Linux Server (NAS)

[strike-down]

You are seriously overdoing the server. I have a mitx board (gf8200 chipset) with an athlon X2 4850e, 2GB ram, 2x gigabit ethernet, 4 sata hdds (1tb each, NOT in raid at all), 1 dvd-rw drive and 80gb OS drive on the pata channel, and have added an external USB2 caddy with 2x 1.5tb drives to backup my critical data. The performance I get out of that rig is astonishing for what it is. The mitx form factor is more expensive than any of the ATX versions, and i still spent less than anything you have suggested. You're still insistant on spending more than you really need to. From what you have said, your server will be doing far less work than mine as I have an email server, a webserver and various other bits and bobs running on different VMs, dealing with up to 8 clients at a time. I suggest you think really carefully about what you really need

[oimi]

From my list, please change the items to those you would recommend including links and price with VAT.

For server:
Cooler Master Dominator 690 PC Case With Window / Black @ £67.99 Inc VAT
Supermicro C2SEE G43, S775, DDR3 1333MHz, SATA II, ATX, On Board VGA @ £114.97 Inc VAT
BX80557E1200 - Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200, Socket 775, 1.6GHz, 512KB Cache, Retail @ £39.04 Inc VAT
Kingston 2gb Kit (2x1gb) Ddr3 1066mhz Memory Non-ecc Cl7 Dimm @ £35.30 Inc VAT
Adaptec 1430SA x4 Port SATA II (300mbps) PCI-E Raid Card *Oem* @ £82.56 Inc VAT
Edimax EW-7728IN / PCI Wireless N WiFi Card / 300mbps / 802.11n @ £27.99 Inc VAT
Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm DBB Fan 80%Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E @ £45.23 Inc VAT

I'm also going to need some LONG CAT5E cable to run from the PC to the router and to the server.

[mycarsavw]

From my list, please change the items to those you would recommend including links and price with VAT.

Reread the thread.

It's all there, countless times.

Sadly, though I may not have helped much, I'm done here - good luck with your build

[Singh400]

From my list, please change the items to those you would recommend including links and price with VAT.

This thread is full of tons of suggestions, items and other solutions. Do yourself a favour and re-read it.

I'll think you'll find I gave you my specs on the first page, which contained the motherboard you need - the P5QL-CM which meets your specs, and essentially the same as the other more expensive you picked out.

Everyone has lost the will to help you now. You refuse to take our advice. So why ask for it in the first place? Why not ask the person who has (according to you) "experience in building servers".

You refuse to accept the simple fact that a HOME SERVER does not need to be all powerful.

You have lost sight of what you want, and change your goals with every post. Some times you want 4 SATA ports, then the next 6, and then 8. Sometimes you need 2TB of space, and then the next time you need 8TB.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You need to go away, sit down. Look at what you need and not what you want. Asses the situation correctly and properly.

[strike-down]

Reread the thread.

It's all there, countless times.

Well said

[peterb]

Well the idea is that I want 2TB of usable space for storage of documents, music etc and some form of RAID setup for additional security. Then, I want additional space to backup image files of my PC so that I can recover without reinstalling anything. I also want to make backup images of the laptop and server.

As well as setting up a RAID array, I will have seperate storage in the form of an external backup drive which will also backup my files.

In total, including the drives currently installed in my PC I own:
6 x 1TB HDDs
2 x 750GB HDDs
2 x 500GB HDDs

What I want is seperate HDDs for the operating system on the PC and file server, which obviously need to be a lot smaller than those listed above. The HDD for the PC would need to be a little bit bigger for installation of games, image editing applications etc.

I wasn't actively seeking that many USB connections, it was just a bonus.

LVM - Linux Virtual Machine? What's the point in running a virtual copy of Linux? That would require me to install a version of Windows or something else first in order to run that.

LVM is logical Volume Management - gives you flexibility in allocatiing space.

What you are advocating is far more than a home server and is at odds with yiur requitrement for low power/energy efficiency. There is no point in storing system images on line - if the computer they refer to becomes defective, then you can't install from the file server anyway because the computer won't be running. Keep images on a CD or off line store. Similarly with applications. How do you intend to back up 2 terrabytes of online stoarge? The operating system for the server takes a minimal amount of space - there is little point in adding a hard drive purely for that - better to have a small partition (or partitions for linux - one for the boot system (need only be about 100Mb, one for the root file system (about 10GB - max, you could get away with less) and the rest for the shared filestore.

Your expectations are unrealistic, and your requirements are not well thought out, in spite of the many suggestions that have been offered to you.

It might be a good idea to (as others have said) to print off and re-read the thread and decide what you wnat to do, and do some more research of your own, rather than stretch the goodwill of the people who have posted here by expecting the spoon feeding of links to suppliers, best value for money etc.
There are several ways of achieving what you appear to want - most of them have appeaeed here.

Its decision time for you now.

[strike-down]

As we've all said, before posting anymore in this thread, take time out, get a print out of this thread, and just go around different suppliers (scan, ebuyer etc) and see what all the different options WE have suggested come to. I think you'll be fairly surprised at how well any of them perform. The bottleneck in the system will be your network, not any of the hdds.
I have my server setup over a dual gigabit ethernet interface, and that is still the bottleneck in performance.

[oimi]

Well that took a long time, I have compile the list of options from this thread and they are as follows:

First choices highlights using italics

PSU:
385W Enermax PRO82+ EPR385AWT - Single PCI-E Rail, ATX12v 2.3 , 88% Eff, AirGuard, SafeGuard @ £55.15
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/385W-...uard-SafeGuard
Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm DBB Fan 80%Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E @ £45.23
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150985

CPU:
BX80571E5200 - Intel Pentium Dual-Core, E5200, Socket 775, Wolfdale Core, 2x2.5 GHz, 2MB Cache, Retail @ £58.41
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...B-Cache-Retail

Motherboard:
P5QL-CM mATX @ £70.00
OR
ASUS SKT-775 P5Q S/L 1600FSB @ £90.71
http://www.dacomputers.com/store.php...tcode=IPMBAP5Q
OR
Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3, AMD 770, Sok AM2+, PCI-E 2.0, DDR2 1200/1066/667, SATA 300, SATA RAID, ATX @ 66.46
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...-SATA-RAID-ATX
OR
MSI P43 NEO3-FR , iP43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX @ £79.06
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-P...-SATA-RAID-ATX
OR
Asus P5QL-CM, iG43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0(x16), DDR2 1066(OC)/667/800, SATA II, Micro ATX, VGA @ £71.06
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...-Micro-ATX-VGA
OR
Abit IP35 Pro XE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard @ £68.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=5&subcat=913

Mid-case:
Cooler Master Dominator 690 PC Case With Window / Black @ £67.99
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/890301...k/Product.html
Cooler Master 690 @ £63.24
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=644041

Mid-case (whole system):
Asus V3-M2NC61P, Sok AM2/AM2+, DDR2 667/800/1066, PCI-E (x16), SATA II, On Board VGA @ £88.09
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...roductFeatures

External storage:
IB-3221-STU-B Aluiminium case for two 3,5 - Icy Box IB-3221-STU-B JBOD Trayless 2x3.5" SATA USB 2.0 interface EasySwap One Touch Backup inc Fan @ £48.30
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Icy-B...Backup-inc-Fan
OR
Mini Storage Tower
http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/mst4.asp
OR
EdgeStore DAS401 4xBay USB RAID 1 DAS Enclosure via eSATA @ £133.56
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/EdgeS...sure-via-eSATA

[Chaos]

Im thinking of building a file server, I was thinking of using the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e 2.5GHz
as its dual core and has low power consumption 45w and pair that up with a GA-MA74GM-S2H motherbaord, 6 sata ports and gigabit lan.

I was going to use opensolaris and the zfs file system so no need for a raid card.

[hardflipman]

remember that RAID doesn't help you if you accidentally delete files. you'd arguably be better off just setting a job to copy files from one hdd to another every so often.

i'm going to use a dual core atom to run as a media server, backups and sqeezecenter. no need for anthing more than that

[strike-down]

As good as the Abits are, I personally wouldnt buy one now as the company has gone right under, ie. no longer exists. The only thing I believe they are honouring now is the warranty, so apart from hexus and other forums (this one is blatently the best though XD) i highly doubt you'll get any support.

But I think those componants you have listed are far more sensible for a home server than the ones you were initially going on about You could probably get away with using a dual core celery cpu for the server (i think madduck has one in his server and does the job, but dont quote me on that .)
If you go the AMD route like I did (seeing as you have listed AMD mobo's), get the X2 4850e cpu. Plenty of horsepower, low power consumption, reasonably priced.

The asus case only has one hard drive mounting point, so dont think that fits the bill. The coolermaster should do the job, though there may be cheaper cases that will do it.

