Best NAS for Media Streaming...1TB+ of data

[DReborn]

Hey there,
I want to invest in a quality NAS to hold all of my media. I have about 150gb of music, 50gb of photos, and around 900gb of backed up DVD’s (I like to backup my dvd’s in full quality). I have Gigabit Router/Switch + cat 6 run around the house to stream all the media goodness.

As of now, I am running everything from my main machine but Im sure that is not the best option. I wanted to have a central server to hold all the big files and then all my machines can access it so my main machine doesn’t get constantly stressed.

My main concern in a NAS is expandability. I don’t want to get a sealed pre-made 1 or even 2tb NAS because who knows how much data I will have in a year or two. I don’t really need any fancy extra features like bittorrent, full linux environment, etc. In essence, I would like a 4 bay gigabit NAS that I could throw a few 1.5tb seagate’s into (are they still having those firmware issues?).

Second concern is backup. I never really understood RAID 1 from a backup standpoint. Seems that it just helps minimize downtime. But if you recommend it, I’ll do it. I also want to invest in an offsite backup solution and i was using Mozy but I hate how much it taxes my system when it uploads data so I was wondering if I could use an offsite backup solution that could run from the NAS? I know it will probably take months to initially backup the 1tb of my data but it will be worth it.

Lastly, I was thinking of the Thecus M3800 because I would love a simple way to watch all my back up'ed DVD's. I have a htpc but I really never use anything except to watch dvd's so id rather cut that out. I'd like the Thecus to have more than 3 bay's but what can u do...

thanks!

 

[thiggins]

Can't comment on the M3800's built-in video playing capability until Jim Buzbee beats on it (in progress) and writes up the review.

You may want to consider a NAS based on Windows Home Server. It's a great fit for your expandability requirements. And for offsite backup (and if you want to consider an off-the-shelf system) the new MediaSmart Server ex485 and ex487 can back up to Amazon S3.

 

[bliko]

DReborn: Which format are you storing your dvd backups in?

Tim: Is there any discount for amazon S3 when bought with this product?

 

[thiggins]

Tim: Is there any discount for amazon S3 when bought with this product?

None that I know of. No free trial either.

 

[DReborn]

first off, you guys rock and i can't believe I didn't know about this site earlier!

Thiggins, i have heard good things about the mediasmart server lines. Just was worried that I was paying too much for windows home server which was pretty much a sexy UI over stuff that I could do myself. Also was worried that it didn't have the expandability I wanted but that 487 + the amazon S3 backup kinda gets my excited...course with my 1TB and growing stock of media, S3 will start to get VERY expensive...$150 just to start out with the 1TB. Would rather have some sort of unlimited plan.

Right now, I am interested in the Thecus M3800, Thecus N7700 (seems like a great price for what it is), and the NetGear ReadyPro Pioneer. I know the M3800 is pretty much "outclassed" in every word by the bigger machines but of course it's less that half the costs.

I just like the 7700 and the NetGear because they look like the last NAS' I will ever have to buy for quite some time.

Bilko: I backup my dvd's in full Video TS/Audio TS (.vob) format

again thanks for all the replies!

 

[thiggins]

first off, you guys rock and i can't believe I didn't know about this site earlier!

How did you finally find us?

Before you go buying a seven or 8 bay NAS, remember that you still need backup. Power supplies and controllers fail and can/will blow your data away, RAID or not.

You really will be better off with multiple devices and a data storage strategy that includes backup and archiving. Everything costs something in time and/or money. You just need to figure out your needs and where you get your best bang for the buck.

 

[DReborn]

i think i finally did "NAS Reviews" in google and you guys came up. glad you did.

I feel like if I have a main NAS backup and an daily offsite backup I should be pretty good. but yes, ur right, I should take better care of my networking products and get a better UPS/Power setup. murphy's law does exist.

i always like it if one product can do the work of 3 so that's why I liked an all-in-one larger NAS. Having a 2 or 3 bay really only gives me 1.5tb since I'll probably run RAID 1 (unless I feel really confident about the offsite backup). And 1.5 tb just won't cut it for the future...

unless of course im just thinking about it all wrong. always possible =)

 

[bliko]

Also checkout the synology cs-407e:
http://www.synology.com/enu/products/CS407e/index.php

I've had many good experiences with this product, and it does what you are asking. It is however slightly more expensive than the competition, but worth it if you ask me.

To backup your nas you can either get a secondary nas, or connect external hard drives to your nas and shedule backups. The later is cheaper, and is more suited to what you are doing.

Incase your nas completely fails, you can simply plug the external drives into your pc and share them through windows untill your replacement nas and drives arrive.

Backing up that volume of data remotely will cost you whichever way you do it. Since it's not for business use, and you already have the physical dvd's; you have to ask yourself if it's really worth spending that much money on a remote backup.

If I was you I would just backup my family photos / home movies to a free remote backup service / some cheap shared hosting.

Nas/Media players in one device tend to compromise on atleast one of their functions. Another nas/media player is the popcorn hour A-110... ofcourse this does not meet your storage requirements, however it's pretty good at media playback. Kinda unrelated, but take a look anyway:
http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinest...og&task=info&item_id=6&main_id=0&category_id=

 

[thiggins]

i always like it if one product can do the work of 3 so that's why I liked an all-in-one larger NAS. Having a 2 or 3 bay really only gives me 1.5tb since I'll probably run RAID 1 (unless I feel really confident about the offsite backup). And 1.5 tb just won't cut it for the future..

With Terabyte(s) of data to back up, consumers are finding themselves where business were some time ago, i.e. a significant amount of data to serve...and protect. It's not an easy task and no one size fits all.

The problem with the single-product approach is the single point of failure. As I said, RAID is protection against disk failure. You still have power supplies and controllers as the components that can take out a RAID array if they fail at the wrong time.

Yes, a local NAS and an offsite backup would probably be ok. But, as you pointed out, storing Terabytes "in the cloud" can get expensive and there is also the time involved to upload and download data due to the more limited bandwidth.

As for backing up your DVDs to disk, you have to look at cost/benefit. Why are you backing them up? Fire and theft? Look into a fireproof lock box. Or why not just buy new copies?

I'm finding myself most frequently recommending single drive devices that can automatically rsync (Buffalo is probably the most affordable) or at most multiple RAID 1 systems. I like RAID 1 because mirrored data recovery (or attempted recovery) is easier than striped RAID formats and the products are more affordable. Add in offsite backup for selected files and you're in pretty good shape and won't break the bank.

 

[DReborn]

after backup my main concern is streaming my backed up reg def dvd's and eventually my backedup blu-ray.

will all of these NAS handle that alright? I would rather spend another for hundred for something that will be powerful enough to grow with with me. I won't really be "transferring" files all that much except when backing up. Mostly just streaming the movies.

thanks

 

[thiggins]

See this thread.

 

[DReborn]

hmm...so it seems like there's not really a BAD choice. question is do i go with a home server mediasmart or go with a non homeserver.

The syneology 4 bay devices look pretty nice as does the thecus and Netgear.

in the end, im going to be paying about $1,000 for NAS + Drives.

fun... =\

i mean, fun! =)

 

[DReborn]

sry, somewhat unrelated to my post but...WD releasing their 2tb green drive!!

awesome.

supposedly street price of only $224.