A friend for whom I've built several computers in the past wants a gargantuan media server NAS unit -- something on the order of 20+ terabytes with room to grow. That's considerably larger than anything I've ever built.
I'm supposing that the best solution might be a minimalist motherboard (server board?) with built-in graphics (that might never be used), a low-end Core 2 Duo (low-end Xeon? Opteron?), one (or two) multi-port raid array controllers, and a redundant power supply. I'd use the on-board sata ports and a pair of small drives in a RAID-1 array for the OS. Then I'd hang an ungodly number of 2TB "green" drives off the array controller(s) for mass storage. Since I'd be the one having to service this monster if/when anything goes wrong and I live in a different city (although only about an hour away), I'd probably go for RAID-6 (plus a hot spare?) -- just to be on the safe side.
Based on what I've read, it appears that the Adaptec 5-series array controller is king of the hill at the moment. Question: Am I better off going with a single 24-port 52445 array controller or a pair of 12-port 51245 array controllers? (Yes, I know that each has an extra 4 ports on an external connector - a potential extra 4/8 drives for expanded storage.) Or does it matter?
His house is already wired for gigabit ethernet and 4 wireless access points (2 each, dedicated to "g" and "n"). There are a total of 9 potential clients (5 wired and 4 wireless), including a new HTPC (two dual tuners) for the den to be built along with the media server (to be hidden in the basement). (Kitchen PC, 2 home-office PCs, the children's high-end gaming PC in the basement, the new HTPC, and 4 laptops - all currently running Vista Home Premium - will be migrating to Win.7 when it arrives).
Any comments and/or suggestions welcome.
I'm supposing that the best solution might be a minimalist motherboard (server board?) with built-in graphics (that might never be used), a low-end Core 2 Duo (low-end Xeon? Opteron?), one (or two) multi-port raid array controllers, and a redundant power supply. I'd use the on-board sata ports and a pair of small drives in a RAID-1 array for the OS. Then I'd hang an ungodly number of 2TB "green" drives off the array controller(s) for mass storage. Since I'd be the one having to service this monster if/when anything goes wrong and I live in a different city (although only about an hour away), I'd probably go for RAID-6 (plus a hot spare?) -- just to be on the safe side.
Based on what I've read, it appears that the Adaptec 5-series array controller is king of the hill at the moment. Question: Am I better off going with a single 24-port 52445 array controller or a pair of 12-port 51245 array controllers? (Yes, I know that each has an extra 4 ports on an external connector - a potential extra 4/8 drives for expanded storage.) Or does it matter?
His house is already wired for gigabit ethernet and 4 wireless access points (2 each, dedicated to "g" and "n"). There are a total of 9 potential clients (5 wired and 4 wireless), including a new HTPC (two dual tuners) for the den to be built along with the media server (to be hidden in the basement). (Kitchen PC, 2 home-office PCs, the children's high-end gaming PC in the basement, the new HTPC, and 4 laptops - all currently running Vista Home Premium - will be migrating to Win.7 when it arrives).
Any comments and/or suggestions welcome.