How to make nas from a windows 7 computer. How to turn an old PC into a modern server. Configuring storage device settings

This article will focus on network storage devices. NAS. Create your own network storage NAS not that difficult. There would be a little desire. And so, there is a desire, components for assembly NAS there too. Let's get started...

Available components:

Gigabyte GA-945GZM-S2 motherboard
Intel Celeron 420 processor
RAM DDR 512 MB
MidiTower ATX Classix Avrora 400W case
HDD WD200
IDE cable
SATA cable

In addition there is CD drive to install an operating system that will be connected temporarily and subsequently disconnected and will not be included in NAS.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the HDD WD200 will be used only for the system, but not for storing information. Hard drives for storing information will be installed at the very last moment.

First of all, we assemble all these components in the case. No questions arise during this procedure, so the assembly description system unit for use as network storage(NAS) I'm skipping. Let me just clarify that the HDD WD200 is connected by the master.

At the second stage we configure the BIOS:

In the BIOS (AWARD BIOS) we are interested in the setting located in the Power Management Setup section: AC BAck Function- select from the list provided Memory

This setting defines:

Should the computer automatically boot after the power supply is restored if it was lost (Full-On)
Stay off (Soft-Off)
or return to the state that existed at the time of power failure (Memory)

Another setting that we will pay attention to is in the Integrated Peripherals section: On-Chip SATA Mode- Choose Enhanced(we do this so that if we connect additional Hard Drives, we will not have any unexpected problems with the drives unexpectedly changing the channel).

Option On-Chip SATA Mode configures a modern IDE/SATA chipset controller:

Enhanced- switches the controller to advanced mode, allowing you to use all available SATA and IDE channels.
Combined- uses two SATA channels and one IDE (up to four devices in total)
Non-Combined- uses only SATA channels (maximum of the same four devices). Both last values put the controller into compatible mode.
Auto will install automatically desired mode, based on the interface type and the number of connected drives.
Disabled Generally disables the standard IDE/SATA controller of the chipset.

Stage Three: It's time to install the operating system. For NAS operating system would be a good choice FreeNAS. You can download it on the official website http://freenas.org

We will use the version FreeNAS 0.7.2

Download, save to a disc, load (don’t forget to set it to BIOS loading from CD, after connecting the drive).

So the menu opened in front of us Console setup, consisting of 9 points:

Assign interfaces
Set LAN IP address
Reset WebGUI password
Reset to factory defaults
Ping host
Shell
Reboot system
Shutdown system
Install/Upgrade to hard drive/flash device? etc.

We select the 9th item, a menu appears Install & Upgrade.

I chose the 3rd option Install ‘full’ OS on HDD + DATA + SWAP partition.
Next, a message pops up about what a full installation is. Click ok,
select the source from which the installation will be performed, ok,
We select where the installation will be performed, ok,
Next we are asked to enter the partition size for the operating system, I chose 4000,
Next is the size of the SWAP partition, I chose 1000

The installation is very fast, we are prompted to press Enter to continue, click and return to the menu Install & Upgrade from which we exit using Exit and we get into Console setup, Here we select the 8th item - Shutdown system. The NAS turns off, disconnect the drive. We turn on the NAS, set the BIOS to boot from the HDD, because there is still no drive.

Loading up. Once the download is complete, a menu appears in front of us Console setup. Actually, all we have to do is set the IP address of our network storage, select the 2nd menu item Set LAN IP address.

The system asks us a few more questions. In my case the answers were:

Do you want to use DHCP for this interface - No
Enter new LAN IPv4 address - 192.168.1.100 (we will enter this address in the web interface)
Enter new LAN subnet mask. …. - 24 (default)
Enter IPv4 default gateway - did not enter anything (it was not planned to connect the NAS to the Internet)
Enter DNS IPv4 address - did not enter anything (it was not planned to connect the NAS to the Internet)
Do you want to configure IPv6 for this interface? - No

Enter to continue and move on to the fourth stage of setting up the NAS.

At the fourth stage, we need to connect to our network drive via the WEB interface. We sit down at our work computer and enter the IP address of the NAS in the browser.

A page opens where you need to enter Username(username) and password(password)

Default on FreeNAS OS

username: admin

password: freenas

First of all, we change the interface language to Russian, for this we go to System -> General and change Language on Russian, don't forget to click the save button Save.

We configure the rest as needed and NAS ready for work. Left in NAS install hard disks for storing information. if the hard drives were not connected earlier (I did not connect them while installing the system), then physically connect the hard drives ( NAS must be turned off). Turn on NAS, wait for the download to complete and go through the web interface to the NAS control panel.

Disks -> Management, Click the plus sign in the web interface to add a new HDD.

My second disk was detected as

Available file system: Unformated

Add

apply changes.

I must say that in my configuration SATA drives should be defined like this:

SATA0:ad4
SATA1:ad5
SATA2:ad6
SATA3:ad7

Note: UFS is the native file system of FreeBSD (the basis of FreeNAS). Attempting to use file systems of other formats, such as FAT, FAT32, EXT2, EXT3 or NTFS, may result in unpredictable behavior, file corruption and data loss.

Disk: ad4: 1907730MB (WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0/51.0AB51)
File system: UFS(GPT and Soft Updates)

The remaining points were left unchanged, button Format disk. Formatting the disk takes some time.

Click the plus sign in the web interface to add a new mount point.

Type: Disc
Disk: ad4: 1907730MB (WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0/51.0AB51)
Section number: 1
File system: UFS
Mount point name: HDD1 (you can name it differently)

The remaining points were left unchanged, button Add

return to the previous page, click apply changes.

The hard drive is connected, now all that remains is to organize access to this drive from the network.

We will organize access according to the standard Windows protocol networks.

Services -> CIFS/SMB, check mark Turn on

For ease of access, I set the following settings:

Authentication: Anonymous
DOS code page: CP866
Time server: No

The remaining points were left unchanged, button Save and restart

now the NAS is available on the network under the name freenas (unless of course you changed this name), but HDD not available yet. To enable access, switch to the tab Available resources, Click the plus sign in the web interface to add a new resource. I kept it simple and added a full hard drive.

Tutorial

If I were an employee of a pasta factory, I would now be racking my brains over what to do with 500 packages of pasta, half a kilo each. Fortunately, when management decides to give a system administrator a bonus “in kind,” there is no threat of receiving a van of dry rations as a gift, although there is a good chance of becoming the owner of several tens of kilograms of outright scrap. However, this time I was lucky - as a corporate gift I received a pair of brand new WD Re 2004FBYZ with 2 terabytes each, and a Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W power supply. But what to do with the disks? Installing it on a home computer is too wasteful even for me; after all, it’s Enterprise Class, and there’s no particular need. It is much more practical to build a NAS based on them. Of course, not some kind of file dump, but a highly reliable storage facility - a kind of “black box” for critical data. Plus, you can combine business with pleasure - once the decision has been made to transfer the entire infrastructure to “smart” power supplies (which is exactly how Thermaltake is positioning Smart line DPS), it would be nice to see firsthand how it works.

But there is one catch - on this moment the proprietary application exists only on Windows. This operating system is good for a corporate data center, but terrible and extremely unprofitable for home file storage. Therefore, I decided to make two posts. In this we will raise the NAS to Windows based Server 2008 r2 (making sure that “windows” and “home NAS” are incompatible concepts), and let’s see what DPS G App 2.0 is capable of. In the second, we will assemble a budget NAS based on NAS4Free, creating a truly reliable system.

Preface

In order not to be bombarded with tomatoes, I want to warn you right away - the article is intended primarily for non-professionals. Although reading about Smart Power Management from Thermaltake will be interesting even for experienced administrators and enthusiasts, the main material is aimed at people who do not want to overpay for a big name, buying ready-made solutions, and at the same time are far from system administration(programmers, designers, web developers, etc.). If your hand is steady enough to assemble a computer from components, but at the same time you don’t want to deal with server software for a long time and tediously, and you’ve only seen the console in nightmares - this material is for you. If you want to look at SPM Cloud to decide how useful this system can be for you, scroll down the post to the subtitle “How smart is the smart power supply?” By the way, I warn you – there are a lot of photos and screenshots under the cut.

Simple, but tasteful

I’ll make a reservation right away - I didn’t try to build a home NAS based solely on cost. When selecting components, I focused on how suitable the components were for the task at hand, while not forgetting about the quality characteristics. Is it possible to build a budget NAS at a lower cost? Can. But at the same time you can also lose in performance and convenience, which I would not want. As a result, the following happened.

Frame. The role of the data storage case was taken on by Thermaltake Core V1 - a nice, all-metal cube with a quiet 200 mm fan behind the front bezel.

At the back there are seats for another pair of 80 mm fans, thanks to which the network storage can be made truly cold.

As in others modern models, the lower compartment is reserved for the power supply. Dust protection is provided by a metal filter.

