Cool external storage devices

[myktek]

I've noticed that external storage is really popular now these days. i thought I post some links to some cool devices:

SilverStone DS351 External Raid HDD Storage
http://www.tomshardware.com/site/fla...d_storage.html

Drobo
http://www.drobo.com/

[jbartlett777]

I got tired of swapping out my hard drives for larger ones as my media library grew so I opted for the Iomega 1 TB networked storage device. Now when I fill it up (getting close!), I'll just add another one.

Comes with a GB lan.

[Joey Z]

check out www.drobo.com

[Nick Burns]

Originally Posted by myktek

http://www.drobo.com/

I saw a review of this the other day. Quite interesting, but awfully expensive just for the box with no HDDs. I'd also like to see a 10/100/1000mb version rather than just USB.

[RenegadeELEN]

I use an external RAID box for 3TB worth of storage and I have a Networked RAID box with GB Lan but it wasn't fast enought for me. I know, I know, GB Lan should be fast enough but the performance out of the particular unit I had was lacking in consistency so I got stuttering on playbacks of DVDs so I retired it.

[merrypig]

how on earth can a gb lan not handle playback of a dvd? It's only 12Mbps or less!

Hell, you could probably get a dvd to play over 10baseT!



Folks who like to use pools of odd sized disks, much like drobo is touting, could do worse than look into WHS. Yes, WHS means a PC setup, but can do a lot more too. plus you can stuff as many gigabit nics in as you want...

[RenegadeELEN]

I told you. It sounds crazy. But with the unit hooked up I could get good transfer rates and times but when I tried to watch DVDs or videos from it, they were choppy. When I looked at the networking performance it was evident that it wasn't reading constantly at a particular rate but was jumping from a miniscule rate to a high rate and back again.

I don't believe all units do this, it was just mine or the brand of mine. I called the company (US Robotics) and they said that the unit is not recommended for media playback. And that was the end of that for me.

[merrypig]

Sounds like too shallow a fifo on the switch/nic - it'd try and burst data at full rate and then run out, stall and retry.


Note to self; avoid usr..

[Zaap]

I'm cobbling together parts to build a FreeNAS server soon.

I like some of the prebuilt NAS solutions, but once more, when I boil it down to cost-effectiveness, I'd rather go for building a cheap server with tons of PATA and SATA options, and just load it down with excess sub-500 gig drives out of all my other systems. Then I can replace those freed up slots with bigger drives.

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by Zaap

I'm cobbling together parts to build a FreeNAS server soon.

I like some of the prebuilt NAS solutions, but once more, when I boil it down to cost-effectiveness, I'd rather go for building a cheap server with tons of PATA and SATA options, and just load it down with excess sub-500 gig drives out of all my other systems. Then I can replace those freed up slots with bigger drives.

I've had a freenas server for close to two years - very cheap and stable solution for NAS storage. I already have six drives and plenty of room to grow

[Zaap]

Nanook, do you run your FreeNAS off of a CF or USB thumb drive? I'm very curious about doing this. How easy is it to add hard drives and configure them into the system?

Also, do you know if all hard drives need to be the same size in order to run as RAID? I'm guessing from what I've read that they do, but I know I won't have all the same size drives in my system.

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by Zaap

Nanook, do you run your FreeNAS off of a CF or USB thumb drive? I'm very curious about doing this. How easy is it to add hard drives and configure them into the system?

Also, do you know if all hard drives need to be the same size in order to run as RAID? I'm guessing from what I've read that they do, but I know I won't have all the same size drives in my system.

I run it off of a thumb drive. You just need to make sure that your MB supports that type of boot.

Adding drives is pretty simple for me because I don't use raid. But from what I remember, they either need to be the same size or you end up with a raid that limits both to the smaller drive size.

[Nick Burns]

Originally Posted by nanook105

I've had a freenas server for close to two years - very cheap and stable solution for NAS storage. I already have six drives and plenty of room to grow

What setup are you using?
Motherboard?
CPU?
Case?

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by Nick Burns

What setup are you using?
Motherboard?
CPU?
Case?

Asus P5VDC-MX with Celeron D 341 2.93GHz 500 memory combo ($129)
Power Up 5511 Mid Tower with 400 Watt Power Supply ($29)
775 Heat Sync ($29)
(case has 8 3.5 bays plus 4 5.25 bays)
1GB ACP-EP Key Drive ($54)

For a total of $241 for the base unit. Just need to add the drives which I have added over time but only buy on sale/rebate.

[Nick Burns]

Originally Posted by nanook105

Asus P5VDC-MX with Celeron D 341 2.93GHz 500 memory combo ($129)
Power Up 5511 Mid Tower with 400 Watt Power Supply ($29)
775 Heat Sync ($29)
(case has 8 3.5 bays plus 4 5.25 bays)
1GB ACP-EP Key Drive ($54)

For a total of $241 for the base unit. Just need to add the drives which I have added over time but only buy on sale/rebate.

Thanks! That's a very inexpensive setup. I'll have to look into building one.