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NAS suggestions for small home and business setup

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danw76

New Around Here
Can anyone suggest a NAS solution for my situation?

My current setup is a main computer that I work at most of the time in my office and a laptop that I work at when out of the house. From the laptop I often RDP into the main computer where more heavy duty programs are running. The main computer has 2 x 3TB HDDS (*see details below) - one is the MASTER and the other is just a backup of that, which is currently backed up using GoodSync software. To start with, if compatible, it would be handy to just use these 2 HDDs and so only needing to purchase an empty NAS case.

I am thinking of going down the NAS route as:
1) I may want to upgrade the HDDs at some point or add more HDDs to my bank.
2) It would be a lot more pure and simple if, for example when I am working remotely I can just access the NAS drive and open a file rather than having to RDP into my main computer and work from there.
3) A RAID configuration to do the backup would be handy.
4) I don't really want to have to leave my main computer on at all times.
5) I've got into a big mess with duplicates of files because I sometimes copy a file over to the laptop for convenience.

Any suggestions on a NAS product that would suit my needs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Dan

HDDs:
1 x Seagate Desktop ST3000DM001 internal hard drive 3TB (8.9 cm (3.5 inch), 7200rpm, 64MB cache, SATA III)
1 x WD30EFRX-68EUZN0, DCM DHNNNTJCA, Western Digital 3TB SATA 3.5 Hard Drive
 
Synology DS220+
I recommend getting new NAS qualified hard drives. They are not cheap. Seagate Iron Wolf or WD Red. I use WD 4 TB.
I recommend this NAS as you can add system RAM which really helps with the speed of operation. Default setup does mirror the drives. I set one of these up in a not-for-profit small office and it works really well.
 
If you get WD drives, you want the Red + drives which are not SMR type like the regular Reds unless you have a heavy read only bias for the application.
This is a good reference starting point -

Also, NAS RAID is NOT backup. a NAS is just network attached storage providing convenient access for anyone on your lan. You still need to back up the data in the NAS, usually to an independent USB3 or faster drive connected to the NAS.

You also need to support it with a UPS to allow orderly shutdown in the event of power failure or upset.

You might use one of the file sync programs to keep your versions under control. RSYNC is useful to many and readily available.

If you are currently using the main PC for calculations and plan to transfer that work over to the NAS, you will likely be disappointed as the NAS cpu is pretty minimal by design.
 
Last edited:
Can anyone suggest a NAS solution for my situation?

My current setup is a main computer that I work at most of the time in my office and a laptop that I work at when out of the house. From the laptop I often RDP into the main computer where more heavy duty programs are running. The main computer has 2 x 3TB HDDS (*see details below) - one is the MASTER and the other is just a backup of that, which is currently backed up using GoodSync software. To start with, if compatible, it would be handy to just use these 2 HDDs and so only needing to purchase an empty NAS case.

I am thinking of going down the NAS route as:
1) I may want to upgrade the HDDs at some point or add more HDDs to my bank.
2) It would be a lot more pure and simple if, for example when I am working remotely I can just access the NAS drive and open a file rather than having to RDP into my main computer and work from there.
3) A RAID configuration to do the backup would be handy.
4) I don't really want to have to leave my main computer on at all times.
5) I've got into a big mess with duplicates of files because I sometimes copy a file over to the laptop for convenience.

Any suggestions on a NAS product that would suit my needs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Dan

HDDs:
1 x Seagate Desktop ST3000DM001 internal hard drive 3TB (8.9 cm (3.5 inch), 7200rpm, 64MB cache, SATA III)
1 x WD30EFRX-68EUZN0, DCM DHNNNTJCA, Western Digital 3TB SATA 3.5 Hard Drive
I would clarify a few items before you decide. Why do you need to RDP into your main desktop? Are there programs there that the laptop cannot run? No NAS is going to fix that issue. Is you desktop only acting as a file server? The next item is what are the percentages of time that you work on your desktop vs your laptop? Do you need a better laptop that could handle both tasks? Next, accessing files remotely that are stored on a home NAS has some security considerations, be sure you research this and are prepared to support your needs. Finally, what is your network topology now? What is your plan for supporting the NAS? Will you be able to connect to your router or switch via Ethernet cable? I don't recommend WiFi on NAS devices.

Based on the amount of data you seem to be talking about, you may want to consider cloud storage like Drobbox rather than a NAS. Also, RAID is not a backup solution. It provides hardware redundancy for a disk drive but not backup of your data. If the NAS fails, you lose your data. If you residence is lost to fire, flood or other natural disaster, you lose your data. If you are robbed and the NAS is taken, you lose your data. The best backup approach I have found is an external device on site to back up NAS data, and a cloud account to maintain an offsite backup. I back up my primary NAS daily to my external device (which is another NAS) and weekly to the cloud storage.
I had a QNAP NAS with 12TB of RAID5 that failed due to a motherboard hardware fault. The RAID array did not protect my data, the external backup did. I was able to restore everything from my backups.

If you have never had a NAS, I feel Synology is a good choice for new users. I feel Asustor has the best performance and value compared to QNAP and Synology but is more aligned with experienced users.

One last thing to consider is what are the use cases for the NAS? Will it be only file storage or do you have other services you will want to host? Things like media servers require very different hardware than just file serving. Also, I agree with the other users, purchase NAS drives, they are designed for the application.

Good luck with your project.
 

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