Hi Everyone - Thoughts on NAS?
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Hi Everyone,
I think I might finally go in for an NAS (Network Attached Storage). For a long time, I've used simple external hard drives but after having them break down and losing everything, I think it might be time for me to look into a NAS with RAID, which from what I understand, does a backup of one drive to another drive.
For anyone with experience on NAS, would love to hear your thoughts. Any suggested vendors? 4 Bay? Does the software come included?
I'm looking at it for a simple backup / offloading my media to the NAS, so my desktop stays relatively lean.
Thanks!
RND256 -
@rnd256 I have had good luck with Western Digital "MyCloud" units over the last few years (4 drives, RAID 5). They come with everything I need, as well as some applications for streaming/hosting that I don't really use. I've lost a few individual drives (some under warranty, some not), but I've lost no content since I started using them. They're on the expensive side, but they've been mostly worry free.
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@tnar Thank you so much for the recommendation. I have a dumb question (and don't judge me), but does the NAS come with the storage drives, or do you need to buy those separately??
For example, like this product here:
https://www.westerndigital.com/products/cloud-storage/wd-my-cloud-home?sku=WDBVXC0080HWT-NESNIt looks like it comes with 4 TB or 8 TB. Also, it says you need to connect the ethernet cable to your router. That's difficult to do in my home, where the router is purposely placed inside almost like a utility box on the wall in the washer / dryer room along with the wifi.
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I use Synplogy with Seagate NAS drives.
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@rnd256 I have the WD MyCloud EX4100 - it's ready to go out of the box with some, mostly optional configuration. It has four actual hard drives in it and the related controlling software/hardware.
This MyCloud Home looks like it doesn't have any actual storage and uses a cloud out on the internet, which would mean you wouldn't actually have your data stored locally.
I have never seen a wireless NAS. I would think you need the bandwidth of it being hardwired.You could perhaps put it where your router is, but I would think the laundry room would be a bad place for an device like this because of moisture and dust (and possibly also vibrations).
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My NAS is plugged into my router, but I use it wirelessly on my other devices.
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@raphjd said in Hi Everyone - Thoughts on NAS?:
My NAS is plugged into my router, but I use it wirelessly on my other devices.
same, except for one machine that's also plugged into the router.
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@raphjd I just want to make sure I understand this correctly because this is all new to me (so apologies for the dumb questions!)
Synology is the NAS. That's like the box with the software. Would it be something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Synology-2-Bay-DiskStation-DS224-Diskless/dp/B0C6927XPX/Then Seagate are the drives that you install into the NAS. Would it be something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-IronWolf-Internal-Hard-Drive/Are the above statements correct?
Also, is it fair to say that you need to buy drives specifically designed to fit within NAS?
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@tnar Would it be something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/EX4100-Expert-Network-Attached-Storage/And the drives would be an additional cost, yes?
The router and wifi modem are tucked away in like a utility panel in the wall in my home, which is a new home. (Think: suburban home in Texas). There is absolutely no way that NAS box can fit into that utility panel.
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@rnd256 said in Hi Everyone - Thoughts on NAS?:
@tnar Would it be something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/EX4100-Expert-Network-Attached-Storage/And the drives would be an additional cost, yes?
The router and wifi modem are tucked away in like a utility panel in the wall in my home, which is a new home. (Think: suburban home in Texas). There is absolutely no way that NAS box can fit into that utility panel.
This includes the disks - you just connect it to your network, plug it in, and turn it on.
Your link is not working for me. Something like this:
try this linkAmazon doesn't have much of a selection right now - looks like this model is discontinued?
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Your second link doesn't work, but from the info in the link, I am assuming you found the right drives.
Here's the NAS I use;
Synology DS1821+8bay NAS V1500B Quad-Core 2.2 GHz,Black
There's a newer version but it's not worth the extra cost.
I use the Seagate Iron Wolf Pro drives.
