My first NAS Build

  • Hey there!


    Here's a NAS that I built last month, out of a computer that I was given, I had to do some modifications to it (replacing the Thermal paste on the CPU heatsink, replacing the RAM)


    The following picture is old as it was taken before I added the other HDDs and the Graphics Card
    Edit


    However, here's the specs of the NAS


    Motherboard: ECS GeForce 7050-M (Socket A 462)
    RAM: 1GB DDR2 (the 2gb stick died) 3GB DDR2 (soon upgrading to 2x4GB)
    HDD 1: Western Digital Caviar 120GB PATA (System Drive)
    HDD 2&3 : Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 500GB SATA (data storage)
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 (Brisbane core, 5000+)
    Graphics: Built-in Motherboard chipset (formerly Radeon HD5450) Generic Graphics PCIe card
    PSU: Allied 400W PSU (I am currently saving up to replace it)
    Operating system: OpenMediaVault 4.x Arakis 3.0.83 Erasmus
    Miscellaneous : Teac 3"½ Floppy drive (experimenting with boot floppies, such as KolibriOS)


    Currently I use this NAS to store my backups (the two storage drives are mapped via SAMBA) I'm not really familiar with UNIX systems so I had a little trouble configuring it (installing OMV-Extras from APT-GET). I had to reinstall it 4 times (because it would sometimes get stuck at "Raise network interfaces", power-cycling it would sometimes fix the problem)

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Alexis Trinquet () aus folgendem Grund: Preparing to edit and clean up the specs

  • Do you suspend your NAS to RAM/Disc and use WoL? How much energy is consumed idle? You installed OMV-Extras through apt, why did you not simply use the plugin when you are not that familiar with linux?


    You use Samba as share and for backups, what future services do you think of running?

    Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought.
    It always defeats order, because it is better organized.
    Terry Pratchett

  • Do you suspend your NAS to RAM/Disc and use WoL? How much energy is consumed idle? You installed OMV-Extras through apt, why did you not simply use the plugin when you are not that familiar with linux?


    You use Samba as share and for backups, what future services do you think of running?

    I had to use APT-get as installing via the web interface would cause an error (don't have screenshots of the error but still).
    "Do you suspend your NAS to RAM/Disc and use WoL?"
    I don't really know if I can use "Suspend to RAM/Disc on this one but talking about WoL, I would've liked to use this feature but it's not possible (the motherboard's built-in network controller doesn't seem support it and I can't find any option about WoL in the BIOS)


    "How much energy is consumed idle"
    It consumes 75W when idle (on the sector)



    For now I don't plan on using other services (unless necessary)

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Puh, thats a lot when it runs 24/7 without WoL

    Yeah, it's probably the PSU I'm probably going to replace it soon or sooner anyways, it's not that of a big deal...

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Hi everyone... so after a kind of long hiatus I've did several things:


    First of all I had to reinstall OMV again (for some reasons it would get stuck on raise network interfaces), for now it's running fine.
    I recently moved the NAS under my desk (because the CPU fan intake was on the left-hand side of the case, it faced a wall, not really the ideal location), BUT I discovered something rather interesting in the motherboard's BIOS: Its controller seems to support hardware RAID (there's a "RAID configuration" option in the "Advanced CMOS setup" category of the BIOS). For now my current plans for this NAS are the following:


    1) Replace the old, Allied PSU (It's old, noisy (no thermo-regulated fan on this one, alas), but it still works, I'll keep it as a backup PSU)
    2) Replace the case (The current case is just a real burden to maintain, it's so small that it's hard to change something without risking hitting a component, plus the disks are very close to each other, that kinda makes me worrying about overheat starting to wear them down more)
    3) Add a PCI Ethernet Controller that supports WoL(the motherboard's built-in Ethernet controller doesn't support WoL sadly, here's why)
    4) Finding two DDR2 4Gb RAM Modules (I kind of know this is next to impossible, since DDR2 modules are kinda getting rarer and rarer and thus, expensive :cursing: )


    And yet as of today, I'm saving up to hopefully buy a new case for it (yet I have other projects and priorities so yeah)


    BTW, I've installed OpenVPN plugin on the NAS when I need to access data from the CIFS shares

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Hello,


    Been a few years I've vanished from the forums, here's why: I have been rather running into problems (long story short: my NAS sat dorment for a while, and of course when I tried to upgrade from Erasmus to Arakis my system hard drive's Molex connector decided to fall off... Cripes!)


