Need help selecting a NAS for home usage

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rusty

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#33691 9-May-2009 23:47

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster :)

I'm looking to purchase a NAS system for the home and I need a bit of help as I'm relatively "green" when it comes to these systems.

I want a system that can be accessible from any computer/media centre in the house, allow for movie/music streaming and can be a place to store my photos and other documents etc.

I've narrowed it down to two systems, the Netgear NAS duo RND2000 and the D-Link DNS 323:

http://ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=353843

http://ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=373638

Now I don't currently have a gigabit capable computer or router, but I want to allow for an upgrade later this year. Also I plan to run 2 x 1TB hard drives in RAID 1 format for greater protection, so if anyone can suggest a reliable hard drive that;d be awesome.

Can anyone help recommend one over the other (and why obviously) and can anyone advise whether the D-Link NAS is reliable or not as I've heard so many bad things about their routers etc.

Thanks heaps

rusty

tkr001

416 posts

Ultimate Geek

#213906 10-May-2009 20:02

Considered Freenas? Its really easy and cheap to build.

rscole86

4973 posts

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#213912 10-May-2009 20:20

Ive been using the DNS-323 here for a wee while now, no problems yet. There is also a wiki on modding the dns-323 to put custom software onto it. Ive not have a chance to look at it yet though.

I use a modded xbox to access all of the video/audio content on it. And would recommonded it based on my experience to date.

rusty

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#214297 12-May-2009 10:18

Thanks for the responses!

Re: Freenas - I haven't really looked into this as an option as I know little about it. What's involved with this option and how easy/hard would it be to set up?

Thanks rscole for your comments - does anyone else have any positive/negative feed back regarding the D-Link DNS 323? I've tempted to get ths as it's about $200 cheaper than the Netgear but I don't want to have issues with it (like I've heard can happen with the D-Link routers).

garvani

1873 posts

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#214301 12-May-2009 10:29

I have the Dlink 313 (1 bay version of 323, however the rest of the hardware is identical)

It is a solid device, but i have one problem with it. The throughput when copying things to the device is abysimal (as stated in other reviews). I get about 6mbs copying to it but get about 12mbs when streaming from it or copying data back off it.. This is on gigabit or 100mbit lan, it dosnt make a difference.

In saying that i am glad i brought it, it is reliable and i havnt had any issues with it as such, no crashing or anything, it has power management which turns the hard drives off after a set amount of time, then when accessing the drive it fires back up. The copying speed would be the only issue i would suggest looking into, im only using it to store media so waiting extra time for it to copy dosn't bother me.. If i was using to do to scheduled large backups i would look somewhere else.

As stated you can Mod the device very easily and have it do a LOT more than other consumer Nas boxes. Mediatomb, torrent downloads etc etc etc

CYaBro

4582 posts

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#214325 12-May-2009 11:35

I use a Linksys NAS200 at home and a D-Link 323 at work.
Both have been great and had no problems.
The only problem I have had with both of them is that, if there is a power cut, they don't power back on again automatically so I have them running on a UPS.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

rusty

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#215084 15-May-2009 16:23

Thanks for the further comments!

I was initially considering purchasing the NAS200 but I've read a lot of reviews that talk about performance issues with this system. It also only has a 10/100 ethernet connection, not gigabit capabilities.

As one of the main uses will be video streaming I want to make sure that the system I choose can handle this with ease (video files are .avi and approx 700 - 900mb each).

Does anyone have the netgear RND2000 so I can get opinions/comments about this system?

garvani

1873 posts

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#215091 15-May-2009 16:40

As i stated earlier. The dns323 or dns313 are perfect for streaming video. I stream 8gb 1080p mkvs off it without a problem, 700mb divx rips are nothing compared to that.

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Pskonejott

24 posts

Geek

#215215 16-May-2009 12:12

Rusty, it sounds like you are not looking at purchasing Raid/Enterprise Edition HDD's. If you're looking at domestic drives I'd go for Western Digital drives, the greens are quiet and run cool. If a HDD had a bad sector pop up the HDD will automatically reallocate that sector (use one of the spare ones that are there for this purpose). This may take 3 seconds, if a HDD doesn't respond for typically 7-15 seconds it will be dropped by a raid controller, so a domestic HDD will often drop from a raid array if a bad sector is encountered. Raid HDD's have a time limited error recovery, the drives are limited to typically 7 seconds and then they abort and let the raid controller fix the fault. AFAIK Western Digital are the only drives where you can enable this feature on a domestic edition drive, making it more suitable for a raid environment.

Note that the WD green drives energy saving features can cause a problem in raid environments. The drives will move the head off the platters often, causing high load/unload cycles. If you have these drives and see the load/unload skyrocketing you can use an app called wdidle3 to change the timer controlling this.

digitaldivide

94 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#215232 16-May-2009 13:12

Crickey! Ive just been through something similar.

Storage

I purchased from Ascent the Netgear ReadyNas NV+ (RND4000) which is similar to your choice (Duo RND2000) - but the RND4000 is the other Netgear product line.

It took me a LONG time to make up my mind - there's lots of NAS options out there. I discounted the D-Link DNS 323 fairly quickly. I discounted FreeNAS as well. Everyone is different.

Netgear have a feature-comparison chart if you want to compare models - but I recommend the Duo or NV+ they are both rock solid and the interface is easy.

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/ReadyNASNVPlus/RND4000.aspx
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=377571

The Ready NAS is connected to my router.

Hard Drives

About hard-drives. Netgear tests most hard-drives on the market.

Check out the compatibility list from Netgear: http://www.readynas.com/?page_id=82

The ReadyNas NV+ (RND4000) holds up to 4 x 2TB drives, but I've put 3 x 1TB drives.

Media Player

I purchased the Netgear EVA9150 Digital Entertainer and it is connected to my router, has a remote, and plays all the content from the NAS drive on my TV.

http://www.netgear.co.nz/Products/Entertainment/DigitalMediaPlayers/EVA9150.aspx

I got this from Amazon.com and it's bloody brilliant.

Of course, computers at home can "browse to" the NAS and play anything like/look at photos, etc.

Router

My current router is ok, but like you, I need to replace my current router as it doesn't have gigabit.

A bigger problem, is that when people can access the NAS (store new photos, music - all that stuff) there's no anti-virus on the NAS. This is a risk with NAS.

To protect the NAS drive I'll need a router scanning traffic to/from the drive. I can only find 2 devices with this capability, and they are not yet ready for the 'home market'. One is the D-Link DFL-260, the other is the Netgear Prosafe range of routers.

So, no easy answer yet..

Hope this helps.

BuckoNZ

136 posts

Master Geek

#215239 16-May-2009 13:48

I used to have a D-Link DNS-323 but upgraded to the Promise SmartStor NS2300N.

The D-Link is an OK device and probably fine for the vast majority of home users, however in comparison the Promise SmartStor is considerably better. Plus the Promise is DLNA compliant!