Synology, Readynas or something else?

anonuk

anonuk

anonuk

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I am soon going to be setting up a cctv system at work. 4 x reolink Poe cameras, connected to a spare HP DL360p server we have available, which will be running Blue Iris.

Following advice, I want to use the server to manage the cameras/process the footage but want to store the actual footage on a NAS that’s in a separate part of the building.

I have used Synology Nas boxes before and like the software but I’ve seen a lot about issues with power supplies failing and so before I jump on a Synology (currently looking at the DS718+) I wondered what people’s thoughts are on the Netgear Readynas systems (something like the Readynas 424).

As it will be used for business I’m not too bothered about apps but I would like the option to be able to sync the Nas to either onedrive or another remote Nas.

The thing I like about the netgear systems is the next day replacements they offer, but I would much prefer a reliable system that doesn’t need a replacement in the first place :)
 
I'd always take Synology or Qnap over Netgear. But that's a bad taste left from getting shafted by NG support/warranty a while ago.

Synology support was fantastic when I had to deal with them however.
 
neil_g said:
I'd always take Synology or Qnap over Netgear. But that's a bad taste left from getting shafted by NG support/warranty a while ago.

Synology support was fantastic when I had to deal with them however.
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My initial thinking was to go for a Synology but then started to look at the Netgear as really like the other Netgear stuff I have (only have experience of their switches though).

I’ve watched a fair amount of videos over the past 24 hours and a lot of them suggest the hardware in a QNAP will be better for the same money as a Synology but the new QNAP’s with the blue down the side just look cheap (obviously a personal taste).

So anyway, I’ve boiled my selection down to the following options:

1) Synology 418 (although don’t like the sound of the Realtek cpu - is it worth the extra £145 to upgrade to the 918+?)
2) QNAP TS-431X2-2G
3) Netgear ReadyNas 424

Any thoughts on the above?
 
later this year synology are bring several new models, the 18s all seem to becoming 20s
not sure this helps you at all, but might prove interesting if you can pospone
 
Destination said:
later this year synology are bring several new models, the 18s all seem to becoming 20s
not sure this helps you at all, but might prove interesting if you can pospone
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Thanks, yeah I saw that. The rumours are that it’ll be July so will be holding out til then.
At the moment I’m gearing towards the Netgear though due to their next business day warranty replacement.
 
Netgear has a questionable history when it comes to NAS devices, for starters they have history for buying them in along with the support (or lack of). They also have an interesting take on ‘lifetime’ support, in the US your business class switch fails and you get a new one no questions asked, in the UK you get to learn from your mistakes and either re-solder your own caps, or buy from a reputable OEM. Synology on the other hand are not a brand I particularly like based on the way they treated customers with DSM planned obsolescence, however I have more faith in them to produce a NAS that is usable and support it than Netgear.
 
Avalon said:
Netgear has a questionable history when it comes to NAS devices, for starters they have history for buying them in along with the support (or lack of). They also have an interesting take on ‘lifetime’ support, in the US your business class switch fails and you get a new one no questions asked, in the UK you get to learn from your mistakes and either re-solder your own caps, or buy from a reputable OEM. Synology on the other hand are not a brand I particularly like based on the way they treated customers with DSM planned obsolescence, however I have more faith in them to produce a NAS that is usable and support it than Netgear.
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It’s the fact that Synology only allow you three major release updates that is stopping me from going Synology if I’m honest. That coupled with everything I’ve read about Netgear claims they offer next business day replacements (although as you say that may be us specific, I’ve not seen anything differentiate between UK and US).

It’s a tricky one because all I need this particular Nas for is to make my storage accessible in another part of the building, so I don’t need any of the amazing apps that Synology or QNAP offer but with it being for CCTV footage, need something with decent read/write speeds and that’s 100% reliable. If I could get a super long usb3 cable up there, I would go that route instead but just not feasible.

I was also tempted to look at building an unraid or xpenology box but came back to needing something that just works.
 
Synology used to be a lot worse, at one point they would sell you a mid-higher end NAS, a few years later claim it couldn't have the latest DSM because it wasn't certified and that was the lifecycle policy, but you could buy essentially the same hardware with ongoing DSM support and a new model number just now lower in the range or as many did, cross flash the firmware - it was beyond stupid. Surely if its a business you must have additional network storage available, is rolling some shared space or something like FreeNAS possible if it's a small business?
 
Avalon said:
Synology used to be a lot worse, at one point they would sell you a mid-higher end NAS, a few years later claim it couldn't have the latest DSM because it wasn't certified and that was the lifecycle policy, but you could buy essentially the same hardware with ongoing DSM support and a new model number just now lower in the range or as many did, cross flash the firmware - it was beyond stupid. Surely if its a business you must have additional network storage available, is rolling some shared space or something like FreeNAS possible if it's a small business?
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All of our storage at present is in the server rack and while there’s plenty spare, we are trying to have the CCTV footage somewhere other than the server rack in the event that the server rack gets stolen (the only place we could have the server rack was in the stairwell which is close to the main entrance).

