NAS Decisions

[leegroves86]

Looking for a NAS with suport for at least one SATA 3.0 HDD. Would also like the file system to be something common like Fat32 or NFTS, nothing proprietary hopefully. Optional but not necessary: Software, built in print server, Bit torrent D/L built in, FTP server, etc.

QNAP:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822107001

Synology:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822108004

Encore:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822180006

Thecus:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16833201005


I gotta admit i'm leaning a bit towards the Thecus just because of the 2X HDD support. However its the most expensive one.

I'm open to more NAS's. Please share any experience you've had with others you reccomend!

 

[Talcite]

Grab an old antiquated system and load FreeNAS onto it. You'll get better performance than any NAS, and you'll have much greater flexibility. And if you have the old system, it's free.

 

[leegroves86]

A good idea I thought about but one that won't work.
A) I don't have an old sytem anymore. B) even if I did i don't know/like Linux C) I'd like my NAS to be OS free

 

[WackyDan]

The thecus is the best choice for the following reasons:

1. Two drives for redundancy - mirror one to the other.
2. The Thecus spins the drives down when not in use.... Will extend the life of the drives, and be more power efficient.
3. More power efficient than using an old PC, ususally less noise, small size lets you hide it away out of site.

I've been looking at the Thecus myself for just those reasons.

 

[Bglad]

I've just been through this. I didn't spend as much money because I don't have a gigabit network but...

First, I couldn't find one for a reasonable amount of money that runs NTFS, and I would have happily spent more money if I could have found one with that feature. Most important thing I learned is that some of these, even if they say fat32, are not exactly compliant. I am using mine for backup purposes. So, if something should happen to the NAS itself, I want to be able to pull out the hard drive and plug it into a computer and get the data off. Some will not do this and I think it is a very important, maybe the most important feature.

Double drives in the Thecus covers you in case of drive failure but does nothing in case of general data corruption, virus etc. I am running a full time NAS and each computer gets imaged to it in the middle of the night a couple of times per week. Then I have another drive in a removable rack and every couple of weeks I upload the NAS to that drive and then store it elsewhere.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Bglad
I've just been through this. I didn't spend as much money because I don't have a gigabit network but...

First, I couldn't find one for a reasonable amount of money that runs NTFS, and I would have happily spent more money if I could have found one with that feature. Most important thing I learned is that some of these, even if they say fat32, are not exactly compliant. I am using mine for backup purposes. So, if something should happen to the NAS itself, I want to be able to pull out the hard drive and plug it into a computer and get the data off. Some will not do this and I think it is a very important, maybe the most important feature.

Double drives in the Thecus covers you in case of drive failure but does nothing in case of general data corruption, virus etc. I am running a full time NAS and each computer gets imaged to it in the middle of the night a couple of times per week. Then I have another drive in a removable rack and every couple of weeks I upload the NAS to that drive and then store it elsewhere.

Most don't support NTFS as they are running a linux file system. Some do, but don't spin down the drives.

You can download and install the ext3 file system driver - that would allow you to read those drives on a windows machine in case of NAS failure - but it is read only.

I should add that a NAS shouldn't be your single point of backup.

 

[Bglad]

Yes you can if you can get into Windows. But if you need to restore a machine say from the Ghost environment, that won't work. You need to be able to get to that drive!

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Bglad
Yes you can if you can get into Windows. But if you need to restore a machine say from the Ghost environment, that won't work. You need to be able to get to that drive!

Very true... Keep forgetting that some have a single machine.

 

[MplsBob]

I saw a very interesting internal unit by http://granitedigital.com/.

They provide a shell that you mount in one of your PC's 5 1/4" slots. You then connect a SATA power and SATA data cable to the back of the shell.

You then mount your SATA drive in one of their trays.

Whenever you need to do a backup, you just slide the tray mounted drive into the shell and it engages connectors for SATA data and power and becomes fully functional.

The unit has no internal electronics and runs at full SATA speed, something that tends to put it well above most NAS units.

Unlike the NAS units, you do not have a dangling data cable to hook up, and you do not have a power "dongle" to plug in and drape across your desk.

It is about as simple and slick as one could want.

If you are absolutely bent on the NAS approach, Granite Digital does make external units as well that will run at full SATA speeds.

 

[Bglad]

"Then I have another drive in a removable rack and every couple of weeks I upload the NAS to that drive and then store it elsewhere."

That is what we were already talking about. That is what I use to backup my NAS. The problem with that as the primary solution is that it is manual. Manual in my office means I have to do it and if I don't, it doesn't get done. NAS = automated scheduling.