Another advantage of the Core V1 is the 4 removable walls (sides, roof and bottom), which greatly simplifies the assembly procedure. Each panel is secured with a pair of screws that can be easily removed by hand. I also really liked the implementation of the disk baskets - each of the four fixing screws received its own rubber damper, which dampens vibration quite well:

Motherboard. Here my choice fell on the GIGABYTE GA-J1800N-D2H with built-in Intel Celeron. The power of a dual-core processor with a base speed of 2.41 GHz for a network storage device is enough for the eyes (although Windows Server will load it 100%, but “windows” are not our target platform), it is quite economical and does not require active cooling (there is no need to buy a cooler).

Despite the cheapness, Gigabyte has introduced their proprietary features into the product: High ESD technology, which provides electrostatic protection for microcircuits and LAN, as well as Anti-Surge IC, which prevents motherboard failure due to power surges - everything you need for a truly reliable system. The only controversial point is the location of the internal USB connector close to the radiator: it is simply inconvenient to work with.

RAM. Nothing special - ordinary Transcend 2Gb DDR-III 1333Mhz in the SO-DIMM form factor. If you have an old laptop lying around in a closet somewhere, you can remove the modules from it.

Power unit. A solid Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W, designed for high-performance PCs and server platforms, certified to the 80 PLUS Gold standard. For a full server or workstation- just right for assembling a NAS with your own hands - too powerful, but during the experiment you can pamper yourself by installing nitros on a small car.

Of course, a device of this class provides for modular cable connection. Of the built-in ones - only connectors motherboard and a processor (shared 4+4 pin, which came in very handy during assembly).

Flat cables provide additional convenience, although even they fit into the compact Core V1 with difficulty - the case is not designed for this. Among them was a wire for connecting the Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W to the internal USB connector. Obviously, it ensures interaction between the on-board 32-bit microcontroller and the motherboard sensors, and is necessary for the full functioning of Smart Power Management. However, we will talk a little later about how well the monitoring system justifies itself and what features it provides.

Cooling. Two silent unregulated TITAN DC FAN. Since we want to build a quiet NAS without extra costs, this option will be optimal.

HDD. Although we don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I still think it necessary to say a few words about the heroes of the occasion – the sweet couple WD Re 2004FBYZ. After all, whatever one may say, it’s the quality hard drives the security of information depends.

If you look at the manufacturer's specifications, everything looks very tasty. Thus, the hard drives are equipped with accelerometers and pressure sensors, based on which Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF) technology is implemented, providing protection against linear and angular vibration in real time, which increases both reliability and performance. Being a server solution, WD Re 2004FBYZ also have TLER (Time Limited Error Recovery), which limits the correction time to avoid erroneous disk loss from the RAID array. Add to this the stated MTBF of 1.2 million hours, and we get almost ideal.

However, it is difficult to judge the veracity of beautiful words and sophisticated abbreviations until you try the product yourself. And here I can only say that I am typing this article on a computer, inside of which a couple of terabyte Caviar Blacks have been working for the past 6 years. And the 2.5-inch baby in the old Dell Inspirion 1501, now given to his parents, feels no worse. Actually, the transfer of infrastructure specifically to WD to current location The work took place precisely at my instigation - I have developed a long-standing and very productive relationship with this brand. I have been using their discs for several years now, they have never let me down, and today I do not see any reason to change my preferences.

Flash drive. Any USB drive with a capacity of 8 GB. Of course, compact “plugs” are optimal, the body of which practically does not protrude above the connector.

Now you need to assemble a network storage from this stuff - everything is quite simple here. If you have ever assembled a computer yourself, you can handle it without any difficulties. I'll just mention a few key points:

Additional coolers should be set to blow out - then we will achieve flowing air circulation from front to back and optimal cooling;
When installing the motherboard, keep an eye on the metal jumper above the USB 3.0 hole on the rear panel - if you act carelessly, it can be bent and thus block the connector;
The disc baskets are secured with a single screw, but they are installed quite rigidly and may not move right away. To remove the basket, you need to pull it away from the body and slightly downward;
The motherboard does not provide a connection for external USB 3.0, you can safely hide this wire in the lower compartment of the case.

Entertaining mathematics

Perhaps it’s worth taking a small groove and calculating how budget-friendly our assembly turned out to be. So let's get started:

Case: Thermaltake Core V1 – RUB 3,764.
Power supply: As good as the Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W is, it's too luxurious for small file storage. In the future, I plan to install the Chieftec HPS-350NS there – 1,560 rubles.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-J1800N-D2H – RUB 4,436.
RAM: Transcend SO-DIMM 2Gb DDR-III 1333Mhz x 2 – 3040 rub.
Cooling: TITAN DC FAN (80 mm, 2000 rpm) x 2 – 404 rub.
USB drive: 300 rubles.

Total: 13,504 rubles.

I deliberately did not take into account HDDs in order to compare with Synology products. For example, the DiskStation DS216+ will cost you 28,173 rubles, while under the hood we will see a very modest filling: Intel Celeron N3050 1.6 GHz, RAM – 1 Gb, the same two 3.5 mm drive slots. If I hadn’t gotten the WD Re 2004FBYZ for free, I would have paid another 17,660 rubles, and the final costs were close to 31 thousand - the cost of a “bare” platform of a popular brand. Yes, our assembly is less compact, but more productive and reliable, and it’s almost half the price! And if there is a difference, then pay more? This concludes the short digression - it’s time to move on and put our car into operation!

Windows Server is the worst solution for a home NAS

Even if you haven’t even seen *nixes, even if you’ve seen command line It makes you shiver, even if the “windows” seem familiar and instill a sense of security, do not even think about setting up a Windows-based personal file storage. Why? I'll tell you along the way of this material. But first, let's look at the installation.

We will install Windows Server 2008 r2, of course, from a flash drive. To create a bootable drive, you can refer to the following instructions, or use the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool, which is also recommended on the official Microsoft blog. The same can be done using Rufus, which, moreover, can check the memory for bad blocks (one or two passes will be enough), or install in Windows mode To Go, which will allow you to run the OS directly from the device.

However last option- not the best idea, given the operating system and the disk space it requires, so let's make a regular bootable USB flash drive.

Now we can begin installation, and here we see the first pitfall - size. Do you want to install the Standard edition with a visual interface? Please allocate 24 gigabytes. In the case of a pair of disks, this is too wasteful. Otherwise, there are no nuances: as in the version for home use, it all comes down to “Next-Next-Done.”

Once you log in, you will see the next con: the need for activation. I don’t plan to use Windows Server as the basis for a NAS - all this is, first of all, an experiment, so I’ll limit myself to the trial that Microsoft themselves kindly provides. Launch regedit, look for the registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\Activation\Manual

Change its value to one and reboot the machine. Now the trial period has increased from 3 to 30 days. In total, it can be extended up to six months using the slmgr.vbs script. The slmgr.vbs -dli command will help you find out how much time is left until the current license expires, and slmgr.vbs –rearm will reset the evaluation period (no more than three times). The process can be automated by creating a small XML file.

I would like to express one more “fairy” in the direction of the “Update Center”. More than 300 patches of various calibers were subsequently released for Windows Server 2008 r2 SP1. It will take several hours to install them all, and the patches conflict with adding server roles. That is, it is necessary to update either before or after; the process takes a lot of time and loads the system to the maximum:

There is also an unfortunate bug associated with the updates. After installing the updates, you may find that space on the system disk begins to disappear by itself. If you notice a leak, go to the C:\Windows\Temp folder. You will almost certainly see something like this:

The problem is that the archiving of update logs failed - the system produces damaged archives at an alarming rate, starting the procedure again after each error. This can be treated by deleting all files from the C:\Windows\Logs\CBS folder, after which you can safely clean the Temp directory.

However, let's move on. And the first thing you need to do is set up autologin, since the NAS will still be in home network, and entering a password every time is too tedious. Go to “Start” -> “Run”, and enter the command control userpasswords2.

Having selected the “Administrators” group, uncheck the “Require username and password” checkbox and save the selection.

Now let's deal with remote connection. The easiest way is to use the built-in desktop manager. To activate it, go to “Start” -> “Control Panel” -> “System and Security” -> “Settings” remote access”, select the second or third option (if you plan to connect the NAS to the Internet). It is also worth setting a simpler and more concise computer name on the tab of the same name.

An alternative can be LiteManager - a multifunctional and free program for private users that has a bunch of useful functions: file transfer, direct access to the console, registry editor, task manager, and a number of others. When installing the server part on the NAS, set the access password that will be used when logging in:

If you plan to connect your home NAS to the Internet, you can additionally configure an IP filter:

Make sure the LM Server is in automatic mode launch:

Also don't forget to ask static address for our machine in the adapter properties:

Where 192.168.1.1 is the router address. Finally, enable network discovery and general access to files and folders in “Control Panel” -> “Network and Internet” -> “Network and Sharing Center” -> “Change advanced sharing settings”.

