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Key SOHO step, NAS contenders are : Qnap Turbo, ReadyNAS NVX , Synology DS209+II

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ldesmar

Occasional Visitor
Hi Tim and all from SNB,
First .. congrat’s for this extremely informative site. I had been doing a lot or research to upgrade into a SOHO Network and was very glad I found SNB.com . It has given me a lot to ponder about but am getting there slowly. Am now considering my final NAS selection.

Network background: Have actually just ordered a new N Router after much research and waiting to receive it. It is the Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 Dual Band. It will be used to support some existing equipment (2 x Wifi N laptops + 1 Wifi G Laptop which may be upgraded later + 1 Wifi G All-In-One HP Printer which will remain) and also to manage the expected NAS Device(s) that need to be added into the mix :) The NAS’(es) will use 1000 Mbps ethernet connections to the new router.

After much reading, have now narrowed down the NAS candidates to 4 possibilities . However, I feel I need some more expert advice from SNB folks before making a final selection :confused: Here is what I have planned to use the NAS(es) for:
• There is 800 GB of valuable home data to be accessible for all the Home users (multiple formats including audio and video’s). The intention is to “share” this data via read to all but restrict the “write” to specific users only for this one. I am thinking I could use an existing 1TB USB HDD to hook into the NAS for scheduled incremental back-up’s of this data for the moment. I presume Back-up’s to USB HDD may be once/day or once/week. Does this make sense? I like the NAS-to-NAS back-up concept but am looking to do that at a future time to delay some costs if I can.

• Am planning to keep 150 GB (total) for NAS data for “2 approved users” only. Each user keeps their data local into a laptop as “primary storage” with the intention to keep a back-up copy into the NAS and make the data shareable to the approved users. I would like to set these back-up to NAS to be scheduled frequently to avoid risk of losses.

• The last remaining user is also using his laptop as the “primary storage” which should also be backed-up to the NAS under his own separate record. The storage capacity is this case can vary from 150 – 500 GB if we account for his external USB HDD used to extend total capacity. This data is not all “vital” if we need to make storage capacity trade-off’s!

• Audio/Video streaming: Am planning to use the NAS Device to stream audio/video for existing laptops via Wifi N (also G but only if feasible) and plan to run Ethernet wires (1000) to incorporate 2 X LCD HiDef TV’s to also access the NAS storage. Have not yet investigated the "boxes" that will be needed for the TV's. This one is not for immediate ...but want to anticipate it.

• Would like to add NAS-to-NAS back-up’s at a later time.

Here are the last few contenders for the NAS selection : Netgear ReadyNAS (NVX serie) , Qnap Turbo NAS (TS-459Pro or TS-239 Pro II) , Synology Disk Station (DS-209+II).
I am looking for advice on what will meet the above needs, be reliable and not require a lot of detailed technical manipulations. Am not shy of using well-done UI’s or digging into technical readings to understand settings, oermissions, configurations …but am not a “network expert” to take-on very complex techie set-up’s !

From what I read so far, it seems that ReadyNAS NVX may be the “easiest” for non-experts but is more expansive and seems less performant (in some aspects) than the other Qnap Pro or Pro II or the Synology DS-209+II.

Are there any features that some offer that really don’t matter in my case? The NAS Charts show a lot of different criteria’s and am getting confused as to which ones are important for my needs!

It seems that I could start with 2 X 2TB Drives in Raid 1 for now (using USB HDD for back-up’s). This suggests a 2-Bay NAS immediately or possibly a 4-Bay NAS (but still using 2 X 2TB drives) in Raid 1 to begin. I would also prefer to use “enterprise-level” drives even if they cost more … but am not clear if these are readily available in 2TB size dependant on the selected NAS.

Finally, am considering this NAS as a longer term investment , so would appreciate to know if any of the remaining contenders are getting a little too close to the end of their life-cycle.

Any help to highlight key differentiators would be great (am not looking for the least expensive but rather value for money).
 
Last edited:
Hi Tim and all from SNB,
First .. congrat’s for this extremely informative site. I had been doing a lot or research to upgrade into a SOHO Network and was very glad I found SNB.com . It has given me a lot to ponder about but am getting there slowly. Am now considering my final NAS selection.

Network background: Have actually just ordered a new N Router after much research and waiting to receive it. It is the Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 Dual Band. It will be used to support some existing equipment (2 x Wifi N laptops + 1 Wifi G Laptop which may be upgraded later + 1 Wifi G All-In-One HP Printer which will remain) and also to manage the expected NAS Device(s) that need to be added into the mix :) The NAS’(es) will use 1000 Mbps ethernet connections to the new router.

Congrats on the WNDR3700 purchase. Good choice.

After much reading, have now narrowed down the NAS candidates to 4 possibilities . However, I feel I need some more expert advice from SNB folks before making a final selection :confused: Here is what I have planned to use the NAS(es) for:
• There is 800 GB of valuable home data to be accessible for all the Home users (multiple formats including audio and video’s). The intention is to “share” this data via read to all but restrict the “write” to specific users only for this one. I am thinking I could use an existing 1TB USB HDD to hook into the NAS for scheduled incremental back-up’s of this data for the moment. I presume Back-up’s to USB HDD may be once/day or once/week. Does this make sense? I like the NAS-to-NAS back-up concept but am looking to do that at a future time to delay some costs if I can.

That should work. USB backup is fine but beware if using a Seagate FreeAgent. You'll need to disable the disk spindown option.

