Got An Old PC Lying Around? Build A NAS Server With NASLite-2
Over the last week I’ve been writing a series of posts tracking the progress of the Home Server I’ve been building. My original plan was to install Windows Home Server on my £130 home server, but because the WHS trial disc was taking a while to arrive, I thought I’d try installing a cheaper alternative.
I discovered NASLite-2 after about 15 minutes research on Google, and I’m amazed by how much it does for a mere $29.95. Within 15 minutes I had installed NASLite-2 and I now have an amazing NAS server that delivers everything I need for a fration of the cost of WHS.
What is NASLite-2? Well, it’s a Network Attached Storage (NAS) Server Operating System designed to transform a basic computer into a dedicated SMB/CIFS, NFS, AFP, FTP, HTTP and RSYNC file server. It can be booted from a HDD, Flash drive, CD-Rom and other options. This means that files saved on your server can be accessed via just about every method known to man. The software is ultralight, with the ISO only 6.6MB, and can be installed on anything as slow as a 200Mhz Pentium with 64MB of RAM, so that old PC you have lying around could suddenly become useful again.
Installing the HDD version onto my PC was a doddle and only took about 5 mins. Installation requires a monitor and a keyboard, but once finished these can be removed and the server can be managed via telnet. Options available include formating discs, setting free space alerts, monitoring traffic levels etc, with each installed drive having unique settings.
Below are some sample screens from the admin screens, which I have to say are very easy to navigate:
Once you’ve setup your network settings, you literally only need to connect the server to your network and away you go. The network drives appear automatically on each PC connected to your network, with each available drive listed seperately as well as a ‘Shares’ folder that shows all available storage via a single share.
Performance is extremely good. Because NASLite-2 deletes all files on each new disc that is added, I had to spend some time copying all my files onto my server. At one point I had 3 PCs transferring files to the server, and to try and test out the load I was streaming music and DVDs to 4 PCs and 2 consoles at the same time as the incoming transfers. Some of the files stuttered initially but once they got going everything was fine.
I think NASLite-2 is going to be one of the best software purchases I’ve ever made, particularly when running in tandem with my new £130 Home Server. In fact, my new server will actually cost me less because I’ve put my 1TB Lacie drive up for sale on eBay, and I should get around £100 for it!
All I need to do is find a good RAS solution that allows me to access the NAS server over the internet. There are many out there that will let me access one of my PCs, but I need one that will allow me to access the server directly.
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Comment by bitor on 17 January 2008:
Hello Grahm:
My first suggestion is to make sure your firewall is not blocking your naslite2. Also, I would try and do a telnet to the naslite2 via the command prompt. Like this Run->cmd(dos window)->telnet open (your nas IP address) then password. This is to double check that your or any firewall is blocking it. Also you can ping the naslite2 ip address from the dos command prompt. Example: Run->cmd->ping (your nas ip address). You can also try and map your naslite2.
I hope this might help you
Best Regards,
bitor