    So my mobo blew up the 2 gig RAM stick it had (no dice here, the mobo wouldn't fire up at all unless I removed it) and due to the Molex debacle, my OMV3 got totally corrupted, after reinstalling a few times it's up and running but crippled to 1 gig of ram.


    The Radeon HD5450 (just realized it was a 5450.... Duh! I even have it's little sister, the HD 6450) was swapped out (in the end it wasn't necessary as the mobos' gfx chipset is more than sufficient).


    So yeah, oh and I added a floppy drive to the mobo (since I'm experimenting with these lightweight Linux distros you could slap on a 1.44Mb floppy disk, I know I could've bought a Gotek but whatever, and I kinda miss floppies that bad lol).


    So yeah, I've been a bit out of the loop, hopefully I'll find a replacement for this rig (the mobo is rather flaky sometimes, it forgets about which drives are bootable or not while other settings and date time remain unchanged)


    Regards,


    Alexis

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Hi,


    Sounds like a good idea, but for the moment I'm going to go ahead and keep this build going until it gives its last breathe (well not a big loss since I got the mobo + psu + case + cpu + ram stick for free) but yeah, I'll think about it, maybe a Nuc perhaps? (Can't say I love these Intel NUCs, they're small but I'm not sure how much they consume, but I'm not expecting something too big).


    But yes, a "breadboard" RasPi or a BananaPi is definitely something I'm wiling to consider, but for now I'm more focused on keeping this rig up and running, although it mostly sits dormant, as Ionly power it from 7:30 to 19:00 every two days (this mobo have a programmed wake-up and shutdown event)


    Thanks for the advice,


    Regards,
    Alexis

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Hi Alexis


    I'm about to start a NAS build myself and I'm going to use an AMD proc too (Phenom II x4 955)


    I found these cases on EBay which seem Ideal for this sort of job. loads of drive bays and really good value at about £50 each



    The Nexus Prominent 9 case is your best choice premium chassis for a silent computer. With its toolless installation features it is a breeze to install your components or change your set-up. And the sleek professional look and materials make the case fit in anywhere. A black mesh front and aluminium edges give the Prominent 9 a distinguished look and great expansion possibilities.
    Noise absorption material on side panels
    Real silent 14cm and 12cm fan pre-installed
    Room for 4 additional fans (14/12/9/8cm)
    5.25 bays: 9 exposed
    Front ports: 4xUSB2.0, 1xE-Sata,1xMic, 1x Audio (AC'97 or HD)
    Expansion slots: 7 slots
    Size case: 508(D) x 207(W) x 479.3(H)mm




    EBay no 223036253919


    Re your comment about DDR2 I agree there are plenty of small ones about really cheap but anything big above 1 Gig is really pricey, In fact more than their equivalent sized DDR4s


    I Was and still am thinking about the ARM route but like you I have Processor, mobo, and memory ready to go, don't even need to plug 'em in they are already assembled like a module.


    So I'm gonna go with what i've got to prove the concept and then go from there


    For PSUs My personal favourite is thermaltake, not to expensive and very reliable I've used loads of them in the past and I've never had one fail even after years of hard work.


    Rest Regards Mark

  • Both are rather terrible choices: Which energy efficient ARM platform to choose?

    Well when it comes to these "single board PCs" I'M sorta a total newbie (not to mention that I'm kinda worried on how OMV perform on a ARM), but thanks anyways for the advice. :) just saw the Orange pi zero, I'm a bit curious about how well it performs (however the only 1 sata port avaliable on the nas expansion board is going to be a bit problematic)


    @skyline1
    That's unfortunate about the prices of DDR2, can't say I'm not surprised about that (and with DDR5 coming very soon I'd expect the situation to worsen even more).


    As for the PSU, I'm thinking of buying a FSP, I still have one still running, it never caused any problems, unfortunately the one I have is a 200W model, versus the 400W that my Allied can give (I'm not pulling that much on it, roughly 270W).


    As for the case, tool-less cases are sure a blessing, heck my current case has lost half of its screws (to hold the drives in place... I had to make a sacrifice, oh well) so if I replace the case of my rig, you can be more than certain that it's going to be a tool-less case, I'm also leaning towards the Nexus Prominent 9, too, it's unfortunate that it's no longer made :( I'm still trying to find a case with similar specs but still no dice here.