After the operations described above, you can connect the NAS to your home network with a clear conscience. If further control will be carried out through LM Viewer, install the application on your computer and add a new connection by clicking on the plus on the toolbar and filling in the required fields:

Where 192.168.1.250 is the IP address of the NAS. Or use the built-in Windows utility remote desktop connections.

Now let's create a partition to store information. Go to “Server Manager” -> “Storage” -> “Disk Management”, right-click on the unallocated space on the system disk, select “Create simple volume” and, following the wizard’s prompts, create a main “Data” partition formatted in NTFS.

You can proceed directly to raising the file server. Open “Roles” -> “Add roles” in the manager.

After the wizard's welcome window, a list of available ones will appear. We are interested in “File Services”:

In the next window, check the box next to “File Server Services Manager”; if desired, you can enable “ Windows service Search".

In “Storage Monitoring” we mark our “Data” section:

Here, by clicking the “Options” button, we set up monitoring of the volume. For convenience, you can add reports on duplicates and large files.

In “Report Parameters” we set the path for storing records:

If you have enabled Windows Search, select indexing for the “Data” volume:

We confirm the choice and wait for the installation to complete. After this, the capabilities of the file management manager (located in “Start” -> “Administration”) will become available to us. Of the entire range of tools offered, quota management is useful for home use.

As you can see, the “Data” section has already received a “soft” quota by default. This means that if it is more than 85% full, we will receive an alert, but writing files to the NAS will still be available. Quotas can be set not only for partitions, but also for individual directories. Let's create a “Music” folder on drive “E” and set a size limit for it. Click “Create quota” and select the path:

In “Customizable Properties” we will specify a limit of 300 GB and select the “Hard” option so that music addiction does not lead to a situation where there is no space left on the disk for regular backups and important documents:

Let's add a threshold value of 85% and set the notification method:

As a result we get:

After clicking the “Create” button, the system will offer to save the settings to a template. Subsequently, this will allow us to apply similar rules to other folders in one click.

In order for the new quota to appear in the list, you must reconfigure the filter. Click on the link of the same name and select “All”:

Now the new quota is also visible on the main screen:

Another option that may be useful if your wife, children, and beloved cat also use file storage is managing file locking. It allows you to exclude loading files of certain extensions into certain directories.

Let's create a Backup directory and stop cluttering it with music and videos. To do this, just click on “Create a file blocking filter”, select the desired directory and, in our case, the preset “Block audio and video files” template.

The template contains almost all the most common formats, but you can always add new ones in the appropriate section:

By clicking on “Edit template properties”, we get to the settings menu.

Here, by clicking the “Change” button, you can call up the section for adding new extensions and removing existing ones, as well as familiarize yourself with the preinstalled ones:

All that remains is to make our folder accessible over the network. To do this, go to “Start” -> “Administration” -> “Computer Management” -> “ Shared folders” –> “Shared Resources” and create a new one. Then we simply follow the wizard’s instructions. First, specify the path to the folder:

At the next step, we set its parameters (you can leave them as default):

Setting up access permissions. For local network you can open access for everyone, for the Internet - leave it only for administrators:

Now the “Music” folder will be accessible directly from any computer on your home network - just type the address \\NAS\Music in Explorer and log in. We will perform a similar procedure for the Backup directory, and at the same time we will check how file blocking works by trying to load a movie into it.

Access denied - everything works fine.

The final step remains - creating software RAID-1. There is nothing complicated about this: go to “Server Manager” -> “Storage” -> “Disk Management”, right-click on system disk(“Disk 1” in our example), and select “Convert to dynamic disk”.

Then click on each volume one by one, selecting “Add mirror” from the menu. All partitions will be “reflected” to the second disk and resynchronization will begin:

And here is another argument “against”. The fact is that the resynchronization process for a 2 terabyte HDD will last more than 5 hours. Disks will be checked completely, no matter how much information is recorded, and their loading will tend to 100%. Of course, WD Re can withstand even less of a test, but you won’t be able to use the NAS normally during this period: the write/read speed will drop significantly.

Speaking of speed: let's evaluate the performance of the array in real conditions. This is what I got when transferring the Rammstein discography to a network folder:

Not bad at all, but it can really be better, as NAS4Free will help us see. The free and low-resource operating system is optimal for a home NAS and can work with the ZFS file system, where disk mirroring is implemented much more intelligently and reliably. In this case, the process of primary synchronization is absent in principle. That's why I recommend NAS4Free for home file storage. However, we will talk about it in the next post, and now let’s get to the fun part.

How smart is a smart power supply?

Do you like real quests? I remembered them because my acquaintance with the DPS App and Smart Power Managment began with just such a miniquest. Google helpfully suggested a page for downloading the application; by clicking on the coveted button, I saw this form:

Nothing unusual - many companies ask for your email for newsletters. However, when I entered my address, instead of the utility I received:

Even without a translator, it is clear that the requested page was not found. What could be the matter? It turns out that everything works a little differently. First, you need to create an account in the system, confirm your registration, and only then you can download the utility in the “Products” section.

Another important nuance– if you adhere to the golden rule of creating passwords, including using special characters, then you will have to abandon this practice here. There will be no problems with authorization on the site, but the DPS App simply will not accept the passphrase, displaying the error:

Therefore, you should limit yourself to a combination of Latin letters and numbers. However, let’s not judge strictly: while the system is at the beta testing stage, such bugs are quite natural.

Now let's finally download and install the application itself. Please note that for it to work correctly, Microsoft .NET 4.5, Adobe is required Flash Player ActiveX, as well as current Java version. After launch, the utility will prompt you to log in to synchronize with SPM, which we will do.

The equipment is detected automatically (in earlier versions serial number had to be specified manually). After successful authorization, the following window will appear:

Don’t be afraid - the program wants to determine your coordinates for display on an interactive map (more on that a little later), but positioning can be turned off.

Now let's see what the application actually offers us. The range includes a whole range of scanners that allow you to control the following parameters:

Total voltage and voltage for each of the connected lines;
Voltage at central processor and video card;
Current strength;
Total power.

Using the round arrows, you can enable graph mode that displays changes in real time:

There is also a power supply temperature sensor, where you can select units of measurement to suit your taste:

The Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W fan control is also available in the DPS App. In the “Performance” mode, the unit will select the optimal speed, almost equalizing the temperature of the power supply components with the ambient temperature. The “Zero fan” option allows you to turn off the fan completely - although the power supply itself is extremely quiet, if your household is not accustomed to the soothing sounds of a working server, this function will help make the NAS almost silent. Considering the cost-effectiveness of our system, active cooling may not be needed at all. If the temperature exceeds the critical 80°C, the power supply will automatically switch to intensive operation mode.

The “Expenses” item allows you to set electricity tariffs and thus find out how much it costs you to operate the equipment. Unfortunately, at the moment only one tariff zone is supported and only one currency is the US dollar. As a result, the tool is suitable only for informational purposes, which the utility kindly warns about.

A rather interesting feature is the ability to send data to social media. Facebook, Twitter and its Chinese equivalent Weibo are supported. When you click on the corresponding icon on your account, a screenshot of the currently open counter is published. Sending a picture by e-mail is also available, but only if an email client is previously configured on the computer.

The “Record” tab provides much more interesting opportunities. Here you can download reports on the operation of the power supply by date in CSV format.

Readings are taken at intervals of one minute. The table records all the parameters displayed on the indicators - very convenient for assessing the effectiveness of the system.

However, let's digress from the application (the whole available functionality we have sorted it out, with the exception of the backlight control, which this model not equipped), and let's see what capabilities the SPM cloud platform offers. But first, let’s go to “My Account” -> “Settings”:

If you set the status to “Public”, statistics will be displayed on the “All uploads” tab, but only users added as friends will have access to the data. When you turn on the geolocation service, your computer's location will be displayed on an interactive map.

According to the developers, Smart Power Management should become more than just cloud service monitoring, but a full-fledged social platform. Using the positioning functions, you can make acquaintances with other users and exchange experiences through private messages. Considering that Thermaltake's target products are professionals and enthusiasts, in the future such a system can serve as an excellent alternative to thematic groups and forums, allowing you to find colleagues and like-minded people around the world in a couple of clicks.

Let's go to the “My uploads” tab. Reports generated by the application are loaded here.