As I said, I have considered FreeNAS - I could build a FreeNAS system (or repurpose a used Dell optiplex) for less than a Nas but something as critical as CCTV footage needs to be stable/reliable and I’m not at all convinced FreeNAS is reliable enough (although it’s likely come a long way since I last tried it).
 
A story about netgear nas replacements, bear in mind this was a few years ago.

I had 2 readynas, 1 of which had a couple of issues. Contacted netgear and they said they'd replace it.

What turned up (twice) was the most beaten up unit I had ever seen. It literally looked like it has fallen down the stairs. They reluctantly agreed to replace the first (although reconditioned units are normal) and the second wasn't much better.

I argued with them for a while and they could/would not commit to a good condition unit. So I sold both units and moved on to Synology and Qnap and never looked back.

A story about Synology replacements, I had a ds1010+ and when I expanded into bay 5 it turned out to be a dodgy backplane. Synology support dialed in and checked it before sending what seemed like a brand new unit.
 
In my old job I never had an issue with warranty swap outs on Netgear switches but we were a PowerShift partner so had dedicated support access.

My concern with NG NAS products is how long will they be around? For QNAP & Synology it's absolute core business but I suspect online sharing has eroded the lower end NAS market and will Netgear stay in it? A search of the press releases on https://www.netgear.com/about/press-releases/ (and the .co.uk site) shows no mention of ReadyNAS product launches since 2017...
 
yeah this was consumer support so mileage may vary etc.

to be honest ive never met any IT guy/girl that would put netgear into their infrastructure (OCUK will prove me wrong now) but thats purely anecdotal.
 
neil_g said:
yeah this was consumer support so mileage may vary etc.

to be honest ive never met any IT guy/girl that would put netgear into their infrastructure (OCUK will prove me wrong now) but thats purely anecdotal.
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I’ll be honest, I really like the Netgear switches we have (not least because our main switch, with 4 x 10Gbe SFP+ ports was peanuts off flee bay and in mint condition), but have always used Netgear switches.

I have looked at ubiquiti switches and while in general I like their stuff, I find they have been somewhat slow on releasing their 10Gbe stuff so haven’t looked at them this time round (just bought a 24 port Netgear POE switch for cameras and voip).

However, I’ve never tried their Nas boxes and can’t find much about them in terms of real user reviews (plenty from companies selling them). Think I might just settle for a Synology or go with something like a basic WD Nas and be done with it.
 
neil_g said:
to be honest ive never met any IT guy/girl that would put netgear into their infrastructure (OCUK will prove me wrong now) but thats purely anecdotal.
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* Raises hand * :D

(Although to be fair it's only the metal cased "Prosafe" Netgear equipment, but we tend to use it for small under desk switches, or small PoE switches to support CCTV etc)
 
I have owned both Netgear NAS products and QNAP. No experience with Synology.

In my opinion, at a hardware level, given they all offer RAID and separate to throughput based on which model you look at, the biggest differentiator is the operating system.

The QNAP OS (QTS) is much better and more advance than the Netgear OS. I would highly recommend the QNAP. It also has dedicated apps for CCTV such as this: https://www.qnap.com/solution/surveillance-station-intro/en/
 
Don't discount Asustor. Even their earliest models are still on the current version of ADM, possibly a bonus of only using Intel CPUs. The AS5304T (Nimbustor 4) is considerably cheaper than the DS918+, has a better CPU and two 2.5Ghz LAN ports.
 
Snapshot said:
Don't discount Asustor. Even their earliest models are still on the current version of ADM, possibly a bonus of only using Intel CPUs. The AS5304T (Nimbustor 4) is considerably cheaper than the DS918+, has a better CPU and two 2.5Ghz LAN ports.
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I remember looking at those when I bought my last Qnap. They looked very good value for money but I was concerned their OS software may not be kept up to date with new features. I know Qnap have been innovating a lot recently and adding lots of new features such as AI driven photography apps
 
Snapshot said:
Don't discount Asustor. Even their earliest models are still on the current version of ADM, possibly a bonus of only using Intel CPUs. The AS5304T (Nimbustor 4) is considerably cheaper than the DS918+, has a better CPU and two 2.5Ghz LAN ports.
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The Synology 420+ will probably be more than sufficient for my needs which is a bit cheaper than the asustor.

I’m also likely going to have a Dell Optiplex Core i5 becomes available shortly (due to an upgrade) so one option is to buy a raid card and use that with truenas/FreeNAS or something similar.
 
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