A Newbie to NAS, I Need Some Help!

idobebrowsing on 11/07/2020 - 23:17
Last edited 12/07/2020 - 00:19

Hi everyone,

As the title said, I'm a newbie to the whole NAS thing and I'm pretty intrigued by it due to needing more space storage for my PC. Both of my m.2 SSD is being used so I didn't really want all the hassle of selling and transferring all my files to the new one. So I landed on a few youtube videos on the NAS system and I want some help with buying my first NAS and also some suggestion on what type of storage (Seagate, WD,..) I should get.

Here is what I'm looking to spend and what I will be using it for:

Mainly video editing and storing all my files in there including school work, (I was wondering if I can store applications in there like Photoshop,…)
My budget is currently around ~1500$

I've been looking through the internet and have found through a few NAS like Synology and for the storage, I've found stuff like Seagate Ironwolf, oh and is it possible to like utilise one bay in the system and leave the other one empty so if I need extra storage in the future I will just buy an extra one to put it. I would like to just buy one storage (10tb) first so I can use it then upgrade it later, or should I get multiple like 2tbx5?

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any help I can get.

edit: I just found out about shucking and luckily I had 3 backup MyBook thing that my school gave a few years ago, so right now I have 2x 2TB WD Red and 1x 3TB WD Blue

Computing

Comments

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 11/07/2020 - 23:35
    -7

    Am i the only one who has no idea what NAS is?

    • spackbace on 11/07/2020 - 23:46
      +4

      In the space of time it took you to write that comment, you could've googled it and got a simple answer.

      • srcc1 on 12/07/2020 - 12:23

        American Rapper?

    • bdl on 11/07/2020 - 23:57
      +3

      Nacho Attached Sustenance

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 00:16

      ur on the same page as me, I'm a noob so don't take my word, i think its a storage system that lets you store files externally through a hub/bay that you can plug in HDD. You can access it locally and online, its pretty neat if you don't want to go through the hassle of opening your PC to upgrade storage or for me saving video files on a different place is more tidy and reliable for me.

    • pjetson on 12/07/2020 - 13:00
      +3

      Am i the only one who has no idea what NAS is?

      https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Anas

  • bdl on 11/07/2020 - 23:56
    +2

    My budget is currently around ~1500$

    How much storage do you need now, and how much do you expect to need in six months? and in a year?

    Is your budget for NAS unit and disks?

    How do you currently back up the data that you have at present?

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 00:18

      As of right now I haven't really use any sort of back up yet and yes the budget is for both NAS and disks. I will be doing a lot of video filming and editing so I would say 10TB for a year is more than enough.

      Oh and i just found out about shucking and I saw that I have a few WD My Book so I opened them all up and found out that I have 2x 2TB WD Red and 1x 3TB Blue if that means anything.

  • Hybroid on 12/07/2020 - 00:21
    +1

    Since you're new to this, don't suggest building your own yet. Look for a good Synology deal and fill with HDDs as required for a reliable plug'n'play setup. You'll want a minimum of 2 or 3 drives for parity and redundancy.

    Before you delve in, spend some time and watch some Youtube videos that explain how NAS units work, show you overview of Synology software and explain the differences between all the RAID systems as you'll need to select one.

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 19:20

      Great I will look into this system thank you, my friend, who recently just bought it as well suggested it. He went with the 4 bay Raid 5 I think

  • phill360 on 12/07/2020 - 00:22

    I would look into Unraid, that’s what I use. You have to pay for OS but it’s major advantage over other setups is it allows you to drives of any size unlike other systems which require you to have drives that are the same size In order to use the entire drives capacity.

    Do you plan to use it for Plex or other media?

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 19:23

      Hmm I'll have to do more research about the Raids, I'm still new to this but thanks for the suggestions. I'm planning to use it when I need to render my video or whenever I need to go back and find old clips here and there to include it to the current video.

  • CyberMurning on 12/07/2020 - 09:02

    Wow which school gives out external drives to students?

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 19:19

      It was included in the school fees i presume, i went to a boarding school and all the kids there end up not using theirs so 80% of them who had one would throw them out the bin. If i had known back then i would've just taken them haha

  • CyberMurning on 12/07/2020 - 20:32

    I have Synology NAS.
    Yes if you have 5 bays you can put one or two or three HDD first and buy more later into the future.

    But if you want redundancy then you need to understand the less drives you are using the less options of redundancy you can get. Of course one HDD means no redundancy at all. Google and read what is RAID.

    I think only Synology allows you to mix and match different size of HDDs without losing too much HDD spaces

    Here see how much capacity you can get by using xx yy zz size of HDDs.
    https://www.synology.com/en-au/support/RAID_calculator

    For HDD brands, just get whatever your wallet happy with. 10 people swears WD is good, 10 others says Seagate is the best.
    And then there are different types of drives.
    Most people will recommend red drives ie drives that built for NAS, but for light user green ie cheaper drives are okay I guess.

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 21:06

      Thanks for the info, I will look into these and I think i will go for WD as I just shuck my old hard drives so I wouldn't have to spend much more money on drives. I'm current planning on using the 2x 2TB WD red and buying one more 10TB WD Red or do you have any recommendation on other drives from WD?

      • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 08:15
        +1

        You need to spend some time understanding a bit more about RAID - please don't waste money buying a 10TB drive then adding it to the other 2 x 2tb drives.
        If you look at the RAID calculator that CHiMot linked you will see that you would end up with (eg in RAID 5) 4TB Available/2TB protection/8TB unused.
        That's a total waste of a 10TB drive and money.
        Do you need a NAS (ie are you going to use it networked). Do need the backup/protection functionality or just looking for storage for 1 PC?
        Once you are clear on what you need it will make it much easier for you to decide where to spend your money.

