NAS for Mac?

[shalliday]

Hi,

I have a Mac mini as a media server, and right now I'm having two external hard drives (via USB 3) plugged in. Now I want to have more space and have Raid 1, so I'm looking for a good NAS which works with mac.

My biggest concern is noice, since I want it beside my tv in my living room (I don't have any space to hide a NAS away).

I'm looking at the Synology DS414, is that a good choice? It was under 20 dB which is great.

Yes, from what you outlined I think it is but I would recommend you consider using Synology's SHR instead of traditional Raid 1. You can use Synology's Raid Calculator to help determine the best configuration for your setup.

BUT! I read that it has Read Only support for external drives running HFS+, how will that work with my stuff? I want reading and writing to work just like the HSF+ attached USB drives are. I also want time machine backups to work.

Yes it does and time machine backups will also also work on a Synolgy NAS.

Also, can I use the NAS without wired internet connection, and only have it wired via ethernet to the Mac mini? I guess I could have the NAS connected via USB but I heard that wasn't the way to go.

Yes but you cannot connect your NAS via USB to your Mac Mini. Instead connect both your Mac Mini and NAS to your router/switch via ethernet cable.

Anyone with experience regarding the Synology NASes with mac?

I have a 2011 Mac Mini which serves as a media server feeding four ATV's throughout my home. My iTunes library is stored on a Synology 1511+ Diskstation running five 2GB hard drives in a Raid 5 configuration, giving me 7.15GB of usable storage. I also have a 2nd 1511+ with identical configiration which I use as a backup machine. My Mac Mini and NAS Diskstations are connected via ethernet to the same 1GB switch. The ATV's are also hard wired via ethernet but I have used them wireless without issue.

Been using this setup since 2011 without issue. Both Synology Diskstations have worked flawlessly and have been extremely easy to use and maintain. They work perfectly with my Mac Mini and are accessible throughout my home network from all of my computers and laptops, which are all backed up to my Diskstations.

PS. If I connect the NAS to the Mac mini, can I still just do backups to one of the drives, just like if it were an external drive? I prefer to have the Mac mini "native" time machine, not the NAS third party software. I just want to use the NAS for space.

You cannot connect a Synology NAS via USB to your Mac Mini, like you would an external USB hard drive.

Hope this is of some help to you in making your decision.

Cheers,

Scott