Hi all,
Right now I use an old Windows 7 laptop with external 2TB USB2 drives as a file server on my LAN.
I'm now at about 65% capacity on the drives (and they've been running for 3+ years) -- so I'm looking into getting new gear. I had been assuming I would get a NAS, but...
1) I just discovered a bunch of relatively recent posts about poor (sometime VERY poor) NAS performance with Macs, and here's a recent article from the folks who make the backup software I use (ChronoSync):
http://www.econtechnologies.com/chronosync/TN-CS-why-your-nas-is-slow.html
Is it actually a bad idea to get a NAS for use with a Mac?
2) Or I could just add new & bigger USB drives to my Windows 7 laptop -- but then I'd be stuck at USB2 performance.
3) Or I could add a USB3 ExpressCard to the Windows 7 laptop -- but I believe those are flakey, and I'm reluctant to do so -- I don't think it'll be like a "normal" USB3 port.
4) Some people seem to say "Get a Mac Mini" -- but that seems a bit overkill -- plus, I don't have a monitor to use with it, and it's not clear to me whether it works 100% headless.
5) The priciest option is to replace the Windows 7 laptop with a MacBook Pro -- but this seems nutty. The advantage is I'd have fast ports and a built-in display for the rare times I need it.
So: a NAS seems the "sensible" solution -- but I'm a bit concerned that NAS and Mac don't work well together?
Anybody have an opinion? Grateful to hear it! -Scott
Right now I use an old Windows 7 laptop with external 2TB USB2 drives as a file server on my LAN.
I'm now at about 65% capacity on the drives (and they've been running for 3+ years) -- so I'm looking into getting new gear. I had been assuming I would get a NAS, but...
1) I just discovered a bunch of relatively recent posts about poor (sometime VERY poor) NAS performance with Macs, and here's a recent article from the folks who make the backup software I use (ChronoSync):
http://www.econtechnologies.com/chronosync/TN-CS-why-your-nas-is-slow.html
Is it actually a bad idea to get a NAS for use with a Mac?
2) Or I could just add new & bigger USB drives to my Windows 7 laptop -- but then I'd be stuck at USB2 performance.
3) Or I could add a USB3 ExpressCard to the Windows 7 laptop -- but I believe those are flakey, and I'm reluctant to do so -- I don't think it'll be like a "normal" USB3 port.
4) Some people seem to say "Get a Mac Mini" -- but that seems a bit overkill -- plus, I don't have a monitor to use with it, and it's not clear to me whether it works 100% headless.
5) The priciest option is to replace the Windows 7 laptop with a MacBook Pro -- but this seems nutty. The advantage is I'd have fast ports and a built-in display for the rare times I need it.
So: a NAS seems the "sensible" solution -- but I'm a bit concerned that NAS and Mac don't work well together?
Anybody have an opinion? Grateful to hear it! -Scott