Hardware Specifications

After 5 years running a D-Link DNS-323 with 2x 500GB in RAID1 I decided that it is time to upgrade to a more flexible and reliable Home NAS.

Here are my requirements :

• Be able to run and administrate any - preferably Linux based - OS
• Ensure my data are safe in case of disk failure
• Limit power consumption as the environment needs it
• Do all that without breaking the bank ;-)

After a quick search, I figured 2 things :

• It's better to build the NAS myself
• I definitely have to use ZFS

So after a week end comparing hardware components, here is my setup :

- CFI A7879 (with 200W) case (wanted the Chenbro ES34069 first but it is discontinued here in North America)

- Asus E35M1-I (cheap, fanless with 6 x SATA III ports and MIR this month!)

- 2 x 4GB Kingston DDR3 1066Mhz RAM (listed in the compatibility list for the MB, didn't want to take any chance)

- 2 x 60GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD's for system (didn't expect to end up with SSD but they was a deal and I like new experiences with the unknown ;-)) and one dual SATA mounting card (http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=12669) to fit them in!

- 4 x 1TB WD Caviar Green WD10EARX (because it's always good to buy green) for storage

Here I will put some pictures of my box.