How can I turn my current PC into a NAS device without losing the PC
Basically I want to know if there is a proper way that I can take my current desktop PC (custom built) and add 2 additional hard drives and have these 2 drives act as a NAS backup with raid, while still being able to use my PC as normal?
My PC is directly connected to my router via ethernet, and is quite powerful with 3.2 GHZ i7 and 16gb of ram.
I have found a TON of Google search results that show how to build a NAS system but they all seem to involve wiping out the machine and starting over as ONLY NAS.
Is there a proper software solution for this? A hybrid PC/NAS is ideal. Any help would be great, thanks!
windows nas backup
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
migrated from stackoverflow.com May 8 '13 at 19:47
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
add a comment |
Basically I want to know if there is a proper way that I can take my current desktop PC (custom built) and add 2 additional hard drives and have these 2 drives act as a NAS backup with raid, while still being able to use my PC as normal?
My PC is directly connected to my router via ethernet, and is quite powerful with 3.2 GHZ i7 and 16gb of ram.
I have found a TON of Google search results that show how to build a NAS system but they all seem to involve wiping out the machine and starting over as ONLY NAS.
Is there a proper software solution for this? A hybrid PC/NAS is ideal. Any help would be great, thanks!
windows nas backup
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
migrated from stackoverflow.com May 8 '13 at 19:47
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
1
You keep saying NAS, but you havent explained why you think you need a NAS. What is it your are trying to accomplish that you cant do by putting your drives in your PC as a RAID?
– Keltari
May 8 '13 at 19:56
@Keltari I suspect a lot of the OP's confusion stems from thinking "NAS" is the only way to accomplish "filestore shared across a network"; in my answer I try to clear up that confusion, and also offer a means of achieving the desired goal which should achieve what the OP is after.
– Aaron Miller
May 8 '13 at 19:59
add a comment |
Basically I want to know if there is a proper way that I can take my current desktop PC (custom built) and add 2 additional hard drives and have these 2 drives act as a NAS backup with raid, while still being able to use my PC as normal?
My PC is directly connected to my router via ethernet, and is quite powerful with 3.2 GHZ i7 and 16gb of ram.
I have found a TON of Google search results that show how to build a NAS system but they all seem to involve wiping out the machine and starting over as ONLY NAS.
Is there a proper software solution for this? A hybrid PC/NAS is ideal. Any help would be great, thanks!
windows nas backup
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
Basically I want to know if there is a proper way that I can take my current desktop PC (custom built) and add 2 additional hard drives and have these 2 drives act as a NAS backup with raid, while still being able to use my PC as normal?
My PC is directly connected to my router via ethernet, and is quite powerful with 3.2 GHZ i7 and 16gb of ram.
I have found a TON of Google search results that show how to build a NAS system but they all seem to involve wiping out the machine and starting over as ONLY NAS.
Is there a proper software solution for this? A hybrid PC/NAS is ideal. Any help would be great, thanks!
windows nas backup
windows nas backup
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
edited May 8 '13 at 19:50
Keltari
51.7k18119171
51.7k18119171
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
asked May 8 '13 at 17:53
Kyle BegemanKyle Begeman
113124
113124
migrated from stackoverflow.com May 8 '13 at 19:47
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
migrated from stackoverflow.com May 8 '13 at 19:47
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
1
You keep saying NAS, but you havent explained why you think you need a NAS. What is it your are trying to accomplish that you cant do by putting your drives in your PC as a RAID?
– Keltari
May 8 '13 at 19:56
@Keltari I suspect a lot of the OP's confusion stems from thinking "NAS" is the only way to accomplish "filestore shared across a network"; in my answer I try to clear up that confusion, and also offer a means of achieving the desired goal which should achieve what the OP is after.
– Aaron Miller
May 8 '13 at 19:59
add a comment |
1
You keep saying NAS, but you havent explained why you think you need a NAS. What is it your are trying to accomplish that you cant do by putting your drives in your PC as a RAID?
– Keltari
May 8 '13 at 19:56
@Keltari I suspect a lot of the OP's confusion stems from thinking "NAS" is the only way to accomplish "filestore shared across a network"; in my answer I try to clear up that confusion, and also offer a means of achieving the desired goal which should achieve what the OP is after.
– Aaron Miller
May 8 '13 at 19:59
1
1
You keep saying NAS, but you havent explained why you think you need a NAS. What is it your are trying to accomplish that you cant do by putting your drives in your PC as a RAID?
