Recommend a NAS
#1
Hi All

Probably not the right place for this but it is hardware related.

My trusty old Thecus N5200 Pro is beginning to fail, WOL already broken (not going to replace as would require new mobo). PSU blew up yesterday and will be replaced but thinking of relegating it to a backup and replacing it with a more up-to-date NAS. Given HDDs are now larger and the new NAS support the higher capacity since I last upgraded them in the Thecus, I'm thinking of dropping down to a 4 bay v 5 and sticking 4 x 3TB WD Reds, which will actually give me another 1TB than I have today in RAID 5 (5 x 2TB Seagates). So here are the choices listing dearest to cheapest and what I see as the pros in some cases. I only really looking for a stay away or strong recommendation as to which model to choose or if I have left something of the list that really should be considered around less than £/$300 mark.

Thecus N4520 - £278 - 2GB RAM, up to 24TB

Asustor AS-204TE -£270 - 1GB RAM, Good read speed

WD My Cloud EX4 - £255 - 2GHz processor, limited to 16TB

Qnap TS-420 - £250 - limited to 16TB

Synology DS414J - £248 - up to 24TB

Netgear ReadyNAS RN10400 - £168 - Cheap

TIA
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#2
Seems the spread (counting out the Netgear) is 30 quid? That doesn't seem like much of a consideration for a long-term investment like a NAS. I'd get the one in that list with the best list of features you need. Among that list, QNAP, Synology and Thecus are the ones focus on NAS. Everyone else is Johnny-come-lately IMHO.
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#3
Synology seems to be the choice for most because of the excellent software, but I have read good things about QNAP too.
I use a WD My Cloud EX2 (2 bay). I tried a Synology DS214j but the software was a little more than I wanted to mess with. I just needed something simple. The WD software is simple and to the point so it was perfect for me.
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#4
You should consider building your own server, it will give you upgrade ability and will cost you less
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#5
I have both synology and qnap. I wouldn't really differentiate between the two at this point in time. The qnap has a better quality feel to its hardware but the synology has the edge software wise. They both have the same capabilities depending on the range you choose. Sources. I have a QNAP ts-639 pro, synology 214+,synology 214play
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#6
(2014-09-23, 01:47)RaggSokk3n Wrote: You should consider building your own server, it will give you upgrade ability and will cost you less

Have thought about that however I think this sums it up, which is a quote for the tech section of The Guardian (I again agree that not best source but still think they're on the right track):

Quote:There are alternatives to buying a NAS. For example, you could build one yourself, or re-purpose an old tower PC that has enough bays to hold several hard drives. You can use free software such as Amahi, FreeNAS or Open Media Vault. Indeed, you could even use an old Windows PC, accessing shared folders with software such as ES File Explorer for Android and RDP. However, you won’t save much money, and usually the running costs will be higher, because they consume more power. On simplicty, convenience and price, the off-the-shelf NAS is hard to beat.

To everyone else, thanks for your input, very much appreciated. I think I'll pull my own comparison list and go from there as no-one strong recommending one or seriously stating to avoid another.

Good news is new PSU is working fine in old Thecus now, only down for about 48 hours in total.
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#7
Any old computer. Use snapRAID or FlexRaid or any other free raid. Or just a free drive pooling option would do.
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#8
Depending on your budget, dell offers a relatively inexpensive entry level server for $300 (or cheaper with a coupon or sale) the PowerEdge T20. I've had one for the last few months running OpenMediaVault, and haven't had any issues. About the only change it needs, is probably upgrade to a Quad core Xeon i3 or desktop class Socket 1150 chip, both are compatible. This would allow for full transcoding of Plex as needed. The stock dual core isn't quite enough.

With OMV, there are plenty of plugins to cover more than just serving up media.
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