NAS Recommendations (and Expectations)

[Andybtsn]

Hi all,

I hope you can help me.

I currently use OneDrive for all my storage needs, I am very near maxing out the 1TB subscription on pictures alone so either I pay for more storage taking the sub to around 12.99 for an extra 1TB or kill two birds with one stone and go for storage on-prem. The reason to kill two birds is that I currently have a NAS, a 12-year-old WD MyCloud; it currently stores all my films and music, and via DLNA, I stream my movies to Kodi apps on smart TVs and the like, and all works fine.

What I am after with a new NAS.

- Mapped drives, all family members can save their pics/docs etc., to shared drives but with some privacy, i.e. I, as an admin, can edit everything; my daughter, for example, can't go in delete folders and such. OneDrive replication does this well, but it could be quicker, my PC can take forever to open up a folder with many pics in there for example; I'm not sure there would be better performance but if I could setup My Docs and Pics in the same way, and it replicates to the NAS, that would work too.
- Media Centre. Currently, we have around 5 TVs in the house with Kodi on them, all with different setups. You can't pause something on one Kodi app and resume in another room. Is this possible? To have one central Kodi database and all the other apps pull from this?

These are my two primary wants with a NAS. But security/resilience is critical; I don't want to lose any data and wish to future-proof myself as much as possible. I'm not sure what RAID config would serve me best?

My current setup works, but ideally, I'd like my setup in-house, as I know I need to replace the WD soon anyway.

Thoughts? And what NAS would you recommend with what drives?

Cheers!

 

[spile]

I use a 2 bay Qnap to do pretty much what you do. A NAS is not going to compete with local solid state so I use QSync to duplicate local and network content. All lan of course. If I need remote access I use a vpn server (no port forwarding) or cloud service.

 

[Armageus]

- Media Centre. Currently, we have around 5 TVs in the house with Kodi on them, all with different setups. You can't pause something on one Kodi app and resume in another room. Is this possible? To have one central Kodi database and all the other apps pull from this?

Plex/Emby/Jellyfin are the logical migration from Kodi - they are designed for multi-user/multi-device media access from a central database (stored on your NAS)

These are my two primary wants with a NAS. But security/resilience is critical; I don't want to lose any data and wish to future-proof myself as much as possible. I'm not sure what RAID config would serve me best?

Unless you're going for a bigger NAS - e.g. 5 bays or more, the only real option that makes sense is RAID1/RAID10, so that each drive is mirrored. With 5 or more bays, you can do things like have a 3 disk - RAID5 to maximize space e.g. for relatively replaceable data like music/videos, whilst still have a 2 drive RAID1 mirror for important data.

 

[Andybtsn]

Thank you for the responses. @Armageus, that sounds ideal to me.

I was hoping to get something in for around £600 with drives. Are there any recommendations for which to go?

 

[Armageus]

Synology DS220+ is the cheapest option worth considering - it's a 2 bay NAS with an Intel processor (Useful if needed for Transcoding media in plex). Downsides are no NVME slots for caching or extra storage, and only gigabit lan.
Beyond that unfortunately I'm struggling to recommend any other Synology around or even just above your budget as they either don't have an Intel cpu, or don't have 2.5Gb or better Lan - it's a Shame as Synology's software is probably the benchmark for "it just works" NAS usage, but their hardware seems to lag behind a lot.

Download Center - download | Synology Inc.

Centralize data storage and backup, streamline file collaboration, optimize video management, and secure network deployment to facilitate data management.

www.synology.com

(DS723+ almost fits the bill, but has an AMD ryzen rather than intel, so transcoding isn't necessarily hardware accelerated, but has NVME drives, 10Gb Ethernet option and upgradable RAM)


QNAP TS-264 or TS-364 would be my other choices, although once you factor in drives they'll be a bit over budget.
However they have all of the following features that I'd consider essential for a modern nas:
- Intel CPU
- 2.5Gb Network
- support for 2x NVMe Drives, either for Caching, or for an additional storage volume (e.g. on the TS-364 you could use the 3xHDD in RAID5 for media and NVME for data)
- TS-264 has optional 10Gb Ethernet, whereas TS-364 has upgradeable RAM (e.g. if you are running lots of virtual machines/dockers etc)

TS-264 | Bye-bye Gigabit NAS, hello 2.5GbE NAS.

