Cheap Network Attached Storage with RAID
A Network Attached Storage (NAS) box allows you to store all your files in a central location and connects directly to your network. Both Mac's and PC's can connect to it, and you can even access it from the internet through FTP. And you can store terabytes (1 terabyte = 1000 Gigabytes) of data on it.
RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) adds fault tolerance to your setup. You need 3 hard disks minimum to take advantage of RAID, and becuase of parity data stripped across the drives, even if one drive fails, the array will stay up, you wont loose data and you will still be able to access it. Then you can replace the drive at will.
The first to market with a NAS with RAID is the Buffalo Terastation. Released over a year ago, this is still my recommended option becuase you can get a 1TB terastation for $650 (click here, assuming this deal is still on) This combines 4 250GB hard drives in a RAID array for a total of 1TB of storage. Of course, since the equivalent of one drive is used for parity data you will have about 750GB of usable space. There is also a TeraStation Pro which adds hot swappable SATA drives for about $100 more
Several vendors have realized that cheap NAS RAID boxes are going to be a hit, so Intel has
released their own box. They call it the Intel Entry Storage System SS4000-E. This is also $650 but does not include any hard drives, you have to purchase them seperately. Ironically, this box uses Linux and not Windows as you would think from the "Wintels" congolmoration. This system runs faster becuase it has onboard memory and a higher data transmission speed. This would be a better solution for a small business that has multiple users accessing the data at once. It is also upgradable to 2TB. You still would need 4 250GB drives at $100 each for a grand total of over $1000 to be equivalent to the Buffalo solution
posted by beanstalk66 @ 11:06 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Oops, sorry, this is a correction of my earlier review.
Changes:
1) Password issues;
2) Throughput should be mbits, not mbytes. OOPS!
I've bought the SS4000-E to test for a customer. As an IPD reseller, I get a $150 rebate check back from Intel sometime in August if I purchase one (which I did) before 1 Jul 06. Reseller cost is about $589 without any drives.
Frankly, I'm rather disappointed in the unit, although I'm still testing. If it continues in this vein, I will put in smaller drives and sell it to a lightweight Windows-only shop just to be rid of it.
Here's what I've seen so far:
1) Although there are two enet ports, the unit won't do teaming/bonding between the ports. I suppose this is minor considering the disappointing performance I saw.
2) Despite what Intel tech support told me on the phone, you cannot access the same directories via both NFS and CIFS. You choose the access when the directory is created.
3) There's no share you can define such that you see ALL user data on the drive. (That would be handy if I wanted, let's say, to back up the unit to tape for off-site disaster recovery). Ditto, you can't get a machine-readable configuration from the unit so you can re-create it.
4) Even when writing a single large file, I cannot get more than around 4 - 6 Mbits / sec WRITING throughput. I ocasionally got higher peaks. The unit's web status screen says it's pegged at 100% busy. All in all, transfer rates were all over the place, up and down continually. Yes, testing was conducted on a quiescent network with otherwise idle machines.
Hey, if the processor can't handle the RAID 5 parity issues, they should have used a faster processor!
5) I've been forced to use IE as the web browser for admin -- it doesn't seem to like my Windows Firefox 1.5.0.4 config. No, I didn't try admin using Linux, sorry.
6) There's no way to set the date/time to say you observe Daylight Savings Time.
7) The original firmware let you telnet into it to do admin. The new firmware, it is said, allows you to access the unit via ssh. I didn't see how and have not yet been able to make it accept an ssh connection. (I figured that I could use this to get / put the unit's config by scripting the ssh client). Bzzzt, sorry!
9) The unit will accept only 8 characters for a password. You can type more when you create a user, but it apparently will ignore the excess. But when you connect, if you type a longer password, it will refuse connection; you can't have over 8 characters. Yes, the 8-character limitation is documented but not explained. All this causes problems when an existing Windows user has a longer password and wants to automatically connect to this resource using the same password -- it can't be done.
Minor nits but not show-stoppers:
* All administration is done by hand. I don't see any way to bulk download or upload any configuration information. If you want to clone a unit, for example, it's all by hand, the old-fashioned way like grandma used to do it.
* The user's manual says you can define 64 users on up to 20 clients. The customer I'm testing this for wouldn't exceed that, but frankly I think that's as a pretty severe limitation. Given such a low ceiling, you'd better be pretty sure you won't need the user expansion. (Geez, it's Linux, guys -- and you can store all you want on the drives!)
* It would be nice to have a quick reference of all the LED configurations. There are 3 main status lights, and they all can be green, yellow, or flashing green. Hmmm, maybe I saw flashing yellow, too, I don't remember now...
I think Intel should have used a 20- or 40-character display on the front of the unit instead of the LEDs.
