[Tfug] NAS suggestions

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Zack,

--- On Sat, 10/13/12, Zack Williams <zdwzdw at gmail.com> wrote:

> > I'm looking for suggestions for a NAS to use, here.
> > Primarily to keep *large* dataset snapshots "offline,
> > but easily accessible".
> 
> How much redundancy do you need?

I can go with simple mirroring.  Even if I have to do it
pseudo-manually (e.g., rsync(1)).  This stuff isn't
"precious" but, rather "highly desirable" -- until I
finish the project (then it's scrap!).
 
> By offline, you mean "I only turn it on when I need to get
> at the data" correct?

Correct.  As well as "... when I need to dump more data onto
it".

> > In the latter case, am I better off with just a
> > junk/spare PC, USB3 card, GB NIC and "however many
> > disk trays I can support"?  Or, something more
> > targeted to this sort of application?
> 
> This will give you more flexibility going forward than
> whatever OS will be unsupported by the NAS vendor next year.

Yes, that was my fear.  As well as the little things you
learn after the purchase:  "Oh, we only support *this*
2TB drive from manufacturer FooMatic"

It also makes it easier to "outboard" drives (which I can
then spin down until needed) to expand the archive.  I.e.,
anything "internal" tends to have to be spinning whenever the
device itself is powered.
 
> If you're going to buy new, I really like the HP Microserver
> hardware
> - 4x 3.5" trays, low power CPU, ECC RAM, decent price.

Thanks, I'll take a look!

--don