Ubuntu Server 13.10 Released with Two Stable SSD Caching Options

Ubuntu Server 13.10 is out, and with it comes the 3.11 kernel with production-ready Bcache and dm-cache SSD caching options. SSD caching can help speed up NAS devices significantly by allowing reads and writes to hit SSDs before slower rotational media.

Ubuntu 13.1o is considered a stable release, although it’s only supported for 9 months. The next release will be 14.04 LTS with 5 years of support.

Information about other server package updates in Ubuntu 13.10 can be found in the release notes.

Battle of the 4 TB NAS Drives: WD Red and Seagate NAS HDD Face-Off

AnandTech reviews and benchmarks the Western Digital Red, Seagate NAS HDD, Western Digital SE, and Western Digital RE 4 TB NAS hard drives.

The correct choice of hard drives for a NAS system is influenced by a number of factors. These include expected workloads, performance requirements and power consumption restrictions, amongst others. In this review, we will discuss some of these aspects while evaluating four different hard drives targeting the NAS market:

via AnandTech | Battle of the 4 TB NAS Drives: WD Red and Seagate NAS HDD Face-Off.

BitTorrent Sync: Turning Your Old Computer into an NAS Drive

The BitTorrent Blog describes how to get BitTorrent Sync running on FreeNAS.

So you’ve upgraded to a new computer. Congratulations. Now you have to decide what to do with that old computer. Give it to your parents? Reenact your favorite scene from Office Space? How about you turn that piece of junk into a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device running BitTorrent Sync. It may not play Crysis, but it will provide you with a plethora of options including FTP, redundant storage, and most importantly, BitTorrent Sync.

via The Official BitTorrent Blog.

A fast NAS with class: 5 months with the Synology DS-412+

Ars Technica provides a 6 page review of the Synology DS-412+, focusing on features, software, and pretty much everything you’d want to know about any NAS.

Other contenders in the home NAS space include QNAP, NetGear, and Iomega, but I went with Synology chiefly due to their reputation for performance. The DroboFS was the very definition of “easy to use,” but after more than a year the slow read and write speeds just became too much. After scouring forums and reviews to find a replacement, I kept coming back to the then-newly released DS-412+.

via Ars Technica

Western Digital Red NAS Hard Drive Review

Western Digital released a hard drive aimed directly at home NAS users. It should also work great for home file servers, and any server where a 5400 RPM SATA drive is appropriate.

WD has several features that they’re touting as critical for the NAS user including; NASware specialized firmware, Intellipower low power spindle, robust NAS compatibility list, three year warranty and a dedicated WD Red 24×7 customer support line (1-855-55-WDRED if you need them).

via  StorageReview.com