* The unit is new, but it came with old firmware. Doing the firmware upgrade took a *phenomenally* long time, and the only indication that ANYTHING was happening was that one of the LEDs was blinking for most of that time. There was no change in the pattern of the lights or anything for quite a while. Just when I was going to reset the box because I thought it was frozen, LEDs started changing so I left it alone and *EVENTUALLY* the LEDs said it was happy. Whew!
* It would have been nice if there were a "magic incantation" that would let me behind the scenes into the Linux "firmware", there is stuff I'd like to play with. And even if I were careless and managed to hose the unit completely, there should be a way I could recover. (Since there are 2 USB ports, and the on-board flash is 32 MB, one could easily have an image of the unit on a stick to be ready for low-level download recovery. It wouldn't really be hard -- and it would serve as a config for disaster recovery and cloning, too. Or as off-line firmware upgrade. They could even supply one as a tchotchke, they're cheap enough).
* The recovery CD supplied with the unit didn't have a version number on it; I had to download a new one to make sure I had the latest.
Summary:
* If I as a single user can make this box hit the wall so easily, how will it be suitable for a more demanding multiple user workload?
* I see this box as suitable for occasional/lightweight mostly small file read access. Given that, it's too pricey. I like all the special features (PXE booting, thermal protection, etc, etc), but if Intel can't get the basic down-and-dirty throughput and sharing issues right, the special features don't mean squat!
* I did not test the client backup feature (i.e., software to automagically back up a Windows client workstation to the SS4000 unit). It comes with a single license for that software -- additional licenses are purchased separately. Intel has let it be known that this box is Linux-based. Yet at the same time, they are licensing client backup software. This is offensive PR gamesmanship; the clients should be libre, or at least free. (AFAIK, there's no equivalent client backup software for Linux (guess you're supposed to use cron & cpio to NFS on the unit)).
* I still need to do more testing. HDTV records about 100 MByte/min, which is about 1 2/3 MByte/sec. The unit *should* handle it OK for a single user, but what about multiple users?
Would I have to upgrade the memory so as to have enough buffer? The memory is ECC; I wish Intel would make the memory specs clearer so if I have to get more, I know exactly what to get.
Configuration:
* Drives: 4 x Seagate NS-35 400 GB SATA 1.5.
* Raid-5 (4 drives).
* Gigabit ethernet on ALL network connections.
* Jumbo ethernet frames (tried it normal and also jumbo, no noticable difference). (Yes, that meant changing the config on other pieces of gear, too...)
* Default memory in unit: 256MB.
* Upgraded firmware (1.1).
As a positive note, source code for the firmware 1.1 is downloadable as a zip from the Intel SS4000-E website.
The "Components in Firmware v1.1.xls" in it is a bill of materials, and seems (at a quick glance) to indicate that the unit's software is based on 2.6.10. (YMMV, I may be mistaken).
Oops, sorry, this is a correction of my earlier review.
Changes:
1) Password issues;
2) Throughput should be mbits, not mbytes. OOPS!
I've bought the SS4000-E to test for a customer. As an IPD reseller, I get a $150 rebate check back from Intel sometime in August if I purchase one (which I did) before 1 Jul 06. Reseller cost is about $589 without any drives.
Frankly, I'm rather disappointed in the unit, although I'm still testing. If it continues in this vein, I will put in smaller drives and sell it to a lightweight Windows-only shop just to be rid of it.
Here's what I've seen so far:
1) Although there are two enet ports, the unit won't do teaming/bonding between the ports. I suppose this is minor considering the disappointing performance I saw.
2) Despite what Intel tech support told me on the phone, you cannot access the same directories via both NFS and CIFS. You choose the access when the directory is created.
3) There's no share you can define such that you see ALL user data on the drive. (That would be handy if I wanted, let's say, to back up the unit to tape for off-site disaster recovery). Ditto, you can't get a machine-readable configuration from the unit so you can re-create it.
4) Even when writing a single large file, I cannot get more than around 4 - 6 Mbits / sec WRITING throughput. I ocasionally got higher peaks. The unit's web status screen says it's pegged at 100% busy. All in all, transfer rates were all over the place, up and down continually. Yes, testing was conducted on a quiescent network with otherwise idle machines.
Hey, if the processor can't handle the RAID 5 parity issues, they should have used a faster processor!
5) I've been forced to use IE as the web browser for admin -- it doesn't seem to like my Windows Firefox 1.5.0.4 config. No, I didn't try admin using Linux, sorry.
6) There's no way to set the date/time to say you observe Daylight Savings Time.
