Rudi Ahlers wrote: > Hi all > > I want to look at setting up a simple / cheap SAN / NAS server using > normal PIV motherboard, 2GB (or even more) RAM, Core 2 Duo CPU > (probably a Intel 6700 / 6750 / 6800) & some SATA HDD's (4 or 6x 320GB > - 750GB). My budget is limited, so I can't afford a pre-built NAS device. > > Can this be done with CentOS? I've been looking FreeNAS (which is > built on FreeBSD), and it look like a great project, but since the > hardware support in FreeBSD is limit, I'd rather use Linux for it. > > Has anyone done this? If so, please share a bit in your experiences :) probably a /little/ expensive but not excessively so, you might check out the Intel 2U 'kit' servers, like http://developer.intel.com/design/servers/platforms/SR1500-2500/index.htm specifically, the SR2500LX configuration, this is a 2U rack server with 6 SAS/SATA bays using the S5000PAL motherboard, the base kit is about $1300, you add a CPU like an E5205 ($200), RAM to suit (up to 32GB ECC FBDRAM, $200 for 4GB), and drives. of course, if this is for HOME use, a rack mount server is probably NOT a good idea, they tend to be quite noisy.