Recommendations for Rack-Mount NAS?

[Nixlimited]

I have been looking at NASes for a while now and find this site to be very informative; however, most of the discussion seems to be about desktop NAS devices versus rack-mount. As I have a rack at my house, I think it would be more space efficient to get a rack-mount NAS. The following are some criteria and questions; thanks in advance for any advice and recommendations.

Criteria:
-Must support Time Machine back-ups without hacks
-4+ drives (prefer 2TB+ drive support)
-Work with Apple computers
-Sufficient throughput to stream .iso (DVDs) over a hardwire network
-Raid 5 support
-1U preferred
-Power efficient features (drive spin-down, scheduled up-time, etc)

Questions:
-Do I give up anything by going to rack-mount vesus desktop form-factor?
-Are rack mount louder or quieter than similar desktop models?
-Anything else I need to think about?

 

[thiggins]

-Do I give up anything by going to rack-mount vesus desktop form-factor?

Yep. Selection and price. There are fewer rackmounts to choose from and they will cost more for the same performance.

-Are rack mount louder or quieter than similar desktop models?

Louder. Cooling is tougher due to form factor so multiple smaller fans must be used = more noise. Also, since rackmounts are generally designed for server room use, not as much attention is paid to keeping noise low.

-Anything else I need to think about?

Yes, Getting a desktop NAS.

QNAP NETGEAR both make models that will fit your needs. Synology has some too, but they are older designs.

 

[Nixlimited]

Yep. Selection and price. There are fewer rackmounts to choose from and they will cost more for the same performance.
Louder. Cooling is tougher due to form factor so multiple smaller fans must be used = more noise. Also, since rackmounts are generally designed for server room use, not as much attention is paid to keeping noise low.
Yes, Getting a desktop NAS.

QNAP NETGEAR both make models that will fit your needs. Synology has some too, but they are older designs.

Thank you sir. I think I started to come to that conclusion, but needed a push in the right direction. Having a rack in a closet, it is hard to not want to get every piece of rack-ready equipment I can.

So, as between something like a ReadyNAS Ultra 6 and the equivalent offering from QNAP, what's your preference?

 

[Jinky]

I've been looking into the same thing to replace an aging ReadyNAS NV+. One limitation for me is that my rack is a bit shallow and sits in a home office, so size and noise make things even more challenging.

The Netgear ReadyNAS 2100 seems to fit the bill nicely with a 12.5" depth and my comfort with the platform, but noise appears to be a concern with a 50 dBA spec. FWIW, fan noise from my NV+ (rated at 31.5 dBA) has always been pretty noticeable.

The Synology RS409 and RS810+ are 18.01" deep, which I could probably squeeze in if I remove the rear door of my rack. They are also quieter than the ReadyNAS 2100 (26 dBA and 31.1 dBA, respectively), but the only performance standout is the RS810+.

I'm not sure what else to look at, including a DIY solution since I don't seem to be able to find a 1u case shallow enough to do the job.

 

[Nixlimited]

I just took the plunge and ordered a ReadyNAS Ultra 6 diskless... Hopefully it will suit my needs.