looking to add more storage-but need external

[johnmacd]

I would like more storage to my existing system, however I have run out of parallel ports and room to physically mount the drives. I do have 1 external USB drive and so far that works fine. But I would like to add maybe 4 or so more PATA drives (I have several already).
Is there a way to add an external box that would hold 4 or more PATA drives? I'm unaware of any external USB devices that would handle that many drives. And I'm not sure if you can add that many USB drives. Any advice? Thanks

[mockware]

Funny you should ask. I'm currently looking at an ambitious project. A "movie server" that will store > 1000 DVDs. Here is a place I found for that:

http://www.pc-pitstop.com/

[Bigbird999]

You have the hard drives so you can set up a NAS server using up to 4 IDE drives on an old 486/P2/P3 box very cheaply. I use NASLite+ http://www.serverelements.com/naslite-plus.php
It is one of several NAS software solutions, cheap ($25) and works like a charm. I think others use FreeNAS. Search the forums for NAS, there are several threads.

[johnmacd]

Mockware- Thanks, but I'm unsure at what item you are refering to.

Bibbird- Thanks to you too. I'm sure I have enough spare parts to build another PC. I had thought about building another machine to house more drives, but hadnt thought about NAS. I have 6 tuners, 1 BTV server and 1 Link machine. Do you think that a wired network could really handle all that traffic????
I'm gonna look into the NAS, it does look promising.

[mockware]

I'd go with Bigbird's route if you got the parts. I currently use shared drives on a wired lan and have 3 movies going at one time on the 100 Mb lan with bandwidth to spare.

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by johnmacd

Mockware- Thanks, but I'm unsure at what item you are refering to.

Bibbird- Thanks to you too. I'm sure I have enough spare parts to build another PC. I had thought about building another machine to house more drives, but hadnt thought about NAS. I have 6 tuners, 1 BTV server and 1 Link machine. Do you think that a wired network could really handle all that traffic????
I'm gonna look into the NAS, it does look promising.

I have a similar config and don't have any network issues (I have a GB network). I'm using local storage on each of the servers, an external firewire TB storage device, and a FreeNAS server

[Bigbird999]

I have a similar config and don't have any network issues (I have a GB network). I'm using local storage on each of the servers, an external firewire TB storage device, and a FreeNAS server

and a big ventilated closet to house all that hardware

BB

[johnmacd]

It seems like several people on this board do use NAS, but I thought BTV doesnt support NAS?

[mockware]

Originally Posted by johnmacd

It seems like several people on this board do use NAS, but I thought BTV doesnt support NAS?

BTV doesn't reconnect after the connection has been broken. You have to get out of BTV/BM to reconnect the drive. That is what "doesn't support" means.

[johnmacd]

Originally Posted by mockware

BTV doesn't reconnect after the connection has been broken. You have to get out of BTV/BM to reconnect the drive. That is what "doesn't support" means.

Hmmm, I've suspected this. Every now and then my BTV Link machine would loose the ability to watch live TV and see all of the recorded shows. Usually closing Link and restarting it fixes the problem.

If NAS works the same way and looses connection and doesnt automatically reconnect, then I guess using NAS wouldnt be that good of a solution for recording shows. That's a bummer.

Then I go back to my orginal question. Is there some external storage box I could connect directly to my server to add more drives?

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by Bigbird999

and a big ventilated closet to house all that hardware

BB

Not quite, but hopefully this weekend (fans are being delivered today )

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by johnmacd

Hmmm, I've suspected this. Every now and then my BTV Link machine would loose the ability to watch live TV and see all of the recorded shows. Usually closing Link and restarting it fixes the problem.

If NAS works the same way and looses connection and doesnt automatically reconnect, then I guess using NAS wouldnt be that good of a solution for recording shows. That's a bummer.

Then I go back to my orginal question. Is there some external storage box I could connect directly to my server to add more drives?

I don't have any issues with lost connections and my FreeNAS server, but maybe it's because I use UNC paths to connect

BTV does not support recording directly to the NAS devices

I use one the 1TB version of this device (and I can record to it):

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10452

[mockware]

I should clarify the disconnect issue. The only time I get disconnected is when I reboot the server side of the connection.

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by mockware

I should clarify the disconnect issue. The only time I get disconnected is when I reboot the server side of the connection.

I want to try this - are you saying that you have a disconnect issue if you reboot your NAS device without rebooting your BTV server ? I almost never reboot my FreeNAS server so I don't know if I've ever hit this condition.

[johnmacd]

nanook105- I'm not sure, but I think I may be using UNC paths too. I'll have to check that out tonight.
I hope you meant 1TB and not 1GB. I like that as a solution, I wonder if something like that is available without the drives already added.

mockware- hmm, I believe that I must have some network connectivity problems every now and then.