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We are building our own NAS server

kassans 65166 134

TL;DR

  • A homemade x86 NAS server was built to move over 4TB of HDD data from a desktop to a laptop setup.
  • Xigmanas was chosen over FreeNAS because it can connect NTFS drives and share them over the network.
  • The build used an AsRock H81M-DG4 motherboard, 8GB RAM, an Intel Celeron G1840, and cost PLN 120.
  • SilentiumPC cooling replaced the stock cooler, making the system quiet enough that only the disks are heard, though the IBOX 400W PSU is still temporary.
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  • #121 18848205
    procsa
    Level 31  
    Posts: 1777
    Help: 173
    Rate: 363
    Well, I thought, especially that with the bios turned on, this pentium heats up, and unfortunately there is no option to lower the clock at all, only one thing that this motherboard has are two gigabit ports, but there would probably be a problem with using two hosts at full speed .
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  • #122 18848246
    Karaczan
    Level 42  
    Posts: 6683
    Help: 865
    Rate: 1102
    And I am currently testing a NAS based on Odroid XU4 and in general I am pleasantly surprised by the performance of this board.
    USB3.0 bay drive, EXT4 file system, smiga is on average 96-105MB / s in samba.
    And it cuts about 10W :D
  • #123 18869464
    Grzegorz1893
    Level 1  
    Posts: 1
    Hi to all.

    In order not to open a new topic, I will write my server configuration to us and I am asking you for help if everything is ok.

    It is to be used for backup of photos and videos, Windows 10, TeamSpeak 3 server for a few people, movies and possibly something more for the future, but you will probably need to upgrade. Generally 2-3 people can use at the same time.

    System : unRAID
    Processor: Intel Pentium Gold G5400 with the possibility of upgrading to i5-9400T or stronger with the designation T.
    Motherboard : Gigabyte B365M D3H
    RAM: 16GB DDR4 2666Mhz or more PUSKILL brand (Chinese good ram)
    Disk: Seagate SkyHawk 2TB 3.5 5900 (ST2000VX008) 2 pcs.
    Power Supply: SilentiumPC Elementum E2 SI 350W (SPC19)
    Cooling: SilentiumPC Fera 3 HE1224 v2 (SPC144)
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  • #124 18869510
    pawelr98
    Level 39  
    Posts: 6461
    Help: 413
    Rate: 1152
    Recently, I bought an FSP300-60EGA, i.e. a power supply with 80+ Gold.
    According to the test from the 80+ certification site, the efficiency for 115V is about 89%, so for 230V it will be 90 +%.
    A new one with a guarantee costs PLN 60.

    Relative to the previous power supply, a real improvement of some 12-13% was measured.

    The time will come to modernize the processor and the board in order to cut the power consumption more neatly.
    And then maybe you will look for some "civil" RAID controller, which is not so annoying.

    At the very end, there will be hard drives where there will be a replacement of all 2TB to 4TB or a change to 4x8TB in RAID10.

    Currently, the first "civil" switch for 2.5 Gbit / s technology has been released on the market.
    https://www.anandtech.com/show/15916/at-last-...k-switch-qnap-releases-qsw11055t-5port-switch
    It costs $ 100.

    A bit expensive, while the 2.5Gbit / s network cards on the PCIE are cheap because the cheapest PLN 60.
    Wiring may still be good old CAT5E.

    I have CAT6, I am waiting for competition with cheaper switches to appear and then I will replace the main switch.
  • #125 18936794
    orlicki12
    Level 6  
    Posts: 152
    Rate: 20
    How do you share files over the internet? I am currently trying to play with Nextcloud, but in conjunction with Letsencrypt unfortunately I cannot connect to the service locally only from outside the lan network. Probably Funbox's fault.
  • #126 19213231
    gimbus
    Level 13  
    Posts: 38
    Help: 2
    Rate: 128
    Hello colleagues :-)
    And I took a different route - I tried earlier, I made a small 1-disk nasa from an HP terminal with a 2.5 "SATA disk inserted.
    It has proven itself over several years of work.

    We are building our own NAS server
    Later I got my hands on the disposal Netgear ReadyNAS NVX - a 4-disk solid mechanical construction. The investigation showed that the power supply is faulty.
    The original Netgear power supply available on Amazon costs half a fortune, and I wasn't sure if only this was damaged.
    After a short search, it turned out to be an ordinary PC power supply with the usual 20-pin motherboard connector, but the witty designers swapped
    a few pins in places. So I put a 24pin to 20pin power adapter into the housing with appropriately crossed cables:

    We are building our own NAS server
    The whole thing is not impressive, but it works and allows you to use a regular PC power supply:

    We are building our own NAS server

    I didn't like the original Netgear soft very much, so I built my own.
    I don't need the GUI and the gimmicks, I hate it when the device does something out of control and I don't know what's going on underneath, I prefer to have full control.
    The main task is backup, the rest are add-ons.
    My soft is not very friendly - the whole configuration has to be done from the console manually (vi or nano :-) ), but I know what's squeaking in the grass.
    I lost XRaid (Netgear's own idea) but replaced it with unionfs, which has pretty much the same effect - except manual configuration.
    Services available:
    ssh
    ftp / sftp
    www with CGI
    appletalk
    samba
    And of course, access via serial console ;-)
    Nothing prevents you from adding whatever your heart desires.
    The whole system boots to RAM, no element of it is placed on the matrix disks (unless expressly requested).
    To synchronize files with the computer I used the open source SyncThing program - amazing, it allows local and WAN synchronization, everything happens in the background.
    System boot screenshot below:
    Code: text Expand Select all Copy to clipboard
    
SYSLINUX 3.31 2006-09-25  Copyright (C) 1994-2005 H. Peter Anvin                
Loading kernel..................................................                
Loading rootfs.gz...............................................................................
.......................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................
Ready.              
�ahci 0000:03:00.0: masking port_map 0x7 -> 0x3                                 
ln: /dev/log: Fidevpts: called with bogus options                               
le exists                                                                       
Starting syslogd                                                   OK           
Starting acpid                                                     OK           
Starting klogd                                                     OK           
Starting mdev dynamic device management                            OK          
Loading Kernel modules for LCD
nvxgpio:                                                           OK
Waiting for USB drive(s) to become ready..
sd 5:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 5:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 5:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdf] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdf] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdf] Assuming drive cache: write through
Found 4 SATA drives and 2 USB drives:                            sde sdf 
Using external USB drive sdf
Mounting /dev/sdf1 on /mnt                                         OK
Creating temporary config dir on tmp                               OK
Copying config files to temporary dir                              OK
Copying config files to /etc                                       OK
Initializing random number generator...                            OK
Starting Auto assemble RAID
Waiting for /etc/mdadm.conf to be restored
Waiting for /etc/mdadm.conf to be restored
/etc/mdadm.conf not found. Trying to auto-assemble
Config updated
Scanning Auto assemble RAID                                        OK
Starting network:
Bringing up interface lo                                           OK
Bringing up interface eth0                                         OK
Bringing up interface eth1                                         OK
Bringing up interface bond0                                        OK
Setting time zone to Europe/Warsaw
Starting Network time protocol daemon                              OK
Activating swap                                                    OK
Starting Mount all storage devices
Check if /dev/disk/by-label/BIGDATA exists                         OK
Creating mountpoint /home:                                         OK
Mounting BIGDATA (/dev/md1p1) on /home                             OK
Setting options for /home:
    WARNING: Skiping option defaults                                   
Check if /dev/disk/by-label/DATA0 exists                           OK
Mountpoint /var/www exists
Mounting DATA0 (/dev/sda3) on /var/www                             OK
Setting options for /var/www:
    WARNING: Skiping option defaults                                   
Check if /dev/disk/by-label/SMALLDATA exists                       OK
Creating mountpoint /var/backup:                                   OK
Mounting SMALLDATA (/dev/md0p1) on /var/backup                     OK
Setting options for /var/backup:
    WARNING: Skiping option defaults                                   
Changing mode to 0770                                              OK
Changing group to 102                                              OK
Starting Dropbear ssh server                                       OK
    Netatalk service - MacIntosh connectivity disabled in config       
Syncing hardware clock with system clock:                          OK
    Cron scheduler daemon disabled in config                           
Starting Smartd monitoring daemon                                  OK
    Hiawatha web server disabled in config                             
    Pure-ftpd sever disabled in config                                 
Starting SMB service                                               OK
Starting NMB service                                               OK
Running all Local scripts (rc.local functionality)
    Absolutely useless front panel demo ;-) disabled in config         
Starting Syncthing - continuous sync program                       OK