TS-264 is a compact 2-bay NAS with superior performance. Supporting up to 24 TB storage and 4 TB M.2 SSD caching* at an affordable price, the TS-264 fulfills your multitasking challenges for file management, backup, collaboration, and video conversion.The TS-264 uses the QTS operating system by...

www.qnap.com

TS-364 | High-performance 3-bay RAID 5 2.5GbE NAS with M.2 SSD caching for running virtual machines and Qtier

The 3-bay TS-364 not only allows you to enjoy the higher performance and data protection of RAID 5 using the fewest number of disks, but also features M.2 SSD slots and efficient auto-tiered storage to realize optimal system performance. The TS-364 has a 2.5GbE port to enhance daily use and to...

www.qnap.com

 

[Andybtsn]

Synology DS220+ is the cheapest option worth considering - it's a 2 bay NAS with an Intel processor (Useful if needed for Transcoding media in plex). Downsides are no NVME slots for caching or extra storage, and only gigabit lan.
Beyond that unfortunately I'm struggling to recommend any other Synology around or even just above your budget as they either don't have an Intel cpu, or don't have 2.5Gb or better Lan - it's a Shame as Synology's software is probably the benchmark for "it just works" NAS usage, but their hardware seems to lag behind a lot.

Download Center - download | Synology Inc.

Centralize data storage and backup, streamline file collaboration, optimize video management, and secure network deployment to facilitate data management.

www.synology.com

(DS723+ almost fits the bill, but has an AMD ryzen rather than intel, so transcoding isn't necessarily hardware accelerated, but has NVME drives, 10Gb Ethernet option and upgradable RAM)


QNAP TS-264 or TS-364 would be my other choices, although once you factor in drives they'll be a bit over budget.
However they have all of the following features that I'd consider essential for a modern nas:
- Intel CPU
- 2.5Gb Network
- support for 2x NVMe Drives, either for Caching, or for an additional storage volume (e.g. on the TS-364 you could use the 3xHDD in RAID5 for media and NVME for data)
- TS-264 has optional 10Gb Ethernet, whereas TS-364 has upgradeable RAM (e.g. if you are running lots of virtual machines/dockers etc)

TS-264 | Bye-bye Gigabit NAS, hello 2.5GbE NAS.

TS-264 is a compact 2-bay NAS with superior performance. Supporting up to 24 TB storage and 4 TB M.2 SSD caching* at an affordable price, the TS-264 fulfills your multitasking challenges for file management, backup, collaboration, and video conversion.The TS-264 uses the QTS operating system by...

www.qnap.com

TS-364 | High-performance 3-bay RAID 5 2.5GbE NAS with M.2 SSD caching for running virtual machines and Qtier

The 3-bay TS-364 not only allows you to enjoy the higher performance and data protection of RAID 5 using the fewest number of disks, but also features M.2 SSD slots and efficient auto-tiered storage to realize optimal system performance. The TS-364 has a 2.5GbE port to enhance daily use and to...

www.qnap.com

Thanks mate. I will bear them in mind. For future-proofing, is there a model you would go for? I don't always stick to a budget, and for extra coins, getting the right fit is more practical, especially how long my current NAS has lasted!

 

[Armageus]

Thanks mate. I will bear them in mind. For future-proofing, is there a model you would go for? I don't always stick to a budget, and for extra coins, getting the right fit is more practical, especially how long my current NAS has lasted!

Not too expensive (£770), but almost as future proof as you can get - TS-664-4G

TS-664 | Bye-bye Gigabit NAS, hello 2.5GbE NAS.

TS-664 is a compact 6-bay NAS with superior performance. Supporting up to 110 TB storage and 4 TB M.2 SSD caching* at an affordable price, the TS-664 fulfills your multitasking challenges for file management, backup, collaboration, and video conversion.

www.qnap.com

Quad core Intel Celeron - supports Hardware accelerated Transcoding
4GB RAM (but has 2 dimm slots and supports 16GB)
2x 2.5GB Network ports, but also has a 10GB option
2x NVMe slots for Caching, or fast storage pool
6x 3.5" bays - gives you flexibility for a 4 drive RAID5 just for media, and still leaves 2 bays for a RAID1 mirror of important data

 

[ChrisD.]

I had QNAP for years, wouldn't get another one, last one was a piece of junk and support were unhelpful. Gone with Synology and couldn't be happier.

