Head over to eBay and grab one of the many Windows Home Server boxes=20 available. The WHS v1 boxes (Acer or HP) are actually quite=20 nice. They are stingy with power consumption (the only wasted energy=20 seems to be the cute front panel LEDs which can be either dimmed or turned = off. Because Windows Home Server v2 has now been released and won't run on=20 the low-end hardware that most manufactured Home Server Boxes were=20 made with, many of those Windows Home Server v1 boxes are now readily=20 available for cheap. I have an Acer H340 running WHS v1 which came with a WD Green 1TB=20 hard drive installed and 3 empty drive carriers. I populated those=20 carriers with WD 'Green' 2TB drives for a total possible storage=20 capacity of 7TB. I left the top drive not integrated into the WHS=20 Drive Extender drive pool so that I could easily swap other SATA=20 drives into that spot. However, I'm probably just going to set one=20 of those desktop SATA drive docking stations on top of the unit when=20 I eventually get to the point where I want the extra 2TB storage=20 added to the drive pool. I chose to stay with Windows Home Server v1 that came with my unit=20 but you are free to install anything that you want. I've read of=20 others who have installed Linux on those boxes and been really happy=20 with the results. Both the Acer and HP units seem to use similar hardware: mini itx=20 mainboard with Intel Atom processor (both single and dual-core=20 versions available). Because this was intended to be a server box=20 hidden away in a closet, its headless. That is: no monitor or PS2=20 keyboard / mouse connectors are available. However, the mother board has a standard JST 2mm dual row connector=20 that brings out the VGA monitor signal, 2- PS2 connectors (mouse &=20 keyboard) and TTL-level RS-232 comm port. Note that the RS-232 comm=20 port needs a MAX232 or equivalent if you want a true RS-232 port - or=20 you can just use the TTL signals directly to connect to your=20 PIC-based project. The pinout of that 2mm connector is readily=20 available via a Google search but I have a cached copy if for some=20 reason you can't find it. I don't recall if there is any audio hardware on the mainboard. Other features: 1- USB connector on the front of the box along with a=20 button to cause WHS to grab a copy of whatever you plug into that=20 connector. Back panel: 4- USB connectors, 1- eSATA connector,=20 10/100/1000 Ethernet port I'm sure that I've missed describing other features - its been a year=20 since I last looked ay my unit. I access it remotely via LogMeIn=20 whenever I need to do any maintenance on the box. It might sound as if I am quite enthusiastic about these units - and=20 I am. I think that its one of the nicest, densest collections of=20 hardware that I've seen. It has a single, large fan that spins only=20 as fast as it needs to (when it needs to) - the unit is totally=20 silent in use. The WD 'Green' hard drives run cool to the touch -=20 they really did succeed in making them much more 'Green' than other=20 hard drives that I own. And - it just works. I run uTorrent on it for grabbing TV shows that=20 I want to watch (TVtorrents.com) and play them back on either of the=20 two media players that I have (Patriot Box Office and Asus=20 O!PlayR3). I've also ripped many of my purchased DVD's and play=20 those via those same media players. It also automatically backs-up=20 any computers on my home network that I leave turned on (usually only=20 a single machine). When I first purchased the unit, I kept it at work for a few weeks to=20 play with it and to configure it the way I wanted. While I had the=20 unit at work, I stored a copy of my file server on it and now that=20 the WHS box is at home, update it frequently via LogMeIn's File=20 Manager. I don't have that scheduled - I do it only when I think=20 about it. Sort of a 4th level of backup, on top of the automated=20 off-site backups that occur daily and the sort-of automated backups=20 that happen to other machines on-site. But that readily-available=20 backup would be useful if something bad should ever happen to my shop=20 - it would take DAYS to download the full contents of that file=20 server from the off-site backups stored somewhere 'Out There' vs just=20 taking my WHS box into work and putting it on the LAN. dwayne At 11:44 PM 8/30/2011, J. Bakshi wrote: >Hello, > >Could anyone suggest to make a NAS box please ? > >Requirements : >1. Low power consumption : say a power supply with less than 150W max 200W >2. Ability to sustain a minimum of 4 x 2TB SATA 6Gbps HDD. Maximum 12 i >guess should suffice (if it can run on the above mentioned power supply) >3. Rack Mount >4. Not looking at RAID. Just vanilla data storage >5. Gigabit Ethernet >6. Fanless system would be preferred. > > >Looking at a budget of less than INR 10000/- for the above without the HDD > >TIA >-- >http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >View/change your membership options at >http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .