Hi,

Does anybody know of any NAS devices that will work with Linux. Or even better maybe NAS devices that run on Linux. The reason I'm trying is for cheap backup drives. With the prices of some NAS drives getting as low as $300 for 1TB. I think it would be a really cheap alternative compared to building an entire server just to host the backups. The only thing I was able to find was this...

http://www.revogear.com/

But I'm hesitant to order anything from the site b/c it seems a bit shady plus I'm worried the thing will come with a manual written in Japanese.

All the NAS drives I've found so far have only been for Windows and Mac. I did find a couple that said Linux (SMB), but they were all over $800 which kind of defies the point.

Thanks,

Derek

Hi,

You could look at 'FreeNAS' which is based on BSD.
This link and others are available from 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

Check out: http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10843

It works with linux using nfs

Or you could buy a case like that:
Icy Box IB-NAS901-B External Black
(e.g http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/pro..._objectID=5090 )
and an internal HD of your choice (Icy BOx supports both IDE and SATA)
It can be connected via a usb cable to a machine or via a network cable.
It supports samba and ftp accounts.

Hi,

The good thing about 'FreeNAS' is that you can use older hardware to build a NAS. You could purchase a external drive to attach to that system which will be attached to the LAN. Heck I just bought some 500MB external USB/firewire drives for less than $100/each. With local tax I believe it was $92/each. They had some 1TB drives for around $160/each. Best Buy was the retailer. I couldn't get the drives any cheaper. Sure the drives are cheaper consumer products, they fit my needs and were cheap. If you want speed then NAS would not be the way to go anyway.

My needs was to spread over 2 drives in different locations.

My friend bought a Synology NAS-device, he runs ubuntu 8.04 and it works without any problems. He use it mainly for storage and mp3 streaming.

The one he bought is the 107 model with only one harddrive-bay,
http://www.synology.com/enu/products/DS107/index.php
but it looks like theres a 207 model with two bays, and a raid facility if you are looking for additional space or security.

I haven't bought one for myself yet, so i can't give you full review

Hi,

It may work but the speed of a NAS is not that great. If you could use a drive that is mounted and shared via NFS then the access would be better. The nice thing about NAS is the portability and LAN accessible without too much trouble.

Toms hardware did a roundup a while back of NAS. The homebuilt boxes blew away almost all the pre made boxes in speed and ease of use.

Hi,

Yes, I read that.

Most homebrew beats the branded anytime. And that goes for beer too!

Heh. Of course, ICY boxes aren't sold in the US. A threat to MSoft or some security agency? Unknown, but apparently no cheap NAS enclosures that run NFS in US.

Really? I was unable to find any LaCie product that serves NFS. They all advertise Linux, but it turns out it's SMB. If that's correct, one has to install the Samba abomination into their Linux system to utilize a LaCie enclosure. Who would want to insert Samba into a secure, fast, Linux system? In the US, there is apparently no cheap NFS NAS option available unless one is willing to build their own box. Easy to do, but building an entire system for NFS back-up eliminates the convenience and portability one desires when they seek a simple HDD enclosure to use for a portable NAS.

If anyone is still following this thread, I recently purchased a Synology DS-109 from Newegg.com with a 1TB WD hard drive. The total cost was a little over $300. This unit uses ext3 fs and can be accessed via ssh. I am just getting started with it, but it's pretty nice so far. I can use rsync, an external USB drive for backup or additional storage, and NFS. I'd be glad to answer questions to the limited extent of my experience.