Network Storage Devices... have some questions...

[DriveX]

Hi!

I plan on setting up a network storage device for a small business.

I have some requirements:

Supports RAID 0 and 1
Web interface for setting up users with permissions on folders
High performance
250-400GB of storage
Priced up to $500
2 USB ports for use with printers (print server)
Drive mappings on client machines

I have found the following devices that might work:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144411#DetailSpecs
(adding a second drive to the USB port for RAID/backups

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833201001
(nice, but no mention of user permissions)

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119071,00.asp
(also nice, but must add a second drive for RAID/backups)

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/SC101.php
(This looks like a good idea also)

I intend to be the administrator of this device and getting it all ready to roll for my users. Just wanted to see if there were any opinions or other suggestions. I'm not too keen on setting up a cheap linux box for this.

Thanks!!

 

[NittanyLAncer]

Giving this a bump for reasons of "I'm curious too". I was going to post something just like this until I saw a pre-existing thread. Recyle reduce reuse!

I keep a lot of stuff on my local box....programming work, video editing (editing and re-encoding DV Camcorder stuff), image work (editing photos to revmove background and uneeded porder clutter and people hanging in background at parks etc. but I like to keep the original hi-res photos), gaming, media center work, etc. Takes up a LOT of space, so I wind up adding more drives or bigger drives. It get annoying though to leave BIG machine on when I want to share the stuff.

I would prefer something in the BYOD dept, as I already have several LARGE disks that I'd want to relocate, although RAID and such aren't as big a deal for me. My price is flexible, and I'd be happier with a solution that can take a good number of disks.

So, BUMPITY BUMP BUMP!

 

[osage]

FreeNAS is a free NAS (Network-Attached Storage) server, supporting: CIFS (samba), FTP, NFS, RSYNC protocols, local user authentication, Software RAID (0,1,5) with a Full WEB configuration interface.

 

[Atheus]

The consumer solutions can be quite cheap, and will give you the web interface you're looking for, but many business people regret buying them. It's mostly because of the lack of upgradability and configurability. Say the machine you bought only has 10/100 and now you want to upgrade to gigabit or wireless or something, it would mean an entirely new box, you couldn't just slot in a card. And what if you wanted to run a new protocol? Or add some more complicated restictions? Or encryption?

This is why I always suggest people build a proper server if it's for a business. An old P3 with 256MB would be fine, as long as it supports the HDDs you want, and you have a choice of free OSs. I use a text-only debian Linux install, FreeNAS looks very user friendly (thanks osage), and any BSD unix would be good. You could even use the box as a webserver too, or a database server, or mail server, whatever you might need in the future.

 

[skyking]

What about using swat to configure samba? that is a web interface.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: skyking
What about using swat to configure samba? that is a web interface.

yeah, but NAs software usually allows for http access and stuff..only used swat for admin stuff myself