NAS Device opinions

strider

Anyone have any recommendations or opinions on a NAS device for use in a home network environment? Been looking at the Netgear units at Newegg. I've had good luck with Netgear in the past, also like the fact that you can use them as a "personal cloud" and access them over the web. Room for 2 drives should be enough, but then again at one point in time I was thrilled to move to a 3.5" floppy for storage...

Syndil

I can't recommend the ReadyNAS series enough. Between myself and my clients I maintain 6 of them, from an original 4-bay NV put out by Infrant (before Netgear purchased them) to an Ultra 2 in my house. They all still function normally--not a single hiccup from any of them, ever. Also the ReadyNAS series is the only NAS to officially support Logitech's Media Server.

With HDD capacities of 2TB and larger, the need for more than 2 bays is diminished. I have 2TB drives in my Ultra 2 and expect it will last me indefinitely. But, if I do need to upgrade years in the future, I will be able to buy 2x 4TB drives. I would only recommend 4 bays or more if you just need an epic amount of storage or multi-drive failure redundancy. For the average home user, an Ultra 2 is a great buy.

Check Newegg for combo deals with a ReadyNAS and a hard drive. Prices on hard drives are still elevated, but when I bought my ReadyNAS w/ a 2TB drive combo from Newegg it saved me enough to take the sting out of the HDD price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCombos.aspx?Item=N82E16822122069&SubCategory=124&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1

strider

anonymouse wrote: »

What all do you want to do with it?
Simply storage?
Media server? For what devices?
Print server?
Automatic downloads?
Automatic backups?





How many clients need to access it?

Maybe some more info might help.

I had all my music ripped to an external drive. In a twist of irony, as I was running dedicated power lines to my computer audio system, I hooked the drive (while running) and pulled it 4 feet off a shelf onto the concrete floor. Oops.

I'd built a media PC end of last year so I could run J Rivers Medai Center for music and movies to my system downstairs in the 'cave. My wife's PC, with all our pictures, is getting filled up (recent events have also shown me the need to back up data as well). Currently have a laptop, media PC, and another tower at home. Have a Squeezebox Duet that I'd like to get in the mix as well. In the spirit of making a silk purse from a cow's ear, I'm seeing this as an opportunity to have a centralized storage area, with built in redundency (RAID), that I can access by as many of my devices as possible.

maximillian

Syndil, the ReadyNAS looks quite nice. I have two old (going on 8 years) Buffalo Linkstations. I had to change the HD in one of them, but not the other since it doesn't get turned on as much. My primary NAS is on 24/7. It consumes around 15W so I don't care that it is on all the time. It only provides SMB access which works for me. Having DNLA, RAID, and SATA would be a nice upgarde for me.

Perhaps the ReadyNAS upgrade will be my Christmas "gift" this year. This thread should be interesting to watch for other recommendations.

Strider, you may already know this already but I would like to elaborate and mention that a good backup plan should go beyond RAID. If your data is really that important then you will need to backup periodically and store off-site as well. RAID will may not survive lightning strikes and definitely not something as tragic as a house fire.

strider

Syndil wrote: »

I can't recommend the ReadyNAS series enough.

This is the one I was eyeing up:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.877784

With one 2 TB drive it's $450, which I didn't think was too bad.

dkg999

QNAP TS-459 Pro

breal74

I just bought a Seagate BlackArmor 220 a about a month ago from Amazon for $250. I did a lot of research and for the price I felt it couldn't be beat. It is a 2tb unit that runs in a Raid1 configuration, so you have a 1tb hard drive mirroring the other 1tb hard drive for a little extra insurance. It was insanely simple to set up, has a one click back up, you can access it from anywhere over the internet, and on and on. My Sonos has no problem accessing it so I don't need to leave my laptop on while enjoying tunes, which is one of the main reasons I bought it. Good luck with the search.

strider

dkg999 wrote: »

QNAP TS-459 Pro

That's a little salty for my budget right now when you figure the drive in.

Syndil

strider wrote: »

This is the one I was eyeing up:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.877784

With one 2 TB drive it's $450, which I didn't think was too bad.

