Recommend a NAS device

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marmel

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#119163 22-May-2013 19:52

I'm looking to purchase a NAS device to provide back up for my desktop as well as being used as a media server for my various devices including PS3 and Apple TV.

All of our music is purchased via iTunes.

I would probably want something to run two hard drives in mirror config.

It would be nice to have USB 3.0 compatibility as well.

I haven't used NAS devices before so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Gilco2

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#823743 22-May-2013 20:13

I tried 2 readynas units and had trouble them not being recognised a lot with Windows 7 or Windows 8. I then built my own Windows Home Server using Windows Home Server 2011 and so far it has exceeded my expectations. Been faultless. Mind you only a month so far but still more reliable than the readynas was. Maybe I had 2 faulty units, not unknown for me to strike duds unfortunately.

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grant_k

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#823749 22-May-2013 20:22

I bought a WD "My Book Live" 3TB NAS late last year and have been very happy with it. They also make a 6TB version with 2 x 3TB internal drives.

Krishant007

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#823778 22-May-2013 20:58

I been looking at getting a synology ds 213 or ds213+. They both seem to be quite good. Take a look at them?

raytaylor

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#823847 22-May-2013 22:44

grant_k: I bought a WD "My Book Live" 3TB NAS late last year and have been very happy with it. They also make a 6TB version with 2 x 3TB internal drives.

I had a couple of clients buy these from noel leeming/harvey norman.

It seems after a few months, the web server stops functioning and you cannot get in to configure the unit.
You open up the http://x.x.x.x and wait 5 minutes, eventually the login screen appears. Click login, wait another few minutes and it times out. Resetting hasnt helped - they replaced them under warranty.

Ray Taylor

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raytaylor

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#823850 22-May-2013 22:48

marmel: I'm looking to purchase a NAS device to provide back up for my desktop as well as being used as a media server for my various devices including PS3 and Apple TV.

All of our music is purchased via iTunes.

I would probably want something to run two hard drives in mirror config.

It would be nice to have USB 3.0 compatibility as well.

I haven't used NAS devices before so any recommendations would be appreciated.

QNAP have the reputable name (ascent is the local dealer)
I am installing them in primary schools and small businesses as cheap file servers at the moment where they dont need a domain server.

However
Synology have the up-and coming name. I have read a few good reviews about them but not tried one yet.

I would recomend qnap based on my good results with them.
They do a mirrored drive model, and you can plug in a usb hard drive for either a scheduled backup, or plug it in and push a button and it will do a backup.

Remember a raid mirror can still suffer from software corruption so you still need to ensure you do a backup.
Raid mirrored hard drives will just allow the system to continue if a hard drive fails - if there is a software or power failure that causes corruption, it will affect both drives so an external backup is very important if you plan to use the NAS box as your primary storage location.

Ray Taylor

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networkn

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#823852 22-May-2013 22:53

As far as I am concerned for home use there are really only two decent ones, at reasonable prices. The ReadyNAS by Netgear, and the new stuff is really great. The other, the Synology range, pretty much everything there is good, massive feature list, nice interface, cost effective.

BUY WD Red drives for your NAS no matter what NAS unit you buy!

WD Live book nas solutions are nasty as are pretty much anything assembled in that manner. Expect little sympathy or assistance by way of data recovery if something happens with them.

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grant_k

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#823862 22-May-2013 23:10

networkn:
...
WD Live book nas solutions are nasty as are pretty much anything assembled in that manner. Expect little sympathy or assistance by way of data recovery if something happens with them.

I am using my NAS solely as a backup device, so it only gets used to backup all PCs on the LAN for a few hours each month and then I unplug it and put it away in another building until the next month.

With that sort of usage, it should last a very long time, but I take the point that it is a low-end piece of kit that shouldn't be relied upon as a primary storage device. The hard drives in our 3 PCs do that job just fine.

EvilSteve

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#823867 22-May-2013 23:31

I rate the synology 213j+ or what ever it is (exact model number escapes me but it was review on GZ)

I play movies from it on my ps3, nexus 7, samsung tv and phone. I have never had it crash or had any problems with it except the odd 1080p video file not playing very well - a newer model may fix this.

I stay away from iTunes like the plague but it does have an itunes server app which may work to your advantage.

I purchased mine from amazon.com and am using 2x 2TB NAS edition western digital drives in stripping with back ups done via 1 of the 2 rear usb ports.

Current uptime is 74 days and 5hrs.

TechSol

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#823988 23-May-2013 10:11

+1 for synology... I have a DS212+ and I can't remember re-booting it since I bought it last August.

Rock solid beasty

marmel

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#824118 23-May-2013 13:26

Thanks for your replies.

The more I read about NAS storage solutions the better it appeared to be for my situation. I have a laptop which we use day to day as well as a HTPC which since being built last year has only been used for backing up photos and music, I haven't even used it for playing bluray's as I have a PS3 for that. One thing that has always been a bit of a pain is having to start it up etc when I just want to put some pics on the hard drive.

Having a NAS always on, which is what I will be doing, is a much better option for me and the ability to stream everything to my various devices will be great.

So after looking at various specs I have gone with the Synology DJ713+ and a couple of Western Digital 2TB Red drives. I went with a higher spec model to ensure I have no issues with streaming HD content or content to several sources at once.

Now who wants to buy a reasonably high specced HTPC in a black Silverstone desktop case???