Network-attached storage with web server function

Hi all,

It seems that Picasa and its 1GB of storage is not enough for the pictures I have taken until now.
To resolve the Need for Space I'm thinking of buying a NAS with a web sever function.

Any recommendations are welcome.

Drobo. They run linux and are very hackable. You can add whatever programs you want.

Thanks DK,
Drobo devices look quite innovative but I'm no Linux guru and setting up a web server on them would take a lot of time and energy.
I was thinking at something with a web server easier to set up like this QNAP device seem to be.

QNAP also runs Linux, as does just about every SOHO NAS device on the market. So either you'll need to read/follow directions on the web
or you can get somebody to do the install for you. Depending in the device it could be as simple as copying over 1 single file to a special
folder on the device.

What budget ? Do you need more than RAID 1 for security? Great having the storage space, but how safe is your data?
We sell quite a few of the Buffalo systems for this reason.

This is something I've been pondering for a while... You have three options:

1) An off the shelf NAS which is all complete but not cheap.
2) A standard PC box with a hardware RAID card and an array of disks (probably in a RAID5 array). Note there's a lot of very confusing terminology here and when I say 'hardware RAID' I mean a card with a processor and memory that does all its own processing for the RAID array, not a card that has the disk connectors but relies on the host processor for support.
3) A standard PC with Linux using the Linux software RAID array. Litec have a decent mainboard/memory/CPU package which appears to meet the bill and is missing only the disks. Currently the 750Gb Samsung Spinpoint F1 appear the most cost effective. For RAID 5 you need at least 3 disks.

Starting from 1 and going to 3 they are less easy to set up and administer, but 1 will also probably give you decent performance. If you want the best of everything then 2 gives you all the flexibility you want, plus the best expansion possibilities, whereas 3 is the cheapest by miles and if all you want is to store pictures and music and listen/look from time to time then from a performance perfectly adequate.

Note that with all you should buy a decent UPS but 1 and 2 are the most fault tolerant.

Buffalo Pro Duo.



In the long term the NAS is cheaper because it uses less electricity. Says the guy who has been running a 24/7 Linux server at home for 7.5 years.

If you're going that route then Thecus products are worth a look.

The point about the electricity is worth considering but you have to have a big differential between the two systems to offset a multiple hundred euro initial purchase price difference... Often more significant is the noise it makes, or the heat it generates, especially with 4 disks in it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=201590011