If you use the same NAS I do, you can also add 2 sticks of these to improve performance NOT STORAGE;
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I can tell by your number of drive bays that your porn collection is a bit larger than mine
Those are some monster NAS drives!Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I think I mostly have it down. Will loop back to this topic once I get closer to making a purchase decision (I'm thinking of waiting until Black Friday / Cyber Monday for better deals)
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Thanks for the links.
For those 2 sticks, can you quickly explain SSD cache? I'm likely going to buy a 4 bay, and I don't know if SSD cache is even needed, but wanted to get a primer on the benefits of this (if it's something I can utilize).
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SSD cache is where the NAS does its work instead of doing it on the hard drives. It makes It faster and puts less strain on the hard drives.
We are watching Blake's 7 (80's UK SciFi) and it gets loaded in the SSD cache so when we quit it's still there and the NAS doesn't need to mess the the hard drives when we come back.
It can't be treated like extra storage space.
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Hey @rnd256
A NAS is a great way to get tons of storage to enjoy offline and in private. The NAS devices are sometimes sold unpopulated (you need to fill them with hard disks) and sometimes sold populated so you can plug and play. The built-in management software allows you to manage the device using a web browser, similar to your home router. You will need to set up at least a user and password and shares to get it working as a network file server. The better models can also run apps such as filesharing clients, seeing that they are online 24x7.
Some words of warning though. NAS devices put out heat like a PC does, so ensure it is placed in a well-ventilated area. NAS devices also have spinning hard disks and fans which can result in varying noise levels, so be mindful where you place it. I know that a lot of people do not have theirs in a bedroom or near the TV.Connectivity suggestions.
Option 1:
Could you not run the single cable from the NAS to your router? The cable can be up to 100m long and you can buy various ready-made lengths of Cat6 Network cable online. If you are renting you can likely not make holes to run it in the walls, but thin PVC trunking can be stuck down to tidy things up a bit, or hot glue the cable itself.
Option 2:
Try "Gigabit Powerline Network Adapters". They are sold in sets. You would plug one into a power socket at the router (as well as a short network cable to connect the router) and another at the NAS, plus a short network cable to the NAS. They would then use your house's power cables to send data. Just like WIFI, these can also be prone to some interference. Your mileage may vary.
Option 3:
Try a "Wireless Bridge" which looks like a WIFI access point, preferably the same brand as the WIFI router downstairs as it may reduce setup problems. It would be placed next to the NAS with a short network cable to the NAS. Many general WIFI access points can perform this function when set up in "bridge mode" where they are set to be a WIFI "client". I would only consider this if your WIFI signal and throughput are very high where this is to be installed and you have no other option.Hard disks such as the IronWolf range are more expensive but more durable (they will be powered on 24x7 after all) and have a longer life expectancy.
Just a note that most populated products are sold with RAW capacity. Once you initialize the disks, you select a RAID level (5 is budget-friendly and what you are looking for) and the disks are formatted and you effectively lose one drive's capacity for redundancy. This means that a 4x12TB RAID-5 will give you a usable 36TB space.Now for a final word of warning. You will find much advice out there on the topic "RAID is not a backup". It protects your data from a single drive failure. You have to replace and rebuild the failed drive urgently when this happens, but in the meantime, you can still access all your data.
If a second drive fails before the first failed drive is replaced, you lose all data.
If files are accidentally deleted, overwritten, corrupted or damaged by ransomware, the damage is instant across all drives, so your data is generally gone. Some snapshot features can mitigate this.
If the NAS is stolen, dropped, struck by lightning, or your house burns down, your data is gone.
If you are happy to redownload your whole video collection if tragedy strikes then you are set. However, if you have any data that is irreplaceable such as personal photos, then make sure you also take offline and offsite backups of that data regularly.Have fun.
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@janes Thank you so much janes for the great explanation!
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It's almost always cheaper to buy the enclosure and source the drives separately.
Keep in mind that Synology will only give you their best warranty if you use 100% of their products in their NAS. This, of course, depends on the consumer laws where you live.