– Keltari
May 8 '13 at 19:56
You keep saying NAS, but you havent explained why you think you need a NAS. What is it your are trying to accomplish that you cant do by putting your drives in your PC as a RAID?
– Keltari
May 8 '13 at 19:56
@Keltari I suspect a lot of the OP's confusion stems from thinking "NAS" is the only way to accomplish "filestore shared across a network"; in my answer I try to clear up that confusion, and also offer a means of achieving the desired goal which should achieve what the OP is after.
– Aaron Miller
May 8 '13 at 19:59
@Keltari I suspect a lot of the OP's confusion stems from thinking "NAS" is the only way to accomplish "filestore shared across a network"; in my answer I try to clear up that confusion, and also offer a means of achieving the desired goal which should achieve what the OP is after.
– Aaron Miller
May 8 '13 at 19:59
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
"NAS" (Network-Attached Storage) is generally used to refer specifically to a discrete machine which does nothing but serve storage space across a network, but that's not really what you're looking for; what you seem to be after is simply the ability to serve storage space to network clients, specifically without wanting a separate machine doing the job. The good news there is, that's quite easy to accomplish!
Considering that Linux and Mac OS X both have SMB (Samba) clients, all you really need to do here is set up the additional storage as a RAID and share the RAID volume via Windows File Sharing. Once that's done, your NAS clients will be able to access the share in order to read/write files and back up to it, and you'll still have the existing Windows install on the machine that's serving as your NAS.
You don't mention in the question what version of Windows you're running. Windows 7 and above have built-in software RAID capabilities accessible via the Disk Management console, and How-To Geek offers a good overview of configuring Windows software RAID; for Windows XP and earlier, you may need to purchase a third-party product such as Partition Magic or Acronis True Image. Of course, if your system supports hardware RAID (as most newer motherboards will), then you have that option as well.
If you need some detailed advice on how to set up a file share in Windows, just comment with your Windows version (and, ideally, also edit it into your question), and I'll update my answer with step-by-step info.
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
add a comment |
There is also a free software called Plex that turns a Vista or higher machine into a local server. It has the neat feature of automatically downloading meta data for your files.
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
1
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
"NAS" (Network-Attached Storage) is generally used to refer specifically to a discrete machine which does nothing but serve storage space across a network, but that's not really what you're looking for; what you seem to be after is simply the ability to serve storage space to network clients, specifically without wanting a separate machine doing the job. The good news there is, that's quite easy to accomplish!
Considering that Linux and Mac OS X both have SMB (Samba) clients, all you really need to do here is set up the additional storage as a RAID and share the RAID volume via Windows File Sharing. Once that's done, your NAS clients will be able to access the share in order to read/write files and back up to it, and you'll still have the existing Windows install on the machine that's serving as your NAS.
You don't mention in the question what version of Windows you're running. Windows 7 and above have built-in software RAID capabilities accessible via the Disk Management console, and How-To Geek offers a good overview of configuring Windows software RAID; for Windows XP and earlier, you may need to purchase a third-party product such as Partition Magic or Acronis True Image. Of course, if your system supports hardware RAID (as most newer motherboards will), then you have that option as well.
If you need some detailed advice on how to set up a file share in Windows, just comment with your Windows version (and, ideally, also edit it into your question), and I'll update my answer with step-by-step info.
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
add a comment |
"NAS" (Network-Attached Storage) is generally used to refer specifically to a discrete machine which does nothing but serve storage space across a network, but that's not really what you're looking for; what you seem to be after is simply the ability to serve storage space to network clients, specifically without wanting a separate machine doing the job. The good news there is, that's quite easy to accomplish!
Considering that Linux and Mac OS X both have SMB (Samba) clients, all you really need to do here is set up the additional storage as a RAID and share the RAID volume via Windows File Sharing. Once that's done, your NAS clients will be able to access the share in order to read/write files and back up to it, and you'll still have the existing Windows install on the machine that's serving as your NAS.
You don't mention in the question what version of Windows you're running. Windows 7 and above have built-in software RAID capabilities accessible via the Disk Management console, and How-To Geek offers a good overview of configuring Windows software RAID; for Windows XP and earlier, you may need to purchase a third-party product such as Partition Magic or Acronis True Image. Of course, if your system supports hardware RAID (as most newer motherboards will), then you have that option as well.
If you need some detailed advice on how to set up a file share in Windows, just comment with your Windows version (and, ideally, also edit it into your question), and I'll update my answer with step-by-step info.
