QNAP 219P or Netgear NVX?

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Hi, I have both. I used to have a Netgear DUO and HATED it, slow, annoying. The NVX should be much better but as a test I have a QNAP 219P. I find the QNAP faster and much nice to use. Now, aesthetics aren't everything so which would you have? and why? NETGEAR or QNAP? 2 bay or 4 taking into account noise and power drain for a home user. Any pointers then please let me know.

 

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BUMP - I would really appreciate people's opinions on this. Do you have an NVX? if so, what add ons do you use to make it useful? The QNAP software is so much better but the NVX is a better device.

 

[claykin]

Opinions?? You'll get many. Here's my 2 cents.

No one has the perfect mousetrap. They all have their pluses and minuses. That said, lets move on....

I have used the Netgear Duo, NV+ and NVX. I like them. They are robust, work well, have a strong user supported forum, reasonably good support (most of the time), a very good warranty with reasonable options to receive a timely replacement if yours fails.

I have not used any Qnap models, but I am friendly with an IT solution provider that uses them extensively in SOHO and Resi environments. Qnap has had their share of problems in the past (not that Netgear is perfect either), but their current products and firmware seem to be as robust as ever. They are quite competitive. Where QNAP shines is in features and the ease to install addons. Where they fall short is in their built in backup solution and warranty, after sales service and responsiveness of their forums. They don't fall far short, but short.

I guess you can say that Netgear chooses to play it safe. Addons are available and many of them are very competitive, but Netgear chooses to not support them and they don't make it easy for the average user to install and use.

As far as 2 vs 4 disks, there's a few things to consider. 1) Volume size required. Do you need a total volume larger than 2TB? If so, then you'll want 4 disk. 2) If you equip a 4 disk unit with 4 x disks and create a single volume you're creating a RAID 5 array. From the standpoint of recovery, its way more difficult to recover a RAID 5 (should it fail) than RAID 1 (2 disk). That said, you should ALWAYS be backing up your NAS volume(s) so recovery shouldn't be an issue. Just saying it because too many people think RAID is backup which its NOT! 3) A 4 disk NAS can be configured with 2 x RAID 1 arrays if you so choose. That would effectively give you 2 x 2TB volumes if you used 2TB disks in all 4 bays. Make sense?

Does any of this help?

BTW, I put Synology in the same ballpark as QNAP. Nice products, nice firmware, built in backup that falls short and warranty and support that falls short. Otherwise fine products.