Newbie: Synology or DLink NAS

[jarhead70]

Hi,

I'm planning on buying my 1st NAS, but on a tight budget. I've set eye between DLink 345 or Synology 416j.

The main use of the NAS is for home file server. I do plan media/video streaming, but it's occasional and plan to use a set-top-box/dedicated HTPC to handle the playback rather than relying on the NAS to handle media files directly. In this scenario, the NAS is only for storing files, stream as needed to the HTPC on playback. BTW I have no plan on using 4k video in the near future (that is, 2-4 yrs ahead), full HD 1080p max, and at most only 1 person will be watching at any given time.

One feature I like to have is to be able check each file hash on transfer (to/from the NAS) as safeguard so I can be sure the files are exact copy (no loss on transfer).

Another is the ability of the NAS to auto-shutdown on power outtage, after receiving notification from the UPS (I'm thinking APC UPS).

Where I live, the 416j is almost 3x more expensive than DLink ($573.21 vs $199.59 converted to USD). For my use case, does Synology 416j 3x price hike over DLink 345 justified? I do have good experience with other DLink products (net adapter, router, swicth).

I also read on a few articles/forums there's some quirks on DLink NAS, but couldn't find what they are. Can someone point me to the right directions?

Thanks

 

[sfx2000]

The Synology is a good NAS, also might consider QNAP's TS-431, which is quite reasonable...

Not a lot of experience with D-Link NAS boxes I'm afraid.. but Synology and QNAP make excellent 4bay units. Might also consider the AsusStor equivalent to the 416J/TS-431...

Be sure to take a look on the main site - many reviews of NAS across different price and capability levels.

 

[thiggins]

NASes aren't really a big product category for D-Link. Make sure you are comparing similar processors. Those have a big influence on price.

One feature I like to have is to be able check each file hash on transfer (to/from the NAS) as safeguard so I can be sure the files are exact copy (no loss on transfer).

Not sure which vendors support this requirement.

Other makers you might consider are WD (MyClouds - good bang for the buck for basic storage), NETGEAR (big focus on data integrity) and ASUStor (newer vendor, but has come along in features and support, backed by ASUS).

 

[stevech]

Synology or QNAP. Very similar.
They are best in class.

file transfers via LAN and WAN via standard TCP/IP have lots of error detection and correction. Most common data loss is due to consistent 3-2-1 backups.
RAID is not a backup.

 

[KenZ71]

If you already have a htpc why not make that a NAS as well?

My NAS4Free serves up DVD rips to two Amazon Fire boxes with ease while also hosting all family photos in a nice drive mirror for redundancy.

 

[sfx2000]

Nas4Free is a great product - the benefit of going with a commercial vendor is support if things go wrong.

 

[jarhead70]

NASes aren't really a big product category for D-Link. Make sure you are comparing similar processors. Those have a big influence on price.

Not sure what DLink uses. This might be the answer to the price gap.

One feature I like to have is to be able check each file hash on transfer (to/from the NAS) as safeguard so I can be sure the files are exact copy (no loss on transfer).

Not sure which vendors support this requirement.

Well, it's more an OS requirement than hardware. The way my current PC is setup, is every copy immediately checked against the original file hash, even if the copy is from/to the same HDD partition. I'd like to extend that capabilities to transfering files from/to the NAS. If the transfer couldn't be setup to check immediately after each file transfer, at least some capability to manually telnet to the NAS, create the file hashes, then transfer that hashes back to the PC to check against the original.

The Synology is a good NAS, also might consider QNAP's TS-431, which is quite reasonable...

Not a lot of experience with D-Link NAS boxes I'm afraid.. but Synology and QNAP make excellent 4bay units. Might also consider the AsusStor equivalent to the 416J/TS-431...

Synology or QNAP. Very similar.
They are best in class.

Thanks for the heads up.

If you already have a htpc why not make that a NAS as well?

Well, it's not a HTPC per-se, but a set-top-box by AC-Ryan...

So, I got Synology 416j, QNAP TS-431+, Asustor AS3104, and DLink 345 to consider. The prices are at that order, synology most expensive, DLink least.

Taking thiggins suggestion on comparing the processors, here's the breakdown:
Synology 416j: Marvell Armada 388 88F6828 Dual-Core Cortex A9 1.3GHz with 512MB DDR3 system RAM
QNAP TS-431+: Annapurna Labs Alpine AL-212 Dual-Core Cortex A15 1.4GHz with 1GB DDR3 System RAM
Asustor AS3104: Intel Celeron Dual-Core 1.6GHz with 2GB DDR3L system RAM
DLink 345: Unknown

Excluding DLink, from Synology to Asustor, it seems the processor are getting better while the price is going down. What gives? Power consumption?

 

[thiggins]

The D-LINK D340L used a Marvell Armada 370 88F6707-A1 C120 @ 1.2GHz.
Synology prices at a premium. ASUSTOR is aggressive on pricing, trying to buy market share.

No NAS I know of does file hash checking as you describe. I don't think D-Link provides Telnet access. Synology and QNAP do, ASUSTOR too I think.

 

[jarhead70]

The D-LINK D340L used a Marvell Armada 370 88F6707-A1 C120 @ 1.2GHz.
Synology prices at a premium. ASUSTOR is aggressive on pricing, trying to buy market share.

Aside from Asustor, others seems to use ARM Cortex processors. Are there any advantages over Celeron processors?

No NAS I know of does file hash checking as you describe. I don't think D-Link provides Telnet access. Synology and QNAP do, ASUSTOR too I think.

Doing some digging I found some tuts on how to use telnet on Asustor.

Now I'm seriously considering to drop DLink from the list, replacing it with Asustor, and replacing Synology with QNAP. There's $53 USD price difference between Asustor AS3104 and QNAP TS-431+, with Asustor being cheaper. However my trusted vendor only carry QNAP, not Asustor.

So between the 2, what should I choose, Asustor AS3104 or QNAP TS-431+, if price is not an issue? What other factors should I consider?

 

[sfx2000]

QNAP TS-431+, with Asustor being cheaper. However my trusted vendor only carry QNAP, not Asustor.

The TS-431+ is a good choice... and a fairly new model, so you'll have some support as time goes on...

 

[System Error Message]

D-link has NAS :O I really am not confident in D-link as a brand. They may have their libraries but theres still the question of security, hardware quality and firmware quality. I suggest avoiding D-link mainly because synology has more focus on NAS products.

 

[Shabbir Rao]

Both QNAP and Synology are good to use and easy to setup.