[Feynman]

So I was wondering, is it possible to create a custom RAID just out of a PC enclosure box filled with hard drives? I know this is a bit of a NOOB question but how would one go about doing something like this?

[BLAZE_MkIV]

Something like freenas.org?

[Feynman]

I have no idea what that is.

What I am trying to do is build a custom PC per say, motherboard, memory, etc and then just be able to hook it up to my computer via FireWire and use it as an external RAID/hard drive.

[besson3c]

Firewire or USB, no, but ethernet is a possibility. This is called a NAS, and the site that was posted is software that allows you to run your own NAS.

[mduell]

Sure; you can even do it with Firewire or USB (assuming OTG support).

Do you really want to? You're probably better off buying an enclosure designed to be an enclosure.

[Feynman]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Sure; you can even do it with Firewire or USB (assuming OTG support).

Do you really want to? You're probably better off buying an enclosure designed to be an enclosure.

Want to point on where I can read on how to do this?

Buying a RAID enclosure is more than I can afford. Hence I want to buy a PC enclosure and just buy the memory, processor, motherboard, etc and it will end up costing a lot less since I could buy things when I need them.

A decent RAID will cost me more than a grand and I will have to buy the RAID enclosure all at once, rather than piecing it together.

[Feynman]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Firewire or USB, no, but ethernet is a possibility. This is called a NAS, and the site that was posted is software that allows you to run your own NAS.

Even over ethernet would be fine, so long as I could use it for storage and use local programs like iTunes and DVD Player.

Basically I am looking for a low cost solution for my iTunes Libray and dvd_ts folders.

I guess I could just build a custom PC and then hook it up via ethernet and maybe have a host drive just for Windows and then all the other internal drives....would I be able to format them as HFS +?

[OreoCookie]

So you just need storage space, right? How much are we talking about? What do you think are your needs within the next two, three years? Do you need one large volumes or do several small ones suffice?

If you don't need fast storage (e. g. fast enough for streaming), a Drobo is an easy-to-maintain and cheap solution. It gives you up to 2.7 TB usable capacity (but with redundancy, i. e. you will not lose data if one drive fails). It's very easy to configure and easy to upgrade. There is software to configure it via your Mac and a LAN module.

The downside is that it's not particularly fast (which might not be an issue, it's fast enough for video streaming) and that you are limited to 2 TB per volume (this is a limitation of USB). Also, it has a fan (which might also not be an issue if you put it in a closet somewhere).

We can suggest other solutions once you give us more info.

[Feynman]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

So you just need storage space, right? How much are we talking about? What do you think are your needs within the next two, three years? Do you need one large volumes or do several small ones suffice?

If you don't need fast storage (e. g. fast enough for streaming), a Drobo is an easy-to-maintain and cheap solution. It gives you up to 2.7 TB usable capacity (but with redundancy, i. e. you will not lose data if one drive fails). It's very easy to configure and easy to upgrade. There is software to configure it via your Mac and a LAN module.

The downside is that it's not particularly fast (which might not be an issue, it's fast enough for video streaming) and that you are limited to 2 TB per volume (this is a limitation of USB). Also, it has a fan (which might also not be an issue if you put it in a closet somewhere).

We can suggest other solutions once you give us more info.

Let's just say I already have 3 TBs of independent external hard drives with a forth being on it's way to being maxxed out. I fill up these drives rather fast.

Building my own PC and running Linux or something like that just as the host would be fine with me. I do not need it to look like one massive hard drive as the software I am running as the front end (FrontRow) will be in full screen the entire time.

[OreoCookie]

You could run OpenSolaris and use ZFS. ZFS provides you with sophisticated RAID levels and a lot of flexibility. RAIDZ is the one you are probably interested in: you have redundancy, but you have the capacity of N-1 or N-2 drives. From the way you post, I gather you're comfortable tinkering with software and hardware

A slower cpu is alright if all you want to do is serve files. You could get a used pc off ebay. If you can put it in your basement or somewhere really remote, you can get a used server. They have excellent cases, but they tend to be loud. Very loud.

If you want to build a new system from scratch, you could get one of the slower dual-core Athlon64s (slower = they run cooler, too), a quiet cooler (e. g. by Zalman) and get a quality motherboard with integrated graphics (e. g. by Asus or Asrock, Asus' value brand). Get a decent amount of RAM 1-2 GB (quality RAM!). Get a nice case with space for at least six drives (you can put extra drives in the 5.25" drive bays) and voila. Throw in an extra 80 or 120 mm fan for safety and you have your home-made NAS. If you are fancy, you'll use hot-pluggable drive bay enclosures for your harddrives.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Feynman 

Want to point on where I can read on how to do this?

Google

[paduck]

If I were you, I would seriously look at the two-drive RAID offerings of both Netgear and Synology. Both of those are pretty reasonable compared with building your own system. Also, you need to consider simplicity of setup and energy consumption. You build, and piece together something of your own and you are going to spend a lot of time building and setting it up. The out-of-the-box solution is basically just going to work.

