Qnap or Synology or ? for home NAS

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MikeB4

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#214579 18-May-2017 17:27

Hope this is in the correct sub forum. Looking for advice on a NAS unit for home use. The unit is to store photos, music, documents, videos. The NAS will serve four PC's/Laptops, iMac, iPads, TV's Xbox One, Stereo more or less. Qnap and Synology seem very similar so what would the collective here recommend. What other suggestions are there apart from Qnap or Synology?

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#1784369 18-May-2017 17:55

Qnap and Synology are both excellent, and are the market leaders.

I prefer Synology because their software is very good, and is user-friendly.

Disclosure: I run four larger Synology NAS units holding 120 TB of data. I have never had any problems with them.

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MikeB4

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#1784372 18-May-2017 18:05

May I ask what model Synology units are you running?

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#1784382 18-May-2017 18:27

I have had a hand in half a dozen QNAP NAS in the last couple of years and all have run very reliably, and I would recommend them. One has lost its login credentials due to a firmware bug that was later resolved and has to be reset.

I have also had two cheaper NAS units and both had fan failures.

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dt

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#1784413 18-May-2017 19:00

Cant go wrong with either. I run one of each at the moment but prefer the synology's OS and app store.

running a DS216+II synology (upgraded to 8gb ram myself!) and which ever the qnap equivalent is (forget the model off the top of my head!)

Word of advice, if you're going to be running one near you beside your desk or whatnot.. get 5400 rpm harddrives, the 7200rpm drives drove me crazy with the extra noise.

michaelmurfy

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#1784426 18-May-2017 19:18

I am currently testing out a Synology 216play and it isn't a bad unit. With Synology however you're paying a wee bit more in comparasion with Qnap from what I've seen. Both are excellent units.

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MikeB4

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#1784431 18-May-2017 19:37

Thanks guys.

What is the noise levels like from these units, could one stand to have them in the lounge or office?

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#1784436 18-May-2017 19:46

Am contemplating the Synology 216Play and similar QNAP models also. Lots of things on the wish-list at the moment and the NAS may get moved down the list to make way for other "toys". May end up having to build a PC based unit to tide me over. :-(

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#1784450 18-May-2017 19:50

MikeB4: What is the noise levels like from these units, could one stand to have them in the lounge or office?

I've don't remember ever hearing the fan in the 2 bay QNAP I have, except a burst at startup. I do occasionally hear the drives ticking away.

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#1784452 18-May-2017 19:58

I've had a Synology DS213J for several years and it has been excellent. Firmware is regularly updated, loads of features, very fast file transfers. It's in a room I rarely use but seems very quiet when I'm there

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#1784453 18-May-2017 20:01

I have also had a good run with an Asustor NAS since late 2013 (the AS-608T). Fairly quiet, and so far completely reliable.

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#1784459 18-May-2017 20:13

MikeB4:

May I ask what model Synology units are you running?

DS1813+ (8-bay)

DS1515+ (two) (5-bay)

DS716+ (2-bay)

The three units with 6TB WD Red drives are almost silent.

One unit runs 8 x 8TB WD Reds, which are noisier.

It's the hard drives that make noise, not the NAS boxes.

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#1784490 18-May-2017 21:46

We sell Synology a lot. Almost exclusively in fact. We find them reliable, and well spec'd and well priced.

We looked at QNAP and to be fair, they were comparable, but I think we get excellent support from the local distributor we buy from and I consider that as important.

For Home use I'd suggest a 216J if you just want storage/backup. If you want to do anything else, DS216, and if you want 4 bays, then 416J and 416 respectively.

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#1784541 19-May-2017 07:49

I run the QNAP TS-451+ , 4 bay 8gb with 16tb in it. Works a treat for everything I use it for at home. I would recommend it or a QNAP in general.

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#1784567 19-May-2017 08:19

I hear both are good units. Quite a few apps available for them. You can have the synology run little mini-servers such as FTP/Plex.

Both brands are great for general network SMB storage.

Both units are terrible for iSCSI. But hey, most people wont buy them for iSCSI.

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#1784665 19-May-2017 11:18

MikeB4:

What is the noise levels like from these units, could one stand to have them in the lounge or office?

From my experience, they're tolerable with 5400rpm drives, 7400rpm drives aren't tolerable.

All drives I've used have been western digital reds.

Either are far from silent though and imo are best suited to be stored in a garage if possible.

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