Storage solutions

[Devo]

Hi Folks,

I have a littel problem that I need a little help with. We have exceeded our server space here in the lab and are thinking of getting some of our own... (around 1TB mirrored). I have no experience with this however and I was thinking of building a networked attached server for our own use.

I was going to use this motherboard

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...GA-8ANXP-D.htm

and hopefully hooked up eight of these

http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpr...t_id=MXGA03UFR

in a RAID 0+1 configuration (I think that means it will seem like I have 1 1.2TB hard drive, when it will really be 2 identical sets of 4)

However does this seem feasible?
where can I get a case to hold 8 drives?
how many fans should I use?
how much RAM? Does it make a difference?
how fast a CPU? Does it make a difference?
What server OS should I use (e.g. NASLite+)?

All tips will be most welcome, ie how to make it bigger cheaper better.
or some commercially available alternatives.

my aim is to try to keep it under £2000.

My constaints are that It must be mirrored, reliable and appear as one volume or a small number of volumes (4 or less)

Thanks in advance

Steve