let's say my budget is below rm1k, the plan is to build a simple NAS for my home where i can store/backup/share media or files among others pc/iDevices

this is my choices.


1 . Buffalo LSWXL/E Network Enclosure (SATA) + 2 x 2TB HDD
RM260 + <not sure>

2. Apple Time Capsule 2TB
RM999


Question:
1. 2 x 1TB or 2 x 2TB?
which is more reliable, long lasting, trouble free?
1TB vs 2TB?
will 1TB more reliable than 2TB? or not an issue anymore? (cos mostly NAS will be running 24/7, i need it to last longer than 5 year or more)


2. Which model to get?
Since I'm from penang, i got pretty limited choices (but shouldnt be a problem)

1TB 32M (CAVIAR Blue) - RM170
1TB 32M (BARRACUDA) 6 Gb/s - RM180
1TB 64M (AV-GP Green) - RM188
1TB 64M (CAVIAR Black) 6 Gb/s - RM255
2TB 64M (CAVIAR Green) 6 Gb/s- RM255
2TB 64M (BARRACUDA Green) 6 Gb/s - RM262
2TB 64M (AV-GP Green) - RM292
2TB 64M (CAVIAR Black) 6 Gb/s - RM455

I dont have any experience with any 1TB or 2TB hdd, so which should i pick? (Green model should be ok, dont think i need Blak/high performance)


3. While Apple Time Capsule is the more expensive one, it boast 2TB server-grade hard drive.
So should consider quite reliable (i guess)
Easy to configure (compare with Buffalo Link Station Duo)

Why do you want to pay so much more for very simple file sharing? The Buffalo is fine.

How much of storage do you require? I would use the Samsung 2TB HD204UI (x2) in RAID 1.

Perhaps with the cost that you save by getting the Buffalo, you can get WD Black 2TB 7200rpm that gives 5 years warranty but then again, the performance is kind of overkill in that casing.

If you're already willing to pay RM 999 or more, perhaps the best bang for the buck is to get the HP Microserver which has 4 empty bays that you can configure RAID 0 or RAID 1 with 4 drives. Contrary to what people say, if you can install and configure your own OS, you should be able to manage the Microserver for simple file sharing. In fact, you can install Windows 7 on it if you like to make things simple.

well, my plan is to store all my mp3 into 1 place (currently scatter all around, cd, dvd, portable hdd,...)
then use the rest for movie, n stuff.

then share with other pc, or stream mp3 to iphone

Sorry to always ask redundant questions but I seems to be unable to find the HP Proliant microserver N36L in lowyat plaza.. Anyone knows any specific store at which floor got carry this product?

Greatly appreciate your help.. or should i wait for N40L?

If not mistaken, as these are not common consumer products, you will have to get them from HP resellers. Can check out their list of resellers from HP Malaysia website. Saw that the N36L has listed price of between RM1,500 to 1,600

---

Added on October 3, 2011, 1:28 pmIt seems that the HP Proliant N40L comes in 2 different specs.
- 2GB ram c/w 250GB SATA HDD
- 4GB ram c/w 2 x 500GB SATA HDD

The retail price for the 2GB version is USD369.

This post has been edited by kelvyn: Oct 3 2011, 01:28 PM

DS712+ Released???

http://www.synology.com/products/product.p...712%2B&lang=enu

This post has been edited by jinaun: Oct 13 2011, 10:36 PM

any idea how much selling in Malaysia?

i think its replacing ds710+ so it should be priced around there i think

I use FreeNas and have been running it for last 2 years.

My main 'drive' is a CF-card with 512MB so that it sucks less power and boots faster. YOu got to get a IDE-CF adapter for it and I got mine in Singapore for SG29. Alternative use a smallish harddisk should be fine.

MOBO: Gigabyte EP45T-UD3LR Ultra Durable
Got built in 6 SATA ports and best thing is onboard RAID manager from Intel. Only thing that sucks is no onboard graphics card. you'll have to go get yr own basic graphics card. Alternate is to buy a SATA RAID card which is relatively hard to find and costly. You want your home built NAS unit to be cheap and reliable ma.

FreeNAS like most other commercial NAS will allow bitTorrent, Apple music share, workgroup file sharing between PCs, web based admin and config, firewall, etc, etc, etc. you can read on their website. FreeNAS uses Transmission to manage torrents and there is even a Windows based client for Transmission which I use called Transmission remote.

The trick to home made NAS is building a reliable rig that can run 24x7. PSU that can tahan long, protection against dust and heat which is the main killer. I do commercial photography work and store my work on the NAS and have 3x1.5TB on RAID + 1x2TB non RAID where I download my music, videos, books, etc.

This post has been edited by cysun: Nov 5 2011, 09:19 AM

You have to include the running cost and the total guarantee your important data won't be lost or destroy too.

Absolutely right Ozak. I figured with the components I have, the biggest worry for me is the actual harddisks themselves. I run RAID on stripped across the 3 units of 1.5TB Green drives which run at a lower RPM and is designed to work 24x7. Having said that, no RAID setup is fool proof and best practice is to perform backups regularly, no running away from that. With my rig I can segmentize critical data and not-so-critical download data. That's why I keep my movies and music on my non-RAID standalone SATA disk, but all on the same rig. If you go the all-in-one box like Buffalo or D-link, you're limited in that sense.

Different folks, different strokes i guess.

You got to write down cleary the fool proof for your nas setup. And how to set it up. Like

1) protect the nas from power failure.
2) safelly to shutdown to prevent hdd spoil
3) test run your raid is function as what it should be
4) how to counter laziness, no time and forgetful backup
5) how if my nas is destroy by fire or steal by thieft if break in to my house.
6) do I have many stage backup.
7) does my nas running cost is high. How many watt does the total running cost per month.
8) can get my data easily anywhere.
9) do my nas and network will hang. If hang what can I do without I have to go back to reset it.

This is what I do before I setup my nas. I find the answer here, experience and from friend. I too have all my picture and video data in the nas. And it is very important that it 100% fool proof.

Hdd is not biggest worry compare other media.

is HP MicroServer still available for sale?

i've got an old qnap ts239pro and the DOM is 128MB

the firmware i think is bigger now and i have to reinstall firmware twice to actually get all the firmware features working 3.5.1.

eg. fresh install the NAS by using the DOM OS for initial setup and then later update firmware again that is similar version to the DOM to get all features fully working.

i think the build in 128MB DOM does not have enough space.. and i was wondering whether i can upgrade to a bigger third party DOM (was looking at apacer DOM series).. will this eliminate the 2 times install?.. as the warranty is over and i wanted to try it out

This post has been edited by jinaun: Nov 23 2011, 12:20 AM

Want to ask.
Is there any user out there using HP Microserver N40L?
How does Acer Aspire Revo Center fare against HP Microserver?
One benefit I see on Aspire Revo is Hot-Swappable Harddisk. Convenient for offsite backup.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Is the N40L out for sale now in Malaysia? Last I asked in November a HP outlet but it was still not available. If you know where to get one I would like to go buy it liau.

This post has been edited by CocoMonGo: Dec 9 2011, 06:33 PM

My DNS-323 transmission bt is running slow when there are lots of torrent to share...

Accessing it using the transmission bt gui client...

Anyone facing similar issue..

got a Buffalo link station.... it break down too often.... any reliable NAS ?
dlna and time machine is important to me... i just need a reliable NAS

If reliability is your concern, get QNAP, Synology or Drobo

these 3 are truely expensive... I hope something has gotten the N40L and give us a review here soon...