Asustor 5104 vs Synology 415+

[penyekz]

Guys, I need advice on which of these 2 brands to go for. I am a NAS virgin but that said, I would also call myself a power PC user.

I have been reading and reading various reviews but find it hard to come to a decision.
I found the Asustor to have the best performance but I am concerned regarding the software. Everyone says Synology DSM is great with minimal issues. Not much has been said about Asustor's ADM.

My other concern is regarding Synology's hybrid RAID. It seems good when running anything more than 2 bays with minimal loss of space. I can't see if Asustor has something similar... Is it only RAID 5?

My main uses would be as a media storage device and "cloud storage device". I would also use the surveillance station for my 2 network cameras.

I'm leaning towards Asustor just because of the performance and RAM upgrade ability. I'm concerned that Asustor's ADM is not as matured as Synology's DSM.

I would really appreciate some advice.

 

[stevech]

Synology. Or QNAP. Only.
Don't rely on RAID.
Must have: USB3 2TB or more for backup.
You can probably do well with a 2 bay and save a lot.

 

[penyekz]

Thanks for your replies.

Why do you say Synology or Qnap only? Is Asustor not ready for prime time yet? Software ADM issues? Please share your experience.

SNB has listed the 5104 as #2. But I'm more keen on real world experience rather than possibly "sponsored" reviews.

 

[stevech]

Those two companies are best of breed. All they do is NAS.
ASUS is a great high tech company. But like Netgear and many others, NAS products don't have the depth of and mature software of Synology and QNAP.
In consumer/SOHO NAS, it's all about the software.

A complaint with SNB is they over-focus on raw speed/performance - and tend to be myopic on transfer rates. In real applications, with lots of small files being accessed, there is more. But again, mostly it's about the NAS software - ease of use, support, good and multiple backup utilities, streaming media and on and on.

Tried the on-line demos of Synology and QNAP? Does ASUS have one?
I respect and use ASUS WiFi routers.

Reduce your risk by choosing one of the two recommended.
I chose Synology years ago and it's been all I expected and more and problem free. I rely on it and external backup media for my personal financies and my consultancy work.

 

[L&LD]

Just want to back up stevech 100% with his recommendations. I personally run QNAP for myself and my customers. Other wannabe NAS vendors have a long way to go.

 

[penyekz]

I guess another factor would be the warranty. Asustor provides 3 years warranty vs Synology's 2 years.

The synology surveillance station has 2 camera license vs Asustor's 4 license.



Asustor does have an online demo:
http://www.asustor.com/live_demo?lan=en

But not having used any NAS before, I really can't compare the 2.

Anyone here used Asustor before?

 

[stevech]

I looked for user reviews on Newegg - none.

Asustor is a fairly new player in NASes - maybe 1-2 years.

 

[L&LD]

I guess another factor would be the warranty. Asustor provides 3 years warranty vs Synology's 2 years.

The synology surveillance station has 2 camera license vs Asustor's 4 license.



Asustor does have an online demo:
http://www.asustor.com/live_demo?lan=en

But not having used any NAS before, I really can't compare the 2.

Anyone here used Asustor before?

Regarding warranty, new players will offer seemingly better warranty than competitors just to get a foot in the door. But that does not mean all warranty offers are the same.

Same with features, such as the license's you describe.

Unknown nas player with longer warranty and better features may or may not be the cheapest unit in the long run.

If you jump on this knowing the possible pitfalls, I can't fault your thinking. But if you believe that QNAP or Synology have been bettered at this time? I think you may (possibly) be in for a rude awakening.

 

[iunlock]

Edit: Sorry title supposed to be Asustor 5104 vs Synology 415+

Guys, I need advice on which of these 2 brands to go for. I am a NAS virgin but that said, I would also call myself a power PC user.

I have been reading and reading various reviews but find it hard to come to a decision.
I found the Asustor to have the best performance but I am concerned regarding the software. Everyone says Synology DSM is great with minimal issues. Not much has been said about Asustor's ADM.

My other concern is regarding Synology's hybrid RAID. It seems good when running anything more than 2 bays with minimal loss of space. I can't see if Asustor has something similar... Is it only RAID 5?

