Home network.

MrZand5

MrZand5

Member
Hello users,


I am trying to create my own mini network in my home, I've got my computer(specs below) and my laptop and I'm wanting to add a server as its cheaper than a NAS drive and use the server to access the documents anywhere in my home, and about? and while I'm at Uni so I don't need to have a stupid amount of HDD space on my person while im at uni and So i can perform a backup away from home. Please help me set this up, im getting a server with duel xenon's 3GhZ and 16Gb Ram and I need to decide on RAID im looking at 8 to 12 Tb of HDD.

Thanks

Zach
 
Sounds like overkill on specs for a storage server.

So what specifically are you looking for help with since it sounds like you've decided on a lot of the pieces already?
 
Raid

What RAID should I use, I'm going for 3 or 4 drives, a friend suggested I should set FTP server, and use a remote desktop service to access it. Any suggestions?

Thanks Zach
 
Depends on how much capacity you want to lose.

I would (and do) roll with RAID5 for something like 3-7 drive environments. You could also consider RAID10 if you didn't want the parity hit but you'd lose half of your drives of capacity.

Beyond 8 I'd more suggest RAID6 just out of fault tolerance and not being vulnerable to errors for a single drive failure during a recovery/rebuild.
 
I would think long and hard about going with a server vs NAS approach. Yes a server can be cheaper initially, however you need to factor in the electricity this will consume being on 24/7 versus a much lower powered NAS, the space for you to store a server, the ease of use, and reliability. I was going through the same dilemma a little while ago, and decided to get a Synology DS1513+ NAS. It has a Unix-based OS, which allows for official applications such as video and audio streaming via a web interface or mobile app, custom third party apps from a range of uses such as newshosting services, e-mail server, torrent downloaders, wireless controllers, etc. I find that with a traditional Windows server approach, it's easy to access file sharing, but short of a Plex-type service as far as streaming audio or videos go, it involves you to first download the content. One of my favorite uses is I can search for a torrent to download on my phone, click download, and it will queue up the file on my NAS and sends me an e-mail when it's done so I can either access it over the internet or for when I get home.

Here is a screenshot of what the web-interface of my NAS looks like:



It's very easy to use, all accessible via the web or Android/iOS mobile apps, and provides access via FTP, SMB, AFP, NFS, and WebDAV for starters.

If you do decide to build your own server instead, do not rely on FTP for your primary means of file transfer. For one it's not secure, and two reliability, performance, and features are extremely limited. I'd look at using SMB or WebDAV over HTTPS. Remote desktop would work, or you could use TeamViewer.

For the RAID, with 3-4 drives I'd look at RAID 5.
 
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