TS-451 or TS-453 or DS415play or DS415+ ?

[HenryHonda]

Hi all

I'm a newbie to NAS really, and have read a lot of the guidance on this and other sites - but don't pretend to understand a lot of it

I wonder if some of you good folks could help me clarify which of my narrowed-down choices to go for? Basically, I'm after the following functionality:

- we have one desktop (Win7 Pro, 1GB Ethernet), two laptops (Win7 HP, WiFi n) (WinVista HP, Wifi g), two Nexus 7 (2013) tablets, one HTC One and one iPhone 4 - plus a range of networkable AV kit.

- I know that NAS/Raid on its own is not a backup solution. I am thinking of backing-up NAS to USB3-connected external HDD - but don't yet know how to setup a schedule for this.

- I definitely want to have continuous/incremental backups going for the desktop and laptops, and probably tablets (WiFi).

- I have AV clients (Dune Smart D1 media player, Panasonic TV, Oppo BDP-103 player) which can all stream content from networked devices. I'm particularly interested in streaming full Blu-ray rips from the NAS. Don't think I'll need transcoding...

- I like the idea of Surveillance Station with HDMI-attached monitor.

- I have a 1GB Ethernet router and switches.

- I'm thinking of populating RAID with 4x WD RED 30 EFRX.

One thing that has thrown me in comparing SNB test results is the large difference in 'Network Backup' performance between the QNAP and Synology products. Is this relevant for my incremental backup requirements?

Sorry if these questions appear uninformed/stupid

 

[stevech]

Go Synology or QNAP. Try their on-line demos.

I use a USB3 for backup of selected folders on the NAS. Automated with NAS' backup tools. There are several, e.g., time scheduled backup or use the "Time Backup" which despite its name does a version backup.. keep the last n months' versions of selected files/folders. Between the two vendors above, it's a bit of a horse race. I went with Synology and have been pleased.

I elected to not use RAID in a small NAS because drive failure in a 2x3TB or 2x4TB two-bay NAS was considered less likely than burglary or human error or file system corruption. So I use two volumes, no RAID, no need for 4 drives. But that's opinion. And it has worked well.

 

[HenryHonda]

Thanks Steve

So I'm now looking at a dual drive NAS with large USB3 backup...

After some further Christmas surfing, I'm now wary of going down the QNAP route due to the sheer number of negative comments I've read about their apparently poor customer service and often unhelpful attitude. Also, the 'Network Backup' results for Synology appear much better than for (roughly) equivalent QNAP models.

Synology downsides (for me) appear to be non-upgradeable RAM and no onboard HDMI output (for home surveillance).

 

[stevech]

Video surveillance - - I have some IP cameras. And I tried the Synology video station application. It works, but... I feel that if you want 24/7 recording and motion detection, that should be a stand-alone system. I feel that to do video surveillance / archiving pre-trigger, etc., takes either a dedicated system rather than a universal NAS, or you'd need a $1000 NAS.

Both QNAP and Synology have good products it seems by the comments here. Some say that Synology sustains a lead over QNAP for consumer users. I'm happy with my 2 yr old Synology. I don't take every software upgrade and then only if it's been out most of a year.

Network backup - I use a USB3 drive (2.5 in., 2TB) for backup of selected folders on the NAS. Done with the NAS' built-in backup utility.I also backup VIP folders to a 64GB SD card plugged into the NAS. And also VIP files to a small 1 bay NAS in an obscure place. Network backup to me means rsync or some such, where both source/destination are rsync capable. I tried but don't use off-site backup but do use off-site (cloud) photo sharing (selective).

 

[HenryHonda]

OK, thanks again Steve.

I took a deep breath and placed an order for a TS-453 pro (2GB) yesterday - together with a set of four 3TB WD Red (WD30EFRX) drives and a pair of Kingston 4GB DDR3L SODIMM modules to max out the RAM. Probably quite a bit of overkill at the moment - but should allow for quite some amount of experimenting...

Now researching a good external USB 3.0 drive for automatic backup. I could get a single 6TB WD MyBook drive - but I'd be paying a lot for built-in features I don't need. I'm considering a BYOD external dual-drive USB 3.0 enclosure (e.g. StarTech) - so I can stick with the more matured (reliable?) 3TB drives.

Any further advice greatfully received...

Happy New Year!

 

[stevech]

I tried several USB3 enclosures trying to find one that will properly let the drive spin-down with inactivity. Few did so when I checked. Seems to depend on the chipset used in the enclosure and/or the drive type.

A lot of crappy China enclosures are to be avoided. NAS vendor had a list of qualified enclosures but none were sold in the US.

I used a Seagate USB3 enclosure and put in a larger drive. Getting the plastic enclosure open was very hard - but a person on youtube had a nice tutorial.

This isn't an issue if you disconnect the USB3 drive when it's not in use. In my case, I run backups or differentials a few times a day so it's always plugged in.

I also just changed to a 2TB 2.5" drive, USB3 powered.

 

[HenryHonda]

Thanks again,

It may be a vain exercise, but I'm going to post on the QNAP forums in the hope that someone has successfully got an external enclosure to power down when automatic backups are not underway. I'd prefer to let everything happen automatically - checking occasionally of course that backups are happening properly.

If anyone else on this forum has experience of this - all advice gratefully received...

 

[stevech]

The 2.5" 2TB USB3 drive does power down when idle. It's a Seagate enclosure/drive from Fry's.

The 3.5" USB3 I have does power down when idle. It's also a Seagate enclosure.

 

[HenryHonda]

OK, thanks for the info Steve, I'll have a look around in the UK.

Having read more about external USB drives not powering down, it appears to be the case that, many times, the NAS has some apps running which prevent that happening. However, there also appears to be some suggestion recently that the most recent update to the NAS OS is implicated...