You just do and replace a drive on a Qnap 509 Pro. Anytime you can rebuilt your raid level and volume, resize, etc, everything in the background while accessing your data. You have 5 instead of 4 drive slots and yout get 80 MB/s out of a Gigabit port (you got two of them), meaning you can put it in the closet and still have all the simplicity, redundancy and performance, but no noise in your leaving space. It has a much powerful processor and is much quicker than the drobo. You also don't have a sily threshold of 16TB for your volume size, etc. You can replicate one to a second Qnap, even remotely through WAN without a host computer. Not to speak about all the other services you may put on the Qnap. The drobo you can connect only through USB to the network, which is btw 20MB/s max. Back at the time I had a drobo, but now I wouldn't even dream of changing my Qnap TS-509 Pro for a drobo!
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Storage Solutions for our OUT-OF-CONTROL iTunes Libraries
- Thread starter fivepoint
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yes, you can but it doesn't make sense because you loose too much space. But for upgrade reasons mixing drives (i.e. puting in bigger drives) makes sense. You can also have multiple volumes on a Qnap, like 3 disks for Raid5 and 2 disks for Raid1 or just JBOD (for not important data), etc.
It would work, but you'd get better drive space utilization if you used RAID5 -- 6GB usable instead of 4GB.
I've just skimmed through this whole thread and although there's plenty of good options mentioned I'm stunned that more of you aren't using the HP Mediasmart as your iTunes backend...
I eventually plan on acquiring a Mediasmart but for the moment I have an old homebuilt PC running XP Pro w/a PCI raid card installed and 3x320gb Seagate Baracuda's arrayed in Raid 5 for a total of ~600gb storage. It's stuffed in a cupboard and I access it using the Remote Desktop client for Macs which works surprisingly well.
I have my aTV set to stream from the iTunes that runs as a service whenever the system restarts. I'm also feeding a MBP and an iMac from the shared library. I was toying w/the idea of hardwiring the PC into my network but have had almost incredible luck w/an old Linksys Wireless G card which is able to serve up all my needs w/nary a stutter... I did go as far as to procure a wireless N card but for whatever reason my AEBS is a complete dud and cannot connect well to the PC no matter what I do w/the antenna. Luckily Verizon provides a decent G router w/the Fios service.
I'm a bit nervous about a random component taking a dump in the PC leaving me w/a pain in the a**e re-install and prayer that the raid array will be picked up again - hence my leaning towards the Mediasmart where most of the redundancy is in the form of mirroring. That and the fact that the PC runs very hot and is probably kaiboshing my carbon footprint and my leccy bill.
I eventually plan on acquiring a Mediasmart but for the moment I have an old homebuilt PC running XP Pro w/a PCI raid card installed and 3x320gb Seagate Baracuda's arrayed in Raid 5 for a total of ~600gb storage. It's stuffed in a cupboard and I access it using the Remote Desktop client for Macs which works surprisingly well.
I have my aTV set to stream from the iTunes that runs as a service whenever the system restarts. I'm also feeding a MBP and an iMac from the shared library. I was toying w/the idea of hardwiring the PC into my network but have had almost incredible luck w/an old Linksys Wireless G card which is able to serve up all my needs w/nary a stutter... I did go as far as to procure a wireless N card but for whatever reason my AEBS is a complete dud and cannot connect well to the PC no matter what I do w/the antenna. Luckily Verizon provides a decent G router w/the Fios service.
I'm a bit nervous about a random component taking a dump in the PC leaving me w/a pain in the a**e re-install and prayer that the raid array will be picked up again - hence my leaning towards the Mediasmart where most of the redundancy is in the form of mirroring. That and the fact that the PC runs very hot and is probably kaiboshing my carbon footprint and my leccy bill.
I really don't understand why people would spend this kind of money for a device with 1 500gb drive and 3 bay expansion.
Is it really all that bad?
I dunno - I don't think $550 for the new 750gb ex485 is that bad. How much is a Drobo or ReadyNas in comparison?
When you throw in the iTunes server, VPN, a full version of Windows Home Server ($175 as a standalone piece of software), Twonky Media Server, Time Machine compatibility, Wifi N, wake on lan, auto-reboot, Gigabit ethernet etc - I don't think it's a bad value at all.
It also seems to have the advantage of offering redundancy in an attractive pretty idiot-proof package. No need for raid 5 deliberations just a simple drive pool.
I dunno - I don't think $550 for the new 750gb ex485 is that bad. How much is a Drobo or ReadyNas in comparison?
When you throw in the iTunes server, VPN, a full version of Windows Home Server ($175 as a standalone piece of software), Twonky Media Server, Time Machine compatibility, Wifi N, wake on lan, auto-reboot, Gigabit ethernet etc - I don't think it's a bad value at all.
It also seems to have the advantage of offering redundancy in an attractive pretty idiot-proof package. No need for raid 5 deliberations just a simple drive pool.
