NAS / Home Server Recommendation for Squeezebox

Hi All

I'm starting to think about getting a NAS device or Home Server. The main reason I want one is so that it can run squeezebox server. Currently I use my PC but it's not economical to have a gaming rig on just to run squeezebox server!

I've been looking at the Netgear ReadyNas range because I know they can run the squeezebox server software, but I'm not really sure what I need. Being able to run squeezebox server is my only core requirement. Other than that I will use it to store music, photos, the odd video and steam backups. I'm also very keen that it uses a minimal amount of power. Noise doesn't matter too much because it will be in a mostly unused room. Budget wise, I think I'd be prepared to pay anywhere upto £300 including 1/2 1Tb drives.

Hopefully someone can help me make a decision.

Thanks

Andy

HP Microserver is going to be the most versatile piece of kit in that budget - more powerful than a standard NAS box aswell. It also has more scope for expansion on the future too. :)

just bought one actually, 230 quid with £110 of that cashback from HP, its got 4 drive bays in it and comes with a 250GB drive to load an OS onto. Its arrived today and although i've only given it a cursory look over, it appears to be a pretty smart device.

+1 for the Microserver

I used to have a ReadyNAS with squeezeserver installed and there was quite a bit of lag when browsing my 1100 odd FLAC library, now with the Microserver it's so much snappier.

Microserver + 2*1TB Drive RAID1 + WHS v2 or Windows 7 would be my recommendation.

ReadyNAS would certainly be a heck of a lot easier (and they're fantastic units), but I always wondered about its performance with heavy software. Hasnath's experience seems to prove it's not the greatest idea in the world.

Thanks for the replies. With the microserver, does anyone have an idea what the power usage is like?

If power usage really matters to you then you probably want a llano based system, but I don't think you can get one for the sort of money those microservers cost.

I think power usage matters more than I initially said, ideally i'd like as low power as possible. Can you recommend any llano based products that I could take a look at. I can always stretch the budget, the amount of overtime i'm working this month would cover it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kasavien

Thanks for the replies. With the microserver, does anyone have an idea what the power usage is like?

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I'm actually relocating my Microserver in a couple of days so I might be able to check it with one of those socket power meters... wouldn't be until Saturday or Sunday though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kasavien

Thanks for the replies. With the microserver, does anyone have an idea what the power usage is like?

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The old 1.3 Ghz 160GB Microserver of mine used 22watts at idle running Windows Server 2008 R2 and 32W idle running Vmware ESXi 4.1
Measured at the wall using a cheapo power socket thingy by me.
The Windows 7 figures should be more or less the same as the Server 2008 R2 figures.

The figures badass quotes sound about right - when I looked (admittedly a while back) and did the sums, spending more to get mildly more energy efficient wasn't cost effective given the low cost of the rebated Microserver. That said the figures may now be different affecting the breakeven point somewhat.

Are you going to run anything else in the future? My thoughts would be go for something more powerful if you are thinking of using ESXi as a hypervisor with multiple guests - I'd imagine it would struggle with anything too complex.

Comparison

Microserver 28-40 watts with no disks.
Thecus N2100 (retro nas) with 2x 1.5 gig samsung disks..... 18W

Also the microserver is not exactly the quietest beast, unless you are used to whirry desktop PCs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by abaxas

Comparison

Microserver 28-40 watts with no disks.
Thecus N2100 (retro nas) with 2x 1.5 gig samsung disks..... 18W

Also the microserver is not exactly the quietest beast, unless you are used to whirry desktop PCs.

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Just to add to that. A 10W saving equates to around a £10 per year saving in electricity. If you choose something lower power than a Microserver that's more expensive, make sure it's for the right reasons such as ease of setup and noise. Not for cost (unless the extra cost is a trivial amount)

Thanks for all the advice, sounds like a microserver might be about right for me. But i've also got to factor in buying an OS and getting extra HDDs. Noise doesn't bother me so much because it will be in a different room.

Windows home server is about £40 and will do everything you've mentioned you need :)