Recommend a NAS box

Van Diemen

Van Diemen

Van Diemen

Soldato
Joined
8 Jan 2007
Posts
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Location
London & Dubai
I'm looking for a 2 or 4 bay NAS-box that will allow me to share files with my colleagues. They need to be able to view & download my files via a web browser (mainly office docs, power point presentations & videos). Would ideally like to have some kind of username & password for the users to log in to the NAS

Work have already provided me with a pair of 2TB Hitachi hard drives.

I was thinking of something like the Synology DS212 or DS411. Are these suitable for my needs?

Seen the following @ OCUK:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-010-SY&groupid=46&catid=2125&subcat=

Any & all advice welcome
 
Last edited:
Not at all.

I've owned a few NAS devices and now have a Synology DS410, hands down the best out of the lot. Its quiet, rock solid stable and the Synology DSM software (Web interface) is fantastic. DSM 4 is coming out soon which looks even better: http://originwww.synology.com/dsm/dsm4.0_beta.php?lang=enu

DS411 would be a great choice, all I will say is there are reports of the Fan on the motherboard failing/becoming noisy after a year. The DS410 is passive and doesnt have that issue.
 
I have a Synology 211J fitted with 2 x Hitachi 3TB 7200rpm drives.

It's been very reliable so far. No crashes. Fan slightly noisy at times but not really a problem. Easy to set-up. Have done one DSM firmware upgrade so far which was quick and easy.

Can't really advise on the file sharing side as mine is purely set up for iSCSI (which was easy to configure) so most of the file sharing and access control doesn't apply. Performance over Gigabit Ethernet is great - just like working with an internal drive.

I agree with celliott - the DSM software is really nice to use. Just like working with a Linux desktop.

I like it enough that I am considering getting another as I have a couple of spare drives lying around.
 
I did own a Synology 2-bay NAS but couldn't get on with it. It didn't have enough support for a NAS newbie like myself. So I sold it and have now got a Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 2. It's pretty easy to use and works great :)
 
Marky said:
I did own a Synology 2-bay NAS but couldn't get on with it. It didn't have enough support for a NAS newbie like myself. So I sold it and have now got a Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 2. It's pretty easy to use and works great :)
Click to expand...

What is the file sharing over the internet like with both of these models?
 
I currently have a DS210j but also a DS212 whcih I am reviewing. Immensely easy to sue/setup. iOS/Android apps make accessing files on the go a doddle.

The new DSM 4.0 is really good, although beta I haven't found any bugs.
 
I have narrowed it down to either the DS411 or DS411j.

Is there any real difference between the two other than CPU & RAM?

Will I notice any real differences in performance?
 
The only "pain in the ass" whichever one you choose is that the DSM (OS) is actually installed to the drives with your array on as well so if that drive goes down ........

Just make provision for regualar external backups of all data to a external storage device(s)

The only real difference between them is slight hardware specs and the colour of the box it comes in !!! :)
 
The j models are slower and aimed at small networks with not much traffic. If you are going to be hosting a web site, email server or share files with more than just 3-4 friends go for the non-j version even if it is an older model.
 
I recently got a DS212J and love it. DSM is excellent.

If your willing to pay a bit more I'm sure the DS212 will server you well.
 
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