tldr For a single user, what benefits would one see going FreeNAS or synology vs linux box with R...

[G+_John Mink]

tldr For a single user, what benefits would one see going FreeNAS or synology vs linux box with RAID 6?

 

Full post:

 

I hear Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ talk about higher end backup solutions, NAS vs SAN, and so on, but it's usually aimed at corporations or something with a bunch of users.

 

I'm wondering is whether that is because they just like to talk to that target audience (10k corporation) or does something like a NAS simply not offer any real benefit for a single home with a single, or maybe a few users. (I do get the feeling a SAN is total overkill for non-enterprise).

 

I ask because I'm trying to improve my personal (just me for now) backup system - namely a separate box with a 6TB RAID 6 array. Obviously my first step is to get that on a second machine which is synced. Once I'm there, I'm thinking off-site is the next concern.

 

So the question is, what services/features am I missing by simply running a Linux box with the RAID rather than throwing FreeNAS or buying something like a synology system? Are the benefits largely for multiuser environments or will I start to see benefits when I try to sync this 2nd machine, or would it be when I add an off-site backup?

 

I'd be happy to go into more detail, but I daresay this post is long enough to start! ?

[G+_Digital Dynamic]

Having done FreeNas as well as Synology 207 and 209's I can say the only real benefit to a prepackaged NAS box is ease of management.   They usually run some firmware 'Nix that's focused on nothing but storage and stuff like DLNA, AppleTV and other multimedia sharing services.  Things you'd have to set up and maintain yourself on a homebrew solution.  It's just a matter of how far up to your elbows you want to get with a NAS solution.  I use a Zyxel NAS box with 1TB mirrored drives to store copies of my youtube uploads right now and it's just fine and doesn't use as much power as a full on PC (another benefit).

[G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ]

There is one other benefit: Energy Consumption.

 

It is difficult to create a general-purpose NAS box what is as power efficient as a dedicated NAS. In some cases, a dedicated high-performance NAS can use 1/2 to 1/3 the power of "that old box you repurposed to be a JBOD" - Also, there's the "easy-of-failure" - Unless you happen to have a nice case with hot-swappable caddys and quick-disconnect logic, a dedicated NAS is infinitely easier to fix/upgrade.

 

Now don't get me wrong... I use to LOVE building NAS boxes out of my old systems, and the performance can be AMAZING if you tweak it just right... but in terms of efficiency, reliability, stability, and long-term storage... well... nothing beats a dedicated NAS. (At least one that isn't pure trash. :)

[G+_John Mink]

James Walker I should mention that I have a separate box running services (like DLNA, Mumble chat server, Dropbox... Theoretically an OpenVPN server) so the limited services isn't really a benefit, or drawback.

 

Your point on NAS software being easier if highly interesting to me, and I wonder if you/PadreSJ/others find it significantly easier & worth the time to learn!

 

Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ any thoughts on the software being easier theory? Do you actually find it significantly easier/better or just a little, it is it better in some cases & worse in others?

 

Your point any energy consumption is a good one. I am currently using a fairly new 35W CPU on a mini-ITX board (who knew they made them with 7 SATA ports!) but it would be interesting to hook up a Kill-A-Watt to that for an accurate reading! I was under the delusion that I could use that as my server hardware by the poor thing is destroyed by the services I run :( however RAID management seems to be well within its capabilities.

[G+_John Mink]

Jamie Dobbs I'm not convinced the decision is that obvious.. Maybe I'm being thick?

 

But you do bring up a good point. My current backup system doesn't really do versioning, dunno how readily available that would be in Linux versus a NAS solution.

[G+_Digital Dynamic]

John Mink The real question between "grow your own" and "ready made" really comes down to one thing.  Do you want a "device" or do you want to manage a "server."  Power consumption, security and all that other stuff aside that's the real difference IMHO.  If you love getting into the guts of it, that's great.  Personally, I've done it and I've got better things to do with my life now.  But If that's your thing then by all means build away, Pick whatever makes you the happiest and run with it is my advice.

[G+_Jerry McMurphy]

Use Mac mini as server! I really only use mine for file serving and time machine.