I need a good NAS for a dentists office

[chemwiz]

His server is fairly old and due for replacement in about 18 months. He recently got a CAT scanner which generates huge video files and will overwhelm his current storage space in a few months. I'd like to just add a NAS which will store most of their data and make replacing the server easier in the future. It's a medical office so reliability is much more important than cost. They run a gigabit Cisco switch and I'm going to cable it for CAT 6 (it's currently CAT 5e).

My main concerns are:
-Reliability
-I'd prefer something that doesn't need software installed on each computer
-I'd like to run 4 3gb or 4gb drives in whatever RAID would afford the most protection (0+1 or 5?)
-Speed is critical, there wil be at least 15 computers using it for x-rays, scheduling software, etc

Thanks, I'm new to NAS and any suggestions will be very much appreciated!!!

 

[Mark R]

If you are going to be running 3 or 4 TB drives, then you need RAID 6 + a hotspare, or possibly RAID 10.

For a high value NAS, (i.e. 15 people's jobs dependent on it), medical records, irreplaceable medical data (radiation exposure examinations - which mean big legal problems if the data is corrupted or lost), etc. then I would suggest that you get a proper business grade NAS - one with a server grade CPU, ECC RAM, a vendor who can supply validated hard drives, so no firmware glitches.

For a start, I'd suggest looking at something like a Dell powervault or HP storeeasy. Yes, in a number of ways, these are overkill, but if they're going to be a workhorse with a 5 year life, then the overall cost isn't going to be that terrible, plus you get support and warranty.

Both the above solutions run windows storage server 2012, so should have excellent compatibility with other windows computers. It will also support encyption, etc. if needed.

The other question that needs to be asked, is what is he going to be doing about backup? If he is outgrowing is current storage capacity, he is likely to be outgrowing his backup capacity. If he only has a small office, then it might be worth looking into some sort of cloud backup service. Again, there are HIPAA compliant services designed for bulk data.

 

[MongGrel]

10 works pretty well here, I've it on my main rig here and one I need to look at with 4X1Tbs.

For a business, something like that remote just in case might be a good plan for a backup, though I've never had to deal with that situation.

 

[chemwiz]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm checking out the HP and Dell, and we have a HIPPA compliant cloud backup service already. They're pretty expensive but probably a good price if they're reliable, which is what we need there

 

[smitbret]

His server is fairly old and due for replacement in about 18 months. He recently got a CAT scanner which generates huge video files and will overwhelm his current storage space in a few months. I'd like to just add a NAS which will store most of their data and make replacing the server easier in the future. It's a medical office so reliability is much more important than cost. They run a gigabit Cisco switch and I'm going to cable it for CAT 6 (it's currently CAT 5e).

My main concerns are:
-Reliability
-I'd prefer something that doesn't need software installed on each computer
-I'd like to run 4 3gb or 4gb drives in whatever RAID would afford the most protection (0+1 or 5?)
-Speed is critical, there wil be at least 15 computers using it for x-rays, scheduling software, etc

Thanks, I'm new to NAS and any suggestions will be very much appreciated!!!

I know it has been mentioned but you probably shouldn't consider anything short of RAID 10. I love RAID 5 and 6 for home use but something like this where ultimate reliability and speed are important, it's really the best option.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Whatever you do, make sure you have a good backup solution too (not just cloud, but something local). Often people get preoccupied with going with all the high end expensive commercial stuff then skimp on backups with the attitude "well it has a warranty anyway". No tech is going to be able to recover all the data should something catastrophically go wrong such as some firmware issue, which CAN happen even with commercial stuff.

Personally, I'd go with a DIY 24 bay Supermicro based NAS using Linux and mdraid. Then spend money on a backup solution such as tape library or a secondary NAS.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Whatever you do, make sure you have a good backup solution too (not just cloud, but something local). Often people get preoccupied with going with all the high end expensive commercial stuff then skimp on backups with the attitude "well it has a warranty anyway". No tech is going to be able to recover all the data should something catastrophically go wrong such as some firmware issue, which CAN happen even with commercial stuff.

Personally, I'd go with a DIY 24 bay Supermicro based NAS using Linux and mdraid. Then spend money on a backup solution such as tape library or a secondary NAS.

*NEVER* go with a DIY solution for a critical system. Always go with a vendor with excellent support and same day or next day component replacement.

 

[smitbret]

*NEVER* go with a DIY solution for a critical system. Always go with a vendor with excellent support and same day or next day component replacement.

Yeah when I re-read this and noticed the ".....at least 15 computers using it for x-rays, scheduling software, etc" it dawned on me that this is not DIY type situation.

If you build this and the server goes down, you are the one that gets the constant phone calls and the ugly stares and potential lawsuits.

Let a vendor that deals with this regularly provide the support.

 

[chemwiz]

I'll definitely go with a vendor for the main NAS. I'll probably just use a DIY solution for a local backup, online one's take way to long to restore. One of my customers got hit by Cryptolocker and even the local backup took almost a day to restore a TB of data. The data that was online really took forever to restore since it bogged down the server too much to do it while people were working. Thanks for all the info and ideas, I truly appreciate it!!!

 

[smitbret]

I'll definitely go with a vendor for the main NAS. I'll probably just use a DIY solution for a local backup, online one's take way to long to restore. One of my customers got hit by Cryptolocker and even the local backup took almost a day to restore a TB of data. The data that was online really took forever to restore since it bogged down the server too much to do it while people were working. Thanks for all the info and ideas, I truly appreciate it!!!

This.

The cheapest NAS or even old PC that's running JBOD will work great for a backup. A couple hundred bucks (before drives) will get this accomplished.

I don't know that I would eschew online backup completely since it will protect your data from things like fire and flood that on site backup won't.

 

[chemwiz]

No, I'm definitely keeping the online backup. I've been using Crashplan which gives unlimited data for $60/year, and I'm keeping 30 days worth of changes backed up with it.

 

[Carson Dyle]

*NEVER* go with a DIY solution for a critical system. Always go with a vendor with excellent support and same day or next day component replacement.

This. Times about 1000.

 

[Carson Dyle]

No, I'm definitely keeping the online backup. I've been using Crashplan which gives unlimited data for $60/year, and I'm keeping 30 days worth of changes backed up with it.

You spend $60 per YEAR on their data backup? There must be a typo in there.

What's the procedure when it comes time to do a complete data restore? Will they ship you 12 TB worth of data on hard drives overnight?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You spend $60 per YEAR on their data backup? There must be a typo in there.

Crashplan is $60/yr for unlimited data from one PC or server. That isn't a typo. I use it myself and currently have nearly 3 TB of data backed up to their service.

What's the procedure when it comes time to do a complete data restore? Will they ship you 12 TB worth of data on hard drives overnight?

I believe they do have that service but it is obviously not included and would be an additional cost. In an era where 100 Mb internet connectivity is becoming more and more available, you could conceivably restore all of that data in a day or so.

 

[Scarpozzi]

If you look at powervault from dell, price a 1U server with Windows or RedHat and skip a pure NAS. Enterprise NAS devices will be far more expensive and the MD1220s can daisy-chain as direct-attached storage if one shelf won't handle the need.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Crashplan is $60/yr for unlimited data from one PC or server. That isn't a typo. I use it myself and currently have nearly 3 TB of data backed up to their service.

The point I was trying to make is that someone has a business relying on its computer systems and they're only spending $60 per year to backup their critical data.

I believe they do have that service but it is obviously not included and would be an additional cost. In an era where 100 Mb internet connectivity is becoming more and more available, you could conceivably restore all of that data in a day or so.

