NAS v home server

i recently suffered a catastrophic HDD failure, i was fortunate to recover most of my important files. anyway i dont want to go through all this hassle again, reinstalling programs etc etc. NAS can fill that role but i would also like to set up a mail server to keep my 2 pc's and phone in sync all time. what would people recommend? all comments very welcome.
thanks

 

Maybe a bit more info is needed.

• How much space do you require?
• Just file sharing and mail server?
• How many users and PC's? Just the two?
• Budget?
• What was your previous setup/build?
• Do you have experience with NAS or servers?
• Linux or Windows server?

Hypothetically, if it was just a few pcs and you wanted a RAID-5 redundancy solution, plus external drive backup option, small and lightweight, easy to configure http webconfig page, $1k max budget, then id look at a NAS device, specifically a QNAP with 4 bay drives and Mail Server capabilities.

Can run print server, enable different users, hot-swap recoverey, instant one click USB external drive backups and more.

All this for $1k and a few hours.

My 2c.
Simon

 

I wouldn't suggest trying to setup a mail server, because if you have to ask in a forum, chances are it would just quickly become an infected bot and get used by spammers. I would stick with a simple nas, try freenas.org or buy a prebuilt one.

 

hi Simon, hope the extra info in blue helps, thanks

 

thanks for your comments, wasnt specifically asking how to set it up just people opinions on the best way to go for initial needs but for easy expansion/upgrade for future needs. i work equally between my pc, laptop and phone and keeping all mail in sync is a high priority for me. assumed mail server would be best option, is there software that can do the same for all 3 devices?
regards

 

SugarSync might be worth a look-see

 

hi earthling, thanks for that, not sure if it does the email though

 

Dazk sounds like you've got the right idea, as long as time is not of the essence I would (and have many times) begin with a basic build, good RAID controller and say 4 or 5 HDDs and learn open source.
Possibilities are endless.
Pointers;
If your just starting off, try freenas, its a very lightweight and user-friendly linux-NAS operating system.
Will give you everything you need (apart from mail server for now) and prepare you for the next step.

On from this would be ClearOS which is an all-you-can-eat that has;

Directory Features
Integrated LDAP for User and Group Management
User Security Certificate Manager

Multi-WAN
VPN - PPTP, IPsec, OpenVPN
DMZ and 1-to-1 NAT
Stateful Firewall
Local DHCP and DNS Servers

Antimalware - Antivirus, Antiphishing, Antispyware
Antispam
Bandwidth Management
Intrusion Protection, Intrusion Prevention, Intrusion Detection
Protocol Filtering including Peer-to-Peer Detection
Content Filter
Web Proxy
Access Control

Windows Networking with PDC Support
File and Print Services
Flexshares
Groupware with Outlook Connector
Mail Server - POP, IMAP, SMTP, Webmail, Retrieval
Mail Filtering - Antispam, Antimalware, Greylisting, Quarantine
Mail Archiving
Database with MySQL
Web Server with PHP Support

But I would start with FreeNAS, learn how unix file systems and the different types work, learn ZFS and upgrading space, learn basic commands and deal with basic firewall/port and webui stuff, get a feel for file sharing permissions and windows/mac interaction.

Once you have this sorted you can easily (use ext2/ext3 file format) move to ClearOS and spend your weekends configuring.

Again, my 2c.

 

thanks for your comments, much appreciated,