Not sure if this is the right category to post this, apologies in advance if not.
I'm considering replacing my aging Synology DS411j (4 x 3 TB disks) with a one-box-does-all, i.e. both the NAS and the HTPC tasks (at least). As it's unlikely to find a package which can do both equally well (either the NAS part will be great and the HTPC will suffer - e.g. pretty much anything Linux-based - or the other way around - e.g. Windows-based), I ended up thinking I'll need some degree of virtualization.
I would basically have three options there:
1) Plain Tier-1 hypervisor (XEN or ESXi) and two guest VMs - one running Linux and OpenFiler (or similar NAS-oriented package), one running Windows 7 + Media Center or the like.
2) Linux hypervisor (also performing the NAS function) and Windows guest
3) Windows hypervisor and Linux guest
#1 has the advantage of clearly separating the two environments, but presumably requires more resources.
#2 is probably the best balance, resource-wise (and also allows for setting up mdraid at the "base" level - I gave up on buying an external RAID adapter or on using FakeRAID)
#3 has the advantage of not worrying about video passthrough (as the host system will be the one using the physical adapter).
The hardware I have in mind:
- mITX motherboard, Intel Z97-based or H97-based (was looking at ASRock H97M-ITX/ac or Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI); main requirements - at least 5 SATA3 ports, decent onboard GPU
- Intel Pentium G3250T CPU (35W), 2x 2.80 GHz; main requirements: low TDP, decent performance
- 8/16 GB of RAM (most boards don't take more than 16 GB, hence excluding ZFS)
- CoolerMaster Elite 120 case, Corsair 750W PSU (I know the PSU is overkill, but I had it around)
The operations I have in mind:
- NAS: file storage, backup target
- HTPC: Netflix, Youtube, general video playback, possibly Bluray playback (via an internal or USB3 drive, pending the number of SATA ports on the MB
- video and audio output to a 40" TV via HDMI, wired network connectivity (ideally, 2x GbE with bonding - my router runs DD-WRT which apparently supports it, need to do some futher research)
I am reasonably skilled as far as hardware builds and software installations are concerned - and a good HOWTO reader, where I'm lost.
Thoughts, comments?
I'm considering replacing my aging Synology DS411j (4 x 3 TB disks) with a one-box-does-all, i.e. both the NAS and the HTPC tasks (at least). As it's unlikely to find a package which can do both equally well (either the NAS part will be great and the HTPC will suffer - e.g. pretty much anything Linux-based - or the other way around - e.g. Windows-based), I ended up thinking I'll need some degree of virtualization.
I would basically have three options there:
1) Plain Tier-1 hypervisor (XEN or ESXi) and two guest VMs - one running Linux and OpenFiler (or similar NAS-oriented package), one running Windows 7 + Media Center or the like.
2) Linux hypervisor (also performing the NAS function) and Windows guest
3) Windows hypervisor and Linux guest
#1 has the advantage of clearly separating the two environments, but presumably requires more resources.
#2 is probably the best balance, resource-wise (and also allows for setting up mdraid at the "base" level - I gave up on buying an external RAID adapter or on using FakeRAID)
#3 has the advantage of not worrying about video passthrough (as the host system will be the one using the physical adapter).
The hardware I have in mind:
- mITX motherboard, Intel Z97-based or H97-based (was looking at ASRock H97M-ITX/ac or Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI); main requirements - at least 5 SATA3 ports, decent onboard GPU
- Intel Pentium G3250T CPU (35W), 2x 2.80 GHz; main requirements: low TDP, decent performance
- 8/16 GB of RAM (most boards don't take more than 16 GB, hence excluding ZFS)
- CoolerMaster Elite 120 case, Corsair 750W PSU (I know the PSU is overkill, but I had it around)
The operations I have in mind:
- NAS: file storage, backup target
- HTPC: Netflix, Youtube, general video playback, possibly Bluray playback (via an internal or USB3 drive, pending the number of SATA ports on the MB
- video and audio output to a 40" TV via HDMI, wired network connectivity (ideally, 2x GbE with bonding - my router runs DD-WRT which apparently supports it, need to do some futher research)
I am reasonably skilled as far as hardware builds and software installations are concerned - and a good HOWTO reader, where I'm lost.
Thoughts, comments?
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