+=====================================================+
|           _                        __   _    __     |
|    /\/\  (_)  ___  _ __  ___    /\ \ \ /_\  / _\    |
|   /    \ | | / __|| '__|/ _ \  /  \/ ///_\\ \ \     |
|  / /\/\ \| || (__ | |  | (_) |/ /\  //  _  \_\ \    |
|  \/    \/|_| \___||_|   \___/ \_\ \/ \_/ \_/\__/    |
|						      |
|	  by Szubi  (gimbus109@gmail.com)	      |
|        http://second.zmienneip.pl/hacking	      |
+=====================================================+

bond0: 192.168.101.5
eth0: 
eth1: 

MicroNAS login: root
Password: 
# free
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:        2072440      135868     1351004           0      585568           0
-/+ buffers/cache:       135868     1936572
Swap:       4194296           0     4194296

    As you can see, the system is 135MB with 2GB in RAM.
    At the moment www, ftp and netatalk services are disabled in the configuration, but enabling them does not change the memory usage.
    The whole thing has been running for several months, but it is still "Work In Progress" -
    recently I added a menu that allows you to view important system status items on the LCD display - disk status and occupancy, RAID status, etc.

    I offer all kinds of assistance to those who are interested ;-)
    best regards
  • #127 19532750
    procsa
    Level 31  
    Posts: 1777
    Help: 173
    Rate: 363
    Buddy gimbus, great job, I admire and envy the abilities !!!

    Gentlemen, has anyone worked on xpenology and the Intel D2500CC boards? I have been tired for two days and I can not bet on this newer version than DSM 5.2, on any of the loaders from version 1.01 and above, I do not search for a server to install the PAT file, I replaced the files in the img image, etc. and nothing, on three other motherboards ( normal?) everything works flawlessly, but I also fail to start with the latest loader 1.03b.

    I found only one on the internet entry in Russian :

    Code: Text
    Log in, to see the code


    Last sentence :

    -

    I can't speak Russian, so the translator explains:

    "There are no problems with the installation, just turn on the UEFI bootloader and disable the second LAN, register another Mac LAN in the rake."

    I understand everything, except the last words, change another MAC address, I do not know if this is the fault of the translator? But I tried different configurations with the MAC address of the card and random, but it did not work. Of course, I turned UEFI on (and off), and the second power cable also, no improvement; /

    There is Dual Gigabit 82574L on this Intel D2500CC motherboard
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  • #128 19533859
    pawelr98
    Level 39  
    Posts: 6461
    Help: 413
    Rate: 1152
    ????????? ? ????? ??? ??? ????

    The propisate is still raking the maklan

    So even without knowing the language, write down the MAC address in the rake.

    Sometimes it makes sense to use regular transliteration arrays instead of using a translator.
    Concepts related to computers are, like in Polish, taken straight from English, the translator will only confuse here.

    I, on the other hand, play other things.

    https://www.elektroda.pl/rtvforum/topic2155697.html

    I did this on my Gigabyte 870A-USB3 motherboard.

    The computer starts up perfectly without a graphics card, the operating system is reporting after SSH and I have not noticed any problems with its operation.
    Following the readings of the wattmeter, it can be concluded that the work of the graphics card is performed by the processor due to the lack of hardware acceleration on the part of the card.
    If the GUI is active, the power consumption drop is quite small.
    However, if we also switch to text mode (typical for Linux and other systems, not Windows), the decrease in energy consumption is more noticeable.

