Buying a decent Nas Drive

[admin_exported]

I am looking to purchase a NAS drive and would like some advice on which to purchase, my requirements are.

1-2 TB Disk space

Fairly compact in size as it will sit under a set of drawers with my router

thats it really - i will mainly use it for storage but it would be nice to know if there are some other features which i am probably not aware of that i could use it for.

 

[Scissor_digits]

I can highly recommend mine. You buy it without disks then chose from a list of tested compatible drives to install which gives you the flexibility as to how much storage you have and whether or not to configure RAID.

It's fairly compact for a 2 drive box at 161 x 88 x 218mm

As for features, I'll just say check Synology's website.

The new OS - DSM 3.0 was a much needed update which makes it more user friendly but I would still say a fair amount of computer literacy is required to get the most out of this NAS

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that Just had a look. Nice bit of kit and i think it might just do the job.

 

[roger06]

I'm tempted by one of these. Seems to get very good reviews.

 

[bigboss]

roger06:I'm tempted by one of these. Seems to get very good reviews.

I've owned this for more than 10 months now (with Amazon kindly reminding me that I bought this item on 31st Dec 2009 when I clicked your link!). Has worked flawlessly so far.

 

[Tonestar1]

I bought a Netgear Stora as it has the functionality to add a second drive to run Raid 0. A few problems setting up but pretty much fine after two nights of messing around. Think this was due to lack of Mac support though. Since then I've not even noticed it's there, it just works which is the mark of a good piece of hardware in my book.

Bigboss, surely there must have been better things to be doing on Hogmanay???

 

[bigboss]

Tonestar1:

Bigboss, surely there must have been better things to be doing on Hogmanay???

Just saving on VAT rise from 1st Jan

 

[roger06]

bigboss:
roger06:I'm tempted by one of these. Seems to get very good reviews.

I've owned this for more than 10 months now (with Amazon kindly reminding me that I bought this item on 31st Dec 2009 when I clicked your link!). Has worked flawlessly so far.

Hmm I'm tempted. Especially as I got emailed a £10 Amazon certificate today (as I use their credit card) - so would only cost me £95...

 

[PJPro]

I'm using the building of my extension as an opportunity to put in a CAT6, gigabit network. I'm putting a 12U rack up in the loft to hold a 48 port patch panel and switch amongst other things. I'm also considering buying a nice rack mounted NAS. This one from QNAP looks cool but will probably go for something slightly cheaper like this one.

Of course, with this sort of storage capacity (8TB?) it'll be a real temptation to hold all of my movies centrally and access them using the trusty WDTVLive. In fact, they're cheap enough to have them all over the house...and I probably will for music.

 

[Scissor_digits]

You can squeeze a helluva lot of kit into 12U but do you really need a 48 port patch panel as well as a 48 port switch? Surely with the switch mounted in the middle of your rack there would be no need for the patch panel as well.

8TB of data. I hope you've got a good backup solution for that. Watch out for the stuff that promises to de-dupe but doesn't. I won't name names but a quick google search will point towards the jokers in the pack.

 

[roger06]

Hope your loft is free of damp and rodents !

 

[scene]

roger06:
Hope your loft is free of damp and rodents !

And wasps and bees!

Though I assume you're building a boot room off a loft extension - I look forward to seeing the pictures of this in due course

 

[PJPro]

Scissor_digits:
You can squeeze a helluva lot of kit into 12U but do you really need a 48 port patch panel as well as a 48 port switch? Surely with the switch mounted in the middle of your rack there would be no need for the patch panel as well.

Yeah, I thought that. But it's easier to terminate solid core on a patch panel rather than using RJ45 plugs. It might also allow "clever" options later. And for the sake of £40, the patch panel looked like a good option.

Scissor_digits:
8TB of data. I hope you've got a good backup solution for that.

Err no. One thing at a time, eh. I have a comprehensive backup route at the moment using fours separate HDD, with one stored off the premises. But, as you imply, it's gonna be a bit tricky with 8TBs of storage! I'll probably just backup the most precious files i.e. picture of the kids, movies of the kids, the scanned kids art and music.

Scissor_digits:
Watch out for the stuff that promises to de-dupe but doesn't. I won't name names but a quick google search will point towards the jokers in the pack.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean.

 

[PJPro]

roger06:
Hope your loft is free of damp and rodents !

Damp yes. Rodents maybe. But then, I'd be more worried about them chewing through the twin and earth which'll also be routed through the loft rather than my CAT 6.

I think the biggest issue will be the heat. It tends to get a bit hot in the loft during the summer and having a load of kit up there won't help. And I'd rather avoid putting in venting to the outside.

 

[PJPro]

scene:roger06:
Hope your loft is free of damp and rodents !

And wasps and bees!

Though I assume you're building a boot room off a loft extension - I look forward to seeing the pictures of this in due course

No room, just the rack and a load of guttering to act as cable trays. Again, heat would be the main concern....although a patch panel, a switch and a few other bits shouldn't be a problem. A large rack mounted NAS be.

I'm not intending to do pictures. I thought the forum had tired of my lengthy, self indulgent threads.

 

[scene]

No.

You might want to consider some of the reflective plasticized foil insulation you can get. You stick it up under the joists and it helps reduce thecsolar heating effect that's responsible for a lot of the increase in heat in the summer.

 

[PJPro]

No?

Hmm. Had considered insulating the loft but was a tad worried about condensation. The loft is completely unventilated.

 

[scene]

PJPro:No?
No we're not bored, well I'm not. But then again, maybe I've got a high threshold of boredom

Hmm. Had considered insulating the loft but was a tad worried about condensation. The loft is completely unventilated.
Fair worry. It's relatively easy to retrofit ventilation, either by replacing some of the roof tiles / slates with vents, or by fitting soffit vents. Should have ventilation anyway, otherwise you risk damp problems, I need to sort out some in my loft, it gets da p in the winter...

 

[PJPro]

Hmm. This roof has just been built. Like last week. I thought they'd vent the soffits but they didn't. That said I do have curvy roof tiles and I suspect that enough air gets around them to vent the loft. If I insulate, I'll remove that ventilation. Besides, venting the soffits only really achieves anything if you also have venting in the ridge. I do have a gable wall. Maybe I can do something with that?

 

[scene]

I've got a roof with curvy roof tiles, but I still get damp

You're rig of course, soffit vents need some other ventilation to get a through draught. Vent brocks in a gable wall are a good idea, but make sure to fit insect mesh over the inside. My loft gets up to 45oC in the summer, which is pushing it for consumer electronics, when you allow for the devices' own thermal impact. I actually think cold and damp in the winter, especially if you have loft insulation, i.e. Rock wool between the rafters, is a bigger issue.

 

[Anonymous]

You could line the roof below the rafters with something like Superquilt. We have lined our loft with this stuff and it keeps the loft at a fairly constant temperature throughout the year.