NAS Advice

sdfuk

sdfuk

sdfuk

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Joined
8 Jun 2004
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960
Location
Essex
Hi

I'm looking to put films, music and pictures onto a NAS.

I want to stream films/pic to the TV and music to maybe a Sonos or Heos (undecided yet).

I use a PC whilst the wife has a MAC. Is it possible for us both to have access to the NAS ie. a NAS that can handle dual OS?

I'll probably be getting a 4 drive bay NAS.

Thanks for any help
S
 
sdfuk said:
I use a PC whilst the wife has a MAC. Is it possible for us both to have access to the NAS ie. a NAS that can handle dual OS?
Click to expand...

It depends exactly which NAS software you end up using, but most filesharing is done via NFS or SMB protocols which are supported by pretty much all modern desktop OSs - so you should be able to access any shares from Macs or Windows machines
 
I connect to my NAS using Mac's, PC's and Linux boxes. As above, the protocols are supported by multiple OS's.

Buy a Synology.

/thread
 
Hi thanks, I've been looking at the Synology Diskstation DS415Play with some Western Digital Caviar Red Pro 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD3001FFSX - OEM HDD.

Good Combo?

Cheers
S
 
Unless he needs to transcode I don't know why he'd need quad core or more memory.

An "off the shelf" NAS is a nice option but expensive compared to HP Microserver and FREENAS or Xpenology.

HEADRAT
 
Synology/QNAP is generally a bit easier to deploy and forget for casual users who just want to backup files and stream movies and music.

If your a more advanced user a microserver is a good alternative.
 
Transcoding is handy when smart tv cant play a format.
I got the 214play and its a good little unit.
Its power usage is also tiny when compared to a microserver.
 
I just ensure all my content is MP4 which almost everything can play without transcode.

Agreed that "off the shelf" is the easier option.
 
The OP wasn't sure if he could access a NAS at the same time using Windows and OSX, I'm fairly certain the he wouldn't be interested in a microserver and its associated headaches. Synology is simple plug and play, yet still offers advanced features.

I say look at the quad core because it will be more future proof, not something that's necessary for his needs.
 
Xpenology on a Microserver is basically just Synology but I know where you're coming from.

If you want something "easy" and works with no faffing about then just buy a pre-built NAS.
 
Last edited:
I'd go a DIY FreeNas - it's what I have used, you can create difference shares depending on what OS you're using to access the NAS.
 
thanks for the help.

What do you think about Qnap vs synology. From what I'm reading on the web, Qnaps support is better.
 
Most people on here will recommend Synology.

I've had two 4 bays, a mate has my old 4 bay and a 2 bay, and another mate has a 4 bay. We are all more than pleased with them.
 
I have just bought myself a Synology 1515+ which is a 5 bay unit and shares some of the same internal hardware that the Synology 415+ has. I run mine over CAT6 and wireless AC for the mobile devices.

My advice would be to go for either of these, they are a breeze to setup the OS is fantastic and for someone who has never had a NAS or Microserver I am so impressed with how easy everything is to install and get working. The extra grunt from the quad core processor is great if you are transcoding which is really useful if your network or device cannot stream 1080p or the device cannot read the format.

Synology has a host of different mobile applications that you can use to manage, control and schedule tasks on the NAS; either within the network or over the internet. Remote downloading is fantastic and can all be filtered through a VPN if that is your thing.

I have setup a Plex server also on the NAS which is probably what you will look to do and that runs all of my Blu Ray content, DVD's and Tv Shows and allows all of the devices at home to stream from it.

Another huge benefit of the Synology devices is they use SHR (Synology Hybrid Raid) a form of RAID 5 which unlike RAID5 allows for different sized disks to be used (as long as they are installed in ascending order by size) whilst provided 1 or 2 drive redundancy, this equates to less space being made unusable. See the below link to calculate how much space you will have.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/RAID_calculator

I hope this helps.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Synology Diskstation DS1515+ 5 Bay Gigabit Ethernet Network Attached Storage Enclosure Unpopulated £644.99
1 x Synology Diskatation DS415+ 4 Bay 2 x Gigabit Ethernet Network Attached Storage (Unpopulated) £459.98
Total : £1,114.57 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).

 
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