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
add a comment |
"NAS" (Network-Attached Storage) is generally used to refer specifically to a discrete machine which does nothing but serve storage space across a network, but that's not really what you're looking for; what you seem to be after is simply the ability to serve storage space to network clients, specifically without wanting a separate machine doing the job. The good news there is, that's quite easy to accomplish!
Considering that Linux and Mac OS X both have SMB (Samba) clients, all you really need to do here is set up the additional storage as a RAID and share the RAID volume via Windows File Sharing. Once that's done, your NAS clients will be able to access the share in order to read/write files and back up to it, and you'll still have the existing Windows install on the machine that's serving as your NAS.
You don't mention in the question what version of Windows you're running. Windows 7 and above have built-in software RAID capabilities accessible via the Disk Management console, and How-To Geek offers a good overview of configuring Windows software RAID; for Windows XP and earlier, you may need to purchase a third-party product such as Partition Magic or Acronis True Image. Of course, if your system supports hardware RAID (as most newer motherboards will), then you have that option as well.
If you need some detailed advice on how to set up a file share in Windows, just comment with your Windows version (and, ideally, also edit it into your question), and I'll update my answer with step-by-step info.
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
"NAS" (Network-Attached Storage) is generally used to refer specifically to a discrete machine which does nothing but serve storage space across a network, but that's not really what you're looking for; what you seem to be after is simply the ability to serve storage space to network clients, specifically without wanting a separate machine doing the job. The good news there is, that's quite easy to accomplish!
Considering that Linux and Mac OS X both have SMB (Samba) clients, all you really need to do here is set up the additional storage as a RAID and share the RAID volume via Windows File Sharing. Once that's done, your NAS clients will be able to access the share in order to read/write files and back up to it, and you'll still have the existing Windows install on the machine that's serving as your NAS.
You don't mention in the question what version of Windows you're running. Windows 7 and above have built-in software RAID capabilities accessible via the Disk Management console, and How-To Geek offers a good overview of configuring Windows software RAID; for Windows XP and earlier, you may need to purchase a third-party product such as Partition Magic or Acronis True Image. Of course, if your system supports hardware RAID (as most newer motherboards will), then you have that option as well.
If you need some detailed advice on how to set up a file share in Windows, just comment with your Windows version (and, ideally, also edit it into your question), and I'll update my answer with step-by-step info.
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
answered May 8 '13 at 19:57
Aaron MillerAaron Miller
8,5802039
8,5802039
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
add a comment |
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Thanks for the response! The issue was definitely due to my misclassification of NAS. I am really looking for a similar function as you specified. For some reason I was making it seem harder than it really was, so now I have a sort of DUH moment! I am running Windows 8 currently, and I am actually familiar with setting up RAID using windows, I just completely overlooked windows file sharing to provide me with the networking aspect of it. Instruction are not required now that I am on the right track, and I thank you very much for the long and detailed answer!
– Kyle Begeman
May 9 '13 at 18:13
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
Certainly! Glad to be of help.
– Aaron Miller
May 9 '13 at 18:15
add a comment |
There is also a free software called Plex that turns a Vista or higher machine into a local server. It has the neat feature of automatically downloading meta data for your files.
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
1
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
add a comment |
There is also a free software called Plex that turns a Vista or higher machine into a local server. It has the neat feature of automatically downloading meta data for your files.
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
1
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
add a comment |
There is also a free software called Plex that turns a Vista or higher machine into a local server. It has the neat feature of automatically downloading meta data for your files.
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
There is also a free software called Plex that turns a Vista or higher machine into a local server. It has the neat feature of automatically downloading meta data for your files.
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
answered Nov 19 '14 at 5:25
thispersonthisperson
1
1
1
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
add a comment |
1
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
1
1
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
The user asked for "NAS backup with raid". Plex is a media player server.
– Arete
Aug 12 '17 at 9:21
add a comment |
1
You keep saying NAS, but you havent explained why you think you need a NAS. What is it your are trying to accomplish that you cant do by putting your drives in your PC as a RAID?
– Keltari
May 8 '13 at 19:56
@Keltari I suspect a lot of the OP's confusion stems from thinking "NAS" is the only way to accomplish "filestore shared across a network"; in my answer I try to clear up that confusion, and also offer a means of achieving the desired goal which should achieve what the OP is after.
– Aaron Miller
May 8 '13 at 19:59