Can someone explain NAS servers to me...?

unskinnybob said:
I'm running a little HP ML150 as a home server. I think it has 6x SATA/SAS connections. I use Windows Homeserver 2011 as OS. Homeserver gives you the ability to join all your disks into one storage pool. It also has media sharing abilities.

Never tried openelec. Maybe I'll do a dual boot and put it to the test this weekend.
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I got me 2 ML110's and yeah they have 6x SATA.... just maxed out one machine, have 4 drives in the other... so will be maxed out soon as well.

DJ : Those Microservers are by far and away the best "NAS" device you can get your hands on... especially since they can operate as a complete Server. One of my ML110's runs SickBeard, CouchPotato, uTorrent and Sabnzbd and everything gets moved around for me automagically... I only really have to go through my list every few weeks to catch up on the odd show its missed otherwise everything is completely up to date.
 
Do you have a gigabit wired LAN? If not then it might just be tedious...NAS involves by definition lots of data & moving it around.

If you already have 4 external then don't add more to that...it'll be unmanageable. So no enclosures.

Sounds like you need a media server though, not a NAS (fairly similar though).

I'd suggest rather DIY & spend a bit than go plug n play. They aren't that different from standard PCs & you'll pay a hectic premium for plug n play. Shtty time to be buying 2x 3TB drives though. Prices still suck because of the flood after effects.

DJ... said:
What are the benefits to using it though? I want to know if I going through this process is going to be beneficial to me at all...
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Its mostly an exercise in consolidating data in one central place & making it accessible.

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/333460-HP-ProLiant-MicroServer
 
I've got a spare router that as far as I am aware I can use to wire all of my connections. It's not that much of a hassle to run some LAN cables (Cat5 or Cat6?) around the house and connect them to the spare router.

My preference would be to have a single media centre that plays files through the projector and can be accessed by all other PCs on the network. So do I then rather just set it up with OpenElec and leave it at that instead of setting up the NAS side of things?
 
DJ... said:
So if I'm reading correctly, the HP Proliant has 4 bays of storage? Which is a damn-side better than the NAS devices I've been looking at. And I then run the HP as the main nas device for all the home computers and TVs and use it as the main output to the home cinema at the same time, using openelec?
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5 if you don't use an optical drive.
 
DJ... said:
I've got a spare router that as far as I am aware I can use to wire all of my connections. It's not that much of a hassle to run some LAN cables (Cat5 or Cat6?) around the house and connect them to the spare router.

My preference would be to have a single media centre that plays files through the projector and can be accessed by all other PCs on the network. So do I then rather just set it up with OpenElec and leave it at that instead of setting up the NAS side of things?
Click to expand...

What I would do, get some Cat6, run it around your house...
Setup a Microserver running Windows or something of that nature (you can run XBMC on this as well, I was)... set it up to do all of the work with getting data and moving it around, and it can serve as your central data store as well...

I've moved off to AppleTV's as front ends for the data, which thankfully having "servers" has allowed me to do without having to change anything other than moving a single PC into the study.
 
DJ... said:
I'm a little lost when it comes to the graphics card - http://myhtpc.co.za/wiki/index.php?title=Graphics_cards

I don't know what they cost and why, and I don't know if I can get away with an entry level or if I need a decent one. I seem to recall being able to get away with an entry level just fine...
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From memory, you can get away with an entry level one, it just needs to be low-profile and passively cooled.
 
B.O.F.H. said:
What I would do, get some Cat6, run it around your house...
Setup a Microserver running Windows or something of that nature (you can run XBMC on this as well, I was)... set it up to do all of the work with getting data and moving it around, and it can serve as your central data store as well...

I've moved off to AppleTV's as front ends for the data, which thankfully having "servers" has allowed me to do without having to change anything other than moving a single PC into the study.
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Why CAT6?
 
B.O.F.H. said:
What I would do, get some Cat6, run it around your house...
Setup a Microserver running Windows or something of that nature (you can run XBMC on this as well, I was)... set it up to do all of the work with getting data and moving it around, and it can serve as your central data store as well...
Click to expand...

I'm running XBMC on an old laptop at the moment so I'm familiar with it and love it. When you say I should use Windows to do all of the work, you just mean set it up as the operating system on the new machine? My understanding is as long as they're all plugged into the central router then they can all talk to each other. Or is there a more efficient way to do this? Like with Windows Home Server or something?

Also, if I run OpenElec, then I can surely have my main media centre that feeds the projector as the server as well? Or am I missing the boat here?
 
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B.O.F.H. said:
From memory, you can get away with an entry level one, it just needs to be low-profile and passively cooled.
Click to expand...

Actively.. Passives have a much bigger heat sink :)

I can completely recommend the gt520.
 
Not sure why Hp are not dealing directly with the users on this forum.

I wonder if they even realise how many of their units get sold in these type of threads.
 
DJ... said:
I'm running XBMC on an old laptop at the moment so I'm familiar with it and love it. When you say I should use Windows to do all of the work, you just mean set it up as the operating system on the new machine? My understanding is as long as they're all plugged into the central router then they can all talk to each other. Or is there a more efficient way to do this? Like with Windows Home Server or something?

Also, if I run OpenElec, then I can surely have my main media centre that feeds the projector as the server as well? Or am I missing the boat here?
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If you run Windows on the HP, then you can get it to do all your "work" for you with things like Sickbeard and such.... that would be the only reason to run Windows on the box. If you have another machine for that purpose then OpenElec on the HP will do just perfectly.

I also stand corrected on the Passive/Active heatsink.. i got it the wrong way around :)
 
DJ... said:
I'm a little lost when it comes to the graphics card - http://myhtpc.co.za/wiki/index.php?title=Graphics_cards

I don't know what they cost and why, and I don't know if I can get away with an entry level or if I need a decent one. I seem to recall being able to get away with an entry level just fine...
Click to expand...

I bought the combo with the n40l, gt520 graphics card and extra 2 gigs of ram from cybernatics. Other forum members also got good service from them.
 
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Okay I bought the HP Proliant from Cybernatic and decided to buy the Harmony 700 remote as well. It's pretty reasonably priced at R465.

Thanks for your help, guys. Regarding sickbeard and couchpotato - I can't even get internet at home at the moment. Maybe some day. I'd prefer to run a light Windows system instead of learning OpenElec to be honest. Although the guide from Milkman is pretty awesome.

I guess if I'm running Windows I'm gonna need some extra RAM, right?
 
I just saw their combo special now and called to upgrade. Seems a good deal. HP Proliant N40L + 2gig ram + GT520 GFX card for R2030.00...
 
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