NAS Choices

[thepominlaw]

Hi all recently bought a 15" MacBook Pro but mow looking for a nas to store my media files on so I can access them remotely.

I will not be using this for TM just photos, videos & music as I need to keep space on my SSD.

I have narrowed my choice to the following (all budget) also have 2x1tb WD Green drives.

Dlink 320L - £45
Zyxel 325v2 - £95
Synology 214se - £119

Am new to nas so would appreciate advice from anyone. Alternatively will icloud drive be suitable could I access files remotely or will they also have to be on SSD like dropbox?

Thanks

 

[Little Red]

I don't have experience with those particular models, but I have a Synology DS412+ that I've been really happy with. There's some software you can load onto it called 'Cloud Station', and its a bit like hosting your own iCloud/Dropbox/Google Drive/etc, so you can run it with a bit of a mix of remote access and local copy storage. The others might do a similar things.

 

[MacInTO]

I think any of them will work for you. I've been looking into them recently also. I have images and other files from the last 15 years or so spread out over ten external drives. It's increasingly more difficult to locate stuff quickly for me now. I looked into the two drive units, but it's not what I require so I'm going with a four bay unit.

Like Little Red said, you can access your files remotely via your router so you don't need Dropbox or iCloud for this purpose.

I don't have experience with those particular models, but I have a Synology DS412+ that I've been really happy with. There's some software you can load onto it called 'Cloud Station', and its a bit like hosting your own iCloud/Dropbox/Google Drive/etc, so you can run it with a bit of a mix of remote access and local copy storage. The others might do a similar things.

What's the noise factor from the fan on the Synology unit?

 

[glenthompson]

I've been very happy with my old Synology Ds211. Very quiet. I keep all my media files on it and can stream movies directly from it to my iPad. It also serves as a time machine backup destination.

 

[Little Red]

What's the noise factor from the fan on the Synology unit?

The only noise I notice is the buzzing of the drives while reading/writing, which is quite noticeable, but no louder than my older drobo. The unit itself doesn't make any noticeable fan noise or anything like that.

 

[MacInTO]

The only noise I notice is the buzzing of the drives while reading/writing, which is quite noticeable, but no louder than my older drobo. The unit itself doesn't make any noticeable fan noise or anything like that.

Thanks, this is encouraging! I'm not a fan of fan noise lol. Back in the day, it took me a few years before I even realized there was a fan inside my PowerBook!

 

[JamesPDX]

Avoid "green" drives

If you were considering it, don't put "earth-friendly-energysmart-ecoboost-glutenfree-soy-based-greendrives (any kind of greenwashing) into a RAID/NAS. Maybe you can use the WD Greendrive like I do for temporary/non-critical Timemachine backups. They won't hold up in an NAS. If you're using Lightroom for your photos, you'll need local storage, not ethernet NAS. If you're just streaming music or backing up your media, then choose an empty NAS enclosure that's SMB/Mavericks compatible and seriously consider putting in HGST enterprise-class drives. -Research other forums, and don't believe the claims on the side of the NAS box.

If I got do-overs from my year-old QNAP NAS, I'd likely go for one of the StudioRaid's: http://www.glyphtech.com/products/all and keep everything USB 3.0 and Firewire 800. -But I'm an A/V dude.

That being said, I'll sell you my QNAP 419-PII cheap. PM me if you want it.

Hi all recently bought a 15" MacBook Pro but mow looking for a nas to store my media files on so I can access them remotely.

I will not be using this for TM just photos, videos & music as I need to keep space on my SSD.

I have narrowed my choice to the following (all budget) also have 2x1tb WD Green drives.

Dlink 320L - £45
Zyxel 325v2 - £95
Synology 214se - £119

Am new to nas so would appreciate advice from anyone. Alternatively will icloud drive be suitable could I access files remotely or will they also have to be on SSD like dropbox?

Thanks

 

[Liberty.]

Synology. Their NAS-software is just the best on the market. That's why they're so successful.

 

[MacInTO]

Synology. Their NAS-software is just the best on the market. That's why they're so successful.

This is good to know! Thanks!

 

[Liberty.]

This is good to know! Thanks!

I mean I never tried other products, but just followed the reviews:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/synology-ds-412-is-fast-fun-and-flexible/6/

and I'm still happy.

 

[redrumredrum]

FreeNAS MINI (ECC & ZFS!)

