Little help for a NAS NOOB??

[seruch]

First foray into NAS.
Current Network:
2 PC Laptops
1 Mac Laptop
1 Main PC
Wireless N and switch connecting these and two printers.
Currently, the Main PC has internal SSD for boot and programs, plus three other HDD drives.
2 of the HDD are:
1: dedicated backup
1: "Network Data" shared drive, where we put 90% of our data files. This includes itunes, as well as Word, Excel, Access, CorelDraw, etc, etc files

Would like to move the net data and backups to a NAS, partially for 24/7 access, while using less power. The main PC is used maybe 3 hours a day, and I can't justify leaving it on 24/7, to make sure the wife or kids can pull that Girl Scout Cookie spreadsheet we did last year, or to make scheduled backups.

Since I have drives, I would like to buy a NAS enclosure - diskless is great, to move the shared data and backups. With the Mac, Time Machine compatability is important.

Have to admit - never done RAID. I hear stories about data loss, and is somewhat concerning, but I don't know if this is the way I'm headed with this box, or what.
Nor have I set up any media sharing. DLNA means nothing to me, yet. itunes server sounds good - just don't know if I need it. Have focused looking at the Synology and QNAP 2 bay enclosures, but heck, I don't know what I really should be looking for. That' where your opinions are appreciated. Let me know the kind of box(es) and setup you would recommend.

THANX!
s

 

[stevech]

Sounds like a 2 bay would do fine. And you'll need a backup strategy: You could setup the two drives in the 2 bay to be independent volumes. So with two 2TB drives, you'd have 2TB of storage and a full duplicate backup. Since the two volumes are NOT RAID, if one drive fails, or one file system gets corrupted, the send drive is intact. With RAID, there is just one file system so that's a vulnerability that leads to needed another drive, external USB or eSATA, as backup.

Opinion: RAID is for large suites of drives, like 5+.

Being paranoid, I use the independent volume method and a USB3 drive that I take away for anti-theft reasons.

My choice was a synology DS212 (faster than a DS212j). Very pleased.

 

[s4one]

I would recommend the Thecus N2800, the reliability and performance that the NAS produces is outstanding due to the Intel Atom CPU. A perk would be the HDMI output located on the back, this the choice to use the N2800 as a centralized media hub.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

[seruch]

Update and further advice requested.
Current setup:
Main PC - internal 128G SSD, 500G Network data share (pics, iTunes, docs, video, etc) , 1TB Backup
2 PC laptops - inconsequential storage - These access net data share for data
1 Mac laptop - some storage, but it goes to college and back currently.

Purchased Zyxel NSA325. Will move the 1TB backup drive to it.
Will also move all the shared data from the 500G internal to a newly purchased 1G WD Blue in the NAS. Anticipate leaving drives as seperate, not RAID.

Here's my thoughts and questions.
When I move the network data to the new share on the NAS, if I retain the same volume name and folder structures for my netdata, will I have to do anything to tell iTunes?
I anticipate scheduling backups from my PC and laptops straight to the NAS Backup drive, but what is recommended to backup the shared network data on the NAS? Can I bounce a copy of that to a spare drive in the PC tower? Or do I lose data security if I backup the network data share on the NAS to the other drive on the NAS?
Want to be able to access the net data share from outside through the web.

Any recommendations on best sequence of steps? Go gentle -- I'm new at NAS setup......

I know not to put a drive with data into the NAS, so I can use some of the smaller drives to serve as intermediate data sloggers. Your thoughts, time, and expertise is appreciated

 

[rdbruski]

Update and further advice requested.
Current setup:
Main PC - internal 128G SSD, 500G Network data share (pics, iTunes, docs, video, etc) , 1TB Backup
2 PC laptops - inconsequential storage - These access net data share for data
1 Mac laptop - some storage, but it goes to college and back currently.

Purchased Zyxel NSA325. Will move the 1TB backup drive to it.
Will also move all the shared data from the 500G internal to a newly purchased 1G WD Blue in the NAS. Anticipate leaving drives as seperate, not RAID.

Here's my thoughts and questions.
When I move the network data to the new share on the NAS, if I retain the same volume name and folder structures for my netdata, will I have to do anything to tell iTunes?
I anticipate scheduling backups from my PC and laptops straight to the NAS Backup drive, but what is recommended to backup the shared network data on the NAS? Can I bounce a copy of that to a spare drive in the PC tower? Or do I lose data security if I backup the network data share on the NAS to the other drive on the NAS?
Want to be able to access the net data share from outside through the web.

Any recommendations on best sequence of steps? Go gentle -- I'm new at NAS setup......

I know not to put a drive with data into the NAS, so I can use some of the smaller drives to serve as intermediate data sloggers. Your thoughts, time, and expertise is appreciated

I have a similar small home network and also wanted to move everything to a NAS. I went with the Synology Ds212j. If I'd had the money, I'd have gone to the DS212 for faster throughput. The 212j for us is PERFECT though.

As for a backup strategy, if you use your NAS as the master hard drive for your network, why would you need to backup from your PC's? There shouldn't be any files on your PC's. The beauty of having a NAS is it is great for being a centralized place for storage. Everyone on the network moves their stuff to the NAS and ONLY writes/reads files there. No need for a PC backup. The only thing on the PC I might backup is my browser favorites and maybe some game save files. I use Chrome, so my favorites are in the cloud, so theoretically, no need to back them up.

For me, I just attached an external hard drive via the USB port and run a backup automatically every night. I thought about putting a 2nd hard drive in the NAS and run the backup to the second hard drive, but I have an extra external, so its cheaper that way. And yes, backing up to a second HD in the NAS does increase risk. If your NAS dies, you can't get to either of your hard drives. With an external USB backup, if the NAS dies, you can still get to your backup.

As for itunes, you just need to move them to the a shared directory on the NAS. Then, on each computer, hold the SHIFT key and double click on the itunes icon. This will open a window to point to the new library location on the NAS. DONE. Simple as that. However, BEFORE anyone on the network launches iTunes, they need to make sure they are logged into the NAS or iTunes won't find the library.

I hope this helps!