[Tfug] NAS again

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Zack,

On 2/1/2014 9:00 AM, Zack Williams wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 4:54 PM, Bexley Hall<bexley401 at yahoo.com>  wrote:
>> So, I'm looking for an idea for *small* boxes that I can repurpose
>> as NAS devices.  IDE or SATA are OK in the drive sizes I have in mind.
>> I don't *need* a console -- if the box is reliable (some of that will
>> obviously depend on my software choice).
>
> You might look at the "Western DIgital MyCloud" thread from a few
> weeks back.  It's basically a hard disk enclosure that runs Debian on
> an ARM CPU.   With aggressive disk spin down, you'd probably get close
> to your desired power profile.

The problem(s) that I've found with OTS "appliances" of this sort are:
- single spindle (means each spindle needs a network drop)
- current "with disk" offerings are too big (this is my "precious"
   archive -- i.e., nothing can get lost -- so I distrust few/big
   spindles)
- cost (some of the "no media" boxes are as expensive as a PC)
- bloated implementations like to store *their* firmware on the medium
   (such a device needn't be more complicated than an SoC implementation;
   the fact that many want to overkill with a Linux/BSD-based design
   shouldn't mean *I* have to worry that the disk failing takes the
   firmware out with it!)
- proprietary implementations (I can't just remove the disk and recover
   its contents using a *better* set of tools than the tools made
   available with the appliance)
- disk cycling (just leave the damn disk spinning; I'll UNPLUG the
   box in the next hour and save far more power/wear-and-tear than
   your efforts ever could!)
- media limitations (ancient 24b IDE controllers/127GB limit)
- systems that become unresponsive over time (memory leak?  thermal
   problem?  buggy software??)

Performance has seldom been an issue for me.  I'm using these as true
archives -- not "online storage".  So, I might pull down a ~300-500MB
CD ISO if I need to install the software on that ISO... then, discard
the downloaded image.  Or, grab a handful of technical papers and
pull them onto my local workstation where I can reference them for
days or weeks at a time (the archive needn't be spinning while I'm
doing that!)

> If you need an x86 CPU for some reason, you might look at Atom or
> similar low power boards, but I tend to find that the best
> price/capacity sweet spot is the Gen7 (AMD CPU) HP Microserver.  It's
> much more involved than you describe (4x 3.5" bays), but still very
> quiet/power efficient.

The HP devices seem designed to handle a much heavier load (traffic)
than I'd ever need (unless I was copying one archive to another).
And, they come with a corresponding price tag (several hundred bucks
before you add media; if you are opting for small spindles as I am,
that starts to look really pricey!)

I'm not wed to any particular hardware implementation.  But, ISTM
that a "small PC" is the most practical alternative.  The trick is
finding one that is "mis-optimized"... enough drive bays to avoid
the "one spindle per NIC" issue yet not bloated with lots of MIPS
(which translates into power and cooling requirements).

E.g., this is similar to how MS (and now Intel/AMD) found itself screwed
as the market shifted from bigger and faster workstations (that could
run increasingly bloated software with silly features) to handheld
devices that are (comparatively) resource starved and not willing to
pay for those features (size, battery life, performance, etc.)

I was told to look at "Shuttles" (?) in that they are a very small
form factor and could probably accommodate 2-3 drives (haven't done
that research yet)

Thx,
--don