 

[Armageus]

Gone with Synology and couldn't be happier.

As a DS1520+ owner I love the software, just a shame that the hardware all seems to be deliberately limited in some way to force you up the product range.

Synology's recent business practices also leave a sour taste in my mouth (Compatibility "warnings" with Non-Synology branded drives, not allowing storage volumes on Non-Synology NVMe drives etc)

 

[ChrisD.]

As a DS1520+ owner I love the software, just a shame that the hardware all seems to be deliberately limited in some way to force you up the product range.

Synology's recent business practices also leave a sour taste in my mouth (Compatibility "warnings" with Non-Synology branded drives, not allowing storage volumes on Non-Synology NVMe drives etc)

Can't argue with that, but the one time I asked Synology for support, they helped out and released an update shortly afterwards and kept me in the loop (with Toshiba drives in it).

QNAP took over a week to get back to me and then repeatedly tried blaming the RAM even though the issue was reproduced with their own RAM. They were extremely unhelpful, that together with the pretty poor OS and randomness was enough for me.

I have a DS1821+ and it runs extremely well, to the point I forget it exists.

 

[spile]

I had QNAP for years, wouldn't get another one, last one was a piece of junk and support were unhelpful. Gone with Synology and couldn't be happier.

My Qnap TS251+ has been great . Personally any support issues have been resolved to my satisfaction and it’s been solid and very reliable. I know many have issues with Qnap though.

 

[ChrisD.]

My Qnap TS251+ has been great . Personally any support issues have been resolved to my satisfaction and it’s been solid and very reliable. I know many have issues with Qnap though.

Issues such as lazy devs suing silly passwords on apps which have opened the door for multiple ransomware attacks over the years.

 

[Andybtsn]

Honestly still don’t know what to go for. After pricing up drives to go with the ts-664 I’m not sure it’s completely overkill for what I need. I just don’t want to be disappointed. I think I’d be happy with anything with 4 bays anyway.

 

[ChrisD.]

- Media Centre. Currently, we have around 5 TVs in the house with Kodi on them, all with different setups. You can't pause something on one Kodi app and resume in another room. Is this possible? To have one central Kodi database and all the other apps pull from this?

For this look at Plex rather than Kodi.

 

[Armageus]

Honestly still don’t know what to go for. After pricing up drives to go with the ts-664 I’m not sure it’s completely overkill for what I need. I just don’t want to be disappointed. I think I’d be happy with anything with 4 bays anyway.

It is overkill, but unless anyone has any better suggestions it's the one option that I can see that is "future proof" if you do decide to use your NAS for more than just a few files. If it was a Synology I would recommend it without hesitation.

You can go cheaper but the limitations *may* bite you at some point depending on what you use it for
e.g.
- You can go for an ARM-based CPU, or a Ryzen CPU (as used in newer Synology) - but neither support hardware accelerated transcoding afaik with Plex/Emby, meaning if your client device doesn't support the format your video file is in, then it will use the CPU to convert it (which can be very intensive)
- You can go for less ram or non-upgradable, but this limits options for running VMs or Docker images e.g. stuff like pihole
- You can skip 2.5Gb and faster ethernet, but most motherboards are moving towards this, and it's great for faster backups and the like
- You can skip NVMe slots, but they improve performance of VMs, accelerate metadata on Plex etc


The other option is to build your own - and use Unraid, but again it's a trade off in terms of higher power usage, noise / form factor and not necessarily a "it just works" solution like Synology/QNAP etc are

 

[Quartz]

But security/resilience is critical;

Get yourself a NAS that you can backup to an external USB drive.

 

[spile]

Issues such as lazy devs suing silly passwords on apps which have opened the door for multiple ransomware attacks over the years.

This is what I was referring to but many years ago I realised that exposing a NAS (regardless of manufacturer) is bad practice.

 

[ChrisD.]

This is what I was referring to but many years ago I realised that exposing a NAS (regardless of manufacturer) is bad practice.

It doesn’t matter what you expose and what you don’t, multiple
Vulnerabilities on different devices are used throughout an attack.

 

[spile]

It doesn’t matter what you expose and what you don’t, multiple
Vulnerabilities on different devices are used throughout an attack.

That’s why we do risk assessments and mitigate. Exposing a vulnerable device is way more likely to have it subject to attack.

 

[montymint]

I self built and went with unraid, which gave me the flexibility I required.