Recommend me a NAS

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Galatian

Senior member
Dec 7, 2012
372
0
71
Hey guys,

here is the deal: I have been using an Apple Time Capsule as both my Wireless Router and NAS. I recently switched to a new Router with built-in VDSL modem, as I wanted more configurability than what the Apple Time Capsule provides me with. Currently I still have the Time Capsule connected via LAN for it's NAS function but sooner then later I want to get an entire dedicated NAS.
There are only two things I actually do with the Time Capsule:

  1. Backup of my 13" rMBP
  2. Saving my iTunes library

Now I still have my gaming PC connected to the NAS, as I do all the heavy lifting (Blu-Ray encode) on that machine. An added bonus would be a Dropbox like feature because I share quite a lot of files with friends for university, but if it would mean a much bigger price tag, I'd pass.
I think a 4 bay NAS should be good, because currently I use a 3 TB Time Capsuel, so add another 3 TB so that I have more space and double that for RAID 5 or whatever it is. I've been eying the Synology NAS but quite frankly I have no clue and I usually tend to spend more than what I actually need, so I'm here for some advice ;-)
 
Scarpozzi

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,391
1,779
126
I have a QNAP.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...071&CatId=9693

I linked tigerdirect only because they were running a promotion to get it for $99 last month. I paid $160 for mine through a vendor 2 years ago. It's been rock-solid for RAID 1. I have a pair of Western Digital Reds in it. It is very easy to update and they do a lot of active firmware updates that are all installed via a nice web gui. It has a lot of features and apps to make this everything from a media server to a web server to a photo server to a streaming server... The only downside is the processor and RAM are lean. Power consumption is very low too.

I have mine do virus scans daily and I get Emailed reports of any problems. You can also schedule it to power on and power off at certain times to save electricity. I use mine for SMB and iSCSI (2 partitions both on RAID 1)

I don't have one, but know 3 people that went with DROBO. One of them is a MacPro owner. She did have a major issue with her data a few years ago, but I'm not sure what the deal was. The other two folks I know have said great things about it.

I wish my QNAP had hot-swappable drives, but it's not a big deal. I didn't have any trouble replacing the bad drive I had last Fall. I just shut it down, pulled the old drive, installed the new one....it was recognized at boot and prompted me to rebuild in the setup/admin menus.
 
P

pinesol

Member
Jan 30, 2010
29
0
61
How much do you have to spend on a NAS? Synology supports Time Machine backups and enables CloudStation, which is a Dropbox replacement that stores all files on your own drives rather than someone else's servers. CloudStation can synchronize multiple folders and can even sync your PC to multiple Synology NAS's.
 
G

Galatian

Senior member
Dec 7, 2012
372
0
71
Well I'm kinda like open on how much I need to spend as this is new terrain for me. I would say I can spend as much as needed for my needs.
 
ronbo613

ronbo613

Golden Member
Jan 9, 2010
1,237
45
91
I've been using a Synology DS212j for a while now, it's a pretty nice unit. Synology has regular updates for it's management software, support is pretty good and there is an active community if you want to discuss problems, setup or third party packages.

I use mine mainly to back up digital images, but I've got my music and movie library on there as well.

The main decision is whether to go with a top shelf company like Synology or one of the cheaper NAS units.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
16,963
1,597
126
MIRs don't count.

Link me an $800 NAS that doesn't come with drives, I'll come up with two that do.
 
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