NAS options

[GhostMjr]

Hi Guys,

So I haven't ever bought a nas before as they've always been a bit expensive.

I currently have to have a computer on to access my usb drives whilst I am away from my desk.

Which isn't really the cheapest option on power.

So is the best option to buy a nas cradle or a usb to nas converter to get one of my usb drivers nas ready? The latter is only £20-£30 on ebay.

I guess one power supply for the converter and one for the drive defeats the object of being cheap in the long-term.

I am looking for the most efficient method I guess.

Also it needs to be whisper quiet no fan noise etc.

Any ideas?

As a side note do Nas's have windows? or something else?

Thanks for your help!

GM

[kregoron]

Im the happy owner of a Synology DS209, its been running rock solid for the last 2 years and never caused any problems what so ever..
its happily handling 45mb/sec over my Gigabit lan (limited by the disks)

Its running a linux core by synology

[T-Bag]

I've got a Zyxel NAS 220 Plus. As far as quietness goes it is, the drives on the other hand aren't, so when I set torrents going I can still hear the drives spin, but if it's for USB storage then there's no problem, there is a fan to keep the HDDs quiet, but it doesn't keep me up and is positioned to keep the drives cool, not the CPU from what I can tell.

There is space for 2x2TB 3.5" SATA drives and 2 USB ports for connecting pen drives, printers, SD cards (via adapters) etc.

It has a modest processor so uses next to no power (didn't show up on a power monitor when we were checking everything to minimise power usage in the house) so 10-20 watts max.

It uses a form of Linux, there are plenty of guides to access the full linux kernel and control it via SSH etc. Though I haven't bothered.

It can talk to services like DynDNS, use bit torrent, act as a print server, one button copy/backup (user controllable in software), DLNA server, Squeezebox server, Itunes server, etc etc.

Does all the basics, it is worth it for me for the bit torrent alone. The client is a bit basic but supports IP filtering, scheduling and other useful features but has limited options selecting priorities of files inside a torrent (ie selecting the first episode to download first, or not downloading the second half of the season etc).

If you just need to access it over the internet via FTP that should be simple...though the 15mins I spent trying to do it with a IP forwarding service didn't work...not sure what I was doing with my router settings.

[DrunkenZombiee]

I have a Synology 410j with 4x2Tb drives in RAID 5. That gives me 6 TB of space with 1 disk redundancy.

I use it everyday for DLNA media stuff, FTP, Squeezebox server for the Mrs, SAMBA file shares, SVN repo's and there are a lot of features I am not using like HTTP sever with SQL, PHP etc... Mail sever... security cams over IP.. torrent software... USENET client software... Download redirectors and a million and one other things.

IT basically run linux so the sky is the limit.

I would highly recommend.

DZ

[kregoron]

I have a Synology 410j with 4x2Tb drives in RAID 5. That gives me 6 TB of space with 1 disk redundancy.

I use it everyday for DLNA media stuff, FTP, Squeezebox server for the Mrs, SAMBA file shares, SVN repo's and there are a lot of features I am not using like HTTP sever with SQL, PHP etc... Mail sever... security cams over IP.. torrent software... USENET client software... Download redirectors and a million and one other things.

IT basically run linux so the sky is the limit.

I would highly recommend.

DZ

How much data is yours able to transfer?

Planning to replace mine with either a Synology 4 Slot or a Qnap 4 slot in the near future..

[BrotherTobious]

My work mate has one of these and it is most impressive we use to stream his music connection to our office for Friday mornings

[DrunkenZombiee]

Transfer speed isn't great (about 56mb for small files read and 27mb write on a RAID 5 array of 4 disks) on my model as it only has an 800 mhz processor and 128 RAM. The upgraded one (which annoyingly came out a couple of months after I bought mine) which is now the norm is a 1.2Ghz processor 256 RAM and the speeds are a lot better.

Its my little workhorse though and I love it. It would be great if I could add more RAM as that seems to be the only limitation.

I would highly recommend getting the upgraded one to anyone with the more horsepower as its the same price.

DZ

[GhostMjr]

Great thanks for the tips guys.

They're coming up around £200 ish and can't really justify that at the moment.

Should I try one of those usb to nas converters first or hold out for a proper nas?

[Jamin]

The usb to lan adapters are slow but unless you are moving large files around, they are good enough to play mp3s and sd movies over a lan, FTP is a bit quicker.

As a side note do Nas's have windows? or something else?

Thanks for your help!

GM

Cheap ones usually use Linux, you only see the interface when configuring,  then they appear in your network places as folders. Anything newer that windows xp will give you a few login problems if you password protect the nas, as ms upgraded the security policy so you may have to do some windows hacking to get it to work.

I have a cheap (£30) Safecom nas at my parents with three network cameras ftp-ing pictures into it that's been on for over five years without fault. I have another cheap one I used to use as a media server but I use my old Asus eee now as it uses bugger all power, has a built in uninterruptible power supply and can do anything a nas can but better and more.

[T-Bag]

Great thanks for the tips guys.

They're coming up around £200 ish and can't really justify that at the moment.

Should I try one of those usb to nas converters first or hold out for a proper nas?

http://www.ebuyer.com/283921-zyxel-nsa310-2tb-1x-2tb-nas-drive-91-016-007009b

Not the one I've got but has all the same features (except only one drive bay), and not as fancy as the ones the other guys have, but more features than the simple ones.

http://www.ebuyer.com/184896-zyxel-nsa-210-1-bay-network-storage-appliance-bestseller-price-91-016-015003b

If you get that one you can put your own drive in it when you have the money.

They are budget NAS's but get the job done and the software keeps getting supported by both Zyxel and a modding community. Certainly worth a look... Same with this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/152055-buffalo-linkstation-live-1tb-nas-drive-ls-ch1-0tl

Feature wise it looks reasonable and barely more expensive than a standard 1TB at the moment (Prices have rocketed in general due to flooding in Taiwan).

[kregoron]

Im currently planning for a upgrade of my NAS unit over the next month or so, depends if i buy a new car (if my current is to old to worth fixing)
Id be selling of my old unit if it has any interest

[GhostMjr]

How about one of these?

http://www.ebuyer.com/283921-zyxel-nsa310-2tb-1x-2tb-nas-drive-91-016-007009b

Or I run an old laptop instead?

[Gorion]

That price is a steal, an oem wd green 2TB drive costs 135 sterling by itself at the moment (overclockers.co.uk).

That NaS is selling for 115.