    In the case of the Ati X600 card, the difference between having and not having a graphics card in the system is approximately 5W in text mode and 2-3W in GUI mode. The difference between text mode and GUI is another few watts (regardless of card or no card).

    It is worth remembering about this patent not only for energy consumption, but also for the release of an additional PCIE port, which is sometimes important for mATX or ITX boards.

    Interestingly, some uefi motherboards can also move without any graphics card.
    It all depends on what the producer of the album came up with.
    However, it would be interesting to look for a similar permanent and relatively universal workaround for the uefi.
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  • #129 19534606
    procsa
    Level 31  
    Posts: 1777
    Help: 173
    Rate: 363
    Thanks for the translation, I have a small request if someone explained to me in a simple way what I should do to start xpenalogy on my intel D2500CC, lan 82574L motherboard.
    I should install from the loader 1.02b (DS315), but from what I understand the drivers for my power cable are in the e1000e set, which, I'm not mistaken, are in the loader 1.03b from DS315, somewhere I read that I also changed the name to e1000 to make some Intel cards they worked, but I do not understand it, only as I wrote earlier there are entries that someone did it without any modifications on the same disc as mine, or on the same power cable.

    On loader 1.04 under DS918, LAN reports, gives an IP address and ping goes, but does not search for me in the synology program. In the 1.03b / 1.02b loaders, you can't see the card / disc at all.

    Anyone overwhelmed will help? I do not hide in these linux matters I am thin; / Below links to what bothers me.

    https://xpenology.club/compile-drivers-xpenology-with-windows-10-and-build-in-bash/

    https://xpenology.com/forum/topic/13922-guide-to-native-drivers-dsm-617-and-621-on-ds3615/

    https://xpenology.com/forum/topic/13333-tutorialreference-6x-loaders-and-platforms/

    https://xpenology.com/forum/topic/28321-drive...un-103b104b-for-dsm623-for-918-3615xs-3617xs/


    ps nice bios fun to save money! :)
  • #130 19763518
    kassans
    Level 32  
    Posts: 1802
    Help: 130
    Rate: 387
    Unfortunately, but that NAS is out of date, soon I will publish a NAS that looks like a NAS based on Raspberry Pi 4B and OMV system :)
  • #131 19763663
    krzbor
    Level 29  
    Posts: 1731
    Help: 40
    Rate: 1044
    kassans wrote:
    Unfortunately, but that NAS is out of date, soon I will publish a NAS that looks like a NAS based on Raspberry Pi 4B and OMV system :)

    I think it is a very good and energy saving proposition.
  • #132 19763739
    pawelr98
    Level 39  
    Posts: 6461
    Help: 413
    Rate: 1152
    Energy-saving, but is it economically viable and adequate in terms of performance?
    It is a little forgotten that Samba and many processes are single-threaded and many ARM cores do not need to have adequate performance for these tasks.
  • #133 19764870
    krzbor
    Level 29  
    Posts: 1731
    Help: 40
    Rate: 1044
    But does Samba need computing power? It all depends on what you want to have on such a server. My OMV works as a NAS, backup, FTP server for cameras, a website server (including https), a smart home server (it manages quite a lot of ESP). As you can see, the cores will be useful. The problem may be installing the system on the SD card. Personally, I advise against it if it is to work reliably and for a long time. I suggest you do a BOOT right away from the drive connected to USB3.
  • #134 19765587
    pawelr98
    Level 39  
    Posts: 6461
    Help: 413
    Rate: 1152
    Samba needs it to transfer files at the right speed.
    You can verify it very easily, put a friend samba server on some weaker computer and regulate the processor clock. The faster the processor, the faster the transfers.

    A celeron or pentium has two high-performance cores, while the Raspberry Pi has a few weaker cores.

