Network Attached Storage Help.

[Beerce]

Hey all,

I'm shopping for a 4-bay NAS primarily for RAID5 bulk storage and media usage (streaming high def, audio, etc.). I would be downloading most of my material straight to the NAS and I'm more concerned about everyday performance rather then initial setup, etc.
There is a decent deal on a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ right now for $280. My concern is that this is the older model, and they now have the Ultra and Plus models out, as well as other ones such as Synology DS411+ and QNAP models that have much better performance in terms of speed.
These newer models are much faster (dual core Atom cpu, 1 gb ram) than the NV+ but are also twice as much or more.

Would I be better off spending more and going with the newer generation models to be more futureproof, etc. or will the NV+ be sufficient for my needs for a few years anyways?

Any other recommendations on a NAS unit are welcomed and appreciated.
I just want a solution that will not cause me any grief anymore. A self-sustainable, easily rebuilt/repaired storage solution that will allow me to do what I do now with my HDs in my PC.

Thanks,
Beerce

 

[deimos3428]

Hey all,

I'm shopping for a 4-bay NAS primarily for RAID5 bulk storage and media usage (streaming high def, audio, etc.). I would be downloading most of my material straight to the NAS and I'm more concerned about everyday performance rather then initial setup, etc.
There is a decent deal on a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ right now for $280. My concern is that this is the older model, and they now have the Ultra and Plus models out, as well as other ones such as Synology DS411+ and QNAP models that have much better performance in terms of speed.
These newer models are much faster (dual core Atom cpu, 1 gb ram) than the NV+ but are also twice as much or more.

Would I be better off spending more and going with the newer generation models to be more futureproof, etc. or will the NV+ be sufficient for my needs for a few years anyways?

Any other recommendations on a NAS unit are welcomed and appreciated.
I just want a solution that will not cause me any grief anymore. A self-sustainable, easily rebuilt/repaired storage solution that will allow me to do what I do now with my HDs in my PC.

Thanks,
Beerce

I'm running a Synology DS410 and it's fantastic. Was tempted to get an NV+ on sale as well, but it's probably worth your while to spend a tiny bit more and get something slightly better. The price difference between the NV+ and higher-performance Netgears is pretty steep though, so you're wise to check out Synology/Q-NAP as well.

 

[slyphnier]

if you just thinking for home-storage server then Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ might sufficient for your needs
as you won't need your NAS to be ready for many user (20+)

for future ready, well i don't think NAS technology will change fast
the reason is because harddrive limitation and network limitation
hdd so far 7200rpm-10000rpm / 3TB maybe up to 5TB soon
network 1Gbps, i think we will using it for at least 10years or so

and there other factor to consider, router speed (i still seeing 100mbps router on computer shop, even mostly already replaced to 1000Gbps)

for premium, yes i agree with picking Synology
from review that i read said their interface is really nice, simple and easy to use

Qnap seems have high rating too, although the price will be higher than synology
other NAS you might want to look maybe Thecus, their new NAS got UPS built in which really good addition i think

you should check smallnetbuilder.com, they have many NAS review to help decide which NAS you look for

Tips: because mostly NAS didn't include hdd, so make sure you check hdd compability list

 

[Arkaign]

Ugh. The synology sounds awesome. I got a free hand-me-down Buffalo Terastation Pro II, configured with 4 500gb 7200rpm sata drives in raid 5, gives about ~1400mb space, and it has gbit port. Sadly, the thing only gives about 9-10mb/sec write speeds even over gigabit. I guess it's not too bad in the end, it feeds 1080p mkv to my wd live no problem during playback, but good lord it takes forever to copy data to it.

I think I'll try to sell the Terastation to try to help pay for a better nas. This one only has a 400mhz arm processor and 128mb ram, from what info I could find on it.

Sorry I don't have anything super informative to add here, but I guess I can only say that slightly older Buffalo NAS = sloowwwwwwwww.

 

[Pandamonium]

If you want a plug & play & forget about it type of appliance, I'd recommend a QNAP. I own a Synology DS209 and wish I had been willing to pay the $30 (10&#37 premium for a QNAP. Wake-on-LAN and scheduled SMART testing are the two features I wish I had thought about before I clicked "order now".