I recently faced a similar issue, but since I'm not really into loosing data, I went with a FreeNAS mini, complete with 4 drives. I'm very happy with it and the features are awesome (I configured snapshots every 3 hours, kept for 2 weeks). ixSystems support was great.

EDIT: I also configured it to be a Time Machine server.

 

[phrehdd]

Synology. Their NAS-software is just the best on the market. That's why they're so successful.

Interesting. There are those in the QNAP camp that say exactly the same and then again those who do Linux proper for the OS of their NAS and so on. I think that Synology does a great job but lets not get into superlatives please.

 

[JamesPDX]

I'm in the "It's gotta be reliable" camp:

Interesting. There are those in the QNAP camp that say exactly the same and then again those who do Linux proper for the OS of their NAS and so on. I think that Synology does a great job but lets not get into superlatives please.

No no, I would never buy a QNAP again for any system past 10.6.8 using Time Machine. It's just too risky and I can't use it with Lightroom or FCPX. It's now just a big media server and -3rd safety- for general backup. Too bad, really. -All this because I read a lot of horror stories about the Drobo. Next time I'll just get a JBOD box or something from Small-Tree. I don't have time to worry about whether my backups and data and more backups are going to randomly punish me.

Recently bought an M-Disc setup. Now I need an intern.

 

[shaunp]

I've had a couple of QNAP's and more recently a Synology 412+ and the Synology would be my pick. The software is very good and the unit has been very reliable (touch wood, so I don't jinx it now).

 

[thepominlaw]

Thanks all I ended up buying a Synology ds115j it's due to be delivered soon

 

[phrehdd]

No no, I would never buy a QNAP again for any system past 10.6.8 using Time Machine. It's just too risky and I can't use it with Lightroom or FCPX. It's now just a big media server and -3rd safety- for general backup. Too bad, really. -All this because I read a lot of horror stories about the Drobo. Next time I'll just get a JBOD box or something from Small-Tree. I don't have time to worry about whether my backups and data and more backups are going to randomly punish me.

Recently bought an M-Disc setup. Now I need an intern.

Interesting and sorry to hear you had such bad luck. Did you try iSCSI? I have worked with a couple of QNAP units 559pro and 469L and didn't have the issues you mentioned. Then again another option is to go DAS and if other computers need the data, share it. My do over in this venue might be something like the Areca 8 drive bay DAS in either USB3 flavour or better yet, Thunderbolt.

 

[JamesPDX]

Interesting and sorry to hear you had such bad luck. Did you try iSCSI? I have worked with a couple of QNAP units 559pro and 469L and didn't have the issues you mentioned. Then again another option is to go DAS and if other computers need the data, share it. My do over in this venue might be something like the Areca 8 drive bay DAS in either USB3 flavour or better yet, Thunderbolt.

Yeah, the newer QNAP products may work fine with the new SMB requirement of Mavericks; I just know that Time Machine has been made highly untrustworthy with 10.9.x and the TS-419PII. I just can't waste anymore time worrying about it, so I moved on. I don't care about setting up an iTunes server or a torrent client, etc. I just wanted a (RAID6 or better) box to backup my crap. All of the best JBOD/NAS boxes are horrendously expensive, especially ones that can be used via ethernet, and if everything works they way it should, you really never "notice" an NAS until something fails.

I've moved on to CCC along with a separate Time Machine backup. I don't really trust Time Machine because it's never been able to restore my system the way a clone can and has. That's just the way it is, I suppose. You don't know if your backup is legit until you try to restore a file, eh?

Too bad Apple intentionally cripples the AEBS USB port to drop the connection to an external drive. The Time Capsule stays connected. Hmm.
(Rubs stubbly chin with back of hand...)

 

[phrehdd]

Yeah, the newer QNAP products may work fine with the new SMB requirement of Mavericks; I just know that Time Machine has been made highly untrustworthy with 10.9.x and the TS-419PII. I just can't waste anymore time worrying about it, so I moved on. I don't care about setting up an iTunes server or a torrent client, etc. I just wanted a (RAID6 or better) box to backup my crap. All of the best JBOD/NAS boxes are horrendously expensive, especially ones that can be used via ethernet, and if everything works they way it should, you really never "notice" an NAS until something fails.

I've moved on to CCC along with a separate Time Machine backup. I don't really trust Time Machine because it's never been able to restore my system the way a clone can and has. That's just the way it is, I suppose. You don't know if your backup is legit until you try to restore a file, eh?

