NAS - my head is spinning

[Wyrmette]

So, I currently have 2 old NAS with a total of 4 500GB drives that I am afraid are nearing the end of their lifespan. I have almost 500GB of photos/videos and another 200GB of assorted files and such. (One of these setups was a gift) I cannot remember if these are SATA or IDE drives (that's how old these are).

We currently have 3 PCs all running Windows 7.

It was suggested to me that we look into a server option instead of a straight NAS, I have read the NAS guide (both long and short versions) but my head starts spinning after a bit. Plus those guides are a few years old at this point.

What I want, reliable, easily accessable (we frequently have trouble connecting to one of the NAS set ups) storage. I don't mind spending some time setting everything up - however I only have around $200, maybe $300 for the 'right' system.

Can someone give me some ideas for how to approach this? We have replaced all components of our Desktop system (motherboard, CPU, asst graphics/sound cards) so I'm not opposed to doing some work, but I can't wrap my head around how to make sense of the choices.

Thanks!

 

[thiggins]

The NAS introductory articles are old, but the principles still apply.

No need to go for a server, especially for home use. Small businesses are often going in the opposite direction (server > NAS).

Can't tell what your connection problems are without a lot more info. Could be NAS, could be the PCs, could be network issues.

Sounds like you have under 1 TB of storage needs. So even a single drive NAS would be fine, since there are 3TB drives now.

If the NAS is primary store, you'll need to back it up. You can go with a single drive NAS and either attached drive for backup or a second NAS for over-the-network backup.

For basic file sharing needs Buffalo, Iomega and WD diskful NASes are good values. If you want to spend more and want fancier features that you probably won't use, look at Synology and QNAP diskless single drive models.