Interesting discussion! And timely for me. I have used a Synology 4-bay NAS for several years - right now have a DS920+ with 4 8TB IronWolf HDDs in a RAID, so about 23TB available. Entirely for data storage, movies and TV recordings, and single-user. Nearing full capacity and thinking about adding a couple of 12TB HDDs to upgrade, but having second thoughts after reading this thread. Maybe investing in a network-connected Mini DAS would make more sense for the future?
My original (and still main) thought is that the NAS RAID provides automatic redundancy if one HDD dies. Otherwise, I don’t use the NAS capabilities.
Any comments on the NAS/DAS tradeoff as discussed here WRT my situation?
By a “network-connected Mini DAS”, I was thinking of external disks, not in a RAID, connected by USB/TB to a Mini which is accessible over a LAN by another computer. So, not really a DAS. I need to think more about what I really want/need.
You already have a NAS, so you're familiar with what it is and does. The ease (if you have the extra drive bays) of adding extra storage and the redundancy provided by RAID (other than Raid 0) arrays.
If I were going to try to do what you are describing, what I might do is something like this:
1.) Buy a base M4 Mac Mini. Consider whether upgrading to 10 Gbps ethernet would be worthwhile.
2.) Buy some external drives, unfortunately probably hard disc based since the amount of extra storage you want would be very expensive to provide via SSDs. But it means a higher noise level, and since Mac users are accustomed to quiet workspaces in many cases, that creates pressure to put the DAS setup further away (so you probably won't be connecting via Thunderbolt).
3.) Connect the M4 Mac Mini via ethernet cable to the network.
4.) Set the Mini up to share files, so in theory from elsewhere in the home
So, how would this compare to using a NAS like the Synology if you're not using the Synology for much other than storage, like a giant external hard disc drive, anyway?
1.) Backing up is more of a hassle; do you buy 4 external HDDs, and use Carbon Copy Cloner or Time Machine, etc., to back 2 of them up to the other 2?
2.) Since it's not in a RAID array, if you have a few drives, you need to remember which drive a file you want is on (or maybe use Spotlight to hunt it up).
3.) Clutter factor - picture in your mind 4 separate external hard disc drives, each with its own power cord (and maybe external power supply brick?), sitting around a Mac Mini, each with its own cable running to the Mini.
Comparing this hypothetical non-RAID multi-drive DAS setup accessed by network to a NAS, I'm seeing short-comings and no advantages. The NAS should give you 1 compact unit, 1 ethernet cable to your computer or router, 1 power cable, convenient RAID-based redundancy and much less clutter.
An alternative is to use a DAS housing like an OWC Thunderbay to house multiple hard disc drives in one housing.
Like the 4-bay product. That should solve the multiple power cords, multiple cables to computer and clutter issues.
I don't think you have to RAID the discs; some people don't, the JBOD ('just a bunch of discs) approach. But that thing lists for roughly $400. Compare (+ cost of a Mac Mini unless you have one laying around) to the UGreen NASyn DXP4800 and 4800 Plus, which with current Amazon modest sales run around $400 - $595. Either way, you've got hard drives to buy, too. And the cost up upgrading the Mac Mini's ethernet port or buying a dock with faster ethernet.
Is that the type of DAS setup you have in mind? What advantages do you anticipate it having over a dedicated NAS? The only one that leaps to my mind is I've read one shouldn't put the Apple Photos Library on a NAS.
