Help me choose please :)

[j4jaymin]

Hey guys

I am very new to NAS's. I am looking to purchase but I have some questions. Would it be a good idea to buy a diskless one and plug in an external HDD via USB 3 without any internal drives? (is this even possible?)

I am looking at this one (attach a 1TB external toshiba HDD via USB 3.0, internal available for future HDD):
NETGEAR ReadyNAS 100 Series 2-Bay Diskless Network Attached Storage (RN10200)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BNI4A90/?tag=snbforums-20

or would it be better to go for this (only a little more with a 2TB internal drive-only 1 bay):
Seagate Business Storage 1-Bay 2TB Network Attached Storage (STBM2000100)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5Q7AIS/?tag=snbforums-20

Thanks for the help guys. Please excuse my nooby ness.

 

[stevech]

non-DIY, you should post in the NAS section.
The top level of this web site has NAS reviews.
Definitely not Seagate NAS. Netgear, I elected to avoid for many reasons.

Many of us, me included, use/recommend either Synology or QNAP, and perhaps you need no more than a 2 bay such as the DS212 or newer.

 

[j4jaymin]

non-DIY, you should post in the NAS section.
The top level of this web site has NAS reviews.
Definitely not Seagate NAS. Netgear, I elected to avoid for many reasons.

Many of us, me included, use/recommend either Synology or QNAP, and perhaps you need no more than a 2 bay such as the DS212 or newer.

Thanks for the reply. My apologies for posting in the wrong section.

After my frantic post above I did some research and ordered a Synology DS213J. I played around with the DSM demo and liked the setup.

I have a question. I am currently using a 10/100 ADSL router (zyxel from Century Link). It seems like slow speeds is a big issue with NAS's. So should i upgrade to a gigabit router?

What does that really mean? the speed between the NAS and router is a gigabit a second? Does that mean that my wireless cards on each of my computers needs to support 1g/s transfer rates also (if so how can i check that they do)?

I only plan on using it over WIFI and not wired. So would it make a difference then to have a gigabit router?

Hope you can help.

Thanks

 

[stevech]

I'd get a gigabit ethernet switch. Connect your PCs to the switch, and the NAS to the switch, and the switch to your router. This way, your router's built in switch is not the bottleneck. The WAN side of your router is limited by your ISP's speed that you pay for.

Speed in routers - overstated... moving lots of small files as is typical is limited by file/disk overhead, not the network.

moving data from NAS to pc via WiFi is limited by WiFi speeds which is foremost based on distance/walls, then on the PC's WiFi goodness.

 

[saulos]

I agree with Stevech, I can just tell you my experience with QNAP I own a 209 for many years and is still working ok, the same for the QNAP 119+ no regret on all the QNAP product very solid and problem free. But now I just got a Synology DS713+ it seem a good product and also the price was OK hope it will work as the QNAP
So if you find a good deal on the DS 213j I'm sure it's a good choise and as Stevech tell you get also a 10-100-1000 hub it will speed up all your internal network .

 

[j4jaymin]

I agree with Stevech, I can just tell you my experience with QNAP I own a 209 for many years and is still working ok, the same for the QNAP 119+ no regret on all the QNAP product very solid and problem free. But now I just got a Synology DS713+ it seem a good product and also the price was OK hope it will work as the QNAP
So if you find a good deal on the DS 213j I'm sure it's a good choise and as Stevech tell you get also a 10-100-1000 hub it will speed up all your internal network .

hmm i see. I dont plan on hooking up any computers via LAN directly to the router/switch because they are all laptops.

I also dont plan on transfering large files back and forth too often. Mainly I will use it for download station and as a media server over WIFI (WLAN) not over the internet.

Will the speeds achieved via WIFI (NAS hooked up to gigabit router) be enough to stream media to my PC's/ps3 etc. over WLAN?

 

[saulos]

As Stevech briefly explained usually WIFI speed is lower than cable, it depend on the kind of WIFI you have, for example I have a 5Gz AC router and teoretically I can get 1200 mb/sec but my MacBook Pro is not up to that and the max speed I can get is only 450 mb/sec compared to the 1000 mb/sec I can get if connected by wire and all these number are teoretically .
I think for stream it will be OK at list for the PS3 for your laptop/PC it depend on the wifi installed but if is not very old it will be OK.

 

[j4jaymin]

As Stevech briefly explained usually WIFI speed is lower than cable, it depend on the kind of WIFI you have, for example I have a 5Gz AC router and teoretically I can get 1200 mb/sec but my MacBook Pro is not up to that and the max speed I can get is only 450 mb/sec compared to the 1000 mb/sec I can get if connected by wire and all these number are teoretically .
I think for stream it will be OK at list for the PS3 for your laptop/PC it depend on the wifi installed but if is not very old it will be OK.

Okay. I guess I will have to wait and see. I may need a router upgrade as the current one is 10/100 802.11 a/b/g .. I have a late 2007 macbook (white) which I think can support 802.11 n so I think a n router will help?

Still waiting for amazon to ship it. I ordered it on the 4th but they havnt shipped it yet lol. Waiting impatiently.

 

[stevech]

streaming video on WiFi... if'y unless you have an access point in the same room as the viewing device - or nearly so. Needs a really good signal, and no neighbors that are streaming HD on a channel near yours.

 

[saulos]

Okay. I guess I will have to wait and see. I may need a router upgrade as the current one is 10/100 802.11 a/b/g .. I have a late 2007 macbook (white) which I think can support 802.11 n so I think a n router will help?

Still waiting for amazon to ship it. I ordered it on the 4th but they havnt shipped it yet lol. Waiting impatiently.

Yes you need a 802.11 n wifi AP or router to get the best speed and hope to don't have many near by WIFI network