I’ve completed the NAS build, installed and configured FreeNAS and have a nice 2.6TB storage device connected to my network.
Before I start writing about how this NAS fits into my overall strategy, here’s the final cost sheet for the project thus far. Note that some of the components (APC UPS, Linksys gigabit router) aren’t technically part of the NAS device, but complementary devices to support my total strategy. I’m happy to report that the total for NAS-related costs are $629.47, which compared to say a comparable Drobo setup which would include a Drobo w/ 4TB ($799.99 + shipping) and DroboShare ($199.99 + shipping) to share it over a network, I’ve saved $370. Not bad considering I didn’t intend to do this cheaper than buying off-the-shelf.
| Component | Quantity | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donor Machine: Intel chipset w/ Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 460W Power Supply, DVD optical drive, GigE, 4x SATA RAID | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
SilverStone LC10S Aluminum Front Panel ATX/Micro ATX Computer Case (Silver) |
1 | 85.49 | 85.49 |
Syba Ultra Adapter Dual IDE 40/44PIN To Compact Flash |
1 | 13.98 | 13.98 |
Allegro 3PORT Firewire 400/800 Pci Card |
1 | 64.78 | 64.78 |
TRANSCEND 2GB Compact Flash Card |
1 | 17.29 | 17.29 |
Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB Hard Drive 3.5″ |
5 | 79.99 | 399.95 |
Tripp Lite P940-19I Serial ATA (SATA) Signal Cable (19 Inches) |
3 | 9.00 | 27.00 |
| BFG 550W GX Modular Power Supply | 1 | 89.99 | 89.99 |
| Case/Power Supply Fan, 80mm, 3-pin, ball bearing | 1 | 6.99 | 6.99 |
| 3-Pin to 4-Pin Fan Adapter | 1 | 3.99 | 3.99 |
| APC BACK-UPS XS 900 | 1 | 129.99 | 129.99 |
Linksys WRT310N Wireless-N Gigabit Router |
1 | 129.99 | 129.99 |
LaCie d2 Quadra 1TB eSata/FW800/FW400/USB2 External Drive |
1 | 151.98 | 151.98 |
| Shipping | 0.00 | ||
| Total | 1121.42 |
Now it’s time to revisit a few of my main goals for this project and see how this NAS fits into the overall strategy. From my original post…
- Incorporate Time Machine backups
- Identify super important things that need multiple backups (e.g. backup to disk and DVD or online backup)
- Network sharing – this is rather low on the list. As I said before, I only do real computing on one machine (to avoid syncing multiple machines), but with Apple TV and the rumored Apple Tablet… hmmm
Based on those three objectives, I’ve put together a high-level strategy and you can see the NAS is right in the middle of it:
In the next few posts I’ll talk about specific parts of the strategy and how I technically implement them.
Shameless plug—The diagram above was created using OmniGraffle and my Architecture by Hand stencil.