On the power front, your run of the mill NAS (see below) is going to clock in at about 32 watts running full out and 16 watts or below at idle. Your cheap PC with monitor is probably going to come in well over 100 watts. What does this mean to you? Well, if you have it on 24x7, each watt is going to cost you a minimum of $1/year. Probably more since the Synology and Netgear can turn themselves off at night or go into a low power mode when not in use, something your PC probably won't do. Do the math and factor that into the "savings" you realize going the PC route. Plus, it's just a waste of energy.

Here are the links for the two products. Both have gotten good reviews. I'm assuming a configuration of mirrored 1TB drives, giving you the redundancy you are seeking:

Synology DS207 - $~300
you buy two 1TB drives to put in - $175/each
Total - $650

http://synology.com/enu/products/DS207/index.php

Netgear RND2110 Combo Deal (two 1TB drives) from New Egg - $695

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Stor...o/RND2110.aspx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...22&Tpk=rnd2110

And these are going to be plug and play.

What sort of price are you getting on your DIY computer - enclosure, power supply, RAID controller, hard drives, motherboard, memory, monitor, video card, software, etc.? The hard drives alone are going to be in the $350 range, which doesn't leave you that much for the other parts.

[paduck]

Both the above will connect to your existing external USB drives.

The Synology 407e comes in at less than $500 and is a 4-drive enclosure. You should be able to do RAID5. With larger than 1TB drives coming online, you ought to be able to get into the 4.5TB range with the security of the parity drive.

You certainly have a lot of stuff copied to the hard drives - something like 700 DVD's? Do you really need all those dvd_ts folders? Can't you process them with Handbrake into something a little more flexible/smaller?

[mduell]

Originally Posted by paduck 

The Synology 407e comes in at less than $500 and is a 4-drive enclosure. You should be able to do RAID5. With larger than 1TB drives coming online, you ought to be able to get into the 4.5TB range with the security of the parity drive

It's also quite slow.

[OreoCookie]

If all he needs is a large amount of storage for video playback and iTunes, speed is not that important. Building your own system also works (e. g. you can use OpenSolaris and configure a RAIDZ -- the ZFS equivalent of a RAID5). OpenSolaris is not more difficult to install than Linux.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by paduck 

You certainly have a lot of stuff copied to the hard drives - something like 700 DVD's? Do you really need all those dvd_ts folders? Can't you process them with Handbrake into something a little more flexible/smaller?

Maybe he doesn't want to degrade the video quality, or, he enjoys the extras on the DVD (like I do.)

[ginoledesma]

You can build your own or get pre-made cases. A lot of companies sell multi-bay Firewire or USB drive enclosures. The pre-made ones can be expensive, depending on the make/model/features. Granite Digital also carries these (reviewed by BareFeats).

I built one myself with the following parts 2 years ago:
* 4-bay 3.25", mid-PC enclosure w/ 250W PSU and 5 molex connectors (got mine for $35 on eBay)
* 5-drive IDE Mobile Rack ($100) -- example
* 2 x Firewire 400 Oxford 911 bridges ($45/each)
* 2 x Firewire 400 cables ($8/each)

So the above (sans drives) cost me some ~$250 (inclusive of S/H + Taxes). Mind you, the enclosure itself requires some drilling / modding if you want to fit the drives just right. The mobile rack was so that I could pull out the drives without having to open the case. When I built this, SATA was only starting to get cheap, but I missed out and opted for IDE which doesn't have true hot-swap capability.

I used the above for a small, compact Direct Attached Storage (DAS) for a bit, with 4x250GB IDE drives in a 2xRAID-1 setup (one was a backup drive setup). This setup lasted me about a year, when I decided to retire it for a NAS. Performance was brisk (mainly because of Firewire). But my chief complaints were:
1. Fan noise. It can drive you crazy. There was one exhaust fan for the PSU, and another small fan to keep the drives cool.
2. I started expanding my home network, and the DAS meant the eMac it was attached to needed to be powered on at all times (adding to fan noise).
3. Cost. Drives were becoming cheaper and cheaper, and 2x500GB drives sounded better than 4x250GB drives. And because I went with IDE, I missed out on a ton of SATA deals.

I replaced that setup with a DNS-323 loaded with 2x500GB SATA drives. I'm looking at bigger NAS setups -- hopefully I can go for 2TB-4TB range.

On the note of RAIDs -- some USB/Firewire bridges have RAID-0/1/0+1 support, but I've been wary about their implementation. If you do decide to go for the DIY route, make sure to research the bridge you're purchasing. The Oxford ones have had some ok (not superb) Mac OS X support -- you could flash the firmware and change the internal config.

It's really up to you, though. The DIY solutions don't always end up cheaper, especially with the great deals that some vendors hold every now and then.