I'm in the process of redesigning my home network. I currently have a desktop that's been used as a server in the past, but now that my laptop has more harddrive space, it's nearly useless. I used to use it heavily for torrenting, but I've pretty much stopped torrenting, save for the occasional episode of Top Gear.

Since my current "server" doesn't even have a SATA controller, I'd either have to upgrade motherboards or add a SATA controller if I wanted to have a harddrive worth having.

This leads me to this dilemma. Since all I really want to use the server for is to keep big files, I would be served pretty well with NAS.

There doesn't seem to be a huge price difference starting out. The real difference is that I can still do desktop stuff with a desktop but I can't with NAS.

So, what are your opinions on the matter?

The big question is if you are going to ever do anything except serve files. Do you want to run your torrent client on your server? Do you ever want to run a webserver? Transcoding? DHCP? etc. If so then you probably want a server. Some NAS boxes do have limited capabilities outside file serving, but a lot don't so it's better to be pleasantly surprised with extras then to expect them.

For me personally a NAS is to limiting. I do more than just serve files with my server. Also, some NASes do not support Windows file sharing 100% which would screw up an application I use.

The downside to servers is power usage. If you are staring with a P4 or Athlon, don't bother, the power bills won't be worth it. A P3 with a SATA card makes a good low end server. For new stuff an Atom is great unless you need lots of CPU grunt. If you are getting a new power supply make sure to get an 80+ one that is suited for what you are doing. An overkill PS will waste power.

I personally have a rather hefty server for home use, but I do things like run VMs and transcode on it. It is a 2.5 GHz Pentium Dual Core, but it goes down to about 40 Watts when the drives sleep. An Atom board can go under 30 without too much difficulty.

With either a server or a NAS make sure you have a good backup plan in case. RAID is not a backup!

I keep at least 2 copies of all of my important files on separate machines, and if it's "mission critical," it gets backed up to a portable drive and burned to a CD.

If I were building a server, it would likely be Atom based.


Something like http://www.newegg....em=N82E16813186184 with a SATA controller and RAID5. Not anywhere near foolproof, but better than RAID0. Again, multiple copies of important files on multiple machines with other backups as needed.

Nicer NAS appliances seem to do everything I do with my current server, but they just don't leave room for growth.

Right now, this is going to be a summer project. I'm going to install a structured wiring panel in my house and run 2 cat6 drops into every room. We've had IPTV installed, and it runs better over ethernet than over coax, so I want to make the switch.

I may go with a mythTV setup in the future. We have a DVR with our current TV service, but it's somewhat limited. If I do go that route, that will be an ongoing project. The structured wiring would be a major plus, though.

I do already have a server closet set aside. I have my gateway and my router set up in there, along with my unused server.

Posted by wannabeotaku Something like http://www.newegg....em=N82E16813186184 with a SATA controller and RAID5. Not anywhere near foolproof, but better than RAID0. Again, multiple copies of important files on multiple machines with other backups as needed.

Atoms work well for home servers, but get one of the newer 510 based boards, they use less power. Also get one with gig-e even if you aren't using it yet.

If you want to go raid 5 on an atom you pretty much have to use something other than Windows or get an expensive raid card. Cheap raid cards are shit and not worth it. Linux, FreeBSD and Opensolaris all have impressive software raid-5 implementations.

If you want cheap raid and are using Windows you need something with an Intel ICH/PCH chip that supports raid. Only a few atom boards have this and they are expensive. A regular board with Celeron will get you impressive raid-5 performance along with reasonable power usage.

I recently bought an Acer H340 and I love it. I've got 4 HDDs in it, 2 TB and 2 500 GB, and everything important is stored redundantly on 2 disks or more. Backs up your computer differentially nightly, and is great with extender devices (like Xbox's). It's pretty affordable and comes with Windows Home Server, and you can access all your files from anywhere on the planet as WHS sets you up with a domain to log into (ex: myname.homeserver.com).

For the real hardcore, you can DCPROMO Windows Home Server, although it is against the TOU. It does break the web access ability but you can repair it, there are guides on how to do it. The only downside to it, is there's no onboard video, so you have to rely on their console or RDP in. There is PCI-e expansion slot, you you could probably stick an lo-pro video card in. I've given some quick searches but I haven't found anything that would really fit that's cheap.

Anyways, just my 2 cents.