WHS to Synology: What to expect?

[cadred]

I currently have a failing HP Mediasmart server running WHS v1. Based on reputation I'm leaning towards a Synology server - probably something in the DS411 series - and I had a few questions about how they compare.

1) WHS has its (controversial) Drive extender. How seamless is it to add *and remove* drives for a synology box?

2) How is the drive error reporting? I had a major problem where WHS did not report a failing drive for over a month, which sucked.

3) How resilient is it to drive failure? Despite #2, folder duplication saved my butt. I know synology supports several kinds of raid, but does it all work at the drive level, or can I have folder level duplication (aka non-critical folders which do not duplicate, saving space)?

4) Performance - the MediaSmart server was a dog, I assume the DS411+ii server is reasonably fast, but how is the performance on the single core boxes?

5) Media Servers - I never had much luck making my WHS box act as a media server, what is the experience on synlogy?

6) pyTivo? Will it be possible to host a pyTivo installation?

7) How does it handle "green drives"? I know they can cause some issues in certain situations.

Thanks!

 

[claykin]

I currently have a failing HP Mediasmart server running WHS v1. Based on reputation I'm leaning towards a Synology server - probably something in the DS411 series - and I had a few questions about how they compare.

I am more of a Netgear Readynas guy, but I'll tell you what I know...

1) WHS has its (controversial) Drive extender. How seamless is it to add *and remove* drives for a synology box?

See here about Synology Hybrid RAID. Its more like true RAID as opposed to Drive Extender. Note, Drive Extender is not included with WHS V2 recently released.

http://www.synology.com/us/products/features/RAID.php#SHR

2) How is the drive error reporting? I had a major problem where WHS did not report a failing drive for over a month, which sucked.

Well, Readynas is really good about reporting SMART data anomalies. Cannot say for sure with Synology but I do know they monitor SMART data. Its probably better than your WHS box.

3) How resilient is it to drive failure? Despite #2, folder duplication saved my butt. I know synology supports several kinds of raid, but does it all work at the drive level, or can I have folder level duplication (aka non-critical folders which do not duplicate, saving space)?

All NAS is drive level RAID. Some NAS boxes allow you to create multiple RAID sets provided you have a NAS with 3 or more disks. That can be a more in depth discussion. In general the answer to your question is NO. NAS RAID is drive level.

4) Performance - the MediaSmart server was a dog, I assume the DS411+ii server is reasonably fast, but how is the performance on the single core boxes?

See this chart for performance data. I think you'll find the DS411+ is a screamer.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-charts/view

5) Media Servers - I never had much luck making my WHS box act as a media server, what is the experience on synlogy?

You should have no problem.

6) pyTivo? Will it be possible to host a pyTivo installation?

No idea. I recommend you ask on the Synology forums.

7) How does it handle "green drives"? I know they can cause some issues in certain situations.

First, make sure you ONLY use disks that are on Synology's HCL. http://www.synology.com/us/products/compatibility.php

 

[cadred]

Thank you claykin, that helps. Hopefully someone can confirm some of the specifics.

 

[maxwell]

I currently have a failing HP Mediasmart server running WHS v1. Based on reputation I'm leaning towards a Synology server - probably something in the DS411 series - and I had a few questions about how they compare.

1) WHS has its (controversial) Drive extender. How seamless is it to add *and remove* drives for a synology box?

2) How is the drive error reporting? I had a major problem where WHS did not report a failing drive for over a month, which sucked.

3) How resilient is it to drive failure? Despite #2, folder duplication saved my butt. I know synology supports several kinds of raid, but does it all work at the drive level, or can I have folder level duplication (aka non-critical folders which do not duplicate, saving space)?

4) Performance - the MediaSmart server was a dog, I assume the DS411+ii server is reasonably fast, but how is the performance on the single core boxes?

5) Media Servers - I never had much luck making my WHS box act as a media server, what is the experience on synlogy?

6) pyTivo? Will it be possible to host a pyTivo installation?

7) How does it handle "green drives"? I know they can cause some issues in certain situations.

Thanks!

I suggest you send product inquiry on the Synology website. They will reply these questions very quickly.