Best 4 bay NAS storage ?

Ry@n

Ry@n

Ry@n

Associate
Joined
6 Aug 2004
Posts
2,084
Location
Essex
Im after some NAS storage, and want to use 2 identical HDD's to start with. Then have the option to add another 2 HDD's when i need to (if possible).

I would probably use Raid 1 for reliability, even though i have never used raid before.

So which NAS storage would suit my need?, they all seem to be expensive.
I dont have a price limit, but dont want to break the bank.

I would consider all alternatives also.
Thanks for any help.
 
infrant nv+ - has xraid which allows for expansion from just one disk
synology ds407 - nice product, I have a 1 disk version of the x06 product.
 
Be very wary with these things. There seems to be a common trend that the ones which claim multi-OS compatibility have problems with large (>2GB) files.
 
MikeTimbers said:
Be very wary with these things. There seems to be a common trend that the ones which claim multi-OS compatibility have problems with large (>2GB) files.
Click to expand...

If you mean the DNS-323, that's been fixed on the lastest firmware, and it's a Vista bug, not a NAS one.
 
synology and infrant can both deal with >2GB files without any issues. Its a drive format issue not the device usually anyways.
 
You may find the following guides helpful. Please take into account the dates of the articles. These devices are very firmware dependant for performance and features and firmware tends to improve over time.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2006/11/08/thecus_n5200_nas_review_uk/

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2007/03/23/raid_boxes_run_riot_uk/

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/05/19/intel_ss4000e_raid5_nas_uk/

I looked into this late last year and think the enclosure squiffy linked to was the best around at the time.

Also take a look at eSATA external storage. Its a lot cheaper than NAS and has a much faster interface (3Gbit vs 1Gbit) but must be directly attached to a pc which has an eSATA port. However in case the PC fails, there's usually a USB2 option to get to your data.
 
Last edited:
Forgot to mention, one other option is to build yourself a Small Form Factor PC. This can actually work out cheaper (and better than some NAS solutions) if done right.
 
Last edited:
Imy said:
Forgot to mention, one other option is to build yourself a Small Form Factor PC. This can actually work out cheaper (and better than some NAS solutions) if done right.
Click to expand...

If you want to use 4 drives then SFF kinda tight for that many drives, probably look at maxi tower, perhaps the 4 drives in a Scythe Kama bay (quiet with decent cooling)
 
Haven't used that unit, but had the D-Link DNS-323 for a while.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-000-DL&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=707

Pretty easy to use, push in hard drives, connect via Ip, it'll then go through installation (drive parition type, raid or jbod) search for it on your LAN and start copying to it.

I would like open source firmware (would like to stop fan when HD are off), it could be slightly quieter (fan) apart from that fine does the job. You can install Linux but can brick it so for me it's not worth it
 
As I said earlier I'm using a 1 disk version of the earlier model, newer models are generally a bit faster cpu and more ram. What info you want to know.
 
lsg1r said:
As I said earlier I'm using a 1 disk version of the earlier model, newer models are generally a bit faster cpu and more ram. What info you want to know.
Click to expand...

Just a couple of quick questions sir :)

-Can/do you turn it on and off at any time you please? Could i simply turn it on only when i want to backup files ?
-Do you just map the drive to your pc so it reconnects everytime you want to use it ?
-Does it have the hibernate facility so it turns off when not used? So you can leave it turned on.

Thank you.
 
You can shut it off remotely, but you can't switch it on remotely, Just switch it on or access the path when you need to read/write.
You can map the NAS as a drive, mine is Z:
After 30 minutes the hard drives shut off
 
1) yes theres an on off switch at the front, you can turn it off via the internal control/menu's. Also can be set to automatically turn on again after a power failure. Can be set to turn off when linked into apc ups too.

2) yes, in my case (xp) the folders show up (set up for web & ftp access from web etc) in the my network places. Only needed to add password (admin priv) the first time so that they can all be accessed. They can also be mapped via the usual routes and the disk supplied utils help with the setting up. I have upnp turned on so after a reinstall xp detected them automatically (just needed upnp on in xp and the password)

3) hibernate - the disk can be set to spin down when not in use, configurable between 10mins and 5 hours.

Synology also have a good rep in regards to updating the older models along with the new ones, so if the your one was to be discontinued the firmware should still be supported for a fair while. I recently had an upgade that added itunes server to the list of features (it wasnt originally) :)
They also have a fairly useful forum with regular access by both the staff and a staff rep - linky
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom