2012-04-26, 10:56
Hello,
I started a new project for running XBMC/Home Server. I live in a small apartment with 1 tv at the moment. I've always combined XBMC with file storage on one machine before, but since I needed more storage space for my data, so I sold all my old hardware to start something from zero again.I'm leaning towards a different solution with a back-end server and having one XBMC client on the front-end. I know it's the better solution, but considering I live in a very small apartment at the moment, the pros maybe aren't worth the $. Therefore, I want a setup which is still a combination of Mediaplayer and File Server, but with focus on file server for future plans. Another option is to buy a synology NAS, but that would be such a waste of my fractal array case:<
Now I had the chance to buy the following hardware at a very reasonable price:
4x Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000, 3TB
1x Fractal Design Array R2 Mini ITX
1x Intel Core i3 2100
1x be quiet! SFX Power 350 Watt
1x OCZ Onyx SATA II 2.5" SSD 64GB
1x Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9/4G
1x Asrock H67M-ITX
Requirements: 9TB of storage.
Now I have one big issue: Motherboard only supports 4 sata ports! So there are several options:
- Only use 3 of my 3TB drives,
- Dump the SSD and run everything from a pen drive
- Get a new motherboard with more sata ports for the 2100 like an Asus P8H77-I, or even replace it with an Asus E45M1-I DELUXE instead of using the 1155 platform.
- get a cheap sata controller to have 2 extra sata ports for like $15
I plan to use Ubuntu in combination with XBMC, and setting up raid5 for storage. However, I have absolutely no experience with that either.
All advice regarding hardware and software setup is welcome!
I started a new project for running XBMC/Home Server. I live in a small apartment with 1 tv at the moment. I've always combined XBMC with file storage on one machine before, but since I needed more storage space for my data, so I sold all my old hardware to start something from zero again.I'm leaning towards a different solution with a back-end server and having one XBMC client on the front-end. I know it's the better solution, but considering I live in a very small apartment at the moment, the pros maybe aren't worth the $. Therefore, I want a setup which is still a combination of Mediaplayer and File Server, but with focus on file server for future plans. Another option is to buy a synology NAS, but that would be such a waste of my fractal array case:<
Now I had the chance to buy the following hardware at a very reasonable price:
4x Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000, 3TB
1x Fractal Design Array R2 Mini ITX
1x Intel Core i3 2100
1x be quiet! SFX Power 350 Watt
1x OCZ Onyx SATA II 2.5" SSD 64GB
1x Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9/4G
1x Asrock H67M-ITX
Requirements: 9TB of storage.
Now I have one big issue: Motherboard only supports 4 sata ports! So there are several options:
- Only use 3 of my 3TB drives,
- Dump the SSD and run everything from a pen drive
- Get a new motherboard with more sata ports for the 2100 like an Asus P8H77-I, or even replace it with an Asus E45M1-I DELUXE instead of using the 1155 platform.
- get a cheap sata controller to have 2 extra sata ports for like $15
I plan to use Ubuntu in combination with XBMC, and setting up raid5 for storage. However, I have absolutely no experience with that either.
All advice regarding hardware and software setup is welcome!