Extremely cheap and low powered 1-2 disk NAS.

[jim]

Ah, I was assuming that it wasn't a transferable license and we were factoring in a unix install to prevent having to factor in a new license cost into the equation.

If we're going the WHS route then that does change things, although it's still tricky because WHS v2 won't work properly without a RAID array AFAIK and the HP doesn't support anything beyond RAID0 or 1 - and WHS v1 won't support 3TB drives.

[neonplanet40]

My current whs is the original version one and I dont think I can install it on a new setup. That for me would be the best option if it was possible as the only problem I have with this server is the power is uses (I am assuming 300 watts).

[DanceswithUnix]

Why are you assuming 300W? I think that is more than my workstation when I am gaming on it

Ignore TDP, the CPU is 99% of the time idle so only the idle power matters. That is often down to how much junk is on the motherboard. All those firewire interfaces and extra sata port controllers that never get used on fancy motherboard all draw power.
edit to add: Graphics cards often suck power at idle, integrated graphics is the way to go with a low power server.

Perhaps a cheap watt meter would be a good investment to start with.

Failing that, I notice ebuyer were selling these quite cheap:

http://www.ebuyer.com/248760-d-link-...losure-dns-320

Never used one, it just caught my eye at the time.

[neonplanet40]

Thanks for all your replies so far guys.

I seen this - Hewlett Packard ML110 G7 Tower Server

And it has £100 cashback so will cost about £100.

Product Description - HP ProLiant ML110 G7 - P G840 2.8 GHz
Form Factor - Micro tower - 4U
Manufacturer Warranty - 1 year warranty - on-site ( Brazil - 3 years (1 year on-site) )
Dimensions (WxDxH) - 17.5 cm x 47.3 cm x 36.7 cm
Weight - 12.2 kg
Processor - 1 x Intel Pentium G840 / 2.8 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Hard Drive - 1 x 250 GB - standard - Serial ATA-300
Networking - Network adapter - PCI Express 2.0 x1 - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet - Ethernet Ports : 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
Power - AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
RAM - 2 GB (installed) / 16 GB (max) - DDR3 SDRAM - ECC - 1333 MHz - PC3-10600
Storage Controller - Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-300 ) ( Smart Array B110i )
Graphics Controller - Matrox G200
Type - Server
Cache Memory - 3 MB
Optical Storage - DVD-ROM
Monitor - None.
Cache Per Processor - 3 MB
Server Scalability - 1-way

It could take over from my old server maybe. Although Ideally this is just something I would like to run 24/7 and the ability for it to run a torrent client as well as stream to a squeezebox etc.

Or would the N40L be better? The price is pretty much the same. Both have no OS.

Thanks for your help

[jim]

I don't really see the point in the ML110. The processor isn't that much faster than the Microserver (and for your usage I doubt you'll notice the difference), the RAID card is useless (HP documentation implies it can't work with 3TB drives and it doesn't support much in the way of RAID configurations), you're limited to 4 hard disks (you can get 5 in the Microserver), and it's far bigger and heavier.

[neonplanet40]

That's that decision sorted then thanks.

What software should I run on the server then? Baring in mind I'm a bit of a noob. I would just like to be able to run any torrent client I want etc and ease of use.

Thanks again for the help

[jim]

You mean in terms of OS?

What RAID level were you thinking of using?

[neonplanet40]

Yea OS mate. I am not sure. Something similar to whs due to the ease of use. Or should I just buy whs 2011?

[Biscuit]

Just to drop in a comment, i have been using a D-Link DNS320 for a while now and i really like it. I bought it as a backup for my microserver but i have never managed to get the microserver running the way i want it too and the DNS has become my primary NAS pretty much.

Its a dirt cheap and nothing fancy 2 disk device. I usually get between 15-20MBps uploading to it and 40-50MBps downloading from it using 2 x 2TB disks. I havent tested it but the most recent firmware does say it supports 3TB.

The only gripe i have with it is that is it has a little fan on it which is a bit annoying
Set it to go to sleep after a few hours of inactivity and its not soo bad i guess.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/cat...ed=0CFwQ8wIwAA

[jim]

If you're just using 2 disks, you can create a RAID1 array in the BIOS IIRC, and then just use whatever OS you want. Windows XP/Vista/7 would probably be fine, WHS would also work.

If you wanted to build a 4 disk RAID-5 array, then you'd need Linux, but any version of Windows should do the trick. I really don't think the version will matter too much.

[13thmonkey]

get a power meter thingy and see what its actually drawing.

My home server box draws 65W, for 5 disks, a a dual core Athlon II, with an old inefficient PSU.

I suspect I could get a more dedicated box down to 45W, those 20W 24x7 at 15p/unit would cost about £26 extra for the server, realistically you might only have it on 18hrs/day.

So you might be spending £100 for a NAS, payback in 4 years, is it worth it?

Of course your figures will vary, but it's going to be on that order, certainly not payback in less than 2 years, and of course if anything on your server breaks they are standard parts so you have fix it, a NAS will have a proprietary set of components.

[neonplanet40]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm not really looking to replace server. Just want something small to put all my music onto. I have all my music burned as .wav files. So your talking 200gb. And I want to leave it on 24/7 so can play music from it all over the house as well as leave torrent on.

Also the ability to login online and get some files like drop box would be nice. So I guess it's more for everyday use whereas my server is for storing everything long term.

[jimborae]

In case you're interested I'm selling my readynas duo here:

http://forums.hexus.net/classifieds-...rd-dongle.html

[neonplanet40]

I have access to my University's msdn software which has all the windows softwares (except windows home server).

Would these be better?

I am quite sure Windows Server 2012 will be available in the next week.

Also if I want to connect to the server (when installing OS etc) with a screen (my screen has no vga) am I going to need to get a low profile gpu?

[neonplanet40]

Thanks mate but I have already ordered the microserver which will come in at about £90 after cashback and has the extra disk docks etc.

Thanks though.

Now I need to look at a hard drive to do for the minute. Pity about the prices atm! Any current bargain drives

[piggin23]

Just ordered the HP N40L
http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewle...21/version.asp

£203.98 with free delivery & £100 cash back