        • CyberMurning on 13/07/2020 - 08:38

          yeah i already warned him about the sizes after RAID.
          wow didn't think it will ends up with 8tb unused…. i thought Syno RAID can give get less unused.

          and there is something need to be consider for future (this is for Synology):
          The number of disks in the RAID cannot be shrink, but only expand.
          And unfortunately, the replaced disk cannot be smaller than the smallest disk in the RAID.

  • CyberMurning on 12/07/2020 - 20:43

    No you can't install Photoshop in the Nas.
    Nas has low energy processors and weak GPU. It's purpose is not for that.

    • idobebrowsing on 12/07/2020 - 21:03

      Oh i see, thanks for the heads up

  • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 12:01

    By the way, if you were thinking of buying a 10TB drive and shucking it this is the most recent deal that I can see.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/551231

    • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 14:17

      Will Synlogy works if I mix and match brand? I have 2 x WD disks right now and Im not sure if it works when i put a Seagate disk in there

      • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 15:36

        Different brands should be fine (I'd keep them the same capacity and speed though).
        I have had Seagate Ironwolfs (Ironwolves?) and Toshiba N300s in one of my NAS units without any issues that I'm aware of.

        • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 15:39

          I shucked two of my old disk and they were a 2TB WD Red and I'm planning on buying this, is it a good idea?

  • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 15:43

    Just to give you one example within your budget -
    You could buy a Synology DS418Play ($679) as well as 4 x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf HDD (4 x $195) - Total $1459.
    I just quickly picked these at UMart - not suggesting this is exactly what you need or where you should buy from - just an example for you.

    • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 15:46

      Or to save some cash upfront just go with 2 drives to start. I much prefer to setup with new drives for a NAS rather than older repurposed drives with unknown history.
      Or buy that 10TB mentioned above, shuck it and just start with one drive until you work out what you need to do.

    • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 15:48

      Thanks for the suggestion, I was looking at the DS918+ and Ds1019+, is it any better than DS418Play? Apart from 1019+ 5 bay, its a going a bit over my budget but i think it is better in the long run if i ever wanted to upgrade my storage.

  • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 15:52

    I have the DS918+ but to be honest for my uses I could have been happy with the 418play. I just tend to buy the best that I can at the time - not very OzBargain of me but it's my one weakness.
    Both the 918+ and 1019+ are really nice units and you won't be disappointed but have a good look at what you will actually be using it for and see if the 418Play will do everything you need - savings can go towards larger drives :o)

  • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 15:56

    I have the same problem with always going for the best and disregarding the price. I will look into the 418Play, thanks for the suggestion. For the two hard drives its actually mine but i never knew there was a hard drive in there. So I shuck it and found two WD20EFRX, would this be good to use it in my NAS or I should just get a new one?

    • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 16:05

      Personally, I would be looking at new drives as large as you feel is practical for your uses (and I have not heard anyone yet say they wished they had put smaller drives in).
      You will very quickly fill a couple of small drives and then have to go through the exercise or expanding the array - if the drives are in anyway likely to fail they will do it in the middle of the rebuild (rebuilding does give the drives a real workout).

      Just a reminder, you will hear the phrase - "RAID is not a backup" (please make sure you put in place a thorough backup as you can lose a large anount of data once you start filling a NAS. Even just keeping another copy of the important data on another external drive is a good start.

      • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 16:20

        I'm still new to this whole thing so I will be sure to back up my files but still not sure how I will do this, also I heard I have to do something to clean the disk before actually using it NAS. I will probably just buy 4x Seagate as you suggested.

        • Grunntt on 13/07/2020 - 16:31

          Looks like a bit of reading ahead of you :o)
          Or maybe Youtube - I don't recall the ones I watched but there's a fair bit of useful information on their for someone new at it.
          Just don't do what I usually do - max out everything just because I can. (the credit card tends to groan sometimes)

          I wasn't suggesting those specific drives or that number - it was just an example of what is available - spend some time determining what you possibly need before you start spending money (you can always add drives to the NAS if you don't fill it immediately).
          It may be worth asking for advice on Whirlpool in the Networking forum - there are some pretty knowledgeable and helpful people on there.

          • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 16:40

            @Grunntt: Will do thank you for the help, much appreciated. I won't be filling all of the disk just yet but I will try to save as much as I can.

  • CyberMurning on 13/07/2020 - 16:42

    just to add to your confusion :)

    this is my setup:
    i have 5 bays Syno.

    • 1x80GB Hitachi old drive set as single storage (exclusively for torrenting), RAID 0
      this is Disk Group A with 1 volume

    • 2x3TB green WD, 1x4TB segate, 1x2TB samsung
      these 4 are made into Disk Group B with 1 volume, SNR
      for all the data, movies, documents, songs

    • idobebrowsing on 13/07/2020 - 18:17

      Alrighty my brain has left the chat, but thanks for this i can base off what others are doing and what could possibly be mine as well who knows. I will utilise my 2x shuck disks so i can save a bit of cash

    • kiitos on 17/07/2020 - 14:08

      Ok, so I think this answers the question I had when I saw comments about mixing 2TB and 10TB drives above - so you can set up multiple disk groups in the same NAS? And you could have 2 separate RAID groups?

      • CyberMurning on 17/07/2020 - 14:19
        +1

        yeah you can grouped multiple HDD together (or single HDD) and set them with certain RAID.
        then another multiple HDD with diff. RAID (or single HDD).

        and then each group you can set one volume only or more (like C drive only or C and D)

        again this is on Synology

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join