Hi people,

I'm strongly considering using unRAID for my media storage over the NetGear Ultra2.  I've only been on the site for about 30 minutes, so pardon me if i've somehow missed this information in the documentation.

 

My neighbors (who live 2 floors below me) share my internet.  I'm moving toward a NAS setup mainly on account of my new (in progress) htpc that i'm building.  I would like to have two unRAID boxes and I'm wondering if what i'm proposing is feasible (or if there is a more efficient way to do this).

 

Box A will sit hardwired into the router/switch which is hardwired with an HTPC and a TimeCapsule.  It will have its own unique set of equipment and the "array" to start off will have a 2TB parity drive, and two storage drives (one of which is 2TB).

 

Box B will sit two floors down and need to connect wireless (perhaps hardwired into an AP).  It will have its own unique set of equipment and will match the storage capacity of Box A.

 

They will access box b for their media, I will access box a.  However, I want box A & B to be "duplicates" of one and other.

 

I've read through a few of the topics linked to at http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_Topical_Index#Backups and didn't see this mentioned anywhere.  I'm technically inclined but by no means an expert on any of this.

 

So is this possible? Is there a better way of doing it? I have a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH running DD-WRT but I'm going to replace it (possibly with an Apple Airport) b/c the thing craps out like every hour.  So keeping that in mind - will this setup bottleneck the ability stream stuff over the internet?  Since they will be "streaming" locally from their own hardwired box and i will be "streaming locally" from my own, i just want to make sure that when the boxes are backing up, that the network doesn't come to a screeching hault.

 

 

Yes.

 

You can use rsync and cron scripts to automatically keep the 2 servers in sync.

Getting it started is a minor bit of work. but once you have it going.. 80MB or 80TB.. they can stay in sync...  on the schedule you set....

 

I leave my second server off.. i only power it up to manually run my rsync when I feel i need to do it.

 

see here for some good examples. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=13432.0

also search the forum (or google) for rsync for more samples.

 

EDIT:

as far as the wireless (i missed that part). I would consider a separate AP or a dual channel router setup..

the rsync would probably eat most or all of the bandwidth. the other option is you sync at night while everyone is asleep.

 

 

Thanks, i did see that post and got a little inundated as CRON jobs and such (while i'm familiar with the concept and know what they are) are not something I've every really setup. 

 

I've run RSYNC before and have ghosted countless drives but I don't want to bite off more than i can chew.  I'm not very comfortable with linux but perhaps that post will work for me if i start fresh one day when i'm not knee deep in this.

 

I guess my only other ? has to deal with equipment:

 

from a networking perspective, should i have any concerns about using DD-WRT and a different model router? Will the Airport be powerful enough to handle this? based on what we're looking to do (primarily have a backup in a different physical space) - is there another method that someone here might recommend?

See here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=13432.msg127686#msg127686

And here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=20204.msg180331#msg180331

disco! thanks!!!!

one thing i would suggest, wire the 2 servers up hard wire for the first sync. that would save a lot of time.

 

after that, assuming you only add a few movies per day.. even wireless G will work (slower of course) and be done in a few hours.

 

the good feature of rsync is, if it gets cut off on a large file, when it starts back up. it continues where it left off on the file.

 

i had never used it before a few months ago. it was not that bad to set up in my opinion. I am really a linux noob myself.

 

i am sure others might have some good advise also.

 

 

as far as the hardware. if you already have it.. test it out.

personally I have a bridge at home. one channel of my linksys router/ap is bridged from my servers to my media systems downstairs.

the second channel is just an AP for my laptops and ipads.

 

your issue is probably more about signal strength.

that's an excellent point!  I'm sure i'll have a question about the secondary box (if there isn't some other even less expensive method to the madness) but my mind is about to break on me.  Thanks so much for the friendly replies!