Network Attached Storage

For its backup needs, DILC is initiating a network-attached storage (NAS) project. The goal of the project is to deploy inexpensive, reliable, robust, scalable backup system for DILC's use. It only uses commodity, off-the-shelf parts and free and open source technologies.

Specs

The system

• uses NAS4free
• embedded installation (USB)
• protocols deployed SFTP, NFS, Samba, AFP, RSYNC
• intranet only
• ZFS
• "hot" expandable (additional 2TB hard drives can be added thereby expanding the current CONTIGUOUS volume; the limit of the number of drives is determined by the number of SATA slots available in the motherboard)

Deployment

In April, initial NAS configuration for Remote Site B includes a 4TB contiguous space, using 2x2TB commodity hard drives. There appears to be a 2TB-limit to individual hard drive without getting errors. "Hot swap" addition of 2Tb drive was done on 8 June 2013 bringing the total size of the contiguous drive to 6Tb.

Remote Site B backup is meant to cope with backup requirements that now exceed the capacity of Remote Site A (as of 21 April 2013):

By far DILC storage requirements appear to grow at a rate of about 1Tb a month.

Reviews

• Download/Upload Traffic Load using NFS, AFP, CIFS/SMB and SFTP

Development Team

• Ma. Cristina Dalupan - Team Leader
• Raff Alimbuyuguen
• Don Cadavona
• Thaniel Jay Duldulao
• Dominick Tunac

Components and Costs

• old PC with a year or two expected life left
• commodity 2Tb drive: Php 4,935 (x number of drives)

To Dos

• Webdav integration
• throughput optimization
• persistent automount
• peer-to-peer syncing of files via direct private torrent