Network Storage / Boot Selection
Discussion
My current pc setup is a 250gb harddisk in my main desktop pc, and a 40gb harddisk in a laptop, both are used by me/wife and hence files/pictures/mp3's get scattered across 2 machines, not ideal with pictures as duplicated can be copied etc etc, you get the idea. I also have a 13gb usb harddisk that stores all but mp3's as a backup. I am looking for a network hardisk (NAS) so we can store all files together on a shared "my documents" so there are no backup/duplicate issues, what is the best way to do this ? I could make a shared folder on the desktop, but means that desktop would have to be on for laptop to access - not practical.
Also intending to put the 13gb in the desktop to install Linux, can I use the jumpers to swap the main boot drive rathen than install a boot loader ( had problems before )
Also intending to put the 13gb in the desktop to install Linux, can I use the jumpers to swap the main boot drive rathen than install a boot loader ( had problems before )
Hi
My company will shortly be selling a home SAN (Storage Area Network) solution. Essentially this allows you to plug multiple IDE HDDs into the SAN hoster and then access/share these drives across the network as if they were local to whatever computer is acessing them. The hardware is more than fast enough to ensure that unless you have optical fibre your network cabling (Gigabit preferably) will be the bottleneck. The solution can also do seamless data mirroring should you require it.
The real beauty of this is that if you want to increase your storage space you just add another unit at little cost and the storage capacity increases seamlessly. Further, you don't need to have a server switched on all the time to access the data. It's quite a neat solution and as far as I know, genuinely new in the home marketplace.
Personally, I am putting together a multi-terrabyte SAN solution for home use at the moment as all my DVDs and CDs are stored in native (i.e. lossless) format, so I guess our requirements are not that dissimilar? I don't know how urgent your need is but if you can wait for a few weeks it might be worth evulating?
Cheers.
roadie.
My company will shortly be selling a home SAN (Storage Area Network) solution. Essentially this allows you to plug multiple IDE HDDs into the SAN hoster and then access/share these drives across the network as if they were local to whatever computer is acessing them. The hardware is more than fast enough to ensure that unless you have optical fibre your network cabling (Gigabit preferably) will be the bottleneck. The solution can also do seamless data mirroring should you require it.
The real beauty of this is that if you want to increase your storage space you just add another unit at little cost and the storage capacity increases seamlessly. Further, you don't need to have a server switched on all the time to access the data. It's quite a neat solution and as far as I know, genuinely new in the home marketplace.
Personally, I am putting together a multi-terrabyte SAN solution for home use at the moment as all my DVDs and CDs are stored in native (i.e. lossless) format, so I guess our requirements are not that dissimilar? I don't know how urgent your need is but if you can wait for a few weeks it might be worth evulating?
Cheers.
roadie.
pdV6 said:
My company will shortly be selling a home SAN (Storage Area Network) solution.
What sort of price are we talking for a bare unit (i.e. no drives)?
About £100* for the hardware - that's for a unit that handles everything. All you need in addition are IDE HDDs - they can be of any speed or size and don't have to be matched. Each SAN unit takes two HDDs.
*Not confirmed yet, but I have it direct from the CEO of our supplier that it will be around that price in the UK. As a guide, it is possible to create an 8TB SAN for less than £4.5k and you can expect that to drop massively with the perpendicular HDD storage technology which should start arriving late 2006/early 2007.
OK, the Netgear SC101 (StorageCentral) units are now available from UK distributors for £75-80 including VAT.
I have spent some time reviewing the Netgear support forums and I am not prepared to recommend this product at this time. I get the impression that a few more firmware releases are required before the device reaches an acceptable level of stability for the average user.
I have spent some time reviewing the Netgear support forums and I am not prepared to recommend this product at this time. I get the impression that a few more firmware releases are required before the device reaches an acceptable level of stability for the average user.
dtmpower said:
Also intending to put the 13gb in the desktop to install Linux, can I use the jumpers to swap the main boot drive rathen than install a boot loader ( had problems before )
Yes, I'd set the 13 as master and the 250 as slave. Install linux, it should sort a boot loader out for you no hassle with an option for 'Windows' and an option for 'Linux'. If that doesnt work feel free to swap the jumpers back again when required.
*OR* you might find an option in the BIOS for which HDD to boot off regardless of their jumper setting, saves taking the case off all the time.
Should be able to map to the NAS from linux no probs!
roadsweeper said:
Is this the thing that Fish was on about on another thread for £75?
Can you find the thread?
I haven't received mine yet and I'm reluctant to start recommending the unit until I have some experience with it, other than a demo at a seminar.
Right my 2p worth on this:
After Fish's thread I ordered one from Broadbandstuff.co.uk and sure enough it was here the following day. When I opened it I was expecting to find a pair of SATA cables, but allas its the IDE type
I do the smiley cos I 'presumed' it would be SATA, my fault for not checking, so £180 later (plus the £85 or whatever it cost) my network 'toaster' is populated and plugged in. Findings: 600Gigabyte (spanned not mirrored, for use as a Video server for my house CCTV system) for under £300 - its a bargain. I had problems initially getting one PC on the network to find the device (even though it was listed in the network browser) and after a network reboot in THE CORRECT order (crucial as it says in the manual), the system is up and working as expected.
