buying a NAS [need some advice]

Forums › Desktop computing › buying a NAS [need some advice]

NzReborn

36 posts

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#95517 6-Jan-2012 15:53

Hey guys I'm on the hunt for a NAS but have no idea what i should be looking for i have a bunch of externals that are full to the brim and are a nightmare to plug in.

I've seen this at PB tech http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=ENCQNP0419 it seems nice but its abit pricy.

Also somehow I've amassed 5tb+ of digital data. so I'm after something with a bang for its buck and under $1000

nakedmolerat

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#565424 6-Jan-2012 16:45

i highly recommend Thecus n4200 PRO. mine is the original n4200 and can hold 4x3TB of data. what i like about thecus is that they update their firmware on a regular basis. i use it as media server, apple time machine, itunes server, backup and IP camera storage.

qnap is also a good brand.

NzReborn

36 posts

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#565445 6-Jan-2012 17:30

Very nice searched up on pricespy and found it here for $935 http://www.pp.co.nz/products.php?pp_id=AA28001&ref=pricespy

and i must say it seems very very nice with a built in UPS aswell which is very attractive.

may i ask where you purchased yours from?

Thanks.

bmoff

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#565455 6-Jan-2012 17:57

Check out this one, come in 6 or 4 TB.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/western-digital-my-book-live-duo-hard-drive-raid-and-cloud-storage/

Zeon

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#565461 6-Jan-2012 18:17

I have 2 of those QNAP units for iSCSI and they are very reliable.

Speedtest 2019-10-14

michaelmurfy

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#565472 6-Jan-2012 18:50

I just went the Microserver route - http://www.elive.co.nz/hp-proliant-n40l-micro-server-t20310.php

With mine, I added 8gb of ram + 4x 2tb hard drives and installed VMware ESXi - Total cost came under $1000 - but this gives you a fully featured server to do whatever you want with. Mine is quite happily running 3x Debian Virtual Machines + a Windows Server 2008 VM.

The Microserver also has a internal USB port + 5x external USB 2.0 ports, a external eSata port and Gigabit Ethernet which makes it the ideal home NAS, plus it is /very/ quiet. I have ESXi installed on a 4gb flash drive plugged into the motherboard itself which means it boots up pretty fast and my drives can be used as pure storage in a Raid 1.

I would rather go with this option in a home NAS since you don't have to rely off manufactures to release software updates, instead you use what you like - FreeNAS, ESXi, Windows, Linux whatever, it doesn't matter. Mine can also transcode 1080p video for streaming over DLNA to my devices which is a huge bonus.

Hopefully this helps :)

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tigercorp

668 posts

Ultimate Geek

#565478 6-Jan-2012 19:13

michaelmurfy: .....

Mine can also transcode 1080p video for streaming over DLNA to my devices which is a huge bonus.

What are you using as the DLNA server?

My nas is a similar concept - an OpenIndiana box with 6 x 2TB drives in Raid-2z and 16GB of ram to float the couple of permanently running Windows Server and 7 VMs. (I also would've gone with ESXi if my hardware was compatible)

Once the new dlna tv turns up I was thinking of running a DLNA server (maybe serviio) on another vm.

michaelmurfy

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#565541 6-Jan-2012 21:58

tigercorp:
michaelmurfy: .....

Mine can also transcode 1080p video for streaming over DLNA to my devices which is a huge bonus.

What are you using as the DLNA server?

My nas is a similar concept - an OpenIndiana box with 6 x 2TB drives in Raid-2z and 16GB of ram to float the couple of permanently running Windows Server and 7 VMs. (I also would've gone with ESXi if my hardware was compatible)

Once the new dlna tv turns up I was thinking of running a DLNA server (maybe serviio) on another vm.

I'm using Serviio on the Windows 2008 VM, works well.

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NzReborn

36 posts

Geek

#565882 7-Jan-2012 20:45

michaelmurfy: I just went the Microserver route - http://www.elive.co.nz/hp-proliant-n40l-micro-server-t20310.php

With mine, I added 8gb of ram + 4x 2tb hard drives and installed VMware ESXi - Total cost came under $1000 - but this gives you a fully featured server to do whatever you want with. Mine is quite happily running 3x Debian Virtual Machines + a Windows Server 2008 VM.

The Microserver also has a internal USB port + 5x external USB 2.0 ports, a external eSata port and Gigabit Ethernet which makes it the ideal home NAS, plus it is /very/ quiet. I have ESXi installed on a 4gb flash drive plugged into the motherboard itself which means it boots up pretty fast and my drives can be used as pure storage in a Raid 1.

I would rather go with this option in a home NAS since you don't have to rely off manufactures to release software updates, instead you use what you like - FreeNAS, ESXi, Windows, Linux whatever, it doesn't matter. Mine can also transcode 1080p video for streaming over DLNA to my devices which is a huge bonus.

Hopefully this helps :)

That sounds awesome I think ill be going with this only problem is I'm not to familiar with how to set this all up I'm assuming its quite simple sticking the hardware together but the software part I'm not so sure on. I've never setup a microserver so im at a loss but this sounds like the answer to my questions now its just about how to set it all up haha. dont want to buy it and not be able to set it up.

also what kind of hdds are you running atm and do you have it on 24/7?

nakedmolerat

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#566152 8-Jan-2012 17:16

NzReborn: Very nice searched up on pricespy and found it here for $935 http://www.pp.co.nz/products.php?pp_id=AA28001&ref=pricespy

and i must say it seems very very nice with a built in UPS aswell which is very attractive.

may i ask where you purchased yours from?

Thanks.

i requested elive.co.nz to order one for me from overseas. build-in UPS is definitely one of the many great features it has. i had my unit for over a year now and the latest firmware update is on 2/Jan/2012

.

another geekzone user (HERE) bought his n4200Pro from PB tech.

PANiCnz

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#566154 8-Jan-2012 17:19

tigercorp:I also would've gone with ESXi if my hardware was compatible

What hardware are you running? ESX 5 is pretty compatiable with most hardware, VMware even added support for the newer Realtek NIC's.

timmmay

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#566189 8-Jan-2012 18:40

Frequent firmware updates suggest the system was buggy to start with.