CPU power for a NAS

[dsmilees]

How much cpu power would you recommend for a network attached storage? I'm planning on running linux (ubuntu or debian) with at least 4-6 hard drives in the future. I may also expand the use of it to run some basic server functions (ftp, dns, mail server, etc.) as well as serve out media to at least one computer, a laptop, and a htpc.

I was originally thinking of an i3 like the 4330, but was wondering if a lower powered solution like a celeron processor would be enough.

Thanks for the input!

 

[JimF_35]

Not hardly any at all. What service are you going to host a NAS Storage device or will the system be using any databases at all? I think you could get away with an ARM or Atom processor. Are you making your own NAS or are you buying a NAS capable device. If the later then it will most likely come with its own CPU and NIC setup and all you have to do is root a version of Linux on it.

 

[CDdude55]

Depends on how much traffic the system is going to be seeing daily, for a storage system you're main worry is drive and network speed so i wouldn't worry much about the processing power in the grand scheme of things. An i3 might help with the media content for the other system, but it may not be needed overall

 

[dsmilees]

Not hardly any at all. What service are you going to host a NAS Storage device or will the system be using any databases at all? I think you could get away with an ARM or Atom processor. Are you making your own NAS or are you buying a NAS capable device. If the later then it will most likely come with its own CPU and NIC setup and all you have to do is root a version of Linux on it.

I'll probably simply use samba in ubuntu or debian to serve the files to my computers / htpc, but I'll probably use something else to stream it to my xbox 360/ps3. I would like this to perform backups at least once a week,and would also like to use something such as owncloud to back up some specific documents automatically over the internet no matter where I am, as well as be able to download/upload files to my server from anywhere. Finally I'll be running vpn, torrent, and ftp servers. Maybe a web server. Probably not but maybe.

Also, I'm planning on running raid 5 in the future, which I know is more cpu intensive than some of the others.
Also, in the upcoming years I want to be able to add a 10gb/s network card and stream 4k videos as the technology becomes more available. I also may upgrade by that point, however.

 

[FuzzyIce]

How much cpu power would you recommend for a network attached storage? I'm planning on running linux (ubuntu or debian) with at least 4-6 hard drives in the future. I may also expand the use of it to run some basic server functions (ftp, dns, mail server, etc.) as well as serve out media to at least one computer, a laptop, and a htpc.

I was originally thinking of an i3 like the 4330, but was wondering if a lower powered solution like a celeron processor would be enough.

Thanks for the input!

If you plan on using ZFS, then I would say go for a Celeron processor and make sure you have at least 8 GB of RAM on the motherboard. ARM & Atom would work for basic file server, but since you mentioned want to have other servers running, I would go for an ITX mobo that allows you at least the 8 GB.