New Nas Build

[stonesbg]

Right I need some help with a new NAS Build.  I have pick unRaid as my OS choice.

 

My requirements are as such.

 

Fast Storage

Raid 5 (Software)

Low Power up to 6 drives

Allow about 5 users access

Streaming of music and video

 

I have put these componets together and looking for some feedback as to what you think. I have chosen a motherboard that uses the new sata 3 and USB 3.0.

 

Fractal Design Array R2

Ocz Technology 128 GB Petrol Series SSD

6x Western Digital 3TB Caviar Green SATA WD30EZRX

Asus F1A75-l Deluxe

AMD A6-3500 FM1

Kingston 8GB Hyperx KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G

 

I am hoping to get reads of about above 20mb/s.

 

I currently have a ReadyNas NV+ which is super crap.  I get only about 2mb/s for my reads

 

Any help would be appreciated

[Rajahal]

unRAID doesn't do RAID 5, it has its own proprietary RAID system that is more secure yet slower than RAID 5.  If you want performance, RAID 5 is better.  If you want to be able to recover your data in nearly any situation, unRAID is better.  unRAID can certainly handle writes above 20 Mb/s.  Most people see writes in the 25 - 35 Mb/s range.  A cache drive makes it even faster, but puts your data at risk for a short time.  All of your other requirements are easily met by unRAID.

 

I don't particularly like the motherboard and CPU you've chosen.  First of all, the mobo has a Realtek 8111E NIC, which is known to be incompatible with unRAID 4.7 (although it does work in the latest unRAID betas).  Secondly, the motherboard has a lot of fancy features that will be wasted on unRAID.  I would recommend that mobo for an HTPC, not for a file server.  Likewise, FM1 CPUs are largely untested with unRAID.  I recommend going with something a bit more tried-and-true.

 

Take a look at my prototype builds (link is in my sig).  That's a good starting place.  They are generally designed from a budget-friendly perspective, and many of them can be upgraded in various ways.  If you want an ultimately low power server that works as a NAS and not much else, go for a Supermicro Atom board.  If you want a server that is low power yet capable of running any add-on you throw at it, consider an i3 build.