By clicking on the link “Download data...” we get to the visual interface. All information stored in text reports is presented here, but in the form of graphs. You can view statistics on the power supply itself, CPU and video card:

The most interesting is the “Analysis” tab. Having selected a power supply (and the platform allows you to add an unlimited number of devices), we get to this page:

The first three tabs allow you to find out the total time of use of the power supply, the cost of electricity and the amount of kW/h consumed, respectively. By clicking on the tree icon, we can evaluate the environmental friendliness of the system:

Unfortunately, the NAS only worked a bit, so I haven't planted a single tree yet. Next, you can get summary statistics on electricity consumption and cost, as well as find out the average power for the selected period:

The “Analysis of power consumption” tab will tell you how suitable the power supply is for file storage:

As you would expect, we were able to assemble a home NAS whose power consumption is comparable to that of a regular household light bulb.

The last tab allows you to create an energy saving plan based on the selected parameters. Here you can also set up alerts for mobile version applications:

In addition, Smart Power Management allows you to remotely manage the power of your computer or server. All the necessary tools are presented in the Remote section.

It is possible to completely turn off the power or reboot the system (don’t be alarmed, the corresponding signal will be sent to the motherboard), as well as schedule a shutdown:

The listed functionality is also available in the DPS G Mobile App, released for iOS and Android ( Windows Phone naturally ignored). And if viewing statistics on a smartphone screen is not very convenient, then the implementation remote control home NAS will come in handy. All previously made settings are fully synchronized:

Most useful function is a notification that the fan has stopped or the unit has overheated above 60°C, after which you can immediately turn off the system, preventing the power supply of your home NAS from failing.

Instead of a conclusion

Summarize. We found out that using Windows in a home NAS it is long, expensive and extremely inconvenient. Excessive gluttony, time-consuming setup, updating and resynchronization, finally, bugs and the need to purchase a license - all this makes “windows” perhaps the worst solution for file storage. Therefore, in the next post I will talk about what NAS4Free is and what it is used with.

As for the Smart Power Management platform, I can say that the solution is already working great, offering a completely sufficient set of tools for monitoring and managing power. It can be a good help in situations where the use of professional industry solutions is unprofitable (for example, when building an IT infrastructure for small offices). A smart power supply can also come in handy for a private user: when your computer works 24/7, the ability to monitor changes remotely will come in very handy, as will a panic button to turn off the system in an emergency. But personally, I would like to see a more advanced tariff system with support for multiple zones and currencies - this would allow us to accurately record energy costs and plan a budget without additional software. If Thermaltake releases a version of the utility for Linux and FreeBSD, it will not have a price at all. I hope that company representatives read Habr - maybe they will like my ideas and transfer the utility to *nixes.

Tutorial

If I were an employee of a pasta factory, I would now be racking my brains over what to do with 500 packages of pasta, half a kilo each. Fortunately, when management decides to give a system administrator a bonus “in kind,” there is no threat of receiving a van of dry rations as a gift, although there is a good chance of becoming the owner of several tens of kilograms of outright scrap. However, this time I was lucky - as a corporate gift I received a pair of brand new WD Re 2004FBYZ with 2 terabytes each, and a Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W power supply. But what to do with the disks? Installing it on a home computer is too wasteful even for me; after all, it’s Enterprise Class, and there’s no particular need. It is much more practical to build a NAS based on them. Of course, not some kind of file dump, but a highly reliable storage facility - a kind of “black box” for critical data. Plus, you can combine business with pleasure - since the decision has been made to transfer the entire infrastructure to “smart” power supplies (and this is how Thermaltake positions the Smart DPS line), it would be nice to see firsthand how it works.

But there is one catch - at the moment the proprietary application only exists for Windows. This operating system is good for a corporate data center, but terrible and extremely unprofitable for home file storage. Therefore, I decided to make two posts. In this, we'll build a NAS based on Windows Server 2008 r2 (making sure that “windows” and “home NAS” are incompatible concepts), and see what DPS G App 2.0 is capable of. In the second, we will assemble a budget NAS based on NAS4Free, creating a truly reliable system.

Preface

In order not to be bombarded with tomatoes, I want to warn you right away - the article is intended primarily for non-professionals. Although reading about Smart Power Management from Thermaltake will be interesting even for experienced administrators and enthusiasts, the main material is aimed at people who do not want to overpay for a big name, buying ready-made solutions, and at the same time are far from system administration (programmers, designers, web developers, etc.) .d.). If your hand is steady enough to assemble a computer from components, but at the same time you don’t want to deal with server software for a long time and tediously, and you’ve only seen the console in nightmares - this material is for you. If you want to look at SPM Cloud to decide how useful this system can be for you, scroll down the post to the subtitle “How smart is the smart power supply?” By the way, I warn you – there are a lot of photos and screenshots under the cut.

Simple, but tasteful

Frame. The role of the data storage case was taken on by Thermaltake Core V1 - a nice, all-metal cube with a quiet 200 mm fan behind the front bezel.

At the back there are seats for another pair of 80 mm fans, thanks to which the network storage can be made truly cold.

As in other modern models, the lower compartment is reserved for the power supply. Dust protection is provided by a metal filter.

Motherboard. Here my choice fell on the GIGABYTE GA-J1800N-D2H with built-in Intel Celeron. The power of a dual-core processor with a base 2.41 GHz for a network storage device is enough for the eyes (although Windows Server will load it 100%, but “windows” are not our target platform), it is quite economical and does not require active cooling (there is no need to buy a cooler) .

Despite the cheapness, Gigabyte has introduced their proprietary features into the product: High ESD technology, which provides protection against electrostatics for microcircuits and LAN, as well as Anti-Surge IC, which prevents the motherboard from failing due to voltage surges - everything you need for truly reliable system. The only controversial point is the location of the internal USB connector close to the radiator: it is simply inconvenient to work with.

RAM. Nothing special - ordinary Transcend 2Gb DDR-III 1333Mhz in the SO-DIMM form factor. If you have an old laptop lying around in a closet somewhere, you can remove the modules from it.

Power unit. A solid Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W, designed for high-performance PCs and server platforms, certified to the 80 PLUS Gold standard. For a full-fledged server or workstation - just right, for assembling a NAS with your own hands - it is too powerful, but during the experiment you can pamper yourself by installing nitros on a small car.

Of course, a device of this class provides for modular cable connection. The only built-in connectors are the motherboard and processor connectors (shared 4+4 pin, which came in very handy during assembly).

Cooling. Two silent unregulated TITAN DC FAN. Since we want to build a quiet NAS without extra costs, this option will be the best.

HDD. Although we don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I still think it necessary to say a few words about the heroes of the occasion – the sweet couple WD Re 2004FBYZ. After all, whatever one may say, the safety of information depends on the quality of hard drives.

However, it is difficult to judge the veracity of beautiful words and sophisticated abbreviations until you try the product yourself. And here I can only say that I am typing this article on a computer, inside of which a couple of terabyte Caviar Blacks have been working for the past 6 years. And the 2.5-inch baby in the old Dell Inspirion 1501, now given to his parents, feels no worse. Actually, the transfer of infrastructure specifically to WD at my current place of work took place precisely at my instigation - I have a long-standing and very productive relationship with this brand. I have been using their discs for several years now, they have never let me down, and today I do not see any reason to change my preferences.

Flash drive. Any USB drive with a capacity of 8 GB. Of course, compact “plugs” are optimal, the body of which practically does not protrude above the connector.

Additional coolers should be set to blow out - then we will achieve flowing air circulation from front to back and optimal cooling;
When installing the motherboard, keep an eye on the metal jumper above the USB 3.0 hole on the rear panel - if you act carelessly, it can be bent and thus block the connector;
The disc baskets are secured with a single screw, but they are installed quite rigidly and may not move right away. To remove the basket, you need to pull it away from the body and slightly downward;
The motherboard does not provide a connection for external USB 3.0; you can safely hide this wire in the bottom compartment of the case.

Entertaining mathematics

Perhaps it’s worth taking a small groove and calculating how budget-friendly our assembly turned out to be. So let's get started:

Case: Thermaltake Core V1 – RUB 3,764.
Power supply: As good as the Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W is, it's too luxurious for small file storage. In the future, I plan to install the Chieftec HPS-350NS there – 1,560 rubles.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-J1800N-D2H – RUB 4,436.
RAM: Transcend SO-DIMM 2Gb DDR-III 1333Mhz x 2 – 3040 rub.
Cooling: TITAN DC FAN (80 mm, 2000 rpm) x 2 – 404 rub.
USB drive: 300 rubles.

Total: 13,504 rubles.

Windows Server is the worst solution for a home NAS

Even if you’ve never even seen *nixes, even if the sight of the command line makes you shiver, even if the “windows” seem familiar and instill a sense of security, don’t even think about setting up a personal Windows-based file storage. Why? I’ll tell you as I go along with this material. But first, let's look at the installation.

We will install Windows Server 2008 r2, of course, from a flash drive. To create a bootable drive, you can refer to the following instructions, or use the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool, which is also recommended on the official Microsoft blog. The same can be done using Rufus, which, moreover, can check the memory for bad blocks (one or two passes will be enough), or install in Windows To Go mode, which will allow you to run the OS directly from the device.