The iTunes server is the same software you find on all the NAS boxes these days... Firefly Media Server.
I think the HP Media Server runs a full version of Windows Home Server so it runs iTunes like your mac so it is a lot more than Firefly Media Server.
Fair enough.
Like I said - I was just a bit surprised that in a thread that spans 19 pages only one person mentioned this solution vs the multitudes that have a Drobo or ReadyNAS - both of which seem comparable in price but less well featured.
I read this in another thread as well. Seems pretty awesome... almost PERFECT in terms of managing a large library. You could edit all of the tags and everything on your main computer and the use some VLC/Remote Desktop app to make sure they get copied into iTunes on the MediaSmart correctly. I suppose you could even use MediaSmart to do your ripping/encoding (or even downloading if that's your thing). I am very interested in this solution and if it works as well as many have been saying then it's only going to depress me more that Apple doesn't have a similar option.
I thought it was Windows? I don't understand servers that well though so there's a good chance I'm just confused
Am voting for the QNAP 509-Pro as well. Have one at home w/ 5x1.5 TB disks in RAID5 setup, have multiple appletv's connected to it, and it works very well. Stores all my digitized DVDs, as well as all downloads.
The Qdownload-service running on the box handles torrents as well as direct downloads, it runs a linux flavor enabling you to extend it beyond whatever you want, memory is easily upgradable (have upgraded to 4GB), and it is really plug-and-play. Some issues (as with anything), but very happy with it.
And yes, it's probably quite a lot cheaper to build something yourself, however, considering how much time that would cost me (setup & maintenance) this is in the end probably cheaper in the long run.
The Qdownload-service running on the box handles torrents as well as direct downloads, it runs a linux flavor enabling you to extend it beyond whatever you want, memory is easily upgradable (have upgraded to 4GB), and it is really plug-and-play. Some issues (as with anything), but very happy with it.
And yes, it's probably quite a lot cheaper to build something yourself, however, considering how much time that would cost me (setup & maintenance) this is in the end probably cheaper in the long run.
This is exactly what I want to do
How do you go about using drobo for both media store and TM backup?
Do you use separate partitions for each? If so, how are partition sizes dealt with when you add new disks later - can they be expanded automatically (ie can you set partition size in a percentage of total storage available as opposed to a fixed partition size?
Also, I am a bit concerned about a Drobo/TM "loop" - how do you limit the amount of space given over to TM storage on drobo? With a normal external disk, the TM storage is limited by the size of the disk, TM keeps going until the HD is full, storing data over longer and longer periods of time. Once the disk is full, TM deletes the older data to allow newer data to be backed up. However, Drobo storage is expandable and when it starts filling up it asks for more disks (so it is never 100% full and therefore no old data is ever deleted). When you add more disks they are used TM to back up over longer periods of time...what I don't want to end up with is a drive that holds relatively little in terms of "current" data, but can happily pull out a file that was deleted 10 years ago...
sorry if that is not to clear but I hope you understand what I am getting at...
How about this set up?
I thought I would jump in here and ask for opinions on this set up. I won a copy of Windows SBS 2003. I'm toying with using it as an iTunes server. I do use the exchange and IIS portion of the server so this isn't a huge overkill. Server 2003 supports raid-5. I was thinking of adding 4 1T USB drives in a raid-5 array. I know that write speed to usb drives would be fairly slow but I'm hoping that read speed would be okay to stream my movies. The motherboard on the server only supports 2 SATA ports so my internal raid options are limited.
Thanks for the advice.
I thought I would jump in here and ask for opinions on this set up. I won a copy of Windows SBS 2003. I'm toying with using it as an iTunes server. I do use the exchange and IIS portion of the server so this isn't a huge overkill. Server 2003 supports raid-5. I was thinking of adding 4 1T USB drives in a raid-5 array. I know that write speed to usb drives would be fairly slow but I'm hoping that read speed would be okay to stream my movies. The motherboard on the server only supports 2 SATA ports so my internal raid options are limited.
Thanks for the advice.
Get yourself a PCI or PCI Express SATA Raid card. I use a cheapie 4 drive Sil3114 but have read good things about the Adaptec 2610SA RAID Controller available on Ebay for under $100 usually. You may run into issues stuffing that much hardware into a case not designed for it but if like me you've got room for extra CD/DVD writers you can always convert these to drive storage. One other thing to consider is your power supply - are there enough molex (does SATA use Molex?) plugs for your additional drives.
Good luck whatever you end up doing.
I'm thinking about picking up a Drobo while this $50 rebate thing is going on and had one question about it.
If I use Drobo as my primary storage for iTunes library, can I back my library up onto an appropriately-sized extra external HDD that I have lying around?
So basically I want to have a Drobo and a 1TB external attached to my computer and use SuperDuper to clone the iTunes folder weekly. Is this possible?
If I use Drobo as my primary storage for iTunes library, can I back my library up onto an appropriately-sized extra external HDD that I have lying around?