Not bad at all. The Ultra 2 Plus gets you a dual-core CPU opposed to the Ultra 2's single core CPU. Depending on what all you intend to use it for, a single core may be sufficient. That combo is $60 less:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.877778

The only app mine is running is the Logitech Media Server. Other than that it's simply a backup target for my PCs and security DVR, so a single core was sufficient in my case. But if you plan to run a few more apps or enable the cloud features like ReadyNAS Remote or Skifta, then yeah, I might recommend springing for the dual-core.

strider

So I could run Squeezeserver off the NAS directly? Sweet! I'd been having conflicts when running Squeezeserver and J Rivers off of the same machine.

Syndil

strider wrote: »

So I could run Squeezeserver off the NAS directly? Sweet!

Yes, you can. One of the best things about having a ReadyNAS. Don't have to have a PC running all the time to serve music to your SqueezeBox devices.

Syndil

Also has DLNA/UPnP AV built-in, so you may no longer need J Rivers to send movies to your man cave, depending on what's receiving them. But if you're going to have it streaming both movies and music simultaneously, then I would say def. get the dual core.

kappclark

Do you have access to an old PC ? You can simply download Vortexbox and use that to build your Squeezebox server

Syndil

NS4300N is from 2008. Severely underpowered for a NAS compared to current-generation offerings with only a 266MHz Freescale CPU. Haven't looked into it, but it is very doubtful it would run Logitech Media Server.

The Drobo FS (their cheapest model that is actually a NAS and not just a USB/Firewire device) has been around since 2010 and is also severely underpowered, with a ~248MHz ARM9 CPU and only 128MB of RAM, non-expandable. Due to its limited horsepower it has very limited capabilities, with only 12 very basic apps available for it to run, none of which are the Logitech Media Server. Given its price tag of $500 without drives, I can't see any reason at all to consider the Drobo FS.

Synology does make some decent NAS devices, but still not up to par with ReadyNAS. Their top-of-the-line 2-bay enclosure, for example (as a comparison to the ReadyNAS Ultra 2) has only a single-core ARM processor and 512MB RAM vs. the ReadyNAS' Intel processor and 1GB RAM. Given that you can buy a ReadyNAS Ultra 2 Plus w/ the dual-core CPU for the same price... Well you can see what I am getting at.

Given the track record of the ReadyNAS, the support community, the available third-party apps and the overall bang you get for your buck, I honestly don't see any reason to consider anything other than a ReadyNAS.

Syndil

The ReadyNAS is the only NAS to officially support Logitech Media Server. The more power the NAS has, the more features and plugins you can enable on your LMS. For example, if your NAS has 1GB+ of RAM, you can enable the high Database Memory Config setting in Advanced>Performance. The DNS 323 has only 64MB of RAM.

newrival

breal74 wrote: »

I just bought a Seagate BlackArmor 220 a about a month ago from Amazon for $250. I did a lot of research and for the price I felt it couldn't be beat. It is a 2tb unit that runs in a Raid1 configuration, so you have a 1tb hard drive mirroring the other 1tb hard drive for a little extra insurance. It was insanely simple to set up, has a one click back up, you can access it from anywhere over the internet, and on and on. My Sonos has no problem accessing it so I don't need to leave my laptop on while enjoying tunes, which is one of the main reasons I bought it. Good luck with the search.

I had poor luck with one of these a year or two ago. There are know speed issues based on what routers are used, as well as some other problems. I now use a Drobo, and it's the best unit I've ever used.

Check them out: www.drobo.com

breal74

newrival wrote: »

I had poor luck with one of these a year or two ago. There are know speed issues based on what routers are used, as well as some other problems. I now use a Drobo, and it's the best unit I've ever used.

Check them out: www.drobo.com

It's been a month and a half and the thing has run flawlessly. Maybe I should keep my fingers crossed...:eek:

newrival

breal74 wrote: »

It's been a month and a half and the thing has run flawlessly. Maybe I should keep my fingers crossed...:eek:

I don't think there is any need for concern. The known issues are not catastrophic, but more of data transfer problems. Mine only came about after switching routers. There is some talk that the issues are due to router incompatibility, which I do not quite understand.

strider

NAS devices are 15% off 'til the 13th of the month at Newegg if anyone's interested. Coupon code EMCYTZT1556.

maximillian wrote: »

Strider, you may already know this already but I would like to elaborate and mention that a good backup plan should go beyond RAID. If your data is really that important then you will need to backup periodically and store off-site as well. RAID will may not survive lightning strikes and definitely not something as tragic as a house fire.

