2011/2/4 Keld Jørn Simonsen <keld@xxxxxxxxxx>: > > I wonder why this is so. (I cannot dispute what you are saying, as I have > not got any experience with any small SAN/NAS devices). > > Anyway, Linux NAS/SAN devices should run a kernel that should be able to > run MD raid10 and RAID 1+0 - as this has been in the Linux kernel > for more than 5 years. > 95% of such devices sold have only one drive, a few models have 2 bays, with external connections (usually USB, some e-sata now) only available for in-bound data copying. These are cheap enough that a decent hacker community has sprung up creating replacement opensource firmware, but the hardware limitations are severe enough that IMO the main attraction is a very low power bill for 24/7 convenience. There are some that offer 4 or 5 bays, but IMO anyone knowledgeable enough to make use of higher-end options like md raid10 would take one look at the price tag and bolt for a whitebox+free/opensource solution instead. Even whitebox+Windows Home Server (gasp!) would IMO be both cheaper and better in most cases than getting locked into proprietary hardware *and* software wrapped up together. If you want to investigate further, here are the main brands, I imagine most are running on Linux/mdadm-based firmware: Thecus, Qnap, Synology, Dlink, Buffalo, NetGear (was Infrant) IMO Drobo looks like a very interesting kit, not mdadm-based AFAICT -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-raid" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