Unlike my calculations are grossly off, 100 Mbps, maxed out and assuming no network overhead, works out to 1.03 TB of data transfer per day. So it would take a minimum of 12 days to transfer 12 TB of data. Maybe they have just 4 TB of data and the real-world transfer rate is perhaps 0.8 TB per day. You're still looking at a week to restore the data. Unless you're working with data that isn't critical, it just isn't feasible to restore large amounts of data online at today's rates.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

The point I was trying to make is that someone has a business relying on its computer systems and they're only spending $60 per year to backup their critical data.

Completely agree. I once got into an argument with an IT manager about spending $10K on a new backup tape drive for a site about 10 years ago. He was saying "$10K is EXPENSIVE and too much money!!" I said "How much will you lose when all that data vanishes and can't be recovered?" We got a new tape unit.

Unlike my calculations are grossly off, 100 Mbps, maxed out and assuming no network overhead, works out to 1.03 TB of data transfer per day. So it would take a minimum of 12 days to transfer 12 TB of data. Maybe they have just 4 TB of data and the real-world transfer rate is perhaps 0.8 TB per day. You're still looking at a week to restore the data. Unless you're working with data that isn't critical, it just isn't feasible to restore large amounts of data online at today's rates.

You're right, my mistake -- For whatever reason, I was thinking in terms of GB and not TB and missed a multiplier.

 

[smitbret]

Completely agree. I once got into an argument with an IT manager about spending $10K on a new backup tape drive for a site about 10 years ago. He was saying "$10K is EXPENSIVE and too much money!!" I said "How much will you lose when all that data vanishes and can't be recovered?" We got a new tape unit.




You're right, my mistake -- For whatever reason, I was thinking in terms of GB and not TB and missed a multiplier.

That's why you just get a cheap, on-site backup AND use the online backup. If you are wrecked by a natural disaster, you'd probably have more than enough time to get everything downloaded before you were ready to reopen. For $60/year why would you not?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

That's why you just get a cheap, on-site backup AND use the online backup. If you are wrecked by a natural disaster, you'd probably have more than enough time to get everything downloaded before you were ready to reopen. For $60/year why would you not?

$60/yr makes it worth it as a second or third line of defense, but any business with critical data should have an on-site backup with media rotation offsite to a hardened storage facility. As Carson points out, my initial calculations were erroneous and it could take a huge amount of time to sync multiple terabytes of data back to your site.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

$60/yr makes it worth it as a second or third line of defense, but any business with critical data should have an on-site backup with media rotation offsite to a hardened storage facility. As Carson points out, my initial calculations were erroneous and it could take a huge amount of time to sync multiple terabytes of data back to your site.

Just wanted to point out: Crashplan will, for an additional fee, overnight you a restore HDD. Dunno about Backblaze, et al, but I'd assume that's a common service.

Still not as easy or fast as restoring a SAN snapshot from the rack down the hall or across the street, but beats the heck out of downloading it from the intertubes.

 

[kevnich2]

Yeah I use crashplan myself as an online cloud based backup. It's HIPAA compliant when setup correctly, it's cheap and you can do the initial backup with a drive they ship you, same in reverse. They will ship you a drive if something happens overnight that has all your data on it, fully encrypted. For such a low cost....why not?

 

[chemwiz]

For a second line of defense you can't beat the Crashplan price! I still need to talk to the doc and get a firm budget, but I'm really grateful for all the advice everyone gave me. Thank you all!!!

 

[pinesol]

Any time someone I know asks for advice on a NAS, I always go to Synology. Speed is great, nothing is needed on client PCs (Synology device runs a Linux desktop within a browser), it can act as a small business server, and SHR is a great choice for RAID for small businesses since it allows you to expand your RAID using drives of different sizes.

Edit:
Synology also supports Crashplan (or Amazon, others) backup configured right from the web browser.

 

[alkemyst]

I'd call Synology, Dell, etc...be realistic about budget. They more than likely all have health care teams that understand the devices and bandwidth needs in your environment.

Profit!