Thanks, I am definitely going to do something beyond RAID after I get all 700 or so discs ripped again.:sad:

Syndil

strider wrote: »

NAS devices are 15% off 'til the 13th of the month at Newegg if anyone's interested. Coupon code EMCYTZT1556.

Crap, I could have gotten my combo for $45 less with that!!

ReadyNAS Ultra 2 + Seagate 2TB Barracuda Green HDD combo deal is $30 off at $389.98. Coupon code brings it down to $344.98. You'd be silly NOT to buy a ReadyNAS now if you don't have one already.

Here's the link for the Ultra 2 combo deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.877778

Here's the link for the dual-core Ultra 2 Plus combo deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.877784

Add the EMCYTZT1556 coupon code on there and make out like a bandit. Of course you can also search for the Ultra 4 or Ultra 6 if you need an epic amount of storage. Nice find, strider.

DMara

I'm using a Synology DS1511+, five 3TB HDDs in RAID5 mode gave me 10.73TB of space, and I only got 1TB of empty space left!!! Thinking about buying a DX510 add-in to expand the storage. I'm also running LMI on this device since Synology supports it. Performance-wise, this little device has been working extremely smoothly, no complaint at all.
@strider: if you're thinking about a 2-slot, there's a Synology DS212j that is on sale pretty cheap at NewEgg with the coupon you mentioned:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=E64bVJhiEeG4jE68g8g6dA0&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16822108095

DMara

By the way, combining it with an Asus RT-N66U router & a Netgear GS724T switch, I went with Link Aggregation Configuration / Synology network bonding and my data transfer speed has never gone below 100 MBytes/s (yep, not MBits but MBytes!!!).
It streams music/videos/photos to my computers via NFS shares, my Oppo via both network shares and DLNA, my Logitech SB Touch via LMI as well as my Android/iOS phones/tablets via Synology or Plex Media apps also, and of course, cloud servicing is there for remote access.
Looking for a NAS which can concurrently service multiple network devices at great speed with ease, I'd rather go with QNAP or Synology instead of NetGear.

Syndil

The Netgear Ultra series have dual Gig-E ports and support jumbo frames, in addition to having a more powerful CPU and more RAM than just about any of their competition.

The Synology DS1511+ has pretty much exactly the same hardware as an Ultra 6, but with one less drive bay.

Given the deal you can get on a ReadyNAS combo at Newegg right now, there is absolutely no advantage to choosing a QNAP or a Synology over a ReadyNAS. ALL of the Ultra series (even the lowly Ultra 2 non-plus) are more than capable of speeds > 100MB/s (B=byte b=bit), and if you enable jumbo frames it just gets even faster.

http://www.readynas.com/?page_id=3962#Performance

DMara

Syndil wrote: »

The Netgear Ultra series have dual Gig-E ports and support jumbo frames, in addition to having a more powerful CPU and more RAM than just about any of their competition.

The Synology DS1511+ has pretty much exactly the same hardware as an Ultra 6, but with one less drive bay.

Synology DS1511+ specs: Intel Atom D525 Dualcore (2C/4T) 1.8GHz x86 Processor --- 64-bit@DDR2, 1GB of RAM (3GB Max) --- scalable to 15-drives w/DX510, (5+5+5 drives total, 45TB)
Can you tell me how more powerful the Netgear Ultra series is compared to this device?

Syndil

I did say the DS1511+ had pretty much the same hardware as the Ultra 6, with 1 fewer drive bay. However the Ultra 6 Plus upgrades from an Intel Atom CPU to an Intel Pentium CPU, and you still get 6 bays opposed to the Synology's 5.

The DX510 expansions you mention are essentially dumb SATA backplanes (no CPU or RAM of their own) and cost $500 each, or approximately the cost of a ReadyNAS Ultra 4. So...

wolfman1138

I have the smaller Synology, and it is a great little unit. I have the DS207+ from 2007, and I use it to serve up movies and music to my Popcorn Hour. I also use it to back up photos, and run a personal web photo sharing for family members out of state. The Synology has good tools for updating Dynamic DNS. I have it in RAID1 with a pair of 1TB drives in it. It have been on for 5 years with almost no issues. I did have to put it behind a UPS because power glitches would cause the unit to shutdown, but that was more of an issue with my house than anything else.

Good luck!

Syndil

Netgear just today announced yet another reason why their NAS is the best: a new app for the Ultra or Pro series called NVR or Network Video Recorder. Records from up to 16 IP surveillance cameras, with PTZ control capability, triggering, and iOS and Android monitoring apps. Pair it with a PoE switch and you only need to run an ethernet cable to your cameras. Hell if I had known they were going to do this I wouldn't have already purchased a standalone surveillance system.

http://info.netgear.com/forms/2012-Netgear-Surveillance-Solution

DMara

Syndil wrote: »

Netgear just today announced yet another reason why their NAS is the best: a new app for the Ultra or Pro series called NVR or Network Video Recorder. Records from up to 16 IP surveillance cameras, with PTZ control capability, triggering, and iOS and Android monitoring apps. Pair it with a PoE switch and you only need to run an ethernet cable to your cameras. Hell if I had known they were going to do this I wouldn't have already purchased a standalone surveillance system.

http://info.netgear.com/forms/2012-Netgear-Surveillance-Solution

I don't see why this suddenly made NetGear's NAS the best. Synology's NAS such as my DS1511+ got this as default :razz: (http://www.synology.com/surveillance/index.php?lang=enu --- http://www.synology.com/support/camera.php). I've been running IP cameras at home to that NAS for a while aready.

By the way, the Ultra 6 read/write speed wasn't something to be called "the best": http://www.storagereview.com/netgear_readynas_ultra_6_review_rndu6000

Syndil

That review is over a year old, using 4.2.16 firmware. There have been multiple firmware updates since then, with improvements to the performance of CIFS, AFP and iSCSI. Honestly the speeds for all the tested devices seems on the slow side, so that is probably true for the QNAP and the Synology as well.

Then there is also the faster Ultra 6 Plus to consider, which is a fair consideration given the price.

I understand you like your Synology, which is fine. But for those jumping in to a NAS device now, there is really no contest. Let's compare Synology's latest 5-bay model (since they don't even offer a 6-bay) to the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus, both of which can be had for ~$800:

ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus:

6 drive bays
Intel Pentium E2160 CPU (1,023 CPUMark score)
1GB RAM
Numerous third-party apps officially supported (Logitech Media Server, iTunes, TiVo, Skifta, Egnyte, Dropbox, Symantec Backup Exec) plus many more community apps

DS1512+:

5 bays
Intel Atom D2700 CPU (810 CPUMark score)
1GB RAM
LMS not officially supported
TiVo not officially supported
Nothing for Skifta, Egnyte, Dropbox, etc.
Very limited number of add-on apps available compared to ReadyNAS

So you get a slower CPU, one less drive bay, and less overall capability, for about the same price. I'm not saying your Synology is a hunk of crap, but for someone shopping for a NAS today, I think the above comparison speaks for itself. The LMS/TiVo support alone should be enough to sway most members of Club Polk.

DMara

I understand you like your Netgear, which is fine, but sorry, "not officially supported" doesn't mean these Synology NAS don't have apps to run what I need. I can still run LMS, I can still run iTunes, etc. with Synology apps, and I don't see any reason to put Netgear above Qnap or Synology at all!

Does it matter if it has one less built-in drive when one can actually run 15 drives as a single volume? Can your Ultra 6 Plus do that? You want more built-in slots? How about the Synology DS2411+ with 12? Will that do for you?
You posted that Netgear has just added that surveillance camera features, duh, both Qnap and Synology NAS have run that for years. You side-stepped that fact and kept blah blah blah about Netgear, but would you please show me any review that put a Netgear NAS above others?

DMara

Syndil wrote: »

ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus:

6 drive bays
Intel Pentium E2160 CPU (1,023 CPUMark score)

DS1512+:

5 bays
Intel Atom D2700 CPU (810 CPUMark score)

So you get a slower CPU...

You happen to know we are talking about home NAS, correct? Have you looked at power consumption level of those CPUs or those NAS devices? Why do I need a faster CPU if everything is running fast and smoothly and the device burns less power?

During normal usage your Ultra Plus 6 draws 80 to 85 watts, and during idling it draws 68 watts.
The Synology DS1511+ draws 50 watts during access and 22W during hibernation.

I shut my Intel I7-2600 desktop down to move all media services to this NAS just so I can save some power, and it has been running flawlessly, so why do I need to burn more power?