    Regards,
    Alexis

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    If you have an ARM SBC with a single SATA port then expansion beyond one HDD is indeed difficult.


    But why settle for just one ARM SBC? You can easily expand by simply adding more ARM SBCs and HDDs as needed for more storage and/or more backups. If one SBC or HDD fail it is very easy to replace it. Or swap parts.


    And if you get big NAS HDDs then the cost of the ARM SBC is (at least to some extent) dwarfed by the cost of the HDD.

  • If you have an ARM SBC with a single SATA port then expansion beyond one HDD is indeed difficult.


    But why settle for just one ARM SBC? You can easily expand by simply adding more ARM SBCs and HDDs as needed for more storage and/or more backups. If one SBC or HDD fail it is very easy to replace it. Or swap parts.


    And if you get big NAS HDDs then the cost of the ARM SBC is (at least to some extent) dwarfed by the cost of the HDD.

    Re,


    SBCs are something I'm considering (it's possible that I'll give these a go soon however) but does that mean I'll have to run multiple instances of OMV? I would like to avoid this if possible (a single 2TB drive is sufficient for me anyways) as having to manage a cluster of multiple OMV instances at once... I'll see, maybe not maybe yes but for now...


    Regards,
    Alexis

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    If nas1 is running OMV, then nas2 can run just nfs-server. Then you can have nas1 backup itself to nas2 peridically. I assume that you also can mount nas2 somewhere on nas1 and share it from there using OMV on nas1. Most likely there will be reduced performance, but perhaps not too bad. And you only need to run OMV on nas1.


    Actually you might even be able to run OMV on a SBC with a hefty SSD and mount several other SBCs nfs-shares and share them all again. And offset the performance reduction by caching reads from the other shares on the SSD using plain old FS-cache.


    I intend to test all this, and more, in the near future. 8)


    Thinking about it, you might also be able to augment a normal server running OMV with shares from several SBCs. And even cache the nfs reads in RAM, if the server has plenty.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CacheFS

  • Re,


    Wheew thanks for the clarification, only thing that is creeping me away from SBCs is a failure of a component on the board itself, for instance if your PC's ram goes bad, you replace the bad stick with a known good one, but on a Sbc if the ram fails = replace the whole board, is this correct or is there is any SBC that has one or a few SODIMM slot(s)?


    Sorry if this question sounds dumb, I'm sorta a inexperienced guy when it comes so SBCs, never got to tinker with one...

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Ré-bonjour (


    Good grief then, I'll wait for my current rig to die (y'see, I'm not really keen on throwing away stuff that still works, if y'know what I mean) then I'll think about it.


    Regards,
    Alexis

    My current NAS build:
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Brisbane | RAM: 3GB DDR2 Elexir | GPU: Unknown PCIe 16x graphics card
    Motherboard: ECS GeForce7050M-M | HDD: WD Caviar 120GB P-ATA (system) + 2X Hitachi Deskstar 500GB S-ATA (data storage) | System: OpenMediaVault 3.0.8X Erasmus

  • Hi Alexis


    Yes I'm like you, I hate throwing stuff away (or even selling it) when I upgrade


    But as a result I have acquired many of the components to build my own OMV NAS, it's in the final stages now (See other post) and I reckon with all the bits I had to hand It cost me an extra £180 - £200 to put together (plus the storage drives of course)


    As far as I can see a commercial one with anywhere near the Spec of my "homebrew" one would cost at least £500 probably much more just as a bare chassis without drives.


    I expect to spend a little more on a second drive cage and an HBA card as I will run out of ports on the Mobo but then I will have a system that rivals enterprise units costing thousands of pounds


    Add to that the level of expandability and versatility and It's well worth hanging on to those "old" components and re-purposing them at a later date.


    Keep on hoarding mate and best of luck with your build.


    Best Regards Mark

  • then I will have a system that rivals enterprise units costing thousands of pounds


    I doubt it. Usually those x86 NAS boxes made out of scrap waste a lot of energy and perform poorly. But since no one tests for performance and consumption it seems this doesn't matter.


    I bet 99.9% of x86 based OMV boxes are outperformed by an ODROID-HC2 with a single 3.5" HDD. Test criteria: Helios Lantest with '10 GbE settings' against a Samba Share on the OMV box. This eliminates client side storage influences and therefore simply measures in a reproducible way single threaded NAS performance (more than just sequential transfer speeds)

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