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Rzyrek

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 30, 2012
14
0
Hey. Hope you can help me.

Im searching a good way to store my data (photos (iPhoto-/Aperture-libary), movies (streaming to apple tv through iTunes), documents, ...) + time machine of my macbook air.

1. 2x external HDD 3Tb plus an USB-Hub (approximately 396€)
or
2. NAS with two 3Tb internal HDD with RAID1. (Synology DS213j + 2x WD Red = approximately 460€)

What would you recommend?
 
Last edited:

DoctorK4

macrumors regular
Jan 31, 2011
142
3
I use an external 2TB USB 3.0 HDD plus a NAS. I think you'll have much better success with Time Machine backups on the USB drive. Time Machine over a network with a non-Apple network solution can work, but can also frequently be unreliable.
 

Dalton63841

macrumors 65816
Nov 27, 2010
1,449
8
SEMO, USA
I use an external 2TB USB 3.0 HDD plus a NAS. I think you'll have much better success with Time Machine backups on the USB drive. Time Machine over a network with a non-Apple network solution can work, but can also frequently be unreliable.

Actually the NAS he chose does use the actual Time Machine protocol.

Personally I highly suggest going with the Synology NAS. Aside from the built in Time Machine, it has a whole host of apps to handle just about anything you could ever want it to do. I think of it like, I may not need all the extra functionality now, but later, who knows. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

I don't have a Synology NAS at the moment, but I have been researching them a lot because I need to upgrade my frumpy little DLink to a decent 4-bay.
 

DoctorK4

macrumors regular
Jan 31, 2011
142
3
Actually the NAS he chose does use the actual Time Machine protocol.

There are quite a few NASes that use the Time Machine protocol, but technically it's not supported by Apple. I used to use one but from time to time would get an error that my backup was corrupt and I had to build a new one. It's not an infrequent complaint of people using third-party network Time Machine solutions. I was a little more concerned about reliability so I went with the USB drive for Time Machine and use the NAS for media storage.
 

Ralphalph

macrumors member
Mar 7, 2009
72
1
Synology

I use the Synology 212j and the thing works like a charm. I have never had an error or any problems. The best backup is the one you use.

The Synology also has software to work as an iTunes server, although I have not tinkered with that. Plus with that arrangement you can backup any number of computers, and allow yourself access to the files through the internet.
 

fongkahchun86

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2010
34
4
If you are looking at iPhoto/Aperture library management, an external HDD will be a better option than a NAS.

However, if you are looking for Photo storage, go for Synology PhotoStation. Not only it store your photos in a RAID configuration, it will also generate a web gallery for you. Though a static IP will give you that add benefit.
 

SDDave2007

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2007
197
1
I too have been using a Synology box for about 2 years now... and it it configured to Time Machine an iMac, a MacPro and two MBP labtops on my network.... and it works flawlessly..... not to mention it also streams video to the TV in the living room.

Note : Photostation is not a Synolgoy box... it is software that comes standard with the basic NAS unit
 

coolspot18

macrumors 65816
Aug 16, 2010
1,051
90
Canada
I have a Synology NAS and it works well with OSX. However, I stopped using Time Machine, I found Carbon Copy Cloner to be much more reliable than TM.
 

Rzyrek

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 30, 2012
14
0
If you are looking at iPhoto/Aperture library management, an external HDD will be a better option than a NAS.

However, if you are looking for Photo storage, go for Synology PhotoStation. Not only it store your photos in a RAID configuration, it will also generate a web gallery for you. Though a static IP will give you that add benefit.

I also took a look for the Photostation, but I read that you need minimum an DS213+ that this software works sufficient. Or does somebody use the DS213j with it and has no problems? I've got like 100Gb of Photos.
DS213+ would be 150€ more. Or is the price difference worth it for a normal user?
 

Dalton63841

macrumors 65816
Nov 27, 2010
1,449
8
SEMO, USA
I am currently working on deciding between these two:
http://www.amazon.com/Synology-Disk...&qid=1373235442&sr=1-35&keywords=synology+nas
http://www.amazon.com/Qnap-4-Bay-2-...e=UTF8&qid=1366791711&sr=8-1&keywords=TS-469l

They both seem to have a decent set of apps, but I believe only the Synology handles Time Machine. Moreso, I need to know how well they handle the plex media server, and potentially transcoding(I don't think they will). Also built in tools like Rsync, Unison, or something like that. I believe they are effectively linux OS'es so those types of tools should be there...

Anyone know of any gotcha's I should know about or look out for?
 
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