Help a novice pick a NAS

[ThatAnonymousGuy]

Looking to buy a NAS setup for an office hooked up to five computers. Concerned that one computer will crash and data will be lost. Want to do a RAID 5 setup with 1TB drives. Do not want to build a server. Rather spend the extra money on something pre-built and diskless. Network runs on Gigabit Ethernet.

The only primary needs are capacity, decent speed, and ease of use. We want to use the device to archive old data and keep a backup of current data. Sometimes we transfer large amounts of data but other times it's not too much. Dealing with high resolution images, microsoft suite files, adobe suite files and other file formats.

It seems like every review I read on Newegg says the particular NAS is bad (like no tech support, RAID array dropping ever time, etc.) I know Newegg can only be taken with a grain of salt, but I would like to have confidence from folks that know a lot about this subject that I am making an informed purchase.

Don't really have a price range. I'd rather keep options open. Sometimes paying more can get you better hardware, or is this not the case for NAS devices?

Just a side question about hard drives. Do I need RAID specific drives like WD RE3 drives or would any regular drive do?

Please advise. Thanks in advance.

 

[claykin]

Look at Netgear Readynas, Qnap and Synology. All make fine products. I personally prefer Netgear for two reasons. 1) I'm familiar with them and their quirks. 2) Their built-in backup utility is better and more flexible than their competitors.

That said, keep in mind that no RAID can replace the need to backup your data. You'll find stories from users of ALL NAS vendors who have claimed to lose their data. That means a backup (local and/or offsite) should be part of your program.

I would say YES, you are more likely to have better luck with Enterprise drives. In some cases Enterprise drives are all that is approved by the vendor. Netgear uses Enterprise drives in their NVX and Pro series.

 

[thiggins]

Just a side question about hard drives. Do I need RAID specific drives like WD RE3 drives or would any regular drive do?

If you are buying a diskless NAS, be sure to check the manufacturer's recommended drive list.

 

[Iron Lufi]

Thecus is also good option. For your need I think N4100Pro is a good choise.

1. support 4 x 1TB hard drives. I prefer 4 x 2TB hard drive. So in Raid 5 you still have 6TB usable space.

2. For 5 PC connection the speed is good. I current connect 2 notebook+ 2 PC at home.

3. The price is the lowest for a 4 Bay NAS in the market. The money save will help you to upgarde to 2TB hard drive.

Hope this help~

 

[ThatAnonymousGuy]

So after looking at some NAS boxes and considering the comments, it appears that the Synology DS409 looks to be a good balance of performance and price. Newegg has it for $440. Haven't looked elsewhere yet. The DS409+ did not appear to be worth the money according to the charts for average RAID 5 performance (read/write). I'm gonna do a bit more research on the device like if anyone else has had issues with the company and ease of use. I'll look through the Synology forum and/or post questions.

For the time being, I think we're settled on 4x 1TB WD RE3 drives. It's going to be at 75% full by the time we copy data onto it, but the cost for 2TB drives is too much to worry about it. Especially since this is mainly used as a backup solution and not a primary drive.