Want to buy Synology...couple of questions

Jdtwyo said:

Main goal: I have a 2 tb itunes library that I need more space for. I have an Imac and 6 ATV3's. I dont really need a NAS, but I need space, and this appears to be the best option.

I am looking at the 4 bay model, would it be possible for me connect it directly to my imac via Ethernet cable? I have 2 Tb's of stuff to move and I would assume this would be the fastest method? With 4 3tb disks could you set it up to do both itunes library and time capsule back up?

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I love my Synology DS413j. I think you will also once you grab it. =]

To answer your questions. You cannot easily directly connect your mac via ethernet. It is possible, but the speed gains you would get would be rather minimal compared to having both of them hardwired and going through a router. I get speeds between 50-70MBps on average between the two through my AirPort Extreme. For your 2TB's of data, this would be done transferring in a few hours, so I would just say to start it and leave it overnight!

With your 4 3TB disk idea, yes you can certainly have it do both. I have 2 2TB disks, and 2 3TB disks (slowly upgrading from 2 1TB and 2 2TB) and currently have my NAS do both. I use the Synology Hybrid Raid (which works fantastically) and have it set up with 1 disk fault protection (RAID 5 basically). I would recommend having a second backup source, however, to back up either the NAS itself or another copy of your iMac if your data is important. RAID 5 is very good in my experience; I have never lost a single bit of data over the last 10 years and through 3 drive failures, but it doesn't mean it wont happen one day!

Jdtwyo said:

Thanks for the information. The only issue that I have plugging them both into the router is that my router is downstairs and my Imac is up. I was hoping to directly connect the two so I could have them both in my office.

I really dont need a NAS at this point, what I really need is a 6tb external HDD but those dont seem easy to come by

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You have an array of USB/fw drive enclosures out there. Even nas setups with optional usb3/fw are available.

Recently i was torn with the same sort of debate.

Chunk of media, home network, couple atv's including an atv3, ios devices, plus it would be nice to set up remote sharing of the media for family members in other locations.

My options were nas (synology), atom home brew nas, hp amd nas, or mac mini.


The mini ended up being the choice (apple refurb). Pre storage it was more expensive than the atom home brew by far, bit more expensive than the hp 40l boxes, and about even with a synology.

The upside is it idles at very low power consumption (i7 mini is showing 13 watts on my meter with bus powered ssd and 2.5" platter drive connected via usb), will double as a new quality desktop/htpc (especially after 16gb and ssd), and will maintain some reasonable resale down the road, let alone the i7 absolutely dominating the atom/amd solutions in terms of processor power.

With the usb3 and tb connecting large amounts of storage will not be an issue as storage needs grow.

All the options would have allowed for plex server, only the windows and os x routes would allow for itunes home sharing, which till the atv3 gets jailbroken is necessary. All the mini storage gets shared on the network and os x server ($20) lets it also function as a centralized time machine location.


There are tb/fw/usb 3 based enclosures that will hold numerous drives in various forms of raid or jbod. Looking into one of those and hooking to your imac would probably be the best solution price wise and would consolidate your external drive pile (many store bought external drive models can be stripped from casing to reveal a bare sata drive). Its basically what I intend to do with the mini eventually.

Jdtwyo said:

Thanks for the information. The only issue that I have plugging them both into the router is that my router is downstairs and my Imac is up. I was hoping to directly connect the two so I could have them both in my office.

I really dont need a NAS at this point, what I really need is a 6tb external HDD but those dont seem easy to come by

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Is your iMac wireless or do you have a cable run upstairs for it?

If you have a cable run for it, just install a small 5 port gigabit switch so everything is wired. You can keep the NAS next to your iMac and transfer speed shouldn't be an issue.

Jdtwyo said:

Thanks for the information. The only issue that I have plugging them both into the router is that my router is downstairs and my Imac is up. I was hoping to directly connect the two so I could have them both in my office.

I really dont need a NAS at this point, what I really need is a 6tb external HDD but those dont seem easy to come by

Click to expand...

It is very rare that you actually need to touch a Synology NAS. Everything can be managed from the browser interface. I have the fanless DS411slim, which makes no noise at all, but if I had a larger unit, I would be looking to have it as far from my office as possible.

Direct connect storage is far easier to deal with for your iTunes library than a network share. A NAS will work, but it can be a pain, mostly relating to reconnecting after shutdown. Direct attach external storage is painless. I like FireWire 800 because you can daisy chain drives and it doesn't add load to the CPU.

You can find a bunch of Direct Attach multi drive enclosures here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/