[oimi]

As good as the Abits are, I personally wouldnt buy one now as the company has gone right under, ie. no longer exists. The only thing I believe they are honouring now is the warranty, so apart from hexus and other forums (this one is blatently the best though XD) i highly doubt you'll get any support.

But I think those componants you have listed are far more sensible for a home server than the ones you were initially going on about You could probably get away with using a dual core celery cpu for the server (i think madduck has one in his server and does the job, but dont quote me on that .)
If you go the AMD route like I did (seeing as you have listed AMD mobo's), get the X2 4850e cpu. Plenty of horsepower, low power consumption, reasonably priced.

The asus case only has one hard drive mounting point, so dont think that fits the bill. The coolermaster should do the job, though there may be cheaper cases that will do it.

Thank you for your recommendations. Someone recommended I use a Linux software RAID 5, as this will manage the job sufficiently.

[Chaos]

Seen that ebuyer.com are selling a quad core opteron server for £210 could make a decent file server.

HP ProLiant ML115 G5

[oimi]

Seen that ebuyer.com are selling a quad core opteron server for £210 could make a decent file server.

HP ProLiant ML115 G5

Chaos, thanks for the recommendation.

I wonder if it would be possible to extend the HDD rack, as it will only hold 4 HDDs.

[oimi]

strike-down, the X2 4850e cpu sounds like a good option to me.

As most of the hardware is linked to scan.co.uk, I feel that would be my best option for purchasing hardware. Therefore, I was wondering if the CPU you mentioned can be found on there? I had a look for the term but no results came back!

[oimi]

* First choices highlighted using italics

PSU:
385W Enermax PRO82+ EPR385AWT - Single PCI-E Rail, ATX12v 2.3 , 88% Eff, AirGuard, SafeGuard @ £55.15
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/385W-...uard-SafeGuard
Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm DBB Fan 80%Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E @ £45.23
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150985

CPU:
BX80571E5200 - Intel Pentium Dual-Core, E5200, Socket 775, Wolfdale Core, 2x2.5 GHz, 2MB Cache, Retail @ £58.41
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...B-Cache-Retail

Motherboard:
P5QL-CM mATX @ £70.00
OR
ASUS SKT-775 P5Q S/L 1600FSB @ £90.71
http://www.dacomputers.com/store.php...tcode=IPMBAP5Q
OR
Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3, AMD 770, Sok AM2+, PCI-E 2.0, DDR2 1200/1066/667, SATA 300, SATA RAID, ATX @ 66.46
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...-SATA-RAID-ATX
OR
MSI P43 NEO3-FR , iP43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX @ £79.06
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-P...-SATA-RAID-ATX
OR
Asus P5QL-CM, iG43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0(x16), DDR2 1066(OC)/667/800, SATA II, Micro ATX, VGA @ £71.06
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...-Micro-ATX-VGA
OR
Abit IP35 Pro XE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard @ £68.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=5&subcat=913

Mid-case:
Cooler Master Dominator 690 PC Case With Window / Black @ £67.99
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/890301...k/Product.html
Cooler Master 690 @ £63.24
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=644041

Mid-case (whole system):
Asus V3-M2NC61P, Sok AM2/AM2+, DDR2 667/800/1066, PCI-E (x16), SATA II, On Board VGA @ £88.09
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...roductFeatures

External storage:
IB-3221-STU-B Aluiminium case for two 3,5 - Icy Box IB-3221-STU-B JBOD Trayless 2x3.5" SATA USB 2.0 interface EasySwap One Touch Backup inc Fan @ £48.30
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Icy-B...Backup-inc-Fan
OR
Mini Storage Tower
http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/mst4.asp
OR
EdgeStore DAS401 4xBay USB RAID 1 DAS Enclosure via eSATA @ £133.56
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/EdgeS...sure-via-eSATA

I've edited my list slightly, highlighting my preferences based on certain recommendations and energy efficiency/specificity to the designated role of a file server.

The idea is to have 3 x 1TB and 1 x 500GB SATA HDDs for storing of documents; music, photos, videos, programs; directory holding executables to be accessed by other computers so that they may be installed easily and recordings from the (planned) CCTV camera set-up and a small PATA HDD to run the operating system on and store all programs installed for the file server.

The 3 x 1TB and 1 x 500GB SATA HDD array will be copied inside the external backup source to prevent data loss. The Edgestore seems to be the best option with eSata interface to allow fast transfer speeds.

I'm still looking for advice on which hardware should be removed from the list or conversely added to compliment the setup.