Too bad Apple intentionally cripples the AEBS USB port to drop the connection to an external drive. The Time Capsule stays connected. Hmm.
(Rubs stubbly chin with back of hand...)

While I like in concept the idea of Time Machine, I don't use it. I prefer doing direct backups that are incremental. While there may be risk, I back up to a SINGLE drive and then that backs up to my NAS. After that, the backup is incremental. The risk I speak of is any copying can create issues and this requires 2 times to copy. FYI I use FTP to copy my back up to the NAS.

 

[RIZZO124]

Hi all recently bought a 15" MacBook Pro but mow looking for a nas to store my media files on so I can access them remotely.

I will not be using this for TM just photos, videos & music as I need to keep space on my SSD.

I have narrowed my choice to the following (all budget) also have 2x1tb WD Green drives.

Dlink 320L - £45
Zyxel 325v2 - £95
Synology 214se - £119

Am new to nas so would appreciate advice from anyone. Alternatively will icloud drive be suitable could I access files remotely or will they also have to be on SSD like dropbox?

Thanks

Go with the synology, you won't regret it. I've had a diskstation 410 and I currently have a rackstation 814. Both are excellent products. Well made hardware but what you really buy with Synology is the software. Their DSM operating system is very good and they keep improving it making easier to approach for less experienced users. There tech support is very good also which I had to use only once. They rebuilt my machine remotely within a few hours of opening the trouble ticket.

 

[GoingDark]

If you were considering it, don't put "earth-friendly-energysmart-ecoboost-glutenfree-soy-based-greendrives (any kind of greenwashing) into a RAID/NAS. Maybe you can use the WD Greendrive like I do for temporary/non-critical Timemachine backups. They won't hold up in an NAS.

Seconded. There are tons of threads on D-Link's support forums and elsewhere specifically discussing how these "green" drives get absolutely destroyed in a NAS. WD Reds are specifically designed for NAS usage, I would go with those if you have the option.

Speaking of D-Link, I have the DNS-323 and it's hella slow even though it's connected via Gigabit Ethernet. The software isn't much to write home about either. I think you made a good choice going with the Synology.

 

[windowpain]

Thanks all I ended up buying a Synology ds115j it's due to be delivered soon

Its been a few months now, so I was wondering about your impressions of the ds115j?

I am thinking of picking one up too (probably with a 4TB WD red) but It is hard to decide between the DS215J, DS115J and the DS214se.

The DS215J is obviously faster, but I have a feeling the other two are fast enough for my (current) needs... is the one you bought meeting your expectations?

Thanks.

 

[thepominlaw]

Love the DS115J use it constantly to listen to music, watch videos and backup my macbook. The apps in iOS are great I just find it extremely useful. The user interface is brilliant also.

I have a WD passport usb hard drive plugged into it and it backs up on demand or on a weekly schedule.

 

[nebo1ss]

I use a Synology 414 Slim which takes 2.5 inch drives. I previously used the 411Slim and upgraded to the 414 about six months ago.

The original reason I chose a NAS that takes 2.5 inch drives is that I had a bunch of Toshiba external drives and found that the most cost effective option was to reuse the drives in the 411 bay.

I have been very happy with my system. It is Small quiet and has all the functionality of a larger system. The only real constraint I have found is that drive capacity is limited by using 2.5 inch drives.

 

[nightmars]

I use a Synology 414 Slim which takes 2.5 inch drives. I previously used the 411Slim and upgraded to the 414 about six months ago.

The original reason I chose a NAS that takes 2.5 inch drives is that I had a bunch of Toshiba external drives and found that the most cost effective option was to reuse the drives in the 411 bay.

I have been very happy with my system. It is Small quiet and has all the functionality of a larger system. The only real constraint I have found is that drive capacity is limited by using 2.5 inch drives.

Any real world difference you see between the 411Slim and the 414Slim? I'm just asking because I was wondering whether the same upgrade would benefit me.

 

[brentmore]

Love the DS115J use it constantly to listen to music, watch videos and backup my macbook. The apps in iOS are great I just find it extremely useful. The user interface is brilliant also.

I have a WD passport usb hard drive plugged into it and it backs up on demand or on a weekly schedule.

Glad you like your Synology. I still have the 211j I picked up 5 years ago and it's humming along wonderfully. Last year, I migrated most of the files to a 214+ and am loving the speed upgrade. The 211j still serves me well since the Synology library has some pretty cool apps.