NAS multiple drives
#1
These may be a dumb questions....but I'll ask anyway.  To me the ROCK64 seems like a good way to make a pretty good little NAS with the Gigabit access and the USB 3.0.  I wonder if multiple HDD will be a problem, and is there a maximum HDD capacity that can be used?

I plan to start with just two drives, using a powered USB 3.0 hub and separate USB to SATA cables for each connected to the hub.  Will there be a problem detecting the drives like this?  Also could I keep adding drive to the hub like this (don't ever see wanting more than 4)?

Also is there a max drive capacity that can be used?  Was thinking of 4TB?

Thanks...
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#2
hey crash [great name btw], welcome to the forum. i don't have an answer about your question but wanted to mention to you that many of the most knowledgeable members can usually be found on the irc chat , rock64 has it's own channel. plus, the armbian group who put out builds for many of the pine64 devices has a forum and there are several very knowledgeable , particularly on NAS, members over on the armbian forum. good luck with the rock64, hope you get it all dialed in and of course report back about your experiences.
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#3
(09-30-2017, 07:58 AM)Crash Wrote: <snip>
I plan to start with just two drives, using a powered USB 3.0 hub and separate USB to SATA cables for each connected to the hub.  Will there be a problem detecting the drives like this?  Also could I keep adding drive to the hub like this (don't ever see wanting more than 4)?
<snip>


I just added a PNY CS900 240GB internal SSD to my Rock64 via usb|sata adapter cable , powered via Belkin powered hub;  this works great, btw.

I mention this because its the only real-world example I'm actually familiar with to-date;  the PNY draws a whopping nominal 1000ma -- 1A  is a lot of current today !  My powered hub can support 3A;  so I'm not putting four (4) PNY SSD(s) on this Belkin hub !

There is another option.  The usb|sata adapter from the pine store ( please see this link ) has an external power port labeled  12v  @2A;  the port is a barrel jack plugin.  With this setup each SSD can have its own external wall wort,  so that the hub does not have to carry the load for all four drives.  

The next thing is cost.  I priced out PNY 1 TB drives last night;  because they are on sale right now at BestBuy, and because I'm also interested in the experiment.  Its not the size of the drive that you'll find to be the problem ( because it isn't ) rather the cost of each drive !  --  even on sale the PNY TB drive ( SSD ) was $286 usd ( you do the math, just multiply by 4 ).

So you need to decide if you want to make a $1200 dollar investment in a NAS server centered around a $46 dollar SBC !?!

Shy
marcushh777    Cool

please join us for a chat @  irc.pine64.xyz:6667   or ssl  irc.pine64.xyz:6697

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#4
(09-30-2017, 07:58 AM)Crash Wrote: These may be a dumb questions....but I'll ask anyway.  To me the ROCK64 seems like a good way to make a pretty good little NAS with the Gigabit access and the USB 3.0.  I wonder if multiple HDD will be a problem, and is there a maximum HDD capacity that can be used?

I plan to start with just two drives, using a powered USB 3.0 hub and separate USB to SATA cables for each connected to the hub.  Will there be a problem detecting the drives like this?  Also could I keep adding drive to the hub like this (don't ever see wanting more than 4)?

Also is there a max drive capacity that can be used?  Was thinking of 4TB?

Thanks...

My Rock64 is connected to three USB3 drives through a 12V powered USB3 hub. One of the drives is 4TB.

If you plan to connect  multiple disks, get a good powered USB3 hub which have current backflow prevention.
[Image: JYPpsQ]
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#5
(09-30-2017, 08:59 PM)rontant Wrote:
(09-30-2017, 07:58 AM)Crash Wrote: These may be a dumb questions....but I'll ask anyway.  To me the ROCK64 seems like a good way to make a pretty good little NAS with the Gigabit access and the USB 3.0.  I wonder if multiple HDD will be a problem, and is there a maximum HDD capacity that can be used?

I plan to start with just two drives, using a powered USB 3.0 hub and separate USB to SATA cables for each connected to the hub.  Will there be a problem detecting the drives like this?  Also could I keep adding drive to the hub like this (don't ever see wanting more than 4)?

Also is there a max drive capacity that can be used?  Was thinking of 4TB?

Thanks...

My Rock64 is connected to three USB3 drives through a 12V powered USB3 hub. One of the drives is 4TB.

If you plan to connect  multiple disks, get a good powered USB3 hub which have current backflow prevention.
[Image: JYPpsQ]

Thanks rontant

That is exactly how I was thinking of doing it.  How do you find the access speeds through the hub like that?
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#6
(10-01-2017, 07:59 AM)Crash Wrote: That is exactly how I was thinking of doing it.  How do you find the access speeds through the hub like that?

Copying from the USB disk (non-SSD) to my laptop (with SSD) is about 75MB/sec-90MB/sec.

The speed will drop to half if copying from one USB disk to another USB disk connected through the hub.
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#7
(10-01-2017, 07:59 AM)Crash Wrote: That is exactly how I was thinking of doing it.  How do you find the access speeds through the hub like that?


Try using the  iozone3  tool.
marcushh777    Cool

please join us for a chat @  irc.pine64.xyz:6667   or ssl  irc.pine64.xyz:6697

( I regret that I am not able to respond to personal messages;  let's meet on irc! )
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