Quiet 2 bay NAS?

[david]

I'm looking to set up a small home network and I hope I can get some advice here. I've been looking around and have a pretty good idea of what I need, but I'm a bit overwhelmed.

I would primarily use the NAS for file storage, both business and personal, and would like to have media streaming and remote access (ftp?) to files from away from home. I do not have great needs in terms of size or performance, but obviously better is prefereable. The business scenario is light, my parther and I run a small business on the side of our day jobs, but have access to an office with a proper server structure. Basically, it would be a centre to coordinate our two laptops and back up as well as centrally store files.

Primary concern is for it to run silently, it needs to run in our bedroom (which is also the office). I want a Raid 1 configuration for a bit of extra security, and 500MB available is probably enough, though 1TB would be better. I would like to be able to expand the space later on, but I'm guessing a 2 bay solution is better to keep the noise and price down.

I am looking at a price below $200 to $400, but in all honesty I do not know if that is the correct price range.

I have looked into the Iomega ix2-200, but would very much appreciate comments on this choice or other suggestions.

 

[convergent]

One thing to keep an eye on is the noise of the drives. I just replaced a four year old Netgear NAS with one from QNAP. The new one is much quieter than my old NAS, however, the drives in the new NAS are much, much louder. The new ones are Hitachi 2TB and the old ones were Seagate Barracuda 500GB. If you really want silent, then you may want to look at some of the NAS products that support 2.5" drives (laptop drives). They are going to be a lot quieter and a lot smaller.

 

[david]

The QNAP SS-439 seems to be the best choice in this case, but prices go up pretty significantly. Two 500MB drives is $160, plus the enclosure itself at $499, whereas the IX2-200 costs $220 at 1TB.

Does anyone have this? Reviews are hard to find, and it seems like a big price gap to me. Any advantages beyond 4 (smaller) bays and quieter?

Is the noise significantly different?

 

[Varezhka]

Have you considered one of the newer (LS-WSXL) LinkStation Minis?
They're another one of 2.5" drive based fanless 2 bay NAS, and I've found mine to be pretty quiet. The 1TB (500GB x 2) version I got was little under $300.

Of course, if money was no object and you can live with smaller capacity, there's the SSD based LS-WSXS240L/R1 for complete silence.

 

[ttran55]

you might want to get a Dlink 323 NAS

 

[stevech]

you might want to get a Dlink 323 NAS

Would this be the first D-Link without major firmware design errors?

 

[david]

Thanks for the tips. I think I have given up on the ix2-200 even though I like it a lot. Quite a few reviews are complaining about loud drive noise, and iomega insists that only their drives should be used.

I think I am down to two contenders: LS-WSXL LinkStation Mini and QNAP TS-410.

The LinkStation is fairly cheap, and with an external back up drive via USB I could use the full 1TB. This is fanless and could probably run 24/7 if need be. The problem is that I would lack any expandability and would likely be forced to upgrade to a completely new unit in a few years' time.

The QNAP is a bit more expensive, but offers a full set of features and great expandability and performance. It can take the 2.5 in drives, but will probably still be noisier than the LinkStation. Of course, it is still an entry level product and chances are that in 3 years both will be pathetic. Maybe it is the tiny one after all...