So, I'm not at all familiar with RAID or the like, and I'm just wondering what the best setup would be for NAS data redundancy. I'd like to have a seperate server for data backups, but I've got no idea where to start. I've read up on unRAID and also Windows Storage Spaces. I don't have much time or desire to learn this, I'd just like something simple to configure and use :v
Easiest and cheapest way to just "set and forget" is to grab a D-Link DNS-323 enclosure (shouldn't be more than $100 if you buy from ebay) and throw Alt-F on it so it'll support 4tb drives.
Thanks for the reply. I'll look for a 323. I have a spare PC lying around. Is there a way to repurpose it to act as a NAS? That's why I was looking into Windows Storage Spaces, but from what I've read the performance on it isn't the greatest.
I'm sure you could turn a desktop PC into a NAS, but I don't think they'd be nearly as energy efficient, nor am I really sure how to go about doing it beyond sharing drives on a network through windows or SAMBA. I myself have two of those DNS 323s, and a Western Digital something-or-other. Flashing those DNS 323's with Alt-F (an open source NAS firmware alternative) is really easy (you just need a USB flash drive) and Alt-F has a bunch of really great features. Out of the box, the DNS-323 is kind of limited compared to higher end NAS drives, but alt-F bridges the gap pretty nicely. EDIT: Keep in mind, though - you need to actually grab the HDDs as well. Thats honestly the bulk of the cost.
