Cheap Linux running NAS appliance

[sm2k]

Hi, I'm looking for a cheap NAS appliance that runs Linux. What I'm after is something like those little boxes from Netgear, D-Link, Buffalo, etc...compact and standalone, not a PC.

I don't need it to support a whole bunch of hard drives, maybe just two in RAID 1 would be sufficient. Gigabit ethernet too. It would be great if the device ran a semi-standard Debian distro, or would support one with little effort.

The primary purpose of the device would be for backup.

Suggestions?

 

[LeeMason]

How about the Linksys NSLU2. It can be reflashed with Linux SlugOS firmware which allow you ssh access and you can install other packages on it. It supports two external USB drives but does not support mirroring out of the box. However, when running the SlugOS firmware you are able to software mirror two drives. It is extremely cheap. The same firmware also runs on the Synology DS101, the Iomega NAS100d and the D-Link DSMG600.

If you want to build something bigger and want Linux have a look at

http://www.freenas.org.

Lee Mason
Optimal Projects Ltd

http://www.opl.co.uk

http://www.backupsanywhere.com

 

[withanh]

I use FreeNAS from

http://www.freenas.org.

It works great and is based on FreeBSD. Can be installed on a flash drive (32MB yes MB) or a full distro installed on a HD.

 

[RMGBELGIUM]

I would as well advise freeNas in this case. Install on a powerfull server, add some fast disks, and you will have a good cheap nas device.

rgds,

R.

NetApp Certified NCDA/NCIE-SAN

 

[sm2k]

LeeMason: thanks, I'll look into SlugOS.

I know about FreeNAS, but I specifically do not want a standard PC solution. I'm looking for an appliance that can run my existing backup scripts. Cheap, low power, passively cooled if possible.