc71/richardhertz_photos/RAID.jpg
and when I really mean it, ends up here:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc71/richardhertz_photos/DLT.jpg
I share your skepticism of these boxes' reliability. Where this little angel shines is in its versatility as a media server. Now if I can only squeeze Azureus onto it...
BOFH
That's not a nice NAS. A cheap one, yes, but not a nice one.
Now this, this, is a nice NAS. QNAP TS-109 (https://www.ripcaster.co.uk/node/62) Features (http://www.qnap.com.tw/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=78)
Just bought one with a 1Tb drive with a Squeezebox to replace my old SLIMP3 box. :ok::ok:
ORAC
quite - I have seen those babies around. Very sweet equipment, but at what point does it make more sense buying a smallish desktop with the config and OS you want?
The comparison can be rendered metaphorically by my having said that they are selling Golfs at competitive prices today, and your chiming in to say that they are rubbish - get a Porsche.
The only reason I drew attention to the Maxtor was that its price was now in double digits, and it's not confined to Windows. If you are blowing more than 200 quid on this sort of solution, you need to be chained up if you don't get a cheap desktop and appropriate storage.
BOFH
important stuff goes on here:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...hotos/RAID.jpg (http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc71/richardhertz_photos/RAID.jpg)
Hey, you can't beat the "classic beige" Compaq Proliants - built like tanks, complete with soundtrack. Don't know if I'd want one of those in my living room if I was trying to watch TV, or listen to anyone talk... :hmm:
Saab Dastard
27th Aug 2007, 23:54
You don't need a server to have a RAID array - either a NAS device with RAID 1 or 5, or else a SATA RAID 1 array in your PC will do the job just as well (and a lot more quietly)!
An old Proliant is all very well, but so energy inefficient. Just think of the enviroment (and I don't just mean your living room) :ouch:
SD
If you are blowing more than 200 quid on this sort of solution, you need to be chained up if you don't get a cheap desktop and appropriate storage. Naah, I've fiddled around for years with old PCs running as storage in the background and with NAS boxes which couldn't stream media by themselves. The end result was you always had to have a PC running somewhere on the network.
I wanted a software solution. I investigated PCs running Linux from Compact Flash, Mini/Nano ITX motherboards etc. Never found anyhting which would suit me.
But this is just what I want. Passively cooled, will stream all my media and will also stream internet radio and I can just plug it into my WiFi router and pick it up with suitable HiFi and radio devices such as my Archos 605 WiFi.
terrain safe
28th Aug 2007, 20:27
Just ordered one of those Maxtor Nas's from an online retailer for just over £91 including delivery. Looking forward to getting it to act as a pool of all the pc's in the houses data.
Terrain
they are okay but poor value for storage. As ORAC and others have said, it's a toy, and there are disparate solutions, which, for more money, might save you time and tears. For me, the fun is trying to hack this beggar into doing something different. Its preconfigured software blows goat.
Proliant fans
Well spotted, but you weren't looking at a Proliant, only the cage (it parted company with the server about six years ago). It is connected to an Adaptec card in my main machine. Makes a lovely noise as it spools up. Whirr!
It comes with its own wee PSU drawing 50W and only runs for a hour a day if it is being used. As my only child died and we haven't needed to own a car for the last eight years, my conscience is relatively clear when it comes to its carbon footprint.
BOFH