Synology v QNAP - NAS v PC

I got a Synology DS207 NAS about 2 months ago.

I was in the same dilemna (use PC or get a NAS) but I definitely made the right choice. It then came down to QNap or Synology but in the end the DS207 was an excellent price so I couldn't say no really. Very happy with the purchase.

Even managed to train the GF to use it to access media when I'm away which is saying something :D
 
I've never heard of that but it seems really useful. I have used opendns so I presume it is the same idea where clients propagate any changes in a dynamic ip address.

Would I be able to use a subdomain on my website domain name for accessing a nas box?
In other words, could i use nas.mywebsite.com? Maybe you have to use a custom dyndns url for this.
 
I bought the DS210 earlier this year as my first forray into the NAS world. It's possibly the best bit of kit I've ever bought and now I just want to get a faster one! :p The 710 is the top of my wish list, I just neeed to check it'll fit where the 210 currently lives.
 
The 710 does seem great but it's too pricey for me.

I'm still not sure how the NAS is actually accessed though. Does it appear as a device under networking? Or do you map it as a network drive?

Do you have to set folder level permissions or can I just share the whole thing out?

I will be wanting a number of family members to be able to use it for backups so I'm not sure how I would structure the data.

Can you give any info on the way this works?
 
Mine is mapped as a network drive. Each person that can log onto the network has privileges set. As for network set up, I just made sure that there is an address reserved for it as I do with all our PCs (and phones, printer etc).

Onto the network drive I've created a folder for each PC in the house where it's contents from things like outlook, firefox etc are backed up by the software that comes from Synology (as well as images of the OS installations). Stuff like music, videos, photos etc are just accessed by everyone with some limitations on privileges for some (read 'Mrs Wolvers'!). The HTPC has everything possible stored on the NAS, even the steam folder!

If you want, you can set up folders for each individual and let them manage what's in them and only allow them access to those folders and possibly one common folder. Alternatively you could create partitions and do it that way. It's incredibly flexible and they have a ton of features you may never even look at let alone use!

I also have a large USB drive attached to mine that backs up the contents of the NAS automatically, all controlled by the NAS itself. I can't stress how much easier it made the management of all the data on the PC's in our house, having the NAS. That's why I've decided to upgrade it as it's just so central to everything now.
 
Last edited:
i have installed many NAS units, QNAP have always been the most versatile units and also knock out some of the fastest speeds.

I use a TS-210 at home, this is GREAT! avg speeds of 28MB/s but it acts as a DLNA unit so you can stream to a PS3 and also can be used for a Server with its MYSQL functions too.
 
wolvers69 said:
Onto the network drive I've created a folder for each PC in the house where it's contents from things like outlook, firefox etc are backed up by the software that comes from Synology (as well as images of the OS installations). Stuff like music, videos, photos etc are just accessed by everyone with some limitations on privileges for some (read 'Mrs Wolvers'!). The HTPC has everything possible stored on the NAS, even the steam folder!
Click to expand...

Does all the extra features create their own folders?

Ideally I'd like the root to be just my own created folders and nothing else.

Can you map the root as a network drive or do you have to map separate folders like:

\\nas\downloads
\\nas\music
 
The back up suite makes folders inside whatever location you point it to. So for example;

P:\Backups\Desktop\'folder created here with back up'
P:\Backups\Media Center\'folder created here with back up'
P:\Backups\Laptop\'folder created here with back up'

Yes, you can map the root as a network drive and you can create the folders as you wish. So for example;

P:\Music
P:\Videos
P:\Photos

It just behaves as a HDD that all PCs can access, except that there is no indexing IIRC.

Apologies if I am telling you how to suck eggs here, and I hope some of this helps.
 
Last edited:
That does help. I don't think I would use any backup managers.

I have my own scripts that I'd like to run for this.

As long as the folder structures are fully flexible then that is good. I probably won't use many of the other features really.

It's just network wide storage that I am after really.

Another question: I have my work laptop which connects to a domain via vpn. Will I be able to see NAS if not in the same workgroup?
 
what are they like for security on your network? Any inbuilt firewalls to use within your router network (like a second defense?)

Reason I mention is if one pc gets a virus on the network, what about protection for the NAS?
 
I did a google for "ds211+" to see if there was any replacement for the 210+ and it does appear that something will soon be released.

Not sure of the exact specs but it could be worth waiting for.
 
Gangster said:
what are they like for security on your network? Any inbuilt firewalls to use within your router network (like a second defense?)

Reason I mention is if one pc gets a virus on the network, what about protection for the NAS?
Click to expand...

Good question that. In all honesty, I hadn't really given it much thought! :o I suppose I'd assumed that the AV software on the PC's should handle it.

There is a firewall built into the NAS but I haven't set any rules for it.

It's certainly something I will look into.
 
Got this response from Synology earlier:

"The new DS211+ will have a brand new design of the hardware like a bigger fan for better ventilation, a SD Card Slot, smart fan technology, and etc. Also, the CPU is going to be upgraded to 1.6GHz instead of its original 1.06 GHz frequency."

I think I will wait on this and see whether it is worth the extra over the DS211.
 
No idea on price but I'd say it would be similar to the DS210+. I think the + and the J ranges aren't suited to my needs so the middle DS211 should do the trick.
 
What do you all think of the Synology DS410?

I'm currently looking at it and putting 4 2TB drives in it as a mirrored solution.

It will be the sub of an office network where I will need to be storing anything up to 100GB folders at once.

I will be backing up to it using a variety of WinXP 32bit Vista 32/64 and Windows 7 64.

It's just occured to me about Windows XP - would it be able to see a 4TB drive over a network (obviously it can't support a 4TB drive in a machine it's directly connected with).
 
TheBigCheese said:
What do you all think of the Synology DS410?

It's just occured to me about Windows XP - would it be able to see a 4TB drive over a network (obviously it can't support a 4TB drive in a machine it's directly connected with).
Click to expand...

It's a decent NAS. Read/write is at 50MB/s from/to my RAID1 arrays. WinXP will be able to access a 4TB network drive.
 
If you want something that will work out of the box with a solid feel and premium price tag => QNAP don't go for the cheap nasty ARM based processor model.
look at the 239/259 Pro II ranges.

If you want something what will work out of the box with a plastic feel and a premium price tag with the exact same interface as the QNAP look at the synology solutions

Your write speeds to a NAS are limited by the speed of your network, and the memory amount in the NAS and the processors in the NAS.

You can't have a decent NAS system sitting at home and crappy network connection between the two device or a 10/100 network.

This is a quick screenie from my home built system..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom