Recommendation based on needs

[deano88]

Hello everyone

I just saw my first QNAP and for some reason I really want one.

I am looking to set it up to back up right away two computers (One Mac, One Windows) eventually I will have a Linux workstation and another Mac.

I also am interested in setting up users, like for example my parents, that can have a partition of the hard drive and be able to back up remotely. So I would want to set up a VPN so I could access files remotely and they can back up and access files.

I would also set up user folders for different people which would have to be private from other users, all the files will need to be encrypted too. I could have some of my pictures, ISO's, and whatnot stored where people couldn't get access, or a folder that everyone would have access.

I will also want to store movies and music and play them off of the NAS to a television/computer. Finally, I am thinking of attaching a camera to it as well to monitor my house when I leave for longer periods of time, something that can detect motion and email me an alert and picture.

This of course seems to be something that most of the NAS's can do, I just want to make sure I don't cheap out and get something that is missing one or two of these features or make a rookie mistake.

I was looking at this Synology.

There are similar QNAP's that I would be interested in too, but I would be willing to take your advice.

One more question, is there really a difference between regular HDD and NAS HDD like the WD Red, or is it pure marketing ?

Thanks for the help

 

[stevech]

Hello everyone

I just saw my first QNAP and for some reason I really want one.

I am looking to set it up to back up right away two computers (One Mac, One Windows) eventually I will have a Linux workstation and another Mac.

I also am interested in setting up users, like for example my parents, that can have a partition of the hard drive and be able to back up remotely. So I would want to set up a VPN so I could access files remotely and they can back up and access files.

I would also set up user folders for different people which would have to be private from other users, all the files will need to be encrypted too. I could have some of my pictures, ISO's, and whatnot stored where people couldn't get access, or a folder that everyone would have access.

I will also want to store movies and music and play them off of the NAS to a television/computer. Finally, I am thinking of attaching a camera to it as well to monitor my house when I leave for longer periods of time, something that can detect motion and email me an alert and picture.

This of course seems to be something that most of the NAS's can do, I just want to make sure I don't cheap out and get something that is missing one or two of these features or make a rookie mistake.

I was looking at this Synology.

There are similar QNAP's that I would be interested in too, but I would be willing to take your advice.

One more question, is there really a difference between regular HDD and NAS HDD like the WD Red, or is it pure marketing ?

Thanks for the help

NAS HDD like WD Red.. see other postings here on that topic. I wouldn't pay the premium for WD Red - it does have a longer warranty. But I'd expect that I'd RMA a failed drive, even a Red, and as in the past, get a "refurbished" drive with god knows how many hours on it. So what's the warranty really worth? Nada.

I chose Synology due to its software. It's a close race between QNAP and Synology. Be sure to use the on-line demos for each. For a home NAS, I elected to not use RAID but instead use two volumes, one with a backup of file revisions. Better protection from many faults, including my own error in deleting or hosing up a file. I think that many home and SOHO users over-spend on 4 bay NASes. But that's just an opinion. Be sure to budget a big USB3 drive for backups.