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Nas to be or not to be ?

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MrJapan

New Around Here
Hy,

I was running around the web and of course SNB, but I'm still not sure what to choose. (to be read I don't know what I need).
I have a wired network at home between my master pc -amd phenom II x3 720 with only 500Gb HDD, 1 PS3 wired, 1 WDtv Live wired, and some wireless gadgets including 2 laptops and other stuff.
I am a big fan of movies and music also. So, I need a method to backup all the movies i want - HD most of them - and a lot of lossless audio tracks.
I found this Sitecom MD-253 Home Storage Center and I thought I'll put inside a Seagate 2TB HDD and then add another one, when its full. Is this a reliable option for me, or to be more specific - do I really need a NAS solution or should I use HDDs added on eSATA to my Master-PC.

I am realyy dizzy. I really need some clues here. Thx in advance.
 
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hanging an esata drive off your main pc would be a very simple way to start.

This would of course require you leaving the pc on all the time that you want to access the files on it.

For backup you could add a 2nd esata drive and copy the files using any number of sync/copy programs or xcopy.

if you manage to fill your drive(s) up, and/or you want a centralized storage device (a NAS), I would recommend keeping to the big name brands like netgear, qnap, synology, etc.

I use all netgear readynas devices and am pretty happy with them, but there are plenty of other choices.
 
Thx.

My Master PC is always on (utorrent on it and other media servers for PS3 and Iphone), so it wouldn't bother me to add a seagate 2TB HDD. As you said, this is a good way to start. What will be the second step? Another 2TB HDD ? :)
 
simply? yes

at some point you may start having a collection larger than a single drive.

then you may want to look into a dependable 4 bay style nas, especially ones that can expand for the future.

if your looking for specific recommendations, I would recommend either:

readynas nv+ (cheap, very low cpu power, older generation, but very stable, 20-30mbs xfers)
readynas ultra 4 (new, not so cheap, modern efficient atom cpu, powerful enough, 50-80mbs xfers)

either of these devices (or other similar 4 bay nas) will net you about 5.5 tb if you put 4x 2tb drives in them.
 
"either of these devices (or other similar 4 bay nas) will net you about 5.5 tb if you put 4x 2tb drives in them."

I dont understand this phrase. And if i'll have that 2TB HDD Seagate SATA, can I access it from 2 different media players wired around the house in the same time and play HD content ? the sema time?
 
"either of these devices (or other similar 4 bay nas) will net you about 5.5 tb if you put 4x 2tb drives in them."

I dont understand this phrase.

typically, you will want to be running a 4 bay nas in a raid-5 type mode.

raid-5 uses 1 disk worth of space for parity/redundancy.

if a single disk fails, your data will remain safe and you can replace the bad disk with a new one the array will rebuild and be 'redundant' again.

if you do not understand raid, then I suggest you start with google and/or wikipedia.

the readynas products use 'x-raid' which essentially an expandable raid. Not all raid devices are expandable.

And if i'll have that 2TB HDD Seagate SATA, can I access it from 2 different media players wired around the house in the same time and play HD content ? the sema time?

if you have a drive attached to your main pc and 'shared', or in a 'NAS' device, then of course you can access it from different media players at the same time.

your performance will be dependent on your network, pc (or nas), and the disks themselves.
 

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