My main uses would be as a media storage device and "cloud storage device". I would also use the surveillance station for my 2 network cameras.

I'm leaning towards Asustor just because of the performance and RAM upgrade ability. I'm concerned that Asustor's ADM is not as matured as Synology's DSM.

I would really appreciate some advice.

The Asustor was also on my short list, however, upon playing with the user interface and looking at the overall picture other than just hardware, it quickly fell off my short list.

I'd recommend QNAP over Synology, but that's just my opinion. QNAP offers more for the buck and has the reputation to back it up. Not that Synology doesn't, but at the end of the day the scales always have tipped in favor of QNAP.

 

[thiggins]

Contrary to what you may read, there ARE other viable NAS vendors other than QNAP and Synology. Both make good products, but have relatively small market share compared to NETGEAR, WD and others.

ASUSTOR is a newer player and is emphasizing value to gain share. If support is important to you, check their forums for topics and tone.

ASUSTOR doesn't have an automatic RAID system. But they do support RAID expansion and migration.

BTW, many of the key people in ASUSTOR came from QNAP.

Disclosure: My main NAS is a WD MyBook Live that has worked just fine for many years. All I rely on it to do is be a backup target and automatically back up once a day to a old single-bay Synology NAS. I occasionally use WD MyCloud to retrieve files remotely.

 

[iunlock]

Contrary to what you may read, there ARE other viable NAS vendors other than QNAP and Synology. Both make good products, but have relatively small market share compared to NETGEAR, WD and others.

ASUSTOR is a newer player and is emphasizing value to gain share. If support is important to you, check their forums for topics and tone.

ASUSTOR doesn't have an automatic RAID system. But they do support RAID expansion and migration.

BTW, many of the key people in ASUSTOR came from QNAP.

Disclosure: My main NAS is a WD MyBook Live that has worked just fine for many years. All I rely on it to do is be a backup target and automatically back up once a day to a old single-bay Synology NAS. I occasionally use WD MyCloud to retrieve files remotely.

Before I comment, I just want to mention that I too am an owner of 2x WD DL4100 (24TB) and have upgraded both to 6GB of RAM. But not for long.

Mind you this is the "Business Series Line from WD" which is suppose to accommodate a Business I would assume? However, it falls short to even be considered Business anything and is only good for Personal use at best. WD in my opinion is not a viable option for someone who is looking for a serious NAS. They are just a marketing monster just trying to dip into the market and honestly they have been extremely successful with owning the majority of the market share for NAS's. They are cheap, affordable and can satisfy most people with their basic NAS needs. WD has excellent products like their Red Drives, but you can't say the same for their "under powered," NAS's.

In regard to the OP's needs, maybe it'll do, but anything beyond basics that require real horsepower & torque such as simultaneous streaming (transcoding) or any heavy demands in general, forget it. It's dinky 1.7GHz Atom processor 'ain't' going to cut it and it doesn't. Trust me I know.

This is why I am selling both units. I've made a great mistake with buying a WD NAS and until they can beef up their NAS, having both the words, "WD + NAS," will always remain an oxymoron.

So for the OP, if your uses will not change (light use only) and you're darn sure of it then the WD DL4100 may suite you well. I'd highly recommend, but nothing below the DL2100 or DL4100 line. However, if you even have an ounce of doubt as to whether you might need more power later, don't waste your money on WD and just save a little more to buy a real NAS.

I forgot to ask the most important question, "What is your budget?" - This can narrow down a lot of choices.

By the way, you see the majority here recommending QNAP and Synology, because they are real NAS's and for a very good reason. I know a lot of people will be tickled at me saying real NAS, but come on... if you're honest with yourself, you can't sit there and convince yourself that WD or other 'poster brain' companies can stack up to the big boys.

Asustor was on my short list, but quickly fell off for varies reasons. Yes, they have strong hardware, but something is just missing....it is not as well polished as the major players mentioned above. The user interface is a direct knock off of QNAP to a point where it is ridiculous. It's such a rip off of the design with no originality. Shame on the former QNAP runaways, you should have at least implemented your own look to establish your own personality for the brand. This to me was a major let down giving me the feeling of, "oh great, another Chinese knock off."

So in short, the good news is that there is something for everyone. Let us know your budget.

Cheers