My custom NAS build with Xpenology/ Synology DSM 5.x
Project
Document:
- What is NAS?
NAS
is Network attached storage, which can be used to store files, Data
in central secured location and can be accessible via TV, Mobiles,
Laptops, Desktops.... Etc. It uses CIFS, SMB, NFS... etc.
- Why we need NAS?
This will be central location for all
your Data Backup like your Photos, video, Movies, Music, important
files..... etc. Which is manageable from your mobile devices, laptops,
Desktops.
- Ready made NAS or Own build NAS?
- Own build NAS will have better scalability, performance and choice of OS, Hardware to use.
- Ready made NAS does not provide above choice, but you get warranty & customer support in case required.
- How to select Hardware to build your NAS Appliance.
- Built with compact case with good Air flow.
- It should work on minimum power for 24/7 use (40W to 80W)
- Make sure your Motherboard has SATA3 6GBPS ports at least 2, for RAID 5 need 3-4 ports.
- Recommended RAM is 4GB
( more is better, for FreeNAS ZFS 1GB for 1TB ) - WD 4TB Red NAS Disks ( I am starting with 1 Disk)
- Below is research about CPU Power consumption
Hardware
power consumption calculated from http://powersupplycalculator.net/
1) ASRock C70M1 Combo Motherboard : Price: Rs. 3,999 Flipkart.com
CPU:
AMD
Dual-Core Ontario C-70 APU
9W
CPU TDP
Motherboard
components 30W
1
X 4GB DDR3 4W
2
X WD 4TB RED Drives 15W Max
1
USB drive
3W
80mm
Cooling Fan 4W
Recommended
power supply: 65
W
http://www.flipkart.com/asrock-c70m1-combo-motherboard/p/itmefmkwvf8wh3zb?pid=CMBEFMKWDFFTZBDW&otracker=from-search&srno=t_4&query=mini+itx+motherboards+combo+with+SATA+6GB&ref=ee1c2bcf-a7fd-47f2-a70b-5f901212f857
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/C70M1/?cat=Specifications
2) ASRock E35LM1 Motherboard Price: Rs. 4,199 flipkart.com
CPU : AMD Zacate E-240 APU + AMD A50M Chipset 18W CPU TDP
1 X 4GB DDR3
2 X 4TB RED Drives
1 USB drive
Recommended power supply: 78 W
http://www.ebay.in/itm/ASROCK-AMD-MOTHERBOARD-E35LM1-R2-0-LAN-6-Channel-Audio-A50M-Hudson-M1-Chip-HTPC-/151340707908?pt=IN_Computer_Components&hash=item233c9bf044
CPU : AMD Fusion APU 350D Dual-Core Processor 18W CPU TDP
1 X 4GB DDR3
2 X 4TB RED Drives
1 USB drive
Recommended power supply: 78 W
With above results I have selected ASRock C-70M1 Motherboard
- Below is Hardware list for my NAS
1.
Mini ITX ASRock
C70M1
4000
2.
4GB DDR3 1333 RAM 2000
3.
PicoPSU 90W Power supply 2200
4.
1x4TB WD Red NAS drives 11500
5.
Old Mini ITX iBall case 300
6.
4GB USB Flash drive 250
===========================================
Total
INR. 20,250 ($320)
===========================================
- Operating system selection for your NAS :
- Synology DSM 5.x (User friendly UI and good performance)
- FreeNAS - Provides UFS and ZFS shares (But needs more RAM)
- Openfiler - works on UFS
- Synology DSM 5.x:
Synology DSM
Synology DSM needs no introduction, most favored OS among most users. Much thanks to the remarkable work from the guys who recompiled DSM source code, it is proven that DSM can be installed on non Synology appliances. However, you have to keep it to yourself that it is an unlicensed, unsupported installation.
https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/live_demo
Login with
Account: admin
Password: synologyWhat is XPEnology?
XPEnology is an operating system based on Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM). This is possible because Synology DSM has developed under the GPL license . As a result, it is free to use and adapt by third parties.
The advantage of XPEnology is that it is compatible with many different hardware and so you almost any old PC / server can use as a NAS. Also you can also XPEnology as a virtual machine (VM) running on ESXi for example, Hyper-V, VirtualBox. With this flexibility, functionality and ease XPEnology offers a good alternative to a Synology NAS or other NAS solutions.
Where is XPEnology made up?
Synology DSM 5.x Which is customised by EXPnology.comhttps://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/5.1
XPEnology consists of two parts:
- Bootloader
- DSM software
Obviously, the DSM software are not lacking. Using the original Synology DSM software there. After installing the bootloader is made some changes. This ensures that everything related to the DSM software functions correctly.
2. FreeNAS http://www.freenas.org/
FreeNAS
It's free and popular among self built NAS. Simple GUI with ongoing developments. The highlight of FreeNAS is it's ZFS RAID feature which I will cover on the next topic.
Based on FreeBSD OS tuned for NAS appliance to provide UFS and ZFS shares.
FreeNAS uses the ZFS file system to store, manage, and protect data. ZFS provides advanced features like snapshots to keep old versions of files, incremental remote backups to keep your data safe on another device without huge file transfers, and intelligent compression, which reduces the size of files so quickly and efficiently that it actually helps transfers happen faster.
FreeNAS Data Protection feature:
ZFS is designed for data integrity from top to bottom. RAID-Z, the software RAID that is part of ZFS, offers single parity protection like RAID 5, but without the “write hole” vulnerability thanks to the copy-on-write architecture of ZFS. The additional levels RAID-Z2 and RAID-Z3 offer double and triple parity protection, respectively. A software mirror option is also available. The FreeNAS Volumes screen lists each possible parity arrangement based on the number of disks you select when creating a new volume.
Every ZFS filesystem is also verified with checksums from top to bottom to ensure data integrity. If inconsistencies are found, parity blocks can be used to repair corrupt data. A regular scrub is turned on by default and can be rescheduled or configured from the web interface.
3. OpenFiler:
Openfiler converts an industry standard x86_64 architecture system into a full-fledged NAS/SAN appliance or IP storage gateway and provides storage administrators with a powerful tool to cope with burgeoning storage needs.
Openfiler ensures that storage administrators are able to make the best use of system performance and storage capacity resources when allocating and managing storage in a multi-platform network.
Openfiler Open Source Edition (OSE) is perfect for cost-constrained budgets and delivers block-level (basic iSCSI target) and file-level storage export protocols.
Openfiler Commercial Edition (CE) builds upon Openfiler OSE to provide key features such as iSCSI target for virtualization, Fibre Channel target support, block level replication and High Availabilty that are the mainstay of any business critical storage environment.
Openfiler addresses all the key data storage concerns:
- Reliability - Openfiler supports both software and hardware RAID with monitoring and alert facilities; volume snapshot and recovery
- Availability - Openfiler supports active/passive high availability clustering, MPIO, and block level replication
- Performance - Linux 2.6 kernel supports the latest CPU, networking and storage hardware
- Scalability - filesystem scalability to 60TB+, online filesystem and volume growth support
To be Continued.....
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