So basically I want to have a Drobo and a 1TB external attached to my computer and use SuperDuper to clone the iTunes folder weekly. Is this possible?
I'm so glad I found this. I read through the thread and there are some great ideas! I haven't really seen any one address the issue of taking their laptop from there home and still being able to access their media.
Please see my question at the bottom of the post.
Here's a diagram of my setup:
Acer:
This was functioning as my Media/Backup server, but I'm giving it to my mom to replace her eMachine. I had uTorrent setup to download TV shows automatically. I would then access them over the network from my laptop or the AppleTV. I'd like to get away from using this as the server if possible.
MacBook Pro (docked to a 24" Dell screen when at home):
I used to rip music on the Acer, but now I do this in VMware. I rip to FLAC for future storage only and AAC for playback. I keep my ripped music separate from my iTunes purchased music. I sync iTunes with my iPhone and AppleTV (I don't mind streaming) and I'd like to have a copy of my music with me when I'm away from the house.
I was playing around with VideoDrive and like that it is able to add my downloaded TV shows to iTunes (with out converting). This allows me to access them from the AppleTV interface. Is there away to automate this? I didn't like how VideoDrive handled it. I'd like to be able to automatically convert a copy for storage on my iPhone as well. I'd like to keep a copy (of the original) on the MBP for when i'm out, but this isn't as important.
AppleTV:
It's hacked to run XBMC/Boxee and has Perian. I'd like to be able to access my media using the AppleTV interface AND XBMC/Boxee.
PowerBook:
My old laptop that's going to be in the Kitchen for web browsing.
eMachine:
My mom's old computer. She has a small iTunes collection and an iPod.
I'm thinking about pulling the two 500GB drives from the Acer and putting them in enclosures in order to use my MBP as the media server. Otherwise, I'll probably use the eMachine. I think I'll use one of the MyBooks for a SuperDuper bootable copy the other can be used for offsite backups. I'd do TimeMachine over the network if I use the eMachine. What's the best way to store my media so that it is organized and accessible at home and while away?
Please see my question at the bottom of the post.
Here's a diagram of my setup:
Acer:
This was functioning as my Media/Backup server, but I'm giving it to my mom to replace her eMachine. I had uTorrent setup to download TV shows automatically. I would then access them over the network from my laptop or the AppleTV. I'd like to get away from using this as the server if possible.
MacBook Pro (docked to a 24" Dell screen when at home):
I used to rip music on the Acer, but now I do this in VMware. I rip to FLAC for future storage only and AAC for playback. I keep my ripped music separate from my iTunes purchased music. I sync iTunes with my iPhone and AppleTV (I don't mind streaming) and I'd like to have a copy of my music with me when I'm away from the house.
I was playing around with VideoDrive and like that it is able to add my downloaded TV shows to iTunes (with out converting). This allows me to access them from the AppleTV interface. Is there away to automate this? I didn't like how VideoDrive handled it. I'd like to be able to automatically convert a copy for storage on my iPhone as well. I'd like to keep a copy (of the original) on the MBP for when i'm out, but this isn't as important.
AppleTV:
It's hacked to run XBMC/Boxee and has Perian. I'd like to be able to access my media using the AppleTV interface AND XBMC/Boxee.
PowerBook:
My old laptop that's going to be in the Kitchen for web browsing.
eMachine:
My mom's old computer. She has a small iTunes collection and an iPod.
I'm thinking about pulling the two 500GB drives from the Acer and putting them in enclosures in order to use my MBP as the media server. Otherwise, I'll probably use the eMachine. I think I'll use one of the MyBooks for a SuperDuper bootable copy the other can be used for offsite backups. I'd do TimeMachine over the network if I use the eMachine. What's the best way to store my media so that it is organized and accessible at home and while away?
To be quite honest... I have not thought about that. Let me do some research and get back to you. To date, I have had no problems with overfilling my TB of usable space. It would be nice if TM would let you limit the amount of material that is backed up so that it is not dependent on the external HD.
If anyone else on the forum has ideas, please let us know.
There's actually a Droboapp called Time Tamer that can limit the size of your TM backup on the Drobo. I spoke with a rep from Drobo yesterday and she referred me to this utility. I haven't checked it out yet, as I don't have a drobo.
As a few others have done, here is my setup as it will be. The only two things I don't have right now are the AppleTV for the Bedroom, and the ceiling speakers hooked up. I have to cut the holes in the ceiling, and run the wires. Other than that, it's all a go:
I have a relatively small music library, it's only 17.79 gigs right now. TV shows and Movies are going to fill up those drives quickly, and then I'll move to a more elegant solution. I had the Dell and drives already, so that's why I'm using them for now.
I have a relatively small music library, it's only 17.79 gigs right now. TV shows and Movies are going to fill up those drives quickly, and then I'll move to a more elegant solution. I had the Dell and drives already, so that's why I'm using them for now.