If you're willing to get more hands on, consider buying an HP Microserver ($300-350-ish) and installing whatever OS you want. The thing has ECC memory, a relatively capable low power CPU, and depending on how crazy you want to get, can accomodate 5x3.5" or 4x3.5"+4x2.5" HDDs. It also has an internal USB port, so you can boot off a USB flash drive. The downside is that if you are determined to have hardware RAID 5, you'll have to pony up for the card. There's a thread on hardforums about this machine. I've been on a ZFS crusade recently, and if that's the route you go, a RAIDZ1 or a RAIDZ2 wouldn't need a separate card. ZFS is also, AFAIK, one of the few ways to protect against bit-rot/bit-flip. If you're like me (risk averse) and you plan to use a NAS to act as a primary storage for home videos, lossless CD rips, photos, etc, ZFS might be something to consider.

 

[Pandamonium]

Also of note: Thecus is also worth considering. Their N4200, Eco, and Pro do support ZFS. I'm not the biggest fan of Thecus though, because I used to be a N2040 (or something) owner and support wasn't the greatest. I wanted them to send me a replacement fan. They wouldn't. The damn fan would make a grinding noise for the first couple of minutes after spinning up. It drove me nuts.

For any of these appliances though (QNAP, Synology, or Thecus), you're looking at about $700+/- ~$100 for a diskless system. So for the money, going the hands-on HP Microserver with FreeNAS/Opensolaris/Nexentastor is easily more bang for your buck. But if you're busy, don't have *nix experience, and value your time, the pre-builts are your best bet.

Personally, I'm sticking with my DS209 until it dies or I graduate, whichever comes first. I plan to replace it with a Microserver or the Microserver's successor running whichever variant of Solaris for which I can find a step-by-step how-to. Failing that, I hear FreeNAS is pretty easy to get started with, but just won't be as high-performance as the Solaris route.

 

[Beerce]

Pan,
Thanks for all the info. I would definitely be going the microserver/Solaris route if I had the time and patience. I am pretty interested in that stuff and I enjoy playing with that sort of thing but I just can't seem to find the time for those hobbies anymore, and therefore am turning to the pre-built option.
If I was willing to pay the premium, the QNAP TS-459 would be my priority choice (~$900). My second choice is the ReadyNAS Ultra 4 at <$500, failing I find something of better value.

 

[Pandamonium]

Whichever you end up leaning towards, make sure you check for reviews on smallnetbuilder. They've got almost any bench you could want. It'd suck if your usage model doesn't match up to the performance specs of what you're thinking about ordering.

 

[Emulex]

i love my 4 bay atom-based qnap. it is rock solid with dual gigabit load balancing/aggregation and 4 2TB drives. best little nas box i've ever encontered

 

[ViviTheMage]

Why not build a cheap opennas/openfiler server?

I love my Antec 300 ... holds 8 drives nicely ...and has some power behind it.

Also more future proof, as I can throw in different mobos capable of larger drives when they come out.

 

[Beerce]

Another question: What happens if the NAS box itself dies, but the drives are fine? Can the drives be recovered in another PC with RAID?

 

[Mark R]

Another question: What happens if the NAS box itself dies, but the drives are fine? Can the drives be recovered in another PC with RAID?

I have a QNAP. On the QNAP, the disks are formatted in standard linux software RAID, in a standard linux format (ext4).

I've done an experiment, where I've pulled all 4 (or even 3 out of 4) drives out of my QNAP, and hooked them up to a spare PC, booted a linux live CD. The drives detected, the RAID autoconfigured (even with a 'missing' drive) and the files were immediately available.

I don't know about the other brands of NAS - but I suspect than most use the same standard formats. There are some exceptions (e.g. Drobo - which is completely proprietary and without the NAS box, you are basically SOL).

 

[Beerce]

Ok that's all I was wondering, thanks. And yes, that's primarily why I've decided against a Drobo - if the Drobo itself dies.