I want to spec an Ultra to run Logitech Media Server (4 audio players - generally 2 in use concurrently) and to act as a TimeMachine store for 3 users with new MacBook Pros with 500Gb drives. We've recently downsized from 6 users in a SoHo environment, running Windows small business server 2003 and various clients.
I want to put in a solution that allows for loads of growth. I thought I'd done that with server 2003 but it was creaking at the seams. I have 200Gb of media at the moment (FLAC) and three 500Gb USB drives for Time Machine. My initial thoughts were just to spec it out to the Max and put 2 or 3 x 2Tb hard discs in an Ultra 6, but that is increasingly looking to me like overkill.
For those that have similar installations that have run for 10 years, looking back what would they do with the benefit of hindsight?
Depending on your requirements you may also wish to consider the Ultra 6 Plus (faster) and Pro 6 (fastest) which have much faster CPUs. For demanding use they are the best options. Take a look at CPU Specs of the ReadyNAS
Thanks for the swift reply. The Pro will make sense as Logitech Media server is likely to need more horsepower if I decide to start streaming video. Unlikely at present as the big selling point of Blu-Ray is Dolby TrueHD uncompressed digital audio. Given the incremental cost os starting with 3 2Tb drives is only £100 - is it worth starting off with extra redundancy 3 discs will offer, or do you need 4 in order to benefit? Music will be archived off monthly to a USB hard drive stored with a neighbour, and user data files on each Mac synced using Sugarsync.
1. Put one disk in NAS 2. Update to latest firmware via System > Update > Remote (may need to do a few firmware updates depending what firmware your unit ships with) 3. Power down 4. Insert rest of disks 5. Do a factory default (wipes all data, settings, everything: http://www.readynas.com/kb/faq/boot/how_do_i_use_the_boot_menu) 6. Discover NAS using RAIDar (http://www.readynas.com/downloads). After a few checks there will be a 10 minute countdown during which you can choose the RAID mode. To choose X-RAID2 dual-redundancy, choose X-RAID2 and tick the dual-redundancy option and confirm your choice.
OK, I've been through the steepest learning curve of my life in the last 2 months. While I worked with BSD & AT&T Unix briefly in 1987, working with DOS & Wimdows 2! I moved away from the tech side and into sales, though rarely a week would go by without putting a screwdriver in a PC or editing a text file several layers deep in some obscure folder structure. I know my way around a PC server and client pretty well, but for a SOHO a NAS and handful of MacBooks suits us all better. I'd always liked the idea of Raid 1+0 which gives you fantastic redundancy. 4 x 1 Tb discs will be a large enough and much cheaper starting point than 2x2 and give me enough storage to be getting on with. I can fill the other two slots when necessary and of course 2 or 4 Tb drives will be cheaper. I realise dual redundancy is expensive but saves you from almost all but theft & fire.
When I learn ReadyNAS & MAC the management overhead will be much reduced and I can move on with ripping media and calibrating display equipment to the prescribed spec.
X-RAID2 dual-redundancy is actually essentially RAID-6.
It's generally convention to refer for "MAC" to refer to a Media Access Control address and Mac to refer to Apple Computers. Though usually from the context it's obvious which one people mean.
I should also add my thanks for all your help. It's always refreshing to join a forum like this and get instant help from someone with experience. I've priced up 4 Western Digital 1Tb Green discs and the incremental cost of buying 2Tb discs is insignificant. They are both 600Gb/s, but that shouldn't be a problem. I am looking at around £90 per disc in the UK.
Thanks, you may have saved me some cash. Again the 3Tb discs have a small incremental cost. I'll do some looking up but at these prices it may be worth putting in a hot spare. as it is I'm saving a fortune over buying a new server and once I'm up to speed there'll be little maintenance. I'm going to upgrade my wireless access points (we have three) and the switches so I can connect from the NAS to the network using 2Gb of bandwidth.