7) The original firmware let you telnet into it to do admin. The new firmware, it is said, allows you to access the unit via ssh. I didn't see how and have not yet been able to make it accept an ssh connection. (I figured that I could use this to get / put the unit's config by scripting the ssh client). Bzzzt, sorry!
9) The unit will accept only 8 characters for a password. You can type more when you create a user, but it apparently will ignore the excess. But when you connect, if you type a longer password, it will refuse connection; you can't have over 8 characters. Yes, the 8-character limitation is documented but not explained. All this causes problems when an existing Windows user has a longer password and wants to automatically connect to this resource using the same password -- it can't be done.
Minor nits but not show-stoppers:
* All administration is done by hand. I don't see any way to bulk download or upload any configuration information. If you want to clone a unit, for example, it's all by hand, the old-fashioned way like grandma used to do it.
* The user's manual says you can define 64 users on up to 20 clients. The customer I'm testing this for wouldn't exceed that, but frankly I think that's as a pretty severe limitation. Given such a low ceiling, you'd better be pretty sure you won't need the user expansion. (Geez, it's Linux, guys -- and you can store all you want on the drives!)
* It would be nice to have a quick reference of all the LED configurations. There are 3 main status lights, and they all can be green, yellow, or flashing green. Hmmm, maybe I saw flashing yellow, too, I don't remember now...
I think Intel should have used a 20- or 40-character display on the front of the unit instead of the LEDs.
* The unit is new, but it came with old firmware. Doing the firmware upgrade took a *phenomenally* long time, and the only indication that ANYTHING was happening was that one of the LEDs was blinking for most of that time. There was no change in the pattern of the lights or anything for quite a while. Just when I was going to reset the box because I thought it was frozen, LEDs started changing so I left it alone and *EVENTUALLY* the LEDs said it was happy. Whew!
* It would have been nice if there were a "magic incantation" that would let me behind the scenes into the Linux "firmware", there is stuff I'd like to play with. And even if I were careless and managed to hose the unit completely, there should be a way I could recover. (Since there are 2 USB ports, and the on-board flash is 32 MB, one could easily have an image of the unit on a stick to be ready for low-level download recovery. It wouldn't really be hard -- and it would serve as a config for disaster recovery and cloning, too. Or as off-line firmware upgrade. They could even supply one as a tchotchke, they're cheap enough).
* The recovery CD supplied with the unit didn't have a version number on it; I had to download a new one to make sure I had the latest.
Summary:
* If I as a single user can make this box hit the wall so easily, how will it be suitable for a more demanding multiple user workload?
* I see this box as suitable for occasional/lightweight mostly small file read access. Given that, it's too pricey. I like all the special features (PXE booting, thermal protection, etc, etc), but if Intel can't get the basic down-and-dirty throughput and sharing issues right, the special features don't mean squat!
* I did not test the client backup feature (i.e., software to automagically back up a Windows client workstation to the SS4000 unit). It comes with a single license for that software -- additional licenses are purchased separately. Intel has let it be known that this box is Linux-based. Yet at the same time, they are licensing client backup software. This is offensive PR gamesmanship; the clients should be libre, or at least free. (AFAIK, there's no equivalent client backup software for Linux (guess you're supposed to use cron & cpio to NFS on the unit)).
* I still need to do more testing. HDTV records about 100 MByte/min, which is about 1 2/3 MByte/sec. The unit *should* handle it OK for a single user, but what about multiple users?
Would I have to upgrade the memory so as to have enough buffer? The memory is ECC; I wish Intel would make the memory specs clearer so if I have to get more, I know exactly what to get.
Configuration:
* Drives: 4 x Seagate NS-35 400 GB SATA 1.5.
* Raid-5 (4 drives).
* Gigabit ethernet on ALL network connections.
* Jumbo ethernet frames (tried it normal and also jumbo, no noticable difference). (Yes, that meant changing the config on other pieces of gear, too...)
* Default memory in unit: 256MB.
* Upgraded firmware (1.1).
As a positive note, source code for the firmware 1.1 is downloadable as a zip from the Intel SS4000-E website.
The "Components in Firmware v1.1.xls" in it is a bill of materials, and seems (at a quick glance) to indicate that the unit's software is based on 2.6.10. (YMMV, I may be mistaken).
I can`t get AD to work. I see all entrys from active directory but when I set up share folder and permissions on it and when a user try to connect to that share with his AD credentials it constantly gets wrong password. When I look at the AD event viewer I see that authentication is failed for that user from NAS client. I think that is a problem with password encryption but the machine don`t have possibility to telnet and change that option in smb.conf.
Thanks for your review of these Network Attached Storage devices. These seem like the best option for home use and small businesses. These kinds of devices are not typically well understood but they are something that can be incredibly useful for networking and data storage.
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