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Western Digital My Book Live vs Synology 112j

K

KLC

Senior member
I've used an Acer MS Home server box for about 4 years for NAS in our home. It appears to be dying now and since Home Server is gone I'm looking for options.

First, I want it to be simple and cheap which rules out making my own home server. Really all we want is network storage available to all pcs and laptops in the house. I keep external backups current so I don't even need redundancy.

I'm thinking of getting either the 3tb Western Digital My Book Live NAS, about $180 at Newegg, or the Synology DS112j, which is about $150 without a disk, adding a 3tb disk brings it to about $280.

I'm thinking of the WD but user reviews on Amazon and Newegg have a lot of complaints about abysmal speed. However website reviews seem to be overall very positive.

Any personal experiences or opinions about the WD or the Synology?
 
I agree the Synology units are nice. They have more features, especially nice is the included USB port which the WD doesn't have. But, after using the WHS for four years, I realized that we used none of the advanced features, it all came down to simple file sharing over our home network. Since that is what we really use and need I just wonder if I can save $100 and be just as happy. I'm not sure I can, thus the OP to see if anyone can help.
 
The Synology has a lot more features out of the box. The WD My Book Live runs straight up Debian, so it is possible to add a lot to it albeit with more effort. The WD is definitely cheaper, slower hardware though.

If most of your clients are wireless, then that will limit you before the WD itself becomes a bottleneck (assuming typical media usage). Wired clients or more strenuous use cases shift the balance towards the Synology.

Finally, if you do end up going the Synology route, I agree with Joe. Spend the $40 extra on the DS212j so that you can expand capacity and/or add RAID in the future.
 
We have 3 wired and 2 wireless. I just realized that I was thinking of having to buy a new hard drive with the Synology and if I get the 1 bay I'd have to do that since I have just about 2tb of data stored and my biggest drives are 2tb. But I have several 2tb drives and I could use 2 of them in the 2 bay Synology without RAID for the time being and then upgrade to a 3tb drive later. Thanks for the help in thinking through this. I think it will be the Synology 212j or just the 212 if I decide the faster processor is worth it.
 
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