goooobags Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 Hi all, Just wanting to hear from people with some experience with NASes. I have run out of space on my main computer and looking to move what I can to a NAS. I also have a Squeezebox Touch on the way and would like to be able to play music without my computer on. I have been looking at 2-bay solutions and would need enough grunt to act as a media server (Squeezebox and something for the PS3 for movies etc.). The Synology DS213+ with 2x 2TB Seagate drives (in RAID 1) is what I have ben looking at. Looking at costing around $600. No my questions are: does anyone have experience with Synology gear and hopefully this specific NAS? What about other alternatives (QNAP etc.)? Cheers,
bwhitesox Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 I have a couple of Synology NAS's and also a QNAP device and my preference would be the Synology as it is quiet and has a better user interface than the QNAP. Also it works flawlessly streaming media to pretty much any device. 1
Batty Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 For the last 2 years I have been using a humble readynas Duo with 2 x 2Tb western Digital Green HDDs, comes with squeeze server pre installed. It has served me well.
osborne Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 I've both the synology and the readynas, but the synology has better performance. I would the recommend synology
welly Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 I currently own a Synology DS212j, which recently replaced a Netgear ReadyNAS duo. Pros Synology is, in my opinion, way better. Faster network performance. I could never reliably stream anything from the ReadyNAS, so it ended up just being a backup repository while I played music from a USB Drive attached directly to my PC. Synology allows me to stream audio (and video) direct from the NAS. I don't use the built in streaming server in the Synology due to some issues with earlier versions. I use Jriver Media Centre. Built in Torrent client in the Synology (If you are interested) is much nicer. With the ReadyNAS, the torrent client was...ummm... shall we say...basic. download the torrent file, then log into the ReadyNAS and locate the downloaded file and then the download starts. Also, the torrent client in the Synology is much better presented. With the Synology, Map the Torrents folder on your PC ( A one off activity). Once this is done, you can simply download torrent files directly to the mapped folder and the Synology automatically starts the torrent download....easy! The web interface for the synology is a pleasure to use. Nicely laid out and responsive. Finally, the Synology is waaaayyy quieter than the ReadyNAS ever was.... You'd hardly know it was on when standing next to it. Cons Construction quality - ReadyNAS was much more sturdy feeling. Case was primarily Steel and felt well built. Synology is mostly plastic. Hope this helps. Can't comment on any other brands because I've never used anything else.... 1
goooobags Posted November 7, 2012 Author Posted November 7, 2012 Thanks for the replies, looks like the Synology is the way to go. I think the DS213+ could be a bit of an overkill for what I need but for an extra $80 over the DS213 it doesn't seem like that much more. Side note, Batty, I thought that WD Green drives were not recommended for NAS use due to limited lifespan - obviously you are proving this wrong Cheers
bwhitesox Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 WD have new drives out that are specifically made for NAS devices so make sure you grab a couple of these, You're right that the green range are not recommended.
Batty Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 At the time I was unaware of that bit of info and I have 2 1Tb greenies in my PC that is around 4 years old.
brumby Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 WD have new drives out that are specifically made for NAS devices so make sure you grab a couple of these, You're right that the green range are not recommended. Yep, those are the RED drives. The only problem is that you'll end up paying more for two 2TB drives than you will for the Synology (DS 213+) I've been looking at this Synology too. It's also got USB 3.0 which will make a difference if you plug in external drives - external HDDs or thumb drives.
