Need recommendations on NAS unit.

[Atty]

I'm wanting to set up my own dropbox like file storage drive and run a media server for my household. From what I understand getting a NAS is the best option for this.

What I need it to do: Store media (video mainly, HD if it matters) and documents. Be accessible via iOS ideally. I'll use it to access the media via my household items and my mobile devices when away form the house. It will never foreseeably have more than 10 users at one time, if ever more than 5. It needs to be Mac compatible.

I've looked at the WD EX2, the Drobo offerings, and Synology offerings. I don't want to spend a lot of money, hopefully keeping it under $500 with upgrade options down the line (not possible for an EX2, I would just get the 8TB version and call it quits).

Thoughts? Advice?

 

[Atty]

Nothing?

 

[ronbo613]

Probably because there are a lot of "Need Recommendations for NAS" threads already, NAS recommendation experts are worn out. Try the search function or just scroll through a couple pages of this forum.

 

[Atty]

Probably because there are a lot of "Need Recommendations for NAS" threads already, NAS recommendation experts are worn out. Try the search function or just scroll through a couple pages of this forum.

Wasn't aware it was a common question! I'll do some digging. Thanks!

 

[smitbret]

Just roll your own.

If that scares you, then just get the best Qnap it Synology that you can afford.

ECC memory is good but not necessary.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Also, you have stated what sort of size requirements you forsee yourself needing, nor have you said what sort of high-availability you are requiring (do you plan to restore from backup after every drive failure, or do you need to withstand 1 drive failure and keep going, 2 failures, etc. etc).

 

[ronbo613]

There are a lot of NAS recommendation threads, but I was kind of joking.

I think most of them would be; Synology or QNAP would be the top choices, if you can afford it. Cheaper units with not quite as many features like Iomega, Buffalo or WD My Cloud offerings would be next.

Then, there are those who would recommend you build your own server and use an OS like FreeNAS.

Everyone has different needs and price range, kind of have to do a little research and pick the one that's best for you.

 

[Atty]

Also, you have stated what sort of size requirements you forsee yourself needing, nor have you said what sort of high-availability you are requiring (do you plan to restore from backup after every drive failure, or do you need to withstand 1 drive failure and keep going, 2 failures, etc. etc).

I would like to do at least 4TB of protected data. I will not be using it for backups as I have at time capsule for that. I would like to be able to expand the storage later as well.

How often would drive failures happen? NAS drives (WD Red for instance) should have a long life, correct?

 

[jeff3f]

I would add that if the nas hosts anything important, then it should be backed up as well. I have a synology 213 with two WD red drives, in synology "raid" 1, and back to up to an external USB hdd and to crashplan.

Works well, though I am almost certainly under utilizing it. I'm also wondering if I should forgo the redundancy and instead enjoy extra storage space (double backed up so why not).

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I would like to do at least 4TB of protected data. I will not be using it for backups as I have at time capsule for that. I would like to be able to expand the storage later as well.

How often would drive failures happen? NAS drives (WD Red for instance) should have a long life, correct?

By protected, do you mean that you want the array to keep running after a drive failure? Because as stated by jeff3f, RAID isn't really a backup, it just lets the system keep running after a single or multiple drive failures. For a lot of people the NAS *is* the backup, but others, such as myself, jeff, or others here, also make sure to keep off-site backups.

So do you intend for the data to live anywhere else other than your NAS in case the NAS fails? Does it matter if the data is lost?

As far as expand ability goes, that depends on how much data you want to expand to, and how much redundancy you need.

For instance, if you needed 4TB now, and wanted to expand to 8TB in the future, and the data on it doesn't matter, I'd say just get a 2 bay unit and run without redundancy. If you are looking for something long-term, I'd recommend something like a Synology DS414j. For $400 it offers tons of performance, and you can start out with a SHR Raid set with 2 4TB drives, and simply expand that with more drives as your needs increase. The DSM 5.0 software supports supplanting itself as your Time Machine resource, and with a little bit of time in the shell you could even make it run off-site backup software such as Crashplan, or make it due automated backups to another external volume.

If I wanted something that provided >4TB capacity, with enough redundancy to survive a 1 drive failure, I'd look at the DS414j and look at collapsing my environment to run off of that (Storage + Time Machine Backups + Crashplan offsite backups).

 

[Atty]

By protected, do you mean that you want the array to keep running after a drive failure? Because as stated by jeff3f, RAID isn't really a backup, it just lets the system keep running after a single or multiple drive failures. For a lot of people the NAS *is* the backup, but others, such as myself, jeff, or others here, also make sure to keep off-site backups.

So do you intend for the data to live anywhere else other than your NAS in case the NAS fails? Does it matter if the data is lost?

As far as expand ability goes, that depends on how much data you want to expand to, and how much redundancy you need.

For instance, if you needed 4TB now, and wanted to expand to 8TB in the future, and the data on it doesn't matter, I'd say just get a 2 bay unit and run without redundancy. If you are looking for something long-term, I'd recommend something like a Synology DS414j. For $400 it offers tons of performance, and you can start out with a SHR Raid set with 2 4TB drives, and simply expand that with more drives as your needs increase. The DSM 5.0 software supports supplanting itself as your Time Machine resource, and with a little bit of time in the shell you could even make it run off-site backup software such as Crashplan, or make it due automated backups to another external volume.

If I wanted something that provided >4TB capacity, with enough redundancy to survive a 1 drive failure, I'd look at the DS414j and look at collapsing my environment to run off of that (Storage + Time Machine Backups + Crashplan offsite backups).

You mean redundancy with the data on the NAS? So if one drive fails, I don't lose all its data because all of its data is on another drive because its RAID1 for instance?


E: How much would it cost to build a similar PC tower that did the same thing as the NAS unit such as the DS414j? One thing I would like to do is run it as a PLEX media server but apparently it won't be able to transcode the video for playing on mobile devices, so its not the best idea.

 

[386DX]

You mean redundancy with the data on the NAS? So if one drive fails, I don't lose all its data because all of its data is on another drive because its RAID1 for instance?


E: How much would it cost to build a similar PC tower that did the same thing as the NAS unit such as the DS414j? One thing I would like to do is run it as a PLEX media server but apparently it won't be able to transcode the video for playing on mobile devices, so its not the best idea.

Check http://xpenology.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3132 I wrote that guide to make your own Synology. Obviously you don't need to use the same hardware as I used, you can use anything you have available if you don't care about looks, power usage. I was in the same situation as you, wanted to be able to Plex transcode 1080p but there wasn't any pre-made NAS that could do that without spending a few thousand. I've tested two simultaneous 1080p transcoded without a problem, running around 50W underload with the drives going.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I will still do some more searches, research and reading, but I've got a pretty good idea for expanding my server with an external "drive-pool" that I can turn off and on. I've had some assurances so far that you can simply make a drive-pool "off-line," so I'm hoping that I can change my server resources that way on a regular basis or as a matter of whim.

The server already has eSATA enabled. The controllers on the server provide "port-multiplier" capability, so I can likely get a simple drive box with power supply. I found some prospects with "Addonics:" a box and PSU, and the port-multiplier hardware that fits inside it to provide the single cable connection to the server.

Of course, a NAS stands alone with a network connection -- as does my server. One of those multi-drive units was touted in Maximum PC over the last few months or so. "9" or "Kick-Ass 9," but the price-tag on the sucker was a kilo-buck.

I've spent hundreds building up my server these last few months. It's easy to get carried away with objectives in this business, but you could also get a NAS box that proves nothing but trouble or seems to have a built-in curse for the hard drives within.