However, the latter option is not the best idea, given the operating system and the disk space it requires, so let's make a regular bootable USB flash drive.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\Activation\Manual

However, let's move on. And the first thing you need to do is set up auto-login, since the NAS will still be located on your home network, and entering the password every time is too tedious. Go to “Start” -> “Run”, and enter the command control userpasswords2.

Having selected the “Administrators” group, uncheck the “Require username and password” checkbox and save the selection.

Now let's look at the remote connection. The easiest way is to use the built-in desktop manager. To activate it, go to “Start” -> “Control Panel” -> “System and Security” -> “Remote Access Settings”, select the second or third item (if you plan to connect the NAS to the Internet). It is also worth setting a simpler and more concise computer name on the tab of the same name.

If you plan to connect your home NAS to the Internet, you can additionally configure an IP filter:

Make sure LM Server is in automatic startup mode:

Also, do not forget to set a static address for our machine in the adapter properties:

Where 192.168.1.1 is the router address. Finally, enable network discovery and file and folder sharing in “Control Panel” -> “Network and Internet” -> “Network and Sharing Center” -> “Change advanced sharing settings”.

Where 192.168.1.250 is the IP address of the NAS. Or use the built-in Windows Remote Desktop Connection utility.

You can proceed directly to raising the file server. Open “Roles” -> “Add roles” in the manager.

After the wizard's welcome window, a list of available ones will appear. We are interested in “File Services”:

In the next window, check the box next to “File Server Services Manager”; if you wish, you can enable “Windows Search Service”.

In “Storage Monitoring” we mark our “Data” section:

Here, by clicking the “Options” button, we set up monitoring of the volume. For convenience, you can add reports on duplicates and large files.

In “Report Parameters” we set the path for storing records:

If you have enabled Windows Search, select indexing for the “Data” volume:

Let's add a threshold value of 85% and set the notification method:

As a result we get:

After clicking the “Create” button, the system will offer to save the settings to a template. Subsequently, this will allow us to apply similar rules to other folders in one click.

In order for the new quota to appear in the list, you must reconfigure the filter. Click on the link of the same name and select “All”:

Now the new quota is also visible on the main screen:

The template contains almost all the most common formats, but you can always add new ones in the appropriate section:

By clicking on “Edit template properties”, we get to the settings menu.

Here, by clicking the “Change” button, you can call up the section for adding new extensions and removing existing ones, as well as familiarize yourself with the preinstalled ones:

All that remains is to make our folder accessible over the network. To do this, go to “Start” -> “Administration” -> “Computer Management” -> “Shared Folders” -> “Shared Resources” and create a new one. Then we simply follow the wizard’s instructions. First, specify the path to the folder:

At the next step, we set its parameters (you can leave them as default):

Setting up access permissions. For the local network you can open access to everyone, for the Internet - leave it only for administrators:

Access denied - everything works fine.

The final step remains - creating software RAID-1. There is nothing complicated about this: go to “Server Manager” -> “Storage” -> “Disk Management”, right-click on the system disk (“Disk 1” in our example), and select “Convert to dynamic disk”.

Then click on each volume one by one, selecting “Add mirror” from the menu. All partitions will be “reflected” to the second disk and resynchronization will begin:

Speaking of speed: let's evaluate the performance of the array in real conditions. This is what I got when transferring the Rammstein discography to a network folder:

How smart is a smart power supply?

Nothing unusual - many companies ask for your email for newsletters. However, when I entered my address, instead of the utility I received:

Another important nuance - if you adhere to the golden rule of creating passwords, including using special characters, then you will have to abandon this practice. There will be no problems with authorization on the site, but the DPS App simply will not accept the passphrase, displaying the error:

Therefore, you should limit yourself to a combination of Latin letters and numbers. However, let’s not judge strictly: while the system is at the beta testing stage, such bugs are quite natural.

Now let's finally download and install the application itself. Please note that for it to work correctly, Microsoft .NET 4.5, Adobe Flash Player ActiveX, and the current version of Java are required. After launch, the utility will prompt you to log in to synchronize with SPM, which we will do.

The equipment is detected automatically (in earlier versions the serial number had to be specified manually). After successful authorization, the following window will appear:

Don’t be afraid - the program wants to determine your coordinates for display on an interactive map (more on that a little later), but positioning can be turned off.

Now let's see what the application actually offers us. The range includes a whole range of scanners that allow you to control the following parameters:

Total voltage and voltage for each of the connected lines;
Voltage on the central processor and video card;
Current strength;
Total power.

Using the round arrows, you can enable graph mode that displays changes in real time:

There is also a power supply temperature sensor, where you can select units of measurement to suit your taste:

The Thermaltake Smart DPS G 750W fan control is also available in the DPS App. In the “Performance” mode, the unit will select the optimal speed, almost equalizing the temperature of the power supply components with the ambient temperature. The “Zero fan” option allows you to turn off the fan altogether - although the power supply itself is extremely quiet, if your household is not accustomed to the soothing sounds of a working server, this function will help make the NAS almost silent. Given the cost-effectiveness of our system, active cooling may not be needed at all. If the temperature exceeds the critical 80°C, the power supply will automatically switch to intensive operation mode.

A rather interesting feature is the ability to send data to social networks. Facebook, Twitter and its Chinese equivalent Weibo are supported. When you click on the corresponding icon on your account, a screenshot of the currently open counter is published. Sending a picture by e-mail is also available, but only if an email client is previously configured on the computer.

The “Record” tab provides much more interesting opportunities. Here you can download reports on the operation of the power supply by date in CSV format.

Readings are taken at intervals of one minute. The table records all the parameters displayed on the indicators - very convenient for assessing the effectiveness of the system.

However, let's take a break from the application (we've covered all the available functionality, with the exception of backlight control, which this model is not equipped with), and let's see what capabilities the SPM cloud platform offers. But first, let’s go to “My Account” -> “Settings”:

According to the developers, Smart Power Management should become not just a cloud monitoring service, but a full-fledged social platform. Using the positioning functions, you can make acquaintances with other users and exchange experiences through private messages. Considering that Thermaltake's target products are professionals and enthusiasts, in the future such a system can serve as an excellent alternative to thematic groups and forums, allowing you to find colleagues and like-minded people around the world in a couple of clicks.

Let's go to the “My uploads” tab. Reports generated by the application are loaded here.

The most interesting is the “Analysis” tab. Having selected a power supply (and the platform allows you to add an unlimited number of devices), we get to this page:

The “Analysis of power consumption” tab will tell you how suitable the power supply is for file storage:

As you would expect, we were able to assemble a home NAS whose power consumption is comparable to that of a regular household light bulb.

The last tab allows you to create an energy saving plan based on the selected parameters. Here you can set up alerts for the mobile version of the application:

In addition, Smart Power Management allows you to remotely manage the power of your computer or server. All the necessary tools are presented in the Remote section.

It is possible to completely turn off the power or reboot the system (don’t be alarmed, the corresponding signal will be sent to the motherboard), as well as schedule a shutdown:

The listed functionality is also available in the DPS G Mobile App, released for iOS and Android (Windows Phone was naturally ignored). And if viewing statistics on a smartphone screen is not very convenient, then implementing remote control of your home NAS will come in handy. All previously made settings are fully synchronized:

The most useful function is an alert when the fan stops or the unit overheats above 60°C, after which you can immediately turn off the system, preventing the home NAS power supply from failing.

Instead of a conclusion

Summarize. We found that using Windows on a home NAS is time-consuming, expensive, and extremely inconvenient. Excessive gluttony, time-consuming setup, updating and resynchronization, finally, bugs and the need to purchase a license - all this makes “windows” perhaps the worst solution for file storage. Therefore, in the next post I will talk about what NAS4Free is and what it is used with.

First, a little explanation. NAS is an acronym that comes from in English. It means Network Attached Storage, or free network storage. You can save photo or video files on these disks, and any other information - it doesn’t matter. You get access to it from any device, be it a phone, TV, game console or computer.

A few more words about the hardware we use to create our self-assembled NAS: WD Red 6 TB drives and a fairly simple Synology case.

Let's start assembling the NAS

Let's start the assembly. First, let's put the disks aside and look at the case. This is how you will bring it home.

The case can be opened from one side by simply sliding the panel to access the contents. SATA connectors for connecting drives are immediately visible. Only two drives can be built into this case.

In principle, we can start. We take one hard drive and carefully insert it into the slot. Then we put the second disk in place in the same way. Please note: the connectors must match.

Now it is very important to secure the hard drives by securing them with screws on both sides: four screws per drive. This is necessary so that vibration does not occur and the disks are firmly fixed in the slots.

So, we screwed the disks. Replace the housing cover and secure it.

We turn the case to its original position and secure it with screws on the back wall.
NAS is assembled. Now it needs to be connected to the network and to the power supply. To do this, we take a regular network cable and connect it to the desired connector, and then to the mains. Ideally, the NAS is connected directly to the router.