• Am planning to keep 150 GB (total) for NAS data for “2 approved users” only. Each user keeps their data local into a laptop as “primary storage” with the intention to keep a back-up copy into the NAS and make the data shareable to the approved users. I would like to set these back-up to NAS to be scheduled frequently to avoid risk of losses.

Everything sounds OK to me except for the sharing of backup data. Backups are NEVER meant to be shared and manipulated by other users. If you need shared data I'd recommend you create another share for that purpose.

• The last remaining user is also using his laptop as the “primary storage” which should also be backed-up to the NAS under his own separate record. The storage capacity is this case can vary from 150 – 500 GB if we account for his external USB HDD used to extend total capacity. This data is not all “vital” if we need to make storage capacity trade-off’s!

OK

• Audio/Video streaming: Am planning to use the NAS Device to stream audio/video for existing laptops via Wifi N (also G but only if feasible) and plan to run Ethernet wires (1000) to incorporate 2 X LCD HiDef TV’s to also access the NAS storage. Have not yet investigated the "boxes" that will be needed for the TV's. This one is not for immediate ...but want to anticipate it.

In theory if you have DLNA compliant TV's you should be able to play media files directly from the NAS. That said, I am finding DLNA to be a very loosely applied standard. Basically, it will take some experimentation to find a/v codecs that will play properly on some TV's. It may be better to use a box like the Netgear EVA9150 or similar.

• Would like to add NAS-to-NAS back-up’s at a later time.

Great. Or at the very least rotate a couple USB backup disks to make sure you have a good backup. Consider taking one offsite for security and protection in the event of fire, etc..

Here are the last few contenders for the NAS selection : Netgear ReadyNAS (NVX serie) , Qnap Turbo NAS (TS-459Pro or TS-239 Pro II) , Synology Disk Station (DS-209+II).
I am looking for advice on what will meet the above needs, be reliable and not require a lot of detailed technical manipulations. Am not shy of using well-done UI’s or digging into technical readings to understand settings, oermissions, configurations …but am not a “network expert” to take-on very complex techie set-up’s !

From what I read so far, it seems that ReadyNAS NVX may be the “easiest” for non-experts but is more expansive and seems less performant (in some aspects) than the other Qnap Pro or Pro II or the Synology DS-209+II.

Are there any features that some offer that really don’t matter in my case? The NAS Charts show a lot of different criteria’s and am getting confused as to which ones are important for my needs!

It seems that I could start with 2 X 2TB Drives in Raid 1 for now (using USB HDD for back-up’s). This suggests a 2-Bay NAS immediately or possibly a 4-Bay NAS (but still using 2 X 2TB drives) in Raid 1 to begin. I would also prefer to use “enterprise-level” drives even if they cost more … but am not clear if these are readily available in 2TB size dependant on the selected NAS.

Finally, am considering this NAS as a longer term investment , so would appreciate to know if any of the remaining contenders are getting a little too close to the end of their life-cycle.

Any help to highlight key differentiators would be great (am not looking for the least expensive but rather value for money).

First, based on the amount of storage you seem to need NOW, I would get a 4 bay model. At least you'll have room for expansion. That said, I have an NVX and like it very much. I have not used any current QNAP or Synology boxes so its not fair for me to comment. Both QNAP and Syno have done some very good things throughout 2009 and I'm impressed. For me, my NVX is solid and doesn't give me any trouble, Netgear has great forum support, US based phone support and a solid 5 year replacement warranty on the NVX Business Edition (Pioneer Edition is 3 year). See this link for a comparison of Readynas models and to see the difference between the NVX models. http://www.readynas.com/?cat=49

Also, yes there are a couple approved 2TB Enterprise disks. Netgear uses the WD RE4 and the Hitachi Ultrastar A7K2000. You can see the Readynas compatibility charts here: http://www.readynas.com/?cat=37

As far as ease of use and setup, I think you'll find all three NAS vendors to be fairly close to one another. Where Netgear shines is in their flexible backup tool which provides many options for the end user.

Good luck.

P.S. If you go for a diskless model make sure you use disks from the manufacturers approved list. Very important.
 
Selection made - QNAP TS 459 PRO ... now HDD confiuration question

Hi Claykin... I was away for a while and saw your comments from my post. Thanks very much for your response.

Here are the final results for the above: I just ordered the QNAP TS-459 PRO (diskless) and selected 2 X 2 TB WD Caviar Green (WD20EADS) to install initially. I saw that other users were happy with the results of this hard drive for my type of usage and commented they remained "cool" and "fairly quiet" which are important to me (had a bad experience with overheating and crashing my drive on PC before). I will be setting this pair in RAID1 and hope it all works as expected :confused:

I took note of your comment re: back-up's are never to be manipulated by different users and better to create a new "share" for the shared data ;) I will look to do that once I get delivery of the TS-459 PRO. Hope that the GUI for the config is friendly enough to walk me through the right steps:eek:

I have another question for the hard drives: Would I be able to add 2 more drives of a different make and size and create these as a "new pair" if i needed to? I understood from earlier readings that it is best to keep drives of the same brand/size when paired together for RAID ... but does this thinking extend to a "separate pair" as well ... ie: would not impact the first pair of Caviar Green 2 TB ?

FYI: Have been telling all my friends about SNB and the impressive amount of information available here. Great work from Tim Higgins and all contributors like yourself and so many others :)
 

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