    There are still IO issues.
    Rpi does not have a Sata connector in any version, and also does not have PCIE connectors so that IO can be supplemented with solid IO hardware.
  • #135 19766324
    kassans
    Level 32  
    Posts: 1802
    Help: 130
    Rate: 387
    After initial tests on raspberry + HDD, I have about 100mb read / write on such a raspberry, which is what HDD is able to give :)
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Topic summary

✨ The discussion revolves around building a personal NAS (Network Attached Storage) server, particularly focusing on the challenges and solutions related to hardware selection, software options, and data management. Users share their experiences with various NAS systems, including FreeNAS and Xigmanas, highlighting the importance of compatibility with NTFS drives and the need for reliable hardware. Several users recommend specific motherboards, processors, and RAM configurations, emphasizing low power consumption and efficient performance. Concerns about data redundancy, backup strategies, and the reliability of different hard drive brands are also discussed, with users sharing their preferences for Seagate, WD, and Hitachi drives. The conversation touches on the benefits of using Linux-based systems like OpenMediaVault and the practicality of using older hardware for NAS setups.
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FAQ

TL;DR: Home-built NAS boxes on used x86 hardware push 110 MB/s over Gigabit [Elektroda, chemik_16, post #18498979]; “If you have important data, you need to protect yourself, always” [Elektroda, snake3d, post #18483633] Stick to mirrored drives, quality PSU, and scheduled backups.

Why it matters: Solid throughput plus disciplined backup keeps DIY storage both fast and safe.

Quick Facts

• Typical Gigabit SMB speed: 80-110 MB/s [Elektroda, Bojleros, post #18497446] • Idle power draw: ARM 8-12 W [Elektroda, VSS, post #18483872]; x86 25-60 W [Elektroda, Karaczan, post #18483388] • FreeNAS needs ≥8 GB RAM; Xigmanas runs on 4 GB [Elektroda, kassans, post #18489038] • Used Celeron G1840 board + 8 GB RAM bought for PLN 120 [Elektroda, kassans, post #18483414] • Rebuilds stress disks; keep offline backup alongside RAID [Elektroda, Bojleros, post #18484249]

5. Do I need ECC RAM for ZFS?

FreeNAS recommends ECC, yet several builders run ZFS on non-ECC for years without corruption [Elektroda, kassans, post #18488221] Expect slightly higher risk; keep verified backups.

7. How can I hit 100 MB/s over Gigabit?

Use single-disk EXT4 or RAID5, enable Jumbo Frames, and avoid FUSE-NTFS. Users reported 110 MB/s on three-disk RAID5 with LSI controller [Elektroda, Bojleros, post #18497446] A single large file copies fastest.

8. How do I access the NAS securely from the Internet?

Combine DDNS with VPN (WireGuard or OpenVPN). Builders tunnel RDP over SSH to avoid exposed ports [Elektroda, kassans, post #18488221] Disable default admin accounts and enforce key-based logins.

9. What’s the safest drive configuration?

Mirror (RAID1) or ZFS mirror protects from one failure. RAID6 survives two but rebuild is stressful and can trigger more failures [Elektroda, Bojleros, post #18484249] Keep an external backup, not just RAID.

10. How do I back up the system boot disk?

Clone the SSD/USB stick with AOEMI or dd to another drive, then store the image on the data pool [Elektroda, procsa, post #18848034] Re-imaging takes under 10 minutes.

11. Can hardware RAID cards fail badly?

Yes. After swapping one drive a controller wiped the whole array [Elektroda, chemik_16, post #18483769] Prefer HBA in IT mode plus software RAID where disks stay readable on any machine.

12. How to set up Xigmanas in three steps?

  1. Flash the ISO to USB, boot and pick ‘Install on SSD’. 2. Create ZFS pool, enable SMB. 3. Save config backup off-box. Total time ≈30 minutes [Elektroda, kassans, post #18485113]

14. What edge cases should I plan for?

During RAID rebuild disk load jumps 3-5× normal and SMART-OK drives can die [Elektroda, Bojleros, post #18484249] Maintain spare drives and leave 1-2 % unallocated so smaller replacement disks fit.

15. How noisy should cooling be?

Replace stock coolers with large low-RPM towers; after switching to SilentiumPC Fera only disks are audible [Elektroda, kassans, post #18483414] Keep HDD temps 30-40 °C to extend life.
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