Do It Yourself NAS

Phoronix takes a brand new, unstable ZFS Linux kernel module and benchmarks it agains Btrfs, ZFS-FUSE, EXT4, and XFS with interesting results.

In this article are some new details on KQ Infotech’s ZFS kernel module and our results from testing out the ZFS file-system on Linux.

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.

One can hardly be a market leader with a small product range. So, after announcing its entry-level products for the 2010 model year, Synology updates its high-end product line-up, too. In this review we are going to talk about the DS210+ Network Attached Storage which, as its name suggests, is designed for two hard disk drives.

via X-bit labs

bit-tech.net reviews the Promise Fastrak TX4650, a 4-port SATA software RAID PCI-E card, and benchmarks it against the Intel ICH10R.

Gizmodo has a summary of of Seagate’s new home NAS, the GoFlex Desk.

The NAS—they don’t want to call it a NAS—works just like most up-to-date NASes do: Time Machine support, streaming content to media players (Xbox 360, PS3) around your network, USB printer support, third-party real-time backup, remote access with your iPhone/iPad and smartphone as well as Facebook and Flickr integration.

via Gizmodo

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

Will Urbina has posted full build pics of a low power NAS using an Atom processor, HighPoint 8-port RAID card, and eight 2 TB SATA drives.

Black Dwarf

Super Talent released a value line of SATA SSDs that start at 8GB, which is enough space to install Linux or BSD comfortably.

SSDs are available now from Super Talent resellers worldwide at street prices ranging from about $65 for the 8GB model to around $175 for the 64GB model.

via Legit Reviews.

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.

The Tech Report reviews Western Digital’s latest in high performance spindle-based desktop storage.

can the new VelociRaptor compete in this rapidly evolving storage market, or has it become, well, a dinosaur?

via The Tech Report .

The Drobo FS is one of the first entry-level NAS systems to include 5-bays, most products in this class only support 4-bays. This means that the maximum capacity of the Drobo FS is 10TB, compared to 8TB in four-bay NAS units.

via StorageReview.com.

Robin Harris over at the Storage Bits blog goes over a new UW-M paper analyzing the fault tolerance claims of ZFS.

File systems guard all the data in your computer, but most are based on 20-30 year old architectures that put your data at risk with every I/O. The open source ZFS from Sun Oracle claims high data integrity – and now that claim has been tested.

via ZFS data integrity tested | Storage Bits | ZDNet.com.

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

X-bit labs reviews the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo.

The ReadyNAS Duo is positioned as a solution for homes with more than one computer. Unlike a USB drive, the ReadyNAS connects to the network and is simultaneously accessible via all connected Windows or Macintosh computers. Read more about this device in our review.

via Netgear ReadyNAS Duo Review – X-bit labs.

Legit Reviews takes a 6Gbps SATA/SAS LSI RAID card for and spin and ends up with a lot of performance graphs.

Today I have LSI’s latest RAID card, the MegaRAID 9260-8i SAS 6Gbps controller. Featuring a compact PowerPC RAID-on-Chip controller, 512mb of DDR2 cache, a PCIe 2.0 x8 slot, and SAS/SATA 6Gbps connectivity, the 9260-8i is one well equipped RAID card. Marketing documentation boasts of maximum 2875MB/s reads and 1850MB/s writes through the 800MHz PowerPC LSISAS2108 ROC, well over three times the throughput limits of the ICH10R controller built into Intel’s desktop platforms.