please help...buying nas

[r1cj]

Hello all
Not sure if its the done thing but i was told to join a forum for help

I have a small business with 8-10 pc's running on a network and two printers
Our dell server went bang yesterday and no one could of course access data

When running round to sort this out someone suggested a nas box as the stored data consists mainly of pictures, word docs, excel etc and a pc style server is not neccessary

So basically i need an off the shelf nas asap which can function quickly with 8-10 people accessing simultaneously, not sure what other specs i would need but would really appreciate some help

Thank you all in advance

Chris

Ps im in london

 

[canuckle]

I would check out some options at Synology or QNAP, they both have live demo's on the net to play with. Stevech may drop by with some thoughts as well, but here are mine.

A NAS will do all you listed, and give you options on how to configure and control users and their access to the data. Setup as RAID will give you some data protection against a failed drive.

Keep in mind though, that a NAS setup as RAID still needs a backup solution, it's not fail proof.

I use a Synology 1512+ setup in a RAID 5, with a half dozen users that access inside and outside the home. It works flawlessly for me.

Whichever box you end up going with, make sure you carefully research the drives that go in it...they can be fairly exacting in their requirements. Synology, for example, has a list of approved drives on their website.

Best of luck, and of course 'it's the done thing'...that's why we all like this forum, tons of help to be had here.

Hello all
Not sure if its the done thing but i was told to join a forum for help

I have a small business with 8-10 pc's running on a network and two printers
Our dell server went bang yesterday and no one could of course access data

When running round to sort this out someone suggested a nas box as the stored data consists mainly of pictures, word docs, excel etc and a pc style server is not neccessary

So basically i need an off the shelf nas asap which can function quickly with 8-10 people accessing simultaneously, not sure what other specs i would need but would really appreciate some help

Thank you all in advance

Chris

Ps im in london

 

[stevech]

I agree with Synology/QNAP.
But how much of a culture shock would it be to go from a Dell server that's probably Windows Server not Linux, given the NASes are all a flavor of Linux?

Try the on line demos of the two vendors, above.

 

[thiggins]

It sounds like your need is primarily simple file sharing. Any NAS will do that just fine. NETGEAR, WD and Buffalo also make decent NASes that can serve your needs.

Stick with a single-bay NAS or two-bay at most if your storage needs are 4TB or less. RAID5 just adds a potential complication when a drive eventually fails.

Since you are a business, you might want to prioritize based on support available in the U.K.

 

[r1cj]

nas box

Many thanks

Will take a look online

They have some in pc world that i saw and the guy was trying to sell me
This was a WD

it seemed to be for home use (not sure that matters) and also it costs around £90 which i thought sounded cheap and that put me off buying

Also are you able to instal virus software on them ?

 

[thiggins]

"Home" NASes tend to have less powerful processors than "office". But feature sets can be the same.

If you require antivirus software, you'll need check the product features carefully. I don't think WD supports AV. But QNAP, Synology, Thecus and NETGEAR do. AV Features and scan methods vary, so, again, check the product descriptions carefully.

 

[r1cj]

purchased

thought it good manners to reply

thank you all for the responses

due to time constraints I brought a wd my book live 2 tb from pc world

it cost around £130 which will be a temp fix

it doesn't offer the ability to access via vpn and doesn't support anti virus but they have a web cloud (no subscription) to view and download info from a browser

it seems to be geared up for home use rather than business and so im sure this will be temporary and whn I have more time I will look into this again

once again thank you kindly for your help

chris

 

[stevech]

"Home" NASes tend to have less powerful processors than "office". But feature sets can be the same.

My experience: fast/hot CPU is of rare benefit since file serving and storing is I/O intensive.

Feature sets: compare carefully. Try out on-line demos (QNAP, Synolgy are market leaders in best of breed, if not massive marketing).

 

[coxhaus]

My only comment is they all die after while and backups are a must. Probably the harder you use them the faster they die.

Make sure, especially if your are running a business, you use a battery backup solution for your NAS or server and keep up with battery replacement.

Just curious what was on the dell hardware and software wise which died?
I am looking for the OS and hardware configuration.

 

[r1cj]

not sure what dell was running im afraid (im not that technically minded)

we have an off site back up which runs daily I hope this will suffice

 

[stevech]

backups - suggest you have a one time fire-drill to prove it all works.
E.g., restore to a spare drive.