Do It Yourself NAS

We talk with James Nixon from the FreeNAS project which lets you have a disk storage system on your network at home.

via TWiT.TV.

What is FreeNAS you say? Put simply, its is an operating system based on FreeBSD that brings with it a snazzy web interface for management, and all the protocols you need to share files between Windows, Mac and Linux. In other words, a perfect solution for your digital bookshelf. Lets get to it.

via Engadget.

A detailed blog post which covers hardware and software choices.

For the hardware, I ended up with a fanless MiniITX motherboard Intel D510MO, which has a Atom processor, Gigabit ethernet (all my home network is Gigabit, so it does make a difference). I am also using a 2GB 800Mhz Kingston RAM memory, and both two SATA connectors. The MOBO has up to seven 2.0 USB and one mini PCI Express, in case I want to add more SATA drives in the future.

via DanielAndrade.net

AnandTech published a great overview of building your own file server, with overviews of current operating system and hardware options.

Whether your budget and storage needs are modest or extensive, we have you covered in the latest builder’s guide to file server systems.

via AnandTech

According to iXsystems developer James T. Nixon III, FreeNAS 8.0 includes major architectural optimisations and is more modular than previous versions. It features a redesigned GUI, built using Python and the Django web framework, that is aimed at making the OS easier to use. ZFS and UFS2 file systems are both supported – ZFS is used as the primary file system.

via The H Open Source

Soon after it’s discovered that the next version of Windows Home Server will be dropping its drive extender feature, HP decided to drop its Windows Home Server products.

Ars Technica covers the implications of Microsoft removing the Drive Extender feature from Windows Home Server.

Indeed, Drive Extender was fundamental to the home server concept. A home server as originally envisaged by the Windows Home Server team should have, in essence, infinite storage, and storage that should be transparently extensible.

bit-tech.net has a new article on building a FreeNAS box, including choosing hardware and installing the software.

An older post, but still good, Systm walks through installing FreeNAS:

If you’re just itching for an excuse to reuse that retired desktop PC or laptop sitting in your closet there here’s your chance. Today we’ll be looking at the basics of installing FreeNAS, an open-source DIY NAS. So instead of spending money on off the shelf options why not save yourself some cash and make use of the stuff you already have and get a super customizable network storage device to boot.

via Revision3 > Systm > Episode 60: Build Your Own NAS.

Learn FreeNAS has posted a list of major features expected to appear in the 0.8 release of FreeNAS. Included are a base on FreeBSD 8 or 8.1, an interface built on Django, AHCI SATA drivers, UFS2 journaling, and more.

Learn FreeNAS » FreeNAS 0.8 Roadmap

Learn FreeNAS posted news that FreeNAS is no longer dropping FreeBSD for Debian, but will add a Debian based version of FreeNAS called OpenMediaVault.

Versia has a comprehensive guide to setting up Debian 5.0 on a VIA ARTiGO A2000 barebones storage server.

This post will explain how to set up a NAS server with Debian running essential services such as ssh, samba, nfs, cups, rdiff-backup and rtorrent with a web interface; and using two HDDs in RAID 1 mode with everything encrypted. It took me awhile to research all bits and pieces, hopefully it will save you time if you are going to do a similar set up.

SmallNetBuilder walks through building a 16 drive RAID5 NAS with FreeBSD 6.

rubbervir.us shows how to quickly turn an old computer into a file server running Samba.

HowtoForge has detailed instructions for setting up a fileserver by focusing on the relevant parts of SME Server.