To NAS or not to NAS?

champ222

champ222

champ222

Associate
Joined
19 Aug 2005
Posts
1,574
Location
Beds, UK
hiya guys

i'm after some advice as to whether i should go down the NAS route.

I currently have my main PC serving my media to the htpc downstairs, and my raspberry pi in the bedroom. I always figured i'd do it this way since my pc is on most of the time i'm in anyway.

Now, there are a few reasons why i'm now tempted to go for a NAS:

--Since the addition of the raspberry pi i want to share my xbmc databate via mysql (watched status of media etc).
--My PC tends to be idle a lot most of the time these days and it would allow me to not power it up.
--I'm almost out of HDD space, so i need to get new drives and have a sort out anyway.

I currently have 2x 1tb drives dedicated for storage which is mostly media, and i have a 2tb external (usb3) WD mybook essential that i backup on to.

The original plan was get a new 2tb drive for storage, and another 2tb wd essential for additional backup space, (or 3tb of each) but now i'm thinking maybe i should go for a NAS box?

I have a few questions though:

1) Ideally i'd like to fit both my 1tb drives plus the new drive, so i guess i'd be looking for a 4 bay NAS, unless there is a neat way of adding external drives to single/double bay NAS? would a 4 bay be a better plan?

2) When drives are fitted in a NAS are they formatted in NTFS? or some other method?

3) Would i be able to run torrent downloads directly onto the NAS from my PC? (i dont really need the NAS to run a torrent client)


What i need from the NAS is as follows:

1) Most importantly RELIABILITY
2) Must be quick enough to stream 1080p HD video at Blu-ray bitrates
3) Be able to run NFS shares (apparently its quicker, therefore better for the raspberry pi)
4) Must be able to do the mysql stuff for XBMC
5) Be able to take all my drives (either internally or externally)
6) Direct backup to the two WD essential HDDs via USB would be nice, but its not a must.

So guys.. what are your thoughts? is this the right move for me? any suggestions of devices?

Thanks (sorry for the huge post)
 
I'd get a Microserver (N40L secondhand or N54L about £260)

Supports 4-5 drives, can run FreeNAS from a USB drive (no need to waste space on a HDD)
 
I've just picked up a Synology 412+ with 4 x 3TB WD Red drives, and so far it's excellent, the DSM interface is amazing (all Synology devices get the same DSM) and configuration has been pretty painless so far.

The DS212J comes well recommended from people for a 2 bay NAS.
 
Phage said:
What's your budget ?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the assistance so far guys, my budget is unknown at the moment, I prefer the price of the DS212J at about £160-£170, but the 4 bay options look tempting as my storage is currently 2x1tb drives. so if I go 2 bay i'll have to leave one of them out (I suppose I could find a use for it) but if I went 4 bays I could use them both plus add one, and then add another when needed.

4 bay options a quite pricey at £280 for the DS413j which seems like a lot more for the extra two bays

Plus i'd need an HDD as well, and it all gets quite expensive....

It would be quite convenient though...
 
ok, ive got an HP microserver on its way, N40L used.

it comes with windows home server, so I have the option of the following OSs:

Windows home server 2011
Windows 7
FreeNAS - (although I've no Linux experience)

the four main features I need are:

1) NFS file sharing - apparently its the best type to use with the raspberry pi
2) i'd like to download torrent files to it, ideally controlled from either my pc or my laptop
3) easy backup to usb external drives (i'm not going to use any Raid)
4) run MySQL server for XBMC(s)

I guess FreeNAS, once setup, would just work? where as a windows based option would need maintaining with updates etc?

Thoughts?

Thanks guys
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom