Which Nas for iTunes? Or should I get a Microserver?

macally

macally

macally

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As previously posted, my wife and I have a lot of music stored digitally. We would like to centralise this and store it on an 'iTunes server', access the iTunes server from both out computers (iMacs) and also be able to iTunes Match to access the music on the AppleTV and our iPhones, etc.

So, what's the best Nas drive for using as an iTunes server? I've not got loads of money to spend but want something that's going to be fairly decent speed and more importantly, reliable.

I'm assuming that to achieve what I want, I only need to use the NAS as a shared network drive and store all music on that rather than using an actual iTunes server function. Is that correct?

Edit: Just a thought, would I be better off getting something like a HP Microserver and running FreeNas on it?
 
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The Microserver for £98~ after cashback with Freenas is far better then any NAS in function and flexibility. You could use it as Apple Time Machine as well too keep backups of your Macs.
 
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Just got myself a DS213J. For me the size, energy consumption, noise and ease of use was well worth the £60 extra compared to a DIY solution. It does everything I want and more - I'm still playing around with new features over a week after I set it up.

It sounds like you just want something that will work and stay working from day 1. I wouldn't bother with a microserver.
 
I got a 213J as well. Brilliant but of kit and a massive upgrade from a MyBook Live. That said, I'd be half tempted to get a decent router and plug in a usb hard drive. This way you get decent wireless performance and an easy way to stream music. It won't act as a media server but you could just add the location to iTunes and free up your space on the PC
 
drakioned said:
+1 for microserver. I just got my 2nd.

It might be a bit more hassle but if you can do more with it if you decide to.
Click to expand...

Yep, another vote for microserver. Far more powerful with significantly increased storage potential. My DS109 is now sitting gathering dust.
 
Microserver is always going to be more work - the Synology really gets the "Just works" philosophy - it couldn't be any easier to set up.

That said, installing Amahi or FreeNAS isn't much more taxing and gives you much more flexibility with a full OS - the Synology will always be just a NAS, albeit a fairly flexible one.

The Diskstation has the advantages of twice as many disk slots, however, plus expandable RAM, the potential for multiple network interfaces, and comes with a 250GB HDD. It could also double up as a HTPC or, in a pinch, as a backup PC in it's own right.

(I just bought the Microserver)
 
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