This toaster was to replace a 1U file server which had three 200gig drives in. The replacement decision was due to the server having eight 1" fans which howl like a turbo on boost, not something I could accept in a home - the new toaster is almost silent.
Would I recommend one to others? Yes and no:
For personal or home use? YES, It is a true NAT device, offering all the toys that a corporate NAT would bring and its simple and attractive looking unit that is well made - the case is an alluminium heatsink, and it needs to be to accomodate 2x7500 rpm drives. Note: it does not have a fan, so I will check this and see just how hot it gets.
For business? NO. For a few hundred more I can get a RAID 5 device with proper support that doesn't involve a Bengal Call Centre
Will reposrt back if anyone is interested after I have had time to have a proper play with all the feaures - there are quite a few.
HTH
Simon.
I'm interested in being kept up-to-date Simon. My company is a Netgear partner and I haven't had the time to trial these devices yet so any precursor info would be helpful.
The main concerns currently seem to be regarding read/write speed (not approaching the 100Mb/s that should be possible) and heat. I have heard reports that the heatsinks get too hot to touch - this concerns me as the operating temperature of the HDDs could be high.
Finally, FYI, the device is classed as a SAN as opposed to NAT. (I get mixed up between the two on a regular basis and have to re-read the differences sheet now and again!
)
The main concerns currently seem to be regarding read/write speed (not approaching the 100Mb/s that should be possible) and heat. I have heard reports that the heatsinks get too hot to touch - this concerns me as the operating temperature of the HDDs could be high.
Finally, FYI, the device is classed as a SAN as opposed to NAT. (I get mixed up between the two on a regular basis and have to re-read the differences sheet now and again!
)Right I'll put my findings in:
I promised lots and delivered not a lot.
Yes it is a good looking well made unit. I put two unmatched drives in a 120G Baracuda and a 12G Maxtor both mainstream drives. I had great difficulties getting them to format which I did acheive after doing a full format on a PC as they had existing data on. I CANNOT get them to span or mirror even after long discussions with UK tech I may try a swap out unit. The heat sync gets very hot and I am not comfortable with the temperature the drives will be running at, they will not last there normal life I would expect.
I have also had some issues with one of my PCs losing all connectivity with the network even though it beleives it is connected, only a reboot restores it.
In summary, I may have a dodgy unit or an unfortunate choice of harddrives, however it is suposed to work with any. I would not recommend it for a business at present I would be concerned about the heat of the drives. I think the principle is sound but more firmware etc may be required. I have also tached the data rates to the devise and after being told 85mbs I only managed 8.5 which is too poor to use.
I hope it is just a poor unit and a swapp will fix it and I'll report back.
I promised lots and delivered not a lot.
Yes it is a good looking well made unit. I put two unmatched drives in a 120G Baracuda and a 12G Maxtor both mainstream drives. I had great difficulties getting them to format which I did acheive after doing a full format on a PC as they had existing data on. I CANNOT get them to span or mirror even after long discussions with UK tech I may try a swap out unit. The heat sync gets very hot and I am not comfortable with the temperature the drives will be running at, they will not last there normal life I would expect.
I have also had some issues with one of my PCs losing all connectivity with the network even though it beleives it is connected, only a reboot restores it.
In summary, I may have a dodgy unit or an unfortunate choice of harddrives, however it is suposed to work with any. I would not recommend it for a business at present I would be concerned about the heat of the drives. I think the principle is sound but more firmware etc may be required. I have also tached the data rates to the devise and after being told 85mbs I only managed 8.5 which is too poor to use.
I hope it is just a poor unit and a swapp will fix it and I'll report back.
fish said:
Right I'll put my findings in:
I promised lots and delivered not a lot.
Yes it is a good looking well made unit. I put two unmatched drives in a 120G Baracuda and a 12G Maxtor both mainstream drives. I had great difficulties getting them to format which I did acheive after doing a full format on a PC as they had existing data on. I CANNOT get them to span or mirror even after long discussions with UK tech I may try a swap out unit. The heat sync gets very hot and I am not comfortable with the temperature the drives will be running at, they will not last there normal life I would expect.
I have also had some issues with one of my PCs losing all connectivity with the network even though it beleives it is connected, only a reboot restores it.
In summary, I may have a dodgy unit or an unfortunate choice of harddrives, however it is suposed to work with any. I would not recommend it for a business at present I would be concerned about the heat of the drives. I think the principle is sound but more firmware etc may be required. I have also tached the data rates to the devise and after being told 85mbs I only managed 8.5 which is too poor to use.
I hope it is just a poor unit and a swapp will fix it and I'll report back.
These are similar to the problems I've been hearing. I believe a new firmware update was released on Monday so it might be worth trying that.
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