Off the shelf NAS or build my own?

[MrHiddeS]

I would love to have network storage in my home.
Luck would have it I recently upgraded my own rig so I have a motherboard with a i7-3770k and 8GB of ram spare.

Now my question is, should I invest money into a new case/cpu fan/PSU and build my own server/nas or should I only buy the storage drives I want and get an off the shelf NAS?

Also incase I decide to build from "old" parts what software can anyone here recommend?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

The real difference is just the size and power consumption.
If you don't care about either AND is capable of following a technical guide AND willing to spend the time, you will get more flexible, better suited to your needs and if done right may have better performance.
When it comes to software, you have to choose from Windows built in features, Windows 3rd party programs, any general Linux distribution (some have even file server package that installs everything you need) and all the way to dedicated OS Like freenas. The later is based on FreeBSD which also can be used.

 

[USAFRet]

Last year I had this same issue...

Moving from a standard Win 7/8.1/10 PC that I was using as the general house storage.
Prebuilt NAS box, or build one?

Looking around, I ended up buying a Qnap TS-453A.
I could not replicate the feature set for less money.

A year later, and it has proven maintenance free and absolutely rock solid.

Building your own, though...good for a hobby and personal experience.

 

[Sam Poland]

Another vote for FreeNAS. I found it easier to use than the GUI for my Synology NAS.

 

[USAFRet]

If you've already got the main parts (motherboard with a i7-3770k and 8GB of ram), then build it.
Linux or FreeNAS for the OS.

 

[13thmonkey]

FreeNAS very strongly suggest ecc memory, as the whole of the addressing for the disks is held in memory, it goes, and you have a real problem with data recovery.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

I could not replicate the feature set for less money.

What are those features if he already have (very powerful) CPU + MB + RAM ?
The exaggerated BOM (not including storage drives would be)
100$ for the case
60$ PSU
20-35$ cooler
4 port Gigabit card starting at ~30$ - https://www.amazon.com/Intel-1000-Server-Adapter-EXPI9404VT/dp/B002JLKNIW/
So in worst case it will cost less than 1/3 of that Qnap while can do much more and better due to much more powerful HW.

 

[USAFRet]

I could not replicate the feature set for less money.

What are those features if he already have (very powerful) CPU + MB + RAM ?
The exaggerated BOM (not including storage drives would be)
100$ for the case
60$ PSU
20-35$ cooler
4 port Gigabit card starting at ~30$ - https://www.amazon.com/Intel-1000-Server-Adapter-EXPI9404VT/dp/B002JLKNIW/
So in worst case it will cost less than 1/3 of that Qnap while can do much more and better due to much more powerful HW.

And as I commented later:
"If you've already got the main parts (motherboard with a i7-3770k and 8GB of ram), then build it."

 

[n0ns3ns3]

[
And as I commented later:
"If you've already got the main parts (motherboard with a i7-3770k and 8GB of ram), then build it."

I'm honestly about the features.
Even with a new MB/CPU/RAM it would cost 150-250$ more which is still some 250-300$ less than Qnap.

 

[doolittle]

With an i7-3770k and 8GB, that would make a great general purpose Linux server with MD raid to manage your NAS, sure you could get freenas or OMV as your dedicated NAS OS however if you go linux so much more flexibility, you can install KVM for virtualization guests, create additional user accounts for game servers.

I have built a few freenas using dual-core CPU and the one thing I hate about ZFS is the inflexibility of the raid pool, you cant expand it you have to create a whole new pool to migrate to where in OMV or linux MD you can add or disks to your MD raid 6 pool or convert your mirror RAID 1 to a RAID 6 just by adding disks.

 

[USAFRet]

[
And as I commented later:
"If you've already got the main parts (motherboard with a i7-3770k and 8GB of ram), then build it."

I'm honestly about the features.
Even with a new MB/CPU/RAM it would cost 150-250$ more which is still some 250-300$ less than Qnap.

The Qnap was $450 + drives.
I have no regrets about buying it. And as you may have noticed, I am not a newbie in the area of building systems.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

The Qnap was $450 + drives.
I have no regrets about buying it. And as you may have noticed, I am not a newbie in the area of building systems.

I've noticed, hence curious about what features you are talking about.
I'd go for the NAS simply because of the size. Though ideal solution for me would be NAS with 2-4 M.2 slots and 10Gb (preferably couple of fiber optic) port. Even better, if it would be integrated with a router. And of course at sane price.
This one is close https://www.qnap.com/en/product/tbs-453a
The problem is the network interface. My internet connection is 1Gbps, and I actually download things at well over 100MB/s which makes it "kinda slow" XD

 

[USAFRet]

Ah, the "features"...
Seamless RAID management. Currently 4 x 4TB RAID 5.
Plex server
Music server
VM
4k playback (if I had a 4x display)
Trivially scheduled backups
VPN if I choose
Surveillance camera interface
Whole house firewall and AV
Dozens of other "applications", known to work 100%, with no manual setup
All built in.

4x LAN ports
Size
Power consumption

Sure, all/most of that can be done on any platform. Windows or Linux.
But they've done the hard part, and verified all the dependancies for you.