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Building a NAS Device w/ Embedded OS?

Posted by Cliff on from the when-off-the-shelf-just-isn't-good-enough dept.

An Anonymous Coward asks: "I've been thinking about building a NAS device similar to the Quantum Snap Server Has anyone come across anyone else working on a similar project? One that at the very least uses a small integrated board and some sort of embedded OS? Ive seen several systems that run a full Linux OS and separate boot hard drives, but this solution seems a bit too bulky for whats really required. Something that features a FTP/HTTP/SMB interface would be pretty slick!"

2 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. Industry Embedded NAS projects. by Cyberdeck · · Score: 2, Insightful

    On the high end there are many of these systems running 20-400 Terabyte arrays using Fibre Channel disk arrays attached to switches running VxWorks, pSOS, or Nucleus available, and I am aware of at least six start-ups doing work on this as well as many major players (Adaptech, Network Appliances, ...).

    The only low-end box I am aware of was available from a company called Promise Technology, called the Connectstore 2. Nobody wanted to buy it so I think they dropped the product line. (P233, 64Mb, 160GB HDD, 10baseT network, embedded Linux, no idea about the price.) Disclaimer: I used to work for Promise when they released it.

    For the low-end stuff it's simply too cheap and easy to get a Wal-mart special, stuff it into the telephone closet, load Linux onto it, connect it up to the LAN, and have cron do what it needs to do. Why pay more for special purpose hardware if the Wal-mart special will do the job?

    I wish you luck on your search!

    -C

  2. What's Wrong with Linux? by nathanh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't understand your aversion to Linux. Single floppy Linux distros (eg, Tom's Root Boot) + nfs-server + samba would do what you want.

    If you're worried about using a second hard disk as the boot device, then you're in luck. Use a CompactFlash card and an IDE-CompactFlash convertor. A 16MB flash is cheap. Install the single floppy Linux distro onto the flash and use a ramdisk for the root filesystem. Log everything remotely and Bob's your uncle.

    If you're worried about the size of the Linux box itself (power supply, motherboard) then spend some money and get a small PC. There are plenty of options available.