NAS vs USB drive attached to router

[Girona]

Hi guys! This has probably been discussed before, but a search didn't give the results I was looking for. So here goes: I am interested in getting a NAS for storing photos, and some music, mainly. Maybe some documents as well, but probably not much video (no movies). So a couple of TB will be more than enough for the next few years.

As I love getting new tech, I have been looking at a two drive NAS, most likely from Synology. However, I do have an Asus AC66U router, which has the option of connecting one or two USB hard drives. This would give me the central storage that I am looking for, for roughly a sixth of the cost of the NAS I am looking at. So I'm actually having a hard time convincing myself that the NAS has some features that I really need, that the router attached drive solution does not. What could these features be? Or will I be perfectly happy with the more affordable solution?

 

[thiggins]

Only you can answer the question. Since you have the router and USB drives are cheap enough, why not try it out? Sounds like all you want is basic centralized file storage and sharing. Router based sharing can handle that just fine.

 

[L&LD]

With the USB attached storage route, you will get performance, reliability and stability issues from the first day of use (maybe and hopefully, not all three).

With a NAS, you will still need a USB drive to backup the NAS with.

When I was a pre-NAS user, I could not understand the 6x (or more) greater cost difference and how it would ever be preferable. Today, I don't even use a USB drive to backup a NAS to (I use another NAS).

If you have the budget, if you have the desire to have (another) backup of your data and it seems like you have the desire to learn about new 'tech', I would suggest the NAS route without reservations.

Not a two bay NAS though. A NAS can be usable on at least a basic level a decade or more from now.

A four bay NAS (even if you only populate two drives today) with the fastest processor you can afford and the ability to increase the ram capacity is what I would recommend.

And though you are leaning towards Synology now (and it is a solid choice), consider QNAP also as they usually offer more 'hardware' than Synology does for a similar price. Between these two choices, what you decide on is just a personal thing (they are equally proficient at doing 'NAS', right).

Other brands? I would say don't waste your money. Yes, they can give good results and at a cost savings. But I think you will outgrow them very quickly, imo. Either in capabilities, dependability, features or performance that a 'real' NAS like QNAP or Synology offers.

If you do opt for a four bay NAS and are willing to populate all the bays immediately, I would install 2 drives (Bays 1&2) on their own in RAID1 and setup the NAS os on that array. The remaining two drives would also be in a RAID1 configuration and contain just your data.

 

[KenZ71]

I'll toss another idea..... an old PC + NAS4Free and build your own.

A great learning experience.

 

[L&LD]

I'll toss another idea..... an old PC + NAS4Free and build your own.

A great learning experience.

A learning experience? Yes (to not do it again if you value your data at all).

And most definitely not 'new tech'.

But it is another option, I agree.

 

[sfx2000]

Hi guys! This has probably been discussed before, but a search didn't give the results I was looking for. So here goes: I am interested in getting a NAS for storing photos, and some music, mainly. Maybe some documents as well, but probably not much video (no movies). So a couple of TB will be more than enough for the next few years.

As I love getting new tech, I have been looking at a two drive NAS, most likely from Synology. However, I do have an Asus AC66U router, which has the option of connecting one or two USB hard drives. This would give me the central storage that I am looking for, for roughly a sixth of the cost of the NAS I am looking at. So I'm actually having a hard time convincing myself that the NAS has some features that I really need, that the router attached drive solution does not. What could these features be? Or will I be perfectly happy with the more affordable solution?

USB attached Storage - can be useful for DLNA purposes, as this is the primary intent - as a persistent long term, let's use this as a file server - it can work, but it's limited to some degree with services and controls...

Going to a NAS - much more flexibility here, and they will do everything a disk attached to a router, and a much better job at it.

I'd suggest not going all in at first - a two bay ARM based NAS is a good place to start - they're cheap enough, and at the shallow end, you'll see if the features and capabilities meet your needs - QNAP and Synology have some great options here - disk-free (bring your own disks) units that are very capable are less than $200USD...

Check the main site for reviews - as I mentioned earlier - QNAP and Synology are specialists in this field, but AsusStor and Netgear (via their ReadyNAS line) are also strong players...

I would consider not looking at some of the shared network drives - WD MyCloud, Seagate, etc... not because they're "bad" but generally, once one grows out of a router based solution, those devices don't have much to offer - but look at the features, and make one's own choices - for some, they can be a cost-efficient solution if features and needs align...

 

[Girona]

The Synology I have been looking at is the DS216+ ii. It seems to have good build quality, and a form factor that's easy to find a place for. However, the Qnap TS-251+ also looks good, and is better specced for around the same price. Only 1 GB RAM on the Synology is a bit disappointing. (Yes, I know it is user upgradable, kind of...)

The most important feature for me is low noise levels. If it's noisy, I'm not interested, no matter what else it offers. The Qnap is rated at 15.4 dB which is really low. However, I did read somewhere that they measured it to over 37 dB in a test. Is it normally such a big difference between paper values and real life performance?

 

[RMerlin]

The Synology I have been looking at is the DS216+ ii. It seems to have good build quality, and a form factor that's easy to find a place for. However, the Qnap TS-251+ also looks good, and is better specced for around the same price. Only 1 GB RAM on the Synology is a bit disappointing. (Yes, I know it is user upgradable, kind of...)

The most important feature for me is low noise levels. If it's noisy, I'm not interested, no matter what else it offers. The Qnap is rated at 15.4 dB which is really low. However, I did read somewhere that they measured it to over 37 dB in a test. Is it normally such a big difference between paper values and real life performance?

You can look at the QNAP HS-251+ if you want a quiet solution. It won't be cheap however, but they work really well. I installed one two weeks ago for a lawyer who wanted it 100% quiet (his data takes less than 50 GB, so I even loaded it with a pair of SSDs).

The unit runs surprisingly cool - much more than I expected. Thanks in part to the use of SSDs most certainly.

Personally, I use an Asustor 4 bays at home. One of the reasons for getting a 4 bays instead of 2 is the larger unit can use a larger fan, making it quieter.

 

[Girona]

Thanks again, for pointing me towards QNAP. I had been set on Synology, and never really looked at other brands. But QNAP seems to have som interesting products. The HS-251+ looks good. However, some reviews report that the temperature can get really high, so I'm not totally convinced that passive cooling is going to cut it. The TS-251+ is the main contender at the moment.

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks again, for pointing me towards QNAP. I had been set on Synology, and never really looked at other brands. But QNAP seems to have som interesting products. The HS-251+ looks good. However, some reviews report that the temperature can get really high, so I'm not totally convinced that passive cooling is going to cut it. The TS-251+ is the main contender at the moment.

The TS-251+ I installed barely get warm to the touch. Maybe those reviews were talking about the TS-251, or they were using disks that could generate a fair amount of heat? It can depend on quite a few factors. I had the ideal scenario in my case with SSDs instead of HDDs, and my customer doesn't use video playback - only file, encryption, and VPN services.

 

[sfx2000]

The HS-251 is/was passively cooled - no fan... which for an HTPC solution, might be preferred - but understand that it's going to run pretty warm - with the mainboard removed, that little metal cylinder is what is pulling heat off the CPU.

The two TS series all have fans...

More shots of the HS-251...

 

[RMerlin]

Typos - I was referring of course to the HS-251+.

 

[Girona]

So, the TS-251+ was released almost a year ago. How often does QNAP release new products? I'm leaning towards holding out until the replacement for TS-251+ is announced. Any suggestions on when that may be, considering their normal product cycle?