NAS or DIY Server

[mjf_uk]

NAS or DIY Server?

I currently used a few 2TB HDD's that I have ripped some of my Blu-Rays onto. I do a 1:1 copy, usually by folder. Now that Hard Drive prices are getting back to a reasonable level, I want to continue what I started.

I've been using the HDD's in a dock attached by eSata to my Media Player. This has been okay, but swapping HDD's is a little inconvenient and I'm also concerned that when I power down the dock I'm not really shutting down the HDD's properly. So for ease of use and peace of mind, I'd like to put them in a Server or NAS.

I intend to have a 1:1 backup so I won't be using RAID, which I guess is a bit of a waste of the many features of a NAS. My main concern is getting a decent read/write speed over my network. I know that I can build my own Server and just throw a load of disks in it and it will probably do for now. It will also be around half the price of a decent 8-day NAS. But will it offer the same performance?

I'm considering the Synology DS1812+ or possibly the DS2413+. They appear to offer a transfer speed of around 100MB/s, which doesn't seem to be possible with a DIY build.

Whichever option I choose, I'll probably go with the 3TB WD Red drives.

Any advice please?

 

[stevech]

I'd base the selection on decent speed (50MBps or more) but more heavily weight the feature set in the NAS software.
Try the on-line demos at the web sites for Synology and QNAP.

 

[mjf_uk]

I'd base the selection on decent speed (50MBps or more) but more heavily weight the feature set in the NAS software.
Try the on-line demos at the web sites for Synology and QNAP.

Thanks. For my usage, I don't think any NAS software is going to offer me any benefits over a DIY Server. All HDD's will be shared separately and backed up manually. For the moment I only really need to stream Movies to one Media Player, but that might become 2 at a later date. So as long as I can stream 2 Full-HD Movies at the same time, that's all I really need.

The way that I'm looking at things at the moment is that with a Synology NAS, I'm guaranteed a decent read/write speed and I can add on to them if I need more drives. But it comes at a premium.