ReadyNas NVX

[Cactus]

I've been reading SNB for a about a year. Thank you for your contribution to reg contributors and thanks to Tim.

Wanted to ask about the ReadyNas NVX.

Time and time again while I was researching NAS last year I heard the same lines across all forums. Repeat them with me:

"Ha! I could build the same for $200 with far more functionality"

"Try FreeNAS and still be able to put your kid through college"

"I use a piece of tin foil and an atom processor I found in a dumpster and it works fine."

"lolz Enjoy your NAS for dummies. I'll use my savings on 4 new drives"

We get it! Geeks love to drive home how much money they've saved resulting from the knowledge accumulated by years in front of a computer screen. Congratulations! Some of us have other uses for spare time.

My question:
Now that I can buy a driveless ReadyNAS NVX on NewEgg for $599 (after rebate) is it still worth it to build my own?

At what price point do nerdier types see a ready-to-go NAS like this and say "OK, that's a good deal." $599 sounds good to me? Am I missing something? Thanks.

 

[claykin]

The NVX you are looking @ at that pricepoint is the Pioneer edition. Its a feature reduced version of the NVX Business. See here for a comparison.

http://www.readynas.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/readynas_comparison.pdf

Personally, I would recommend the NVX Business. There might come a time where you'll miss one or more of the features not available in the Pioneer. Plus @ $600 now you still have to buy disks. I prefer to use Enterprise disks since this is a RAID appliance so expect to pay roughly $250 for 2 x 1TB Seagate ES2, for example. For $150 more you can find the NVX Business already equipped with 2 x 1TB Seagate ES2 disks.

On the other hand, if you are certain you don't need the Business features, then go for it. The performance of the NVX Pioneer is the same as the Business Ed.

Whatever you do please stick with disks from the Netgear HCL list. See below. This goes for any NAS appliance. Every vendor has their HCL.

http://www.readynas.com/?cat=37

 

[thiggins]

There's another factor besides cost. None of the DIY NAS distros I've seen are as easy to use as even the worst-designed commercial NAS user interface. Even FreeNAS takes some futzing with.

 

[Cactus]

Thank you Clay. Thank you, Tim.

For $150 more you can find the NVX Business already equipped with 2 x 1TB Seagate ES2 disks.

A very strong point as my plan is to use more industrial, enterprise level disks. And I'm not prepared to pay for the Seagate 2TB Constellation ES discs. Thanks very much for that help.

I guess, in my case, I heard so many people saying "haha I spent $200 on my unRAID/FreeNAS box" that at some point you wonder if there is some limitation to using a commercial NAS product but once I had been "hands-on" with both a DIY and commercial NAS I find the ease of no-setup and a relatively intuitive interface on the readyNAS very appealing. It's definitely worth a few hundred dollars to me.

Would I have bought the ReadyNAS the day it released at $1200+ inc. drives, absolutely not! I agree that is excessive. But I find the unit a good value now. I get done what I need to get done more easily and I get back to work.

I'm perplexed as to whether a QNAP or Synology would be a better route but I've used a ReadyNAS first hand and liked it so I'm taking the plunge.

 

[Cactus]

Thanks for the comparative chart and solid info, guys. Greatly appreciated.

 

[hothead]

Differences in Cost

I too am ready to pull the trigger on the ReadyNas NVX Pioneer.

I am a home use who has just hit his head on the 2TB ceiling. Did I read correctly that the Pioneer RNDX400E cannot be populated with enterprise drives? (I wish everyone would simply use the real model numbers, my brain is getting frozen) http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/ReadyNASNVX/RNDX400E.aspx

Is my smartest move to install four 1TB's myself? And why is the populated version $1299, when the diskless version is a mere $599 after rebate?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2122036&cm_re=ReadyNas-_-22-122-036-_-Product

Do they sprinkle platinum and fairy dust on the populated version? Is that what iSCSI support is?
I still cannot figure out if I care about having iSCSI. I am setting up an improved media server for my home.

For $150 more you can find the NVX Business already equipped with 2 x 1TB Seagate ES2 disks

Where exactly is that deal?
If the NVX Business is the RNDX4210, I would love to see where it is listed for $750.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...sp?EdpNo=5660519&sku=N100-4030&srkey=RNDX4210

 

[aiiee]

I too am ready to pull the trigger on the ReadyNas NVX Pioneer.

I am a home use who has just hit his head on the 2TB ceiling. Did I read correctly that the Pioneer RNDX400E cannot be populated with enterprise drives? (I wish everyone would simply use the real model numbers, my brain is getting frozen) http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/ReadyNASNVX/RNDX400E.aspx

Is my smartest move to install four 1TB's myself? And why is the populated version $1299, when the diskless version is a mere $599 after rebate?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2122036&cm_re=ReadyNas-_-22-122-036-_-Product

Do they sprinkle platinum and fairy dust on the populated version? Is that what iSCSI support is?
I still cannot figure out if I care about having iSCSI. I am setting up an improved media server for my home.

Where exactly is that deal?
If the NVX Business is the RNDX4210, I would love to see where it is listed for $750.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...sp?EdpNo=5660519&sku=N100-4030&srkey=RNDX4210

How about $879 at Newegg?

 

[claykin]

I too am ready to pull the trigger on the ReadyNas NVX Pioneer.

I am a home use who has just hit his head on the 2TB ceiling. Did I read correctly that the Pioneer RNDX400E cannot be populated with enterprise drives? (I wish everyone would simply use the real model numbers, my brain is getting frozen) http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/ReadyNASNVX/RNDX400E.aspx

Is my smartest move to install four 1TB's myself? And why is the populated version $1299, when the diskless version is a mere $599 after rebate?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2122036&cm_re=ReadyNas-_-22-122-036-_-Product

Do they sprinkle platinum and fairy dust on the populated version? Is that what iSCSI support is?
I still cannot figure out if I care about having iSCSI. I am setting up an improved media server for my home.

Where exactly is that deal?
If the NVX Business is the RNDX4210, I would love to see where it is listed for $750.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...sp?EdpNo=5660519&sku=N100-4030&srkey=RNDX4210

Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear. I meant $150 more than buying an NVX Pioneer after adding 2 x 1TB .ES2 disks. The NVX Business is available at some etailers for $999 and I've seen it as low as $929 on occasion.

Its $879 today @ Newegg after $100 mail in rebate.