NASLite Network Attached Storage

1. What is the normal temp for HDs? I have 7 drives in my current setup. The temps reading range fro 40's to 64C. I think they are too high. Can any of you confirm if that's the case?

2. My mobo have BIOS limitation, if I plugged in more than 7 drives, it'll automatically kick the USB boot drive out of the Boot selection section. So I was thinking to grab a 3ware (IDE) card from ebay. I don't need RAID at all. My question is: can the 3Ware confirgue 4 IDE HDs as 1 HD (array)?

If you get a 3ware card you have multiple options ... look for the later version cards on eBay, they are usually at a decent price. First you should check the 3ware site for specs and get an idea of how much card you need. A lookup on Yahoo or Google will tell you a lot.

As for the HDs, you shold be able to set them up as JBOD (just a bunch of disks), where one fills up, then the next, then the next. Another option is RAID 0, where is splits the info and writes it to multiple disks at the same time. In both cases, if one HD goes bad, your data is toast. Or you could go RAID 5 ... there the data is written to multiple disks at once, along with recovery information. You need at least 3 or more drives of the same size to set that up. The upside is if one drive of the array goes bad, your data is not lost, the downside is that it takes the equivilent of one drive on the array for recovery data. So with 4 x 80 GB drives you only get 240GB space. But the data has a bit of safety.

Good luck!

Hello siaopao:

Regarding HDD Temps: For most manufacturers you can look up product specifications on their websites. For example: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=705&p_created=1037223045.

Search the page for the word "temp" and it shows you "Operating Temperature and Humidity" ... maximum 55C. This is the maximum I have found for several different types of disk drives, but you should check your specific model (some top out as low as 45C or 50C). If your HDD is WesternDigital click on the correct "Model Number" link on this page http://support.wdc.com/productspec.asp#wdcaviar

I assume you are using S.M.A.R.T. for reading the temps. Anything higher than 45C is too hot (in my opinion) and you should re-arrange your hardware, add a HDD cooler (fan), etc to get it below 45C. 64C is crazy, and even running the drives at 50C+ for long periods of time will limit their long-term reliability.

Hope that helps.

Georg

There were a few drive coolers mentioned here that work out well.

I've tried several with good results. One is an aluminum 3 drive housing. It holds 3 x 3.5 disks and mounts into the space of a 3 x 5.25 bays. The other mounts 4 x 3.5 disks and mounts into the space of a 3 x 5.25 bays. Both have big 120mm fans in front the keep the drives cool and are quite. Built a server a while back with 13 HDs ( 3 x 4 drive bays for arrays and 1 HD for boot). The drive fans keep it cool and quiet.

I've seen folks mount/tape 80mm and 120 mm fans in front of their drives to help cool them down. Looks kinds crude when the cover is off, but once closed up, nobody ever knew.

I was thinking to get the 3x5.25" to 4x3.5" adaptor too yesterday.

What kind of case you used on the server project? I am looking at a midtower LianLi 6077 (have 6 external 5.25" that I can put 2 - 3x5.25" to 4x3.5" adaptor. But I like to cut cost if I can.

The other things is the BIOS limitation. There is no point for me to upgrade to new case and 2 adaptors (total will cost $190 inc. shipping) if my setup only capable of 7 drives.

Will be checking on the 3ware specs.

A slight correction to georg's post. The operating temperatures are not the same thing as what SMART is reporting. The operating temp is how hot the room temp could be and the drive still work. Hopefully you don't keep your house at 55C

What SMART is reporting is the internal temp of the drive. This will obviously be higher than the room temp. I agree with the other posts, you should probably add some fans.


Another thought if your current system won't let you add more drives, there's nothing that says you can't have 2 NAS systems.

smeyer & siaopao:

Thanks for the correction. I think you might be right about the temperature range being an "environment" not internal temperature range. To be sure I emailed WesternDigital support for more info on the allowable internal SMART temp range. I'll post back if/when I get an answer.

My opinion about reduced long-term reliability of the HDD if running for long time at 50C+ (SMART internal) stands as written. Better airflow is definitely recommended.

Georg

An order for 2 x LianLi EX34A to newegg is on the way.

smeyer,
I know I always can build an extra NAS (I have 2 Naslite+ 1+ USB licenses laying around), but to have a NAS that have 4+ drives is my reason to upgrade to V2.

I live in an 1 bed room apt and more systems mean more noise and electricity (my electricity bill double last month ).

I have another mobo laying around (Asus P4C800 E Deluxe), will downgrade it from P4 2.8 Prescott to P4 1.6 later this week and will see if it has the same BIOS limitation issue like the ECS board. If it works, the next thing I need is to get a low end AGP 8X and upgrade the case to LianLi 6077, that have 6x5.25" bays, so I can put 2 HDs expansion kit in it (total 8 drives) + 3 more drives in the bottom of the case.

If it doesn't work, the Plan B is to have 2 NAS: 1 will be always ON for files, video and music. The other one will be a dedicated DVD server and will only be turn on when I want to watch my DVD collections.

what do think?