NASLite Network Attached Storage

Hi All,

I am currently waiting for my "donated freebie" Dell dimension desktop to arrive. I am eagerly wanting to build a NAS with NASLite - 2.

I don't currently have the specs of the old pc yet but it is about 3-5 yrs old probably a dimension 4500 - definately a P4 2+ Ghz - 512 RAM. More than adequate.

Now what I would like to have is 3 or 4 250gb 7200 rpm drives (to start) in a RAID 5 config. I am pretty savy about tech stuff but am a little out of my element here. I know that I want a hardware RAID controller but know nothing about the makes and models and am looking for suggestiions here.

I would ultimately like to be able to access these drives via the internet so a better firewall solution than my linksys router would probably be necessary.

Also would I be better off to purchase a new tower for future expandability? I think that a std dell case may be limiting.

I am shopping with low budget in mind however i don't like headaches from using cheap components that are too finicky. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Keep in mind that NASLite offers no security whatsoever meaning anyone getting acccess to your NASLite box can delete every single file. Might wanna think twice about accessing it from the Internet.

agree with the comments on internet access.... risky risky.

A word of advice. When thinking about upgrading your Dell assume nothing. You would be surprised how many things Dell do differently and standards bits dont bolt on as you would expect.

A classic example is replacement power supplies.

Thanks for you input Guys. The internet access is only on my wish list. I am sure that a solution will come along for that at some point.

I was afraid of that so I am now considdering a new Mid or Full Tower case with a new PS. Also considdering installing 5 bay hot swap rack for the drives. Do I need all of this?? Nope. I just tend to go a little over the top with this stuff.

I am looking for expandability, stability and efficiency which is why I believe that NASLite-2 and a RAID 5 config is the way to go. Any suggestions for a RAID card?

Now for a RAID question (this is a gray area for me) I think that RAID 5 is what I want to do, however, there is no redundant backup. Is there a way to do RAID 5 with a backup? or would that esentially be a RAID 0+1

Get a 3Ware or LSI card, search ebay if you do not fancy buying a new one. Unless you have a massive Raid5 array, you shouldn't really need to worry too much about losing your data (two drives need to fail at the same time for your data to be at risk). If you are really anal about redundancy there is such a thing as Raid 5+1 but its pretty crazy imho. You might want to consider Raid 1+0?

With Dell desktops the power supply, system boards and processor fan/heatsink assemblies are about the only things that are proprietary - everything else is pretty much off the shelf - processors, memory, video & I/O cards, hard, floppy and optical disks are all industry standard.

This is no different to any other top tier manufacturer - you'll also find it with IBM & HP/Compaq



I don't follow your question - what do you mean by redundant backup?

RAID5 is redundant storage - if a disk fails the system continues to run without data loss

Thank you, after further reading I have a better understanding of RAID 5.

Bear with me here... I am going to post the specs from dell on the pc I am going be using. What I need to know is what type of RAID controller to get for this as well as what type of drives to get (IDE,SATA,etc). I understand the concept and can fully perform the installation of the software and hardware, I just want to be sure before I purchase all of the parts that I am getting the correct parts.

Here we go:
Microprocessor

Microprocessor type
Intel® Pentium® 4 microprocessor that runs at 1.80, 1.90, 2.0, or 2.20 GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; or 2.26, 2.4, 2.53, 2.66, 2.8, or 3.06 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally

L1 cache
8 KB first-level

L2 cache
integrated 256-KB or 512-KB at full microprocessor speed

System Information

System chip set
Intel 845PE

DMA channels
four

Interrupt levels
15

System BIOS chip
4 Mb (512 KB)

System clock
100 MHz X 4 for 400 FSB or 133 MHz X 4 for 533 FSB - data rate



Expansion Bus

Bus types
PCI and AGP

Bus speed
PCI: 33 MHz; AGP: 66 MHz

AGP connector
one

AGP connector size
172 pins

AGP connector data width (maximum)
32 bits

AGP bus protocols
4x/2x modes at 1.5 V

PCI connectors
four

PCI connector size
120 pins

PCI connector data width
(maximum)
32 bits


Memory

Architecture
DDR SDRAM

Memory connectors
two

Memory capacities
128-, 256-, and 512-MB non-ECC DDR SDRAM

Minimum memory
128 MB

Maximum memory
1 GB

Memory type
DDR 333 (non-ECC) only on computers with a 533-MHz system clock speed
DDR 266 (non-ECC) on computers with either a 400- or a 533-MHz system clock speed

BIOS address
F8000h



Drives

Externally accessible
two 5.25-inch bays
two 3.5-inch bays

Internally accessible
two bays for 1-inch–high IDE hard drives

Available devices
ATA-100 Ultra DMA hard drive, CD drive, Zip drive, DVD drive, DVD+RW drive, and CD-RW drive



Ports and Connectors

Externally accessible:

Serial
9-pin connector; 16550C-compatible

Parallel
25-hole connector (bidirectional)

Video
15-hole connector

Keyboard
6-pin mini-DIN connector or USB connector

Mouse
6-pin mini-DIN connector or USB connector

USB
two front-panel and four back-panel USB 2.0–compliant connectors

NIC
RJ45 connector

Headphone
front-panel miniature connector

Audio1
three miniature connectors for line-in, line-out, and microphone

Internally accessible:

Primary IDE channel
40-pin connector on PCI local bus

Secondary IDE channel
40-pin connector on PCI local bus

Floppy drive
34-pin connector

1 Present only on computers with integrated audio capabilities.



Audio2

Audio controller
1981A Codec

2 Present only on computers with integrated audio capabilities.



Network

NIC controller
Integrated Intel 10/100 Ethernet/Intel 82562ET (10/100)



Video

Video controller
AGP 4X



Controls and Lights

Power control
push button

Power light
green light on power button—blinking green in sleep state; solid green for power-on state

Hard-drive access light
green

Diagnostic code lights
four bicolor (amber and green) located on back panel

Power

DC power supply:

Wattage
250 W

Heat dissipation
853 BTU (fully-loaded computer without monitor)

Voltage (switch-selectable
on back panel)
90 to 135 V at 50/60 Hz; 180 to 265 V at 50/60 Hz; 100 V at 50/60 Hz for Japanese computers

Backup battery
3-V CR2032 coin cell

What type of drives to use depends on what controller you choose. Here is my recommendation:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LSI-MEGARAID-SA ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-LSI-MegaRaid-Sa ... dZViewItem

With this controller you would need SATA drives.

Thanks SB I am watching those items. Will these work in a 32bit slot?

Yup! Not sure if the prices on those are right, check past auctions for a reference.

I checked with my local guy - he quoted me $249 for the SATA 150-6

You might also want to keep an eye out for the 3Ware 9500-S series, also a very good card and should be compatible with your setup.

Indeed this is a good card..Picked one up today - cheap. Almost felt like I was stealing it! 3Ware 9500s-LP4 SATA RAID

Now to order my drives...Seagate or WD

I'd go with Seagate - 5 years warranty is nice

4 new Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 250-GB Hard Drives are on their way. Now I just need to figure out which version of NASLite - 2 ...the USB or CDD