Jventer Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 (edited) HP Proliant ML 40 Microserver. My neighbour, an IT guy recommends this. $240 delivered on ebay. Run an operating system from usb. Can take up to 5 hard drives. 4 bays and then spot for optical drive or another hard drive. My plan is to buy one and put at least 4 3TB drives in there. He uses it as a server mainly for movies. It is quiet enough to sit in a study or another room but in my opinion not quiet enough to sit in on next to my hi fi cabinet. Edited November 7, 2012 by Jventer 1
Guest Peter the Greek Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 I have a 4 bay QNAP - works well enough......buts its full with 4 x 2tb drives Whats next? I am going to build an Unraid Server in a Norco 24bay server case - google it. If you think you'll want big at some point this is an excellent option
nodice Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 Synology 212 in the office and I am about to grab one for home to replace the power hungry mac pro. I've used the Netgear also for the folks place, Synology seem to be on top of everything and you cannot go wrong like the others have posted.
craigl Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 Another vote for Synology. Great user interface, rock solid and quiet. Had mine for 2 years without a single issue. Best piece of computer hardware I've ever bought.
goooobags Posted November 7, 2012 Author Posted November 7, 2012 Thanks everyone, ordered a DS213 with two 2TB Seagate drives. Didn't feel that the + was worth the extra money for what extra features it offers, hopefully this was the right decision. Also went for desktop class drives, again its not going to be under loads of stress. All up around $550, if I went with the plus version and WD Red drives it would have been $700+, the difference can go to some more music! Cheers
bwhitesox Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 Good choice you won't regret buying quality.
goooobags Posted December 1, 2012 Author Posted December 1, 2012 Just an update, I have set up my DS213+ to stream to everything in the house. Quite easy to do and very easy to use with my Squeezebox Touch. Now just to play around with it a bit more and see what else it can do
bwhitesox Posted December 1, 2012 Posted December 1, 2012 I have a 4 bay QNAP - works well enough......buts its full with 4 x 2tb drives Whats next? Expand the Raid with bigger drives.
Gruffnutz Posted December 1, 2012 Posted December 1, 2012 In the (very) cheap seats; Edimax NS-2502. Relaible, functional and stoopidly cheap. Next up; ReadyNAS Duo. As above with better build quality. Front row; Qnap. Top quality and very fast / reliable.
nodice Posted December 1, 2012 Posted December 1, 2012 I just ordered a 213+ for home. I cannot wait to get some backup relief...
Peta Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 Thanks for the replies, looks like the Synology is the way to go. I think the DS213+ could be a bit of an overkill for what I need but for an extra $80 over the DS213 it doesn't seem like that much more. Side note, Batty, I thought that WD Green drives were not recommended for NAS use due to limited lifespan - obviously you are proving this wrong Cheers Go for overkill. The small difference in money is worth it because more memory and processing power means that streaming is not interrupted by the NAS being overloaded with a background task... assuming you will use the Squeezeserver you need 512m of ram at least 1Gb is better.
Mr_Gadget Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 Hi, I'm thinking about getting a NAS for backup and media streaming to my WDTV and Squeezebox. Would the DS213+ be of any benefit over the standard DS213? Also the WD red drives don't specify the DS213+ in the compatibilty section, seems strange that the DS213 is listed and not the DS213+. Can anyone confirm what the deal is with that? Thanks.
Newman Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 WD have new drives out that are specifically made for NAS devices so make sure you grab a couple of these, You're right that the green range are not recommended. EEK, I just set up my first NAS and I am using greens with a DS213. We'll see how long they last. Synology list them on the DS213 HDD list, so they shouldn't be fundamentally inappropriate. (hopes)
Mr_Gadget Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 EEK, I just set up my first NAS and I am using greens with a DS213. We'll see how long they last. Synology list them on the DS213 HDD list, so they shouldn't be fundamentally inappropriate. (hopes) But red always goes faster
goooobags Posted December 23, 2012 Author Posted December 23, 2012 Hmmmm.... Synology users I have a question. I am getting an issue when the serves goes into a very deep hibernation and cannot be woken and only pulling the power will restart it. Happens semi-randomly, usually at night and also drops the connection to the DDNS server. Any one else get the same issue or should I just log a support ticket with Synology? I have a feeling it could be something to do with my router since its ****. Netgear DGN2000, possibly the worst purchase I have made When it works it is awesome though Mr_Gadget, the plus and non plus versions use different processors and a lot of third party apps (Transmission, serviio and a few others) aren't compiled for the processor in the DS213+ which is a pain. Not sure if they would run on the non plus version though since I cant test that
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