First time NAS buyer

[ThatAnonymousGuy]

Looking to buy a NAS with some hard drives and configure a RAID 5 setup for a business. Already set on four 1TB WD RE3 drives since this drive should be compatible with almost every NAS and it's built for RAID anyway.

We work in a Windows environment. PCs are using XP still, but will be upgraded within time to Win7. Only pain in the butt right now is most machines have 10/100 ethernet. Routers and switches are 10/100/1000 ready.

Basically everyone has important files scattered on various computers with no real backup solution other than copying them to a DVD. Main purpose of this NAS is to provide one solution where everyone can store their files and look it up. Would like to make a network drive on everyone's computer to the NAS.

No real budget is set, but would like to get a feel for what the costs will be for different options.

Thanks for any help.

 

[thiggins]

Your needs are very simple and any RAID 5 NAS will meet them. If you are dealing with large files, you need to upgrade your clients to Gigabit. You'll see a significant difference if you use a current-generation NAS.

I suggest starting with How To Buy a NAS - The Short(er) Version
then hitting the NAS Charts to narrow down your selection.

 

[ThatAnonymousGuy]

One other question:

I think I'm settled on the QNAP and what it offers. I've noticed some of the NAS boxes are aimed towards Home/SOHO and towards SMB/Corporate.

Obviously the SMB/Corporate models have better hardware and give the perception that it will last longer. From the details I've given, is this something that should not be compromised or can we get get away with the lather.

e.g.: QNAP TS-419P vs TS-439 Pro II. There's a good $300 difference between the two, not including the price of hard drives.

Also I should add that we work a Mon-Fri 9-5 job, so being able to set the device to "sleep mode" during off hours is helpful.

And what are benchmarks on the TS-419P like? I didn't see them up on the chart yet.

 

[thiggins]

The "SMB" / SOHO-home classifications are merely for marketing purposed. Both NASes are built the same way. The "SMB" ones just have more powerful processors and higher transfer rates. You need to do your own cost/benefit analysis.

NASes from the same manufacturer that use the same processor will have comparable performance. Look at the TS-219P's results.

 

[convergent]

Remember that RAID on the NAS is not a backup solution, but an availability solution. Whatever device you pick, you need to have a way to back it up. Most NAS boxes support USB drives as backup, or you can use another NAS. If you are backing up business data, you probably need offsite backup so either rotating external drives off site, or backing up to an offsite backup service or NAS would handle that.