can i use this xserve as a digital media server?

[Brutus Rex]

http://www.applepalace.com/apple-ma...600g-14x400-gb-hard-drive-array-m9723ll-a.asp

Can i remove the 14 400gb drives and replace them with 2tb drives, RAID 5 them, put them on my network and stream ripped dvds to my TV? I currently have a mac pro and a non-intel mini, but would like to add some major storage to hold movies and such.

is this a worthwhile idea?

 

[Transporteur]

Not at all.
This xRaid uses UltraATA drives, not SATA, so you are limited to about 500GB per drive, which were the biggest for U-ATA i guess. Maybe they got 750GB, but I'm not quite sure.
Anyway, you would need a dedicated xServe, a G5 or a MacPro with a Fibre Channel card to get fast access to this machine, otherwise you would have to use the Ethernet Port, which is limited to 100MBit.

Synology, or QNAP or G-Technology have much better options for a home storage solution.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

You'd get better access using a lot of smaller drives than a lot of larger drives. It doesn't make sense but it works out that way, usually. Or at least from what I was taught years ago. But I think this is only a large drive array that you would need to connect to a server/computer to 'feed' it. Also, at 400G per drive, that array is at its max. (14*400 = 5,600 which is 5.6TB, the max size) There is a reason why it's priced at $795.00.

 

[Yoursh]

Should also note that the XRaid being sold in that link doesn't include any drives. It's just the main unit. You would have to get 14 hdd trays to fill it up. Empty IDE/ATA trays sale used for over $100 each, and that's without a hard drive installed. Apple only sells trays with drives, and at a premium. Also, as the other post states, the XRaid uses fiber channel as an interface to a Mac.

For a home solution, a NAS would be a better route to go.