I'm a developer at a small environmental science company with about 30-35 employees, and along with another developer, I handle much of our IT operations. We have significant storage requirements due to our work with LIDAR projects, which could lead us to need about 10-20 TB of data storage every summer field season. Currently, we use two NAS devices, specifically the Synology DS1522+, one on-site and one for off-site backup. Unfortunately, we're running out of capacity and can't expand these units anymore since Synology doesn't sell the expansion units we need. I'm exploring various options for our storage approach, such as:
- Sticking with Synology or other NAS devices, although I'm concerned about hitting similar restrictions in the future.
- Investing in a traditional server setup with TrueNAS or Proxmox and ZFS for more flexible storage expansion with JBOD units.
- Considering cloud storage, which seems unaffordable in Canada due to currency conversion and data sovereignty issues.
I'm leaning towards a traditional server setup since it might provide better long-term flexibility and management options, but I'm looking for advice and insights on the best path forward.
4 Answers
I've had success with DIY TrueNAS units, storing a couple of hundred TB each. They sync with each other for georedundancy, which is essential for critical data. If you go this route, using external SAS controllers can be a game changer for performance. It gives you a lot of room to grow your storage.
Proxmox combined with Ceph could really give you the flexibility you need for virtualization and storage. It’s a more complex solution but definitely effective. You can find good resources on setting up a hyper-converged cluster that might help you configure your setup optimally.
Before deciding, you should investigate your data retention needs. Is all that data necessary long-term, or can some be archived? Planning around your budget and actual needs can help streamline your choices. Enterprise-grade options like Dell or HPE offer solid reliability compared to consumer-grade NAS systems. If you can invest, it’s worth considering.
For your storage needs, TrueNAS is a solid choice. It offers great flexibility and scalability. Just make sure to get support from them or a Value Added Reseller (VAR) when setting it up. They can help you plan for both your current storage needs and future growth. You definitely want to avoid trying to DIY it too much, especially with such critical data.
That's excellent advice; having the right support can save you a lot of headaches later.