looking into a new NAS

[mentaluproar]

I have a Synology 112j. Transfer speeds are acceptable, thought not phenomenal, but getting the unit to accomplish an app-related task, like scraping metadata for a video or start an airplay stream, is quite a chore. It just doesn't have the resources to do anything without a great struggle. Simple transfers and time machine backups are okay, though if I used my router's built in equivalents, they are faster.

I'm looking at a QNAP TS-451, Synology 415+ and Synology 414. I'm looking at going with a RAID 5 or 10 configuration, maybe an SSD for caching, and while encryption would be nice, it's not a priority. The NAS isn't leaving the house like the macbook does. I may use IP cameras at some point, but I'm not really sure yet. I'd like it to consume little power, and run cool and quiet. This will be kept with the entertainment center.

Does anyone have experience with these products?

 

[mmomega]

I have a Synology 112j. Transfer speeds are acceptable, thought not phenomenal, but getting the unit to accomplish an app-related task, like scraping metadata for a video or start an airplay stream, is quite a chore. It just doesn't have the resources to do anything without a great struggle. Simple transfers and time machine backups are okay, though if I used my router's built in equivalents, they are faster.

I'm looking at a QNAP TS-451, Synology 415+ and Synology 414. I'm looking at going with a RAID 5 or 10 configuration, maybe an SSD for caching, and while encryption would be nice, it's not a priority. The NAS isn't leaving the house like the macbook does. I may use IP cameras at some point, but I'm not really sure yet. I'd like it to consume little power, and run cool and quiet. This will be kept with the entertainment center.

Does anyone have experience with these products?

I don't have experience with them yet...
I have a Synology DS1515+ on the way and this will be the 'best' NAS I've owned. My last WD NAS was, like you said, almost only good for backups and simple file transfers, it was painfully slow.

I just went with the DS1515+ due to being able to up the RAM to 6GB, being a 5bay system, 4-USB 3.0 expansion ports, 4Gigabit Ethernet for port aggregation and double eSATA for regular eSATA drives or you can add 2 DX513 5bay enclosures. Now that's a ton of Home Storage possibilities. Tested up to 90TB total with 6TBx5 x3enclosures.

I'll definitely report back once I get the drive up and going if you haven't taken a step to purchase a NAS before then. I should be getting it Monday after Christmas Day. Already ordered a 4GB stick of RAM to max it out.

Oh, I also plan on putting in 5x4TB WD Red Drives, 5TB drives are a maybe but 4's are more likely.
In RAID5 this will give 16TB of storage and 4TB of protection.

I'll use this in conjunction with CrashPlan for off-site backup and another RAID enclosure without all the 'bells and whistles' just for backup purposes. Later on I'll plan on a DX513 most likely.

 

[mentaluproar]

I don't need anything like that. Hell, a dual bay would be enough for me, but I want more bays to tinker with.

I'll be ordering next month. All spending is done for me for the month. Christmas cheer is expensive.

I'm not sure if I want the WD reds or the HGST NAS drives. The HGSTs are hungrier, but the Hitachi drive I have in my single bay has been a champ for several years. It has proven the value of its breed to me.

 

[matreya]

I'm not sure if I want the WD reds or the HGST NAS drives. The HGSTs are hungrier, but the Hitachi drive I have in my single bay has been a champ for several years. It has proven the value of its breed to me.

I'm an HGST fan... they really perform well. Also impressed with the Toshiba (formerly Hitachi) drives too.

 

[ColdCase]

Does anyone have experience with these products?

Yes and you will soon run into similar lackluster performance and scalability problems. I have been much happier since I went with a mini server and thunderbolt DAS in whatever RAID I like. NAS is great for file sharing but their performance, flexibility, management, and app weakness makes them a less desirable bandaid solution for other applications. They can be made to work in a pinch, IMHO, but starting from scratch, NAS just don't make much sense anymore. Time machine on a non apple approved device has always been quirky. If you insist, use CCC instead.

 

[mentaluproar]

looking into a new NAS

Oh I thought Hitachi became HGST.

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Yes and you will soon run into similar lackluster performance and scalability problems. I have been much happier since I went with a mini server and thunderbolt DAS in whatever RAID I like. NAS is great for file sharing but their performance, flexibility, management, and app weakness makes them a less desirable bandaid solution for other applications. They can be made to work in a pinch, IMHO, but starting from scratch, NAS just don't make much sense anymore. Time machine on a non apple approved device has always been quirky. If you insist, use CCC instead.

It's NAS or I build my own, and I need airplay streaming. I want wireless backups do I know they will be done often and an airplay solution that doesn't require a constantly-running Mac. An NAS is the compromise I need to make.

 

[matreya]

Oh I thought Hitachi became HGST.

Hitachi sold it's HGST division to WD, but in order to comply with competition regulations, WD sold HGST's 3.5-inch factory in China to Toshiba.. hence the Toshiba's are formerly Hitachi drives..

 

[blueroom]

The DS214play is a nice NAS, the AirPlay streaming to my ATV works fine. That said I don't use the 214play's HW transcoding so I can't comment on that.

I'm in the process of putting Plex connect on it for the ATV. I'll post my comments on this later.

 

[mentaluproar]

looking into a new NAS

I don't plan on using hardware transcoding.

The QNAP looks like the best deal. How does the Marvell Armada dual core handle RAID rebuilds? Can an ARM chip even handle software RAID well?

 

[ColdCase]

Oh I thought Hitachi became HGST.

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It's NAS or I build my own, and I need airplay streaming. I want wireless backups do I know they will be done often and an airplay solution that doesn't require a constantly-running Mac. An NAS is the compromise I need to make.

So you want a constant running, power hungry, noisy, sluggish, and expensive NAS instead? A NAS is certainly not a compromise you need to make today, unless you have the time and just want to play with bandaids... but it is your money and time. Most of us have moved on to better solutions.

 

[mentaluproar]

looking into a new NAS

Stop being passive-aggressive. I'm going with an NAS because I get remote access thru apps on the phone, simple Time Machine backups over Wi-Fi, airplay streaming direct from the NAS to my Apple TV, and given it will be running all the time anyway, the NAS will use less power than a home-built system.

I would love to build a NAS4free system, run ZFS, get geek points to impress the forums, but it's not plausible given the media requirements I have and the need for a well-maintained AFP implementation.

 

[Chuck Rodent]

Set up my QNAP TS-451 last month, running 4 X 4TB Seagates in Raid 5 for 11TB of storage. It is mainly for file sharing in the house, archiving my raw photographs, and cloud access when I am elsewhere. The setup was easy and transferred the files through the user app from a USB 3 drive. If you are planning to migrate across the network it will take days.

The user apps have a good interface running through Chrome. The only noise is from the drives themselves, particularly when spinning up. Though it can run Time Machine with an upper size limit, I am not using it. I have not set up the portable devices for media access yet.

Four computers access the box and other than initially transferring the data it is fast enough. The help files cover the basics of each app, but the user manual is deeply disorganized, covering multiple products and no certainty if that feature is applicable to your version.

 

[mentaluproar]

How is QNAP with updates, Chuck? Synology send them out frequently, which I don't mind as they are keeping on top of security issues.

 

[Chuck Rodent]

Don't really know how often apps update since the Apps updated when I first turned on the machine and have not had any since. There is a notification banner in the browser control screen that gives you the info to update your app. Virus definitions are auto on a daily basis, and firmware every login.