Storage array - DYI ?

ok, I admit it, I'm ignorant
For 4 days straight I was googling for instructions on how to add a huuuuge storage array to my wifes G4 DP 1GHz QS.
Even better, how to build one myself, on a straight budget.
ok, here's the deal.
I need mass storage and was thinking about 8 HDs in a rackmount.
The rack is a flight case, 19" wide but only 16" deep.
I assume I can manage the rack stuff but what I really need is technical understanding on how to connect 8 HDs and then this bundle to the Mac. The distance between the G4 and the rack will be about 30 feet (10 meters).
Integrating this array in the network would be nice but my understanding is that than I will need a server, right ?
Can I connect the array with the G4 in any way or do I have to go with a server solution ? I would have an old PII 400 MHz and a PIII 1 GHz I could use and put Linux on it, if this is the only way to go...
Can anybody help me ?

Edit: I was thinking about ATAs or maybe even SATAs for the HDs. RAID would not be necessary, JBOD would be enough

ok, this doesn't seem to be an easy task
In the meantime I took care of one thing and therefore changes the requirements a lil bit...
I got my hands on a Cobalt Raq Server. So that takes care of the network binding.

The original problem still remains. I need to build a disk array. I would like to use IDE disks because of capacity and price.
I would like to put the array in a separate case for the rack.
The Cobalt Raq has a SCSI connector so I was thinking of using SCSI to connect the array to the server.
I'm aware of SCSI/IDE adaptor cards to convert IDE into SCSI. Would I need one of these cards per drive or is there a chance to connect all IDE drives as a chain and then connect them to the SCSI connector ?

Help, p-l-e-a-s-e ?!