Network
attached storage (NAS) is a very common and cost-effective storage
system. Also, by expanding the group of target users, it needs to be
modernized and upgraded constantly. NAS servers are representing a
large and promising market. Although this market is today dominated
by large storage companies using proprietary solutions or licenses,
there are several projects which aim at designing an open NAS
product.
Although
NAS may function with many popular operating systems, open NAS Linux
operating system. Linux, due to its large platforms and file systems
support, is a natural candidate to build a new generation of open NAS
server, using only open source tools and inexpensive hardware, like
standard PCs. An ideal open source NAS solution can be built
associated with strategies where the operating system runs from solid
states devices, like pendrives or compact flash cards.
Open NAS
gives an opportunity for the system to develop, not only by a group
of specialists employed in one company. This is in compliance with
the principle and practice of open source which is based on peer
production by collaboration and cooperation. The outcome of open
source practices including final product, source-material and
documentation is available the public for free.
There are
two basic project aims for open NAS systems. The first was to define
general procedures and programs for generating a live version of the
system, which boots from solid state devices, starting from a running
system. The scripts were modified to support Debian Linux and to
generate bootable pendrives.
The
second goal was to create web interfaces for open NAS administration.
This is carried out by re-using known technologies. The interfaces
simplify the configuration work, defining good metaphors for complex
administration tasks like RAID setup, partitioning and file system
exporting.
These two
aims, associated with a particular PC hardware, defines the basis of
an open NAS solution. For instance, there is a solution using a PC
motherboard with RAID 0 or 1, USB booting and four standard 256GB IDE
disks which can provide a NAS system with 512GB (RAID 1) or even 1TB
(RAID 0). Obviously, better hardware platforms using e.g. SATA disks
improve performance and add hot swap capability to the system.
Some open
NAS projects have been accomplished, but many of them are at the
design or modification phase, to improve system performance,
availability and to add new functionalities.