Now I will explain why access to the Internet is important.

Firstly, The NAS software will always be updated, which will provide you with greater security and a more functional interface.
Secondly, this is important for organizing user groups. You can create Accounts, expand or limit their rights. For example, you can give the user both the rights to write information to the disk and only the ability to view the data. Can be hidden separate files or provide general access to them, for example, access to music from a smartphone.

And now the question arises: why do you need a NAS at all and why can’t you get by with a regular external hard drive lying somewhere in the house. Our answer: due to the security of data storage. Of the 12 TB on disks, we effectively use only 6 TB, but we always have an up-to-date backup copy.

Conclusion: approximately 600 euros for such a system is quite a lot of money, but the investment pays off at least in the knowledge of the reliability of data storage.

Software question

How to soften your home storage? Of course, you can just install FreeNAS, but you can also look for alternative solutions. If you are not looking for easy ways, our advice will definitely come in handy.

OpenMediaVault

An alternative to FreeNAS, OpenMediaVault, is based on Linux Debian. It is an open source NAS software that supports FTP, SFTP, SSH, AFS, SMB and CIFS standards.

Additions: you can install various additional protocols and standards to expand your NAS.

Application: OpenMedia Vault is especially suitable for home use.

Network features: WakeOnLAN, Link Aggregation, and new standard IPv6.

Monitoring: it can use syslog, watchdog, S.M.A.R.T., SNMP (v1/2c/3) or email notifications.

Maintenance: if your NAS runs on OpenMediaVault, then such a system will be serviced through the web interface.

NAS4free

NAS4free is also open source software. It is based on FreeBSD and can be virtualized on any hardware. NAS4free supports standard protocols FTP, SMB, NFS, TFTP and AFP.

Additions: you can set up a web server on your NAS and host websites there.

Application area: Thanks to the virtualization option, NAS4free is suitable for both large servers and home use. Its hardware support is truly unique.

Network features: NAS4free supports WakeOnLAN and IPv6.

Monitoring: you have the opportunity to specify the path where statistical data will be saved. You can also view real-time statistics through the interface.

Maintenance carried out through the interface.

UnRAID

UnRAID is software suitable for various applications. UnRAID is free for the first 30 days, after which you pay between $59 and $129. The cheap basic package (price: $59) allows the use of six connected storage devices, the middle package (price: $89) allows twelve devices. With the Pro package (price: $129), the number of storage devices is unlimited. Almost any 64-bit and 86-bit system is supported. UnRAID also offers virtualization capabilities.

Additions: UnRAID easily supports expansion with additional hard drives. It should also be noted that good support SSD.

Application: UnRAID is more suitable for professional applications. It is capable of supporting very large servers with many hard drives.

Network features: UnRAID manages only memory, and network functions must be handled by the corresponding operating system.

Monitoring carried out via a web interface.
Maintenance also via the web interface.

On average, another post about NAS appears about once every six months, and talks about how to install the system according to the documentation. We will complicate the task by tying it to a real project and limiting the budget. In addition, we will also try to lay straw for ourselves in those places where a young system administrator has not yet set foot, and we will also destroy several industry myths.

This article is not for server data storage specialists, gamers and other overclockers. This is how the whole industry works for you, colleagues. It is for novice system administrators, fans of UNIX systems and enthusiasts of free software. Everyone has accumulated old hardware. Everyone needs to store large quantities at home or in the office. But not everyone has easy access to server technologies.

I really hope that you will find some useful ideas for yourself and still learn from the mistakes of others. Remember: the system costs not as much as you paid for the hardware, but how much time and effort you then invest in testing and operation.
If you don’t want to read, look at the links and conclusions at the end; maybe you'll change your mind.

DISCLAIMER

The information is provided by AS-IS without any liability for its use by anyone, anywhere or at any time. All trademarks mentioned inadvertently are the property of their respective owners. Some of them no longer need advertising so much that I come up with funny names for them.

Acknowledgments

Respect to Andrey Aleksandrovich Bakhmetyev, engineer and inventor. I am proud that Andrei Alexandrovich taught for me at the institute! I wish him every success in his projects!

Task

So, there is a small business startup that generates about 50GB of files per week, with the need for archival storage for several years. The files are large (about 10-20 MB each), and cannot be compressed using conventional algorithms. The initial data volume is about 2TB. Very old data can be stored offline, connecting on demand.
You need to keep it within a very modest initial solution budget 500 euros(at summer 2013 prices) and two weeks for assembly and testing .

For this money, you need to build a system that will allow a small group to work with files on the same local network from different platforms (Windows, Mac OS). Requires long-term operation without a system administrator on site, protection against failures, and basic access rights management functions.

Traditional ways

Of course, you can buy network storage: they are made by NetApp, QNAP, Synology and other players, and they do it well even for small businesses. But our 500 euros are just the beginning of the conversation for an empty box, without the discs themselves. If you have 1000-2000 euros, it is better to buy a finished product, and we will try to pay as much as possible with knowledge and as little as possible with time and money.

UPD (spoiler ed. 2 from 2014-03-08):

If you assemble from new iron, and not from junk

Based on the totality of this post and its comments, kindly provided by the habrocommunity, I propose the following algorithm for a simple four-disc systems:

If the double size of the most capacious disk model available is not enough for the stored data, stop reading the spoiler (example: 4TB model, you need to store 7TB of data, then continue; if you need to store 10TB, then stop)
We choose a product from the MicroServer line of the famous server manufacturer Kharlampiy-Pankrat; e.g. n36l, n40l, n54l, with four drive bays (the main thing is that there is support for ECC memory)
We make sure to equip our server with memory with parity check (ECC) at the rate of 1GB for every 1TB of stored data, but not less than 8GB (according to the FreeNAS recommendation, for disks up to 4TB it turns out to be just 8GB)
If we don't have ECC memory, stop reading this spoiler immediately, read the post to the end
Choose manufacturer disks using the current failure overview; for example, this one: http://habrahabr.ru/post/209894
Choose inexpensive line SATA drives with mandatory availability of ERC, and why, read here: http://habrahabr.ru/post/92701
Choose capacity disks (2TB, 3TB or 4TB) based on the assumption that there will be four of them, and that only half will be available for data (the second half is for RAID redundancy)
Before purchasing, we once again carefully and thoroughly check the compatibility of the hardware with each other, the number of slots, bays, strips and other things, but for FreeNAS the most important thing is that all hardware is supported by the current FreeBSD kernel
We choose a good bootable flash drive by reading the continuation of this post (part 2: good memories)
We buy, inhale the aromas of new hardware, assemble, connect, launch; required for ZFS turn off all hardware RAIDs
Create a volume RAIDZ2 of four discs, necessarily with double redundancy (on volume sizes of about 12TB there is a risk of meeting an evil URE, read about it in this post; if we are not afraid of UREs and still build RAIDZ on four disks, check the physical sector size - on modern disks it is 4Kb, and in this case it will work a completely ridiculous 43Kb stripe, which will also waste the speed of the array: forums.servethehome.com/hard-drives-solid-state-drives/30-4k-green-5200-7200-questions.html)
Add salt, sugar, pepper, jails, balls, scripts and similar sour cream to taste

But what about cloud storage , you ask? At the time of writing this article, popular cloud storage for our volumes looks more expensive than we would like. For example, the cost of storing an unlimited amount of data for 36 months on the well-known service Throw Box will cost more than a couple of thousand dollars, although they can be paid off gradually. Of course, there are services like Amazon Glacier (thanks to A.M. for the tip) or Openwork Windows, but, firstly, they charge not only storage, but also circulation (how to calculate it a priori?), and secondly, let’s not forget that the business sits on a 10Mbit Internet uplink, and maneuvering terabytes will require not only certain efforts to manage processes, but will also be very tedious for users.

Usually in such cases they take old computer, buy additional large disks, install Linux (not necessarily, someone manages to install Windows 7), make a RAID5 array. Great. Everything works well for about six months to a year, but one sunny morning the server suddenly disappears from the network without any warning. Of course, the system administrator has been working for another company for a long time (staff turnover), backup copy no (the volumes are too large), and the new system administrator cannot fix the system (at the same time, he scolds the old system administrator and the Linux YYY dialect, because he should have used Linux ZZZ, then there would definitely be no problems). All these stories have been repeated for a long time and in the same way, only OS versions change and data volumes grow.

Industry myths

The Myth of RAID5

The most common myth, which I myself believed until recently, is that a second consecutive failure in an array cannot happen in practice, according to the theory of probability. But it can, and how! Let's simulate a real situation: the server has been working for a couple of years, after which a disk in the array fails. It's okay for now, let's put it on new disk, and what happens? Yeah, reconstruction of the array, i.e. long-term maximum load on already worn-out discs. In such a situation, failures are very possible and do occur.
But that's not all. There is also a methodological probability of a read error inherent in the manufacturer, which, under certain circumstances, now practically guarantees that RAID5 will not be put back together after a disk failure.

