My FreeNAS Project Part 6: Final Build and Overview

August 29, 2009

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:

Backup/Archive Overview

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.

Related posts

Tagged as: architecture, archive, backup, cloud, computers, diagram, freenas, nas, network, raid, storage, ups, workflow

  • http://www.learnfreenas.com/blog/2009/08/31/jonathan-browns-six-part-adventure-with-freenas/ Learn FreeNAS » Jonathan Brown’s Six Part Adventure With FreeNAS

    [...] My FreeNAS Project Part 6: Final Build and Overview [...]

  • http://khurt.com/ Khürt

    John,
    Even though your setup (Time Machine Backup to FreeNAS) works it is not a supported configuration. I would test this thorough over a period of time before committing something critical to it. An upgrade of the OS X or Time Machine or FreeNAS could render the whole setup worthless.

  • http://jonathanbrown.me Jonathan Brown

    Khurt, The unsupported configuration was a concern when I started testing the remote TM backup. I'm still being cautious, but it's been running successfully for a while, including the upgrade to Snow Leopard.

  • http://khurt.com/ Khürt

    John,
    Even though your setup (Time Machine Backup to FreeNAS) works it is not a supported configuration. I would test this thorough over a period of time before committing something critical to it. An upgrade of the OS X or Time Machine or FreeNAS could render the whole setup worthless.

  • http://jonathanbrown.me Jonathan Brown

    Khurt, The unsupported configuration was a concern when I started testing the remote TM backup. I'm still being cautious, but it's been running successfully for a while, including the upgrade to Snow Leopard.

  • david pritchett

    im not even going to spend that much money,the only thing i have to buy is the cpu. i just built a monster thermaltake armor complete with asus driving it. its a hoss 200 lbs of raw power. but i realy admire you for taking on this challenge. good luck to you! dave from kansas

  • http://islandinthenet.com/ Khürt

    John, following up on how the NAS/Time Machine setup is working out. I went all Mac in my house (no Windows, no Linux, no BSD). I decided an easier (and supported) solution was to get a 1TB Time Capsule (dual antenna). I get the benefit of Time Machine backups and a NAS. The TC has a USB port so that I can plug-in additional storage. It works with USB hubs so I can add many external USB drives or a printer.

  • david pritchett

    ive never tryd mac,all my family and friends use microsoft windows xp. i try to keep up with the young ones? well good luck to ya, gotta build another pc . keep me posted on your next project. dave

  • http://jonathanbrown.me Jonathan Brown

    I considered a Time Capsule when I started this, but it didn't fit all of my criteria. One thing I still have to do is follow-up with a post on my replication practices. I have a FW800 drive hanging off my NAS that I replicate certain data to from FreeNAS using RSYNC. The use case is if emergency and need to get out quick, I can detach the drive and run. Obviously you can just take your entire Time Capsule with you, but there's another RSYNC that's going to cloud storage.

  • http://islandinthenet.com/ Khürt

    I understand. I've got a my own DR plan using BackBlaze. I've got almost 500GB in the cloud.

    http://islandinthenet.com/2009/07/31/backblaze-…

  • CubsFanRon

    Just stumbled upon this – very interesting.

    One thing to watch out for on the TimeCapsule is the overheating-related deaths. It seems like an overpriced NAS with limited capability. I was thinking ReadyNAS myself, but now with discovering FreeNAS I may want to play with an old HP tower (ca. 2001) and see how that goes.

    Unlike Jonathan, price is a concern, so if it starts getting to be expensive to retrofit a box and motherboard with the appropriate equipment to make a RAID5 NAS, then I may just go to Fry's and pick one up.

    CubsFanRon

  • CubsFanRon

    According to this page (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427?viewlocale=e…), Apple says “If your backup disk is on a network, the network server must use Apple File Protocol (AFP) file sharing and both your computer and the networked backup disk should have Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later installed.”

  • Donald Indermuehle

    Jonathan, according to your overview diagram it looks like you hooked up your Apple TV to your NAS. Are you able to stream video from your NAS directly to your Apple TV or do you have to have the PC in between? Will AppleTV stream avi files from FreeNAS?

    I enjoyed the posts they were really informative and are certainly wetting my appetite to “tinker”.

  • Donald Indermuehle

    Jonathan, according to your overview diagram it looks like you hooked up your Apple TV to your NAS. Are you able to stream video from your NAS directly to your Apple TV or do you have to have the PC in between? Will AppleTV stream avi files from FreeNAS?

    I enjoyed the posts they were really informative and are certainly wetting my appetite to “tinker”.

  • http://jonathanbrown.me Jonathan Brown

    There’s a PC running iTunes in between, but the iTunes data lives on the NAS. With the new AppleTV (which I upgraded to) there’s no syncing with a PC. It uses the Home Sharing feature to stream from any iTunes library on the network.

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