Need some advise about value for money NAS for SOHO

LJetstar777 on 10/03/2014 - 10:32

Hi everyone,
I'm after useful advice on setting up a NAS server in my small office at home. I own a photography business and so need storage for all the images. I also have a movies for the family on hard drives.

My set up is currently a HP Media Centre PC running WIN7. This has 2 TB HD. I also have a 1 TB external HD.

I would like to put my photos and movies songs etc on a server of sorts which can be shared on a network or even accessed remotely (not as important). It is very important that I have back up facility and redundancy if a drive fails.

There are so many options and products its a bit daunting. I also don't have the funds to spend big bucks so basically a value for money (but reliable) unit recommendation please.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

Computing NAS

Comments

  • ihfree on 10/03/2014 - 11:29
    +1

    Some options I would consider are(depending on level of expertise):

    1) Re purpose existing PC - run either Freenas or a Linux variant
    2) Off the shelf product - eg Synology NAS
    3) Microserver - run either Freenas or a Linux variant

    -Choose a Raid or Mirrored Mode
    http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Volumes
    http://www.synology.com/en-us/support/tutorials/512)

    -Setup backup to a USB disk
    http://www.spiderwebsolutions.com.au/backup-to-usb-external-…
    https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/tutorials/517

    • Jetstar777 on 10/03/2014 - 23:17

      Great info there ihfree. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but no slouch either :-) I looked at those links of yours, this gives me some good ideas.

      Cheers
      Mike

  • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2014 - 12:51
    +1

    Hi Jetstar777,

    I am a bit of a sucker for the Micro-servers (N54L) I have 2 of them now and use one as a media server and one as a KVM box for Linux labs.

    They have 4 bays installed so it is easy to expand to 4 drives. With a little bit of live you can install another two drives for a total of 6. Currently, I have 4 x 3 TB installed for a total of 12TB storage.

    I picked it up on special for $200. The drives cost whatever they cost (Last look about $179 each). Next on that, I installed a cheap ($45) video card, you wont need this though if you don't need the hdmi interface. They have an on-board VGA connector.

    They ship with 2gb of RAM, if that is enough for you, good stuff. I installed 8gb which I don't use - I just like big numbers.

    You are able to establish a software raid (if you use Linux its easy enough) and create it as raid5. It's not a backup though, no raid is. It just lets you restore the raid in event of hard drive failure. If you need backup, you will need more storage - preferably off-site.

    Either way, with a micro-server you will have presumably as much storage as you need with configurable remote and local access as required. If you are not much of a Linux person, I can't help as I don't know windows servers at all…

    • Jetstar777 on 10/03/2014 - 23:25

      This micro server idea seems to be a good economical way to do it staticNOde.Your right about backup, the best way is to have various methods of back up and keep them up to date. Any thoughts about a good cloud based one that doesn't cost the earth? I'll also look at the back up method ihfree mentions as well.
      Thanks again!
      Mike

  • ode1online on 10/03/2014 - 13:06
    +1

    I like the Micro-server as well as Windows Home Server 2011 (whs on ebay for about $80)

    WHS2011 is easy to setup (its a stripped down version of Server 2008)
    and works well with windows media centre. WHS2011 also takes a Daily backup of your PC's once you install the WHS connector

    My current setup hasn't changed in 2 years, its very stable

    HP Micro Server (added DVD ROM and EXTRA RAM as well as 4 HDD's)
    Whs2011
    Stablebit DRIVEPOOL (Hard drive storage extender)

    ON my PC (laptop) connected to my AV receiver I run Windows 7 MCE (always Loads by default)
    And the MEDIA BROWSER software (this downloads the Album art for all movies and TV series automatically META)
    I also use Shark Codecs to decode (play) ALL file types

    That's about it. I have my Movies TV shows Music and Photos available across all my devices

    Good luck with your search, let us know how you go

    • Jetstar777 on 10/03/2014 - 23:28
      +1

      Thanks ode1… Sounds like the way to go heh? I'll look at that whs2011 as well!…cheers!
      Mike

  • batfastard on 11/03/2014 - 07:25
    +1

    1. Dlink nas raid enclosure - $100 off eBay

    2. 2x 3tb HDDs from your local computer shop @ about $150

    This will give you a good basic working nas raid setup for about $400 total

    • Jetstar777 on 13/03/2014 - 02:23

      Thanks!…much appreciated. I'm checking out all options provided here, so thank you for your suggestion!

  • zambuck on 11/03/2014 - 07:33
    +1

    My advice based on personal experience:

    • For the simplest solution in terms of administration, a Drobo is a good solution, though not cheap, and the basic models lack the extra functionality of many NASs. I've recommended a Drobo for friends who are technophobes but who want a resilient storage solution.
    • I've used a QNAP TS-410 NAS for quite a while, learning that creating large RAID sets on a NAS with moderate to low CPU power can result in RAID rebuilds that take days to complete. Something of that power is also not capable of sustained multi-user access without issues.
    • I've had a Thecus N5200XXX NAS for a while and have been happy with its performance and functionality.

    Whatever solution you end up with, make sure you do your own testing up front. Ideally copy enough data onto it first to get it at least half full, then simulate a failure by pulling a disk (ideally in a manufacturer supported manner, but I tend to carefully pull a disk even while it's running). Then see what's involved in performing a recovery, and how long it takes to complete.

    Also, even with a NAS or mirrored drive, you still need to perform backups. Most NAS operating systems include built-in scheduling for backups to external USB devices, and some support rsync across the network to other NAS devices.

    • Jetstar777 on 13/03/2014 - 02:26

      Interesting alternative. Cost is a factor but we'll see how this weighs up in terms of functionality. Reliability is also a key factor. Thanks for your advice!

  • mashimoro123 on 21/06/2014 - 23:01

    i've got a Thecus N5550 at home, works :)

    but sometimes, i think it's a great unit for storage.

    quiet stable and attractive price!

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