The Terabyte Myth

You can, of course, consider all disk manufacturers to be novice programmers, but one industry kilobyte is accepted as 1000 bytes, strictly according to the SI system (that other kilobyte has actually been called a kibibyte since 1998 and is designated KiB). However, that's not all. The fact is that all manufactured spindle disks have defects already discovered at the factory, the number of which is random, and therefore the actual available size “walks”. For budget models, it varies even within the same batch of identical products, both up and down. In my set of four identical 2TB disks, two turned out to be about 2GB less, and the other two were about 400MB more than the nominal capacity. Those. a kilobyte, like a sine in wartime, ranges from 999 bytes 6 bits to an honest 1000 bytes even with a half-bit at the end. Either the products are delivered to our market on leaky submarines, or the flood is to blame, but the bits disappear somewhere.

Do not underestimate this factor: if replacing a failed disk in the array turns out to be even one block shorter than the nominal volume, then the degraded RAID array may theoretically not be assembled to its optimal state, and we will get a headache that could have been easily avoided in the beginning. Based on this, more does not mean better, the main thing is consistency.
I assume that server hardware manufacturers solve this problem by always making a technological reserve and at the same time artificially lowering the amount of available space in the disk firmware, so for a certain product code they can always (within support) get a disk that has the same capacity . This is probably one of the reasons why a Seagate drive under the well-known server brand Kharlampiy-Pankrates and its “sibling” without it are not exactly the same product. But this is just my guess. Perhaps the leaders in the data storage market have more technological trump cards up their sleeves.

Project risks

In any project, it is important to understand the risks, because ultimately we build not for fun, but for the success of the business. To achieve Krepsondo harmony (sorry, business continuity), we will first build a simplified risk model that should take into account probable failures and their consequences.

Hardware

Due to our budget, we do not have access to server equipment, so we can only use cheap disks and controllers, and this is the territory of spontaneous failures out of the blue. Hardware risks include: mechanical wear (spindle drives, fans), electrical wear (especially for flash memory), errors in the disk or controller firmware, low-quality power supply, low-quality disks, disintegration of the hardware RAID array. The lack of spare parts for the device (SPTA) on sale due to obsolescence can also be considered a risk.

Software

Software failures include problems with standard operating systems, which have a tendency to self-destruct and not the best ability to self-heal after power failures, requiring regular administration. Let's add here software RAID reconstruction errors, errors in controller drivers, user actions (intentional and unintentional), and malicious code actions.

Available hardware

I had my old computer from around 2004 at hand. release on the Socket 478 GA-8IPE1000MK motherboard, with a Pentium 4 @3GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM. The case says ZEUS, it has six internal compartments of 3.5” (by the standards of that time this was a lot), one 3.5” for an archaic FDD, four 5.25”, two spaces for cooling fans and a 250W power supply. The ATI RADEON 8500 video card once rendered such hits as Soldiers of Anarchy, but its oil-bearing fan has been howling like the Hound of the Baskervilles for a long time (of course, when it can rotate at all). CPU cooling was solved by the Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu, which drew heated air from the radiator and blew it through an eccentric air duct into the case, from where it again had to be blown out by a second fan.

One day I was so tired of this whole airfield that I decided to cut it out literally: I took a power saw and cut a round hole in the housing (along the fan grille), extending the air duct with a piece of a plastic bottle from Karma Doma mineral water. I removed the second fan and lowered the speed of the first (on the CPU) with a rheostat.

In this slightly punkish form, all this material part sat sadly on the shelf to this day.

My cabinet of curiosities was complemented by a hole in the rear panel of the case due to the case manufacturer’s loose interpretation of ATX standards: it turned out to be impossible to fit the blank panel in there without a file, and I gave up these attempts.

The motherboard had a RAM controller that did not allow changing sticks in STANDBY mode (this is when the computer is turned off with a button, but the power supply is on). There's even led indicator a special RAM_LED was installed, whose task was to warn the system administrator about the presence of voltage in the circuit:

When RAM_LED is ON, do not install / remove DIMM from socket

Of course, in the end the controller failed; and if you did not move the memory in the connector in a certain shamanic way, the motherboard did not see it and began to squeak disgustingly. In the squeak reference book, this signal could mean either a RAM problem or a power supply problem, which was completely confusing. To complete the picture, the BIOS created some kind of particularly crooked environment when loading from flash drives, which is why all SYSLINUX derivatives categorically did not load for me (for reference: this is an almost uncontested CD/flash drive bootloader for a huge number of Linux variants).
So why am I doing all this?

Conclusions:

Such a computer is completely unsuitable for server tasks.
Sex with old hardware is strictly contraindicated for young system administrators.

Ideas

Iron replacement

Of course, a buggy mother, worn-out mechanics and an old power supply do not fit into Crepsondo’s philosophy at all (oh, sorry again, business continuity), and therefore must be replaced first and foremost and without unnecessary discussions. Crepsondo's harmony is more important for us, so let's say goodbye to the old iron, it has fulfilled its historical mission.
The choice of replacement for Socket 478 turned out to be small: ASRoсk P4i65G. It seems to be a good mother with on-board graphics, three PCIs, two SATAs and six USBs on board. Hardware monitoring is based on Winbond W83627 (supported in the lm-sensors package; this later turned out to be useful when calibrating the fan rheostat based on the CPU temperature of the running system).

Now nothing beeps, loading from flash drives works fine, which is good news. One hundred megabits onboard are not enough for a NAS network, so we immediately occupy one PCI slot with the budget D-Link DGE-530T, leaving two more PCI slots for disk controllers. They usually have up to four ports, which together with two onboard ones will give us the opportunity to connect ten drives.
I’ll tell you about the new power supply later, but for now I’ll just note that for my Socket 478-based system, 250W was enough. Therefore, having mentally estimated the power reserve of 200W for spinning up the spindle drives, I immediately agreed to the budget source FSP Group ATX-450PNR rated at 450W offered to me in the store. On the surface, I liked the large low-speed 120mm fan - which means there will be less noise (UPD: looking ahead, the ATX-450PNR, despite all the tricks, did not cope with the task, and I do not recommend using it; see habrahabr.ru/post/218387 ).

At the same time, I grabbed a pair of Zalman ZM-F1-FDB fans on a fashionable hydrodynamic bearing: the first will go to the CPU cooler, the second to blowing the first group of disks.
Actually, all that remains is to choose the most important thing.

Disk subsystem

For network storage, the most important task is to select an array mode (RAID). Since the budget of the solution does not allow us to use server hardware, we sigh and immediately put hardware RAID controllers, SAS and other Fiber Channel aside. We also put solid-state drives there. Since we have a NAS in our kitchen (pardon the pun), the thorny path will pass through the magical world software solutions RAID based on cheap SATA spindle drives. It’s much more interesting this way, but may the Krepsondo practices help us.

Discs

In my subjective opinion, the choice of SATA products (compared to SAS/FC) is even more confusing and more mixed up with marketing. I saw two conventional price ranges for Seagate spindle drives, which differ by about 40%. The top one is considered to be a solution for medium-sized businesses, and the bottom one is for home users and small businesses. What are the dangers of using the cheapest disks? According to the subjective assessments of some experts (link), cheap disks fail significantly more often than expensive ones in the first week of operation, and based on the results of the year, the trend continues. Having carefully presented this table here, I repeat that this is a very approximate subjective assessment of one of the Internet users, without indicating specific products:

According to the same user's observation, approximately one or two out of a dozen one-year-old SATA drives fail in the second year of life. Of course, all SATA behave noticeably worse than SAS or Fiber Channel, one can hardly argue with this. As, indeed, with the allocated budget, which leaves us almost no choice.

I chose the manufacturer Seagate quite intuitively, so I will not describe this process.

UPD:
Since the events described took place in the summer of 2013, I did not read this wonderful post: http://habrahabr.ru/post/209894/. It follows from this that Seagate is not the most the best choice, but the reader is certainly now forewarned and armed. Thank you, habrocommunity, you are the best!

Quickly analyzing the offers in stores, I noted that the price of budget large-capacity 4TB drives is almost 90% higher than 2TB offers, i.e. The specific cost of storing a gigabyte grew almost linearly with the volume. Why is this so important? The fact is that I was unable to find a controller for the PCI bus with guaranteed support for 4TB drives, and there was no opportunity to experiment. This presented us with a difficult choice: either limit the disks to 2TB, or abandon the old hardware and switch to the PCI Express bus (with the purchase of a new computer). Fortunately, the almost linear dependence of price on capacity eliminated difficult decisions, but I recommend that the reader always consider the total cost of the disk subsystem, because in a NAS it is decisive, and the benefits of high-capacity disks can outweigh everything else.

I liked the ST2000DM001 model for its price. This was the most budget option in the Seagate 2TB line, uses the new 4Kb sector size and requires proper initialization (formatting) of the file system. It is interesting that representatives of ST2000DM001 come across both with two and three plates (in the picture there is a variant with two).

It seems that the new owners of the FreeNAS project have spared no effort in deeply refactoring the code, which probably came at the cost of abandoning some “outdated” features (for example, RAID5). In any case, FreeNAS seems to be a strong development driver for FreeBSD, and there is clear interest in the development of ZFS in the free kernel. Well, let's wish our colleagues good luck.

If we compare FreeNAS and its branch ancestor NAS4free, then for me subjectively FreeNAS looks stronger, despite the lack of RAID5. There is a certain feeling that is not easy to explain in words: the smell of code that requires deep refactoring (“smelly code”) wafts through the NAS4free graphical interface. So what kind of refactoring is this? Here's a simple example: unlike NAS4free, even when working from a flash drive, FreeNAS can apply configuration changes without completely rebooting the system. And this despite the fact that the root system is mounted in read-only mode. For me this was a strong argument. In addition, FreeNAS switched to storing configuration in the SQlite RDBMS, and NAS4free still uses a simple, but not the most reliable XML format.

RAID5 or not RAID5

Although UFS and GEOM software RAID arrays do not reach the level of technology of ZFS with RAIDZ (at first glance it seems that this is a competition between a set of sleepers and a cable-stayed bridge), GEOM does have the popular RAID0/1/5 modes. However, modern FreeNAS does not allow creating RAID5 volumes, and for compatibility only the simplest RAID0 (stripe) and RAID1 (mirror) modes are left.

Why is that?

There are probably two reasons for this, let’s call them simply: mechanical and mathematical (although in spindle disks they are intertwined like wave-particle duality).

Let's imagine the failure/replacement of one disk in a 10TB array after two years of operation: the reconstruction process for a week (!) will torment already worn-out spindles (see above The Myth of RAID5). But with such stress, the old disks may not last even three days, completely collapsing the array, and then the stress will begin for us, and even what kind of stress.

You may ask: how is it possible, why a week for reconstruction? Let's take a look at the representatives of two generations of Seagate Barracuda (we use materials from http://www.storagereview.com):

If the capacities have increased approximately 8 times, then the speeds have only tripled. The irony, however, is that a priori we can imagine the speed of RAID1 reconstruction here, and even such a fast option on our vintage PCI controller will not be so great. In RAID5 arrays, the speed is generally determined by the mathematical abilities of the processor, and according to various estimates it is about a day for each TB of data (alas, I can’t give links, sorry).

But that's not all, dear reader. Disks have a parameter called Unrecoverable Read Error Rate, which on modern budget SATA models is 1 sector for every hundred trillion bits. Those. Approximately out of every 12TB disk written, one time it will say “sorry, master, but it is absolutely impossible to give back the required sector; reading error." This is a methodological error introduced by the manufacturer and therefore theoretically guaranteeing the impossibility of reconstruction RAID array 5 with a capacity of more than 12TB on cheap disks(to be fair, we note that the URE on SAS disks is at least an order of magnitude smaller, and the critical volume is correspondingly larger). The epitaph for RAID5 was written by Robin Harris in his article Why RAID 5 stops working in 2009.

Based on the results of choosing hardware, the maximum total capacity of our disks is 20TB (18TiB), so once again let’s remind ourselves of the path to business continuity through Krepsondo’s philosophical practices, let’s take a breath and collectively remember RAID5.

Final choice: collapsible array

So, I'm giving up both hardware RAID (expensive), ZFS (expensive), and software RAID5 (slow and unreliable). I choose FreeNAS with UFS volumes based on GEOM technologies: simple, reliable and, if necessary, repairable, like a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Just what you need.
Let's add a USB flash drive to boot the system - the entire spindle disks will be dedicated to data. We don’t want someone to accidentally pull out the bootable flash drive sticking out from the outside, so we choose a budget flash drive with the smallest dimensions (as it turned out later, it was fatal and rash decision: http://habrahabr.ru/post/214803/).

Of the options Stripe and Mirror, I choose, of course, Mirror (i.e. RAID1). The resulting disk system looks like a set of several independent mirror volumes. Each mirror is assembled from a pair of 2TB disks (controller limitation), initialized and mounted independently. The maximum amount of online stored data on ten disks will be about 10TB in five independent volumes (more precisely, 9TiB).

Although this design may seem somewhat clumsy, it is really justified given our data volumes and number of disks: otherwise we would get a non-separable monolith with prohibitive reconstruction time in case of failures.

Let’s add one small touch here: since cheap consumer drives are used, when creating volumes you will have to artificially lower the volume so as not to have problems later replacing failed drives with new ones (with a floating capacity of about 2TB). Let’s leave the technological “tails” at the end for better sleep.

About the throughput of a car loaded with streamer cassettes

From the point of view of archival storage, you shouldn’t be upset about the capacity at all: our array is collapsible. Having exhausted the available amount of stored data on the online server in volumes No. 1-5, we can manually disconnect the oldest volume No. 1, remove its disks, install two new 2TB disks and initialize a new volume No. 6. Old drives can then be put into a USB design and connected as business demands also FreeNAS server without disassembling the entire body. You can mount them read-only. If you really want, you can connect this to both Windows and Mac. In any case, remember: it is better not to shake the old spindle disk over trifles, otherwise magnetic sand will fall out of the hermetic block due to age.

There is also an interesting scenario with unionfs: switch full volumes to read mode and place them “down” under file system“top” volume, then there will be an illusion of continuity of disk space. True, unionfs is an abstruse thing and therefore dangerous, and the read-only option is probably the only one that has been more or less tested.

That's it, archival storage volumes are now limited by the volume of the cabinet or case where old disks are stored. If this case is also moved in space, then the bandwidth will go off scale.

Hull Engineering

Let's think a little about primary cooling, because our disks at 7200 rpm will be warm. We find a place in the case to blow air into the 3.5” compartments and, with almost surgical difficulty, fit our Zalman ZM-F1-FDB fan there with anti-vibration rubber bands, which you have to pull with your fingers through the thin slots of the case. Damn these consumer cases with their passages and crevices...

I remembered an old comedy.

The soldier is asked: “Why do you see so poorly?” He replies: “Well, there is one eye operation, but it is done through the anus, and I won’t let a single guy in there”...

The eccentric green plastic of the Karma Doma mineral water bottle protruding from the back of the body is already quite an eyesore. Therefore, we disassemble the CNPS5700D-Cu cooler, take the air duct with us and go to the grocery store to do some shopping. Trying on bottles of mineral water one by one different brands, we make sure that the diameters of the two-liter Zvon Aqua bottle perfectly match with the round part of the CNPS5700D-Cu air duct (were they cast at the same factory or something?).

Let us thank the Shtuka-Shkola company for such a successful coincidence, and after spending a couple more hours with various sharp objects, we get a part of the air duct of a complex shape made of transparent plastic.

We install a new ZM-F1-FDB 80mm fan in the cooler; its hydrodynamic bearings have a comparable service life, but are quieter than loud ball bearings. At the last moment, of course, it turns out that the hole on the body is half a centimeter higher than necessary, so we add a petal skirt made of adhesive tape, the idea of which was suggested by aircraft designers of fighters with variable thrust vectoring.

Our product actually somewhat resembles a deflectable nozzle, but it doesn’t look quite so punk.

Finally, the time has come to deal with the very place where ten years ago I failed to unravel the Great Chinese Engineering Design. Let me remind you that we are talking about the rear panel for ATX connectors, which comes complete with motherboard, more precisely, about the impossibility of installing it in this slot:

It turns out that the puzzle can be completely solved with pliers, just straighten the profile along the perimeter, centimeter by centimeter. The socket will adhere perfectly to the connectors with its holes, and the irregularities will go inside the case and will not disturb our engineering aesthetics:

To avoid the spaghetti effect, we tie the SATA cords to each other with ties, because there is no place for pasta in server cases. We mark the cables using twisted pair markers. We attach the fan rheostat to the case on a conveniently unoccupied motherboard leg. The old disks are still in the case for better airflow calibration, but we will soon get rid of them.

Guided again by considerations of thermal efficiency, we will assemble mirror arrays from disks through at least one compartment, i.e. so that disks of one array were not neighbors in bays and did not heat each other, especially in long reconstruction operations. We also label the discs, at least with the volume number. UPD: It’s also better to place the serial number of the disk by printing it on a thermal tape printer, or if you don’t have one, just on a strip of paper under transparent adhesive tape. When there are more than two disks, this can be very useful for urgent and emergency work.

All that remains is to turn on the power, measure the temperature and calibrate the fan rheostats under load.