Proper NAS for ND5 XS

Hi,

Many on the forum would advice you to  go with Netgear, Qnap and Synology, different  models depending on your needs.

Since you use a nd5 you need an upnp server, and I am not sure many have used the built in server on your nas.

You may be able to solve your nas network issues by making sure that your router always assigns the same ip addresses both to the nas and the nd5x.

This can be done in 2 ways, asigning static manually added ip addresses to all devices on your network, or the less involved way by telling your router that the 2 devices nd5x and nas always should be assgined the ip addresses they are currently using.

How you do this depends on the brand and model of your router.

Claus

Thanks for the quick thoughts...I should add that in the case of the WD, I did configure it such that the hard drives would not "sleep" and I did assign a static IP.  Neither of those adjustments stabilized the connection.

Vortexbox would be ideal for you ... it will server Naim and iTunes and you can buy it in the form you want with as much storage as you need .... well at least with enough space to store 160,000 CDs ... it can sit anywhere on the network .... give it a google and you'll see what it is all about 

If you have an old PC ... you can install and use it for free for as long as you like ... if you like it then you buy a suitable server or ready built appliance that just plugs in and works ... it'll rip CDs if you want, but if you don't want then get one without .... one button to back-up ... RAID if you want .... 

Thanks everyone for the responses.  I assumed I would get a lot of suggestions of other stuff to buy.  Maybe I am confused - it's very likely - but since but the Drobo FS and and WD are capable of running software locally, I thought they were in essence acting as "servers."  Admittedly, they may not be configured appropriately for the Naim but my understanding is that they are a step removed from a standard external hard drive that is simply a storage location.  As I said in my original post, my hope would be to eliminate the need to have my iMac running to make this all happen.  I would like the storage location to be autonomous for the purpose of playing music.  There would be some interfacing with it for backing up computers, storing iTunes files etc. but when I sit down with my stereo I want to just grab my iPad, launch nStream and be up and ready to go.

Are you 100% certain that the WD MyBook Live Duo runs Twonky?  I have found no indication of that in the interface on the WD.  Ironically, Sound Organization (the Naim Importer to the US) says next tot he UnitiServe Solution, a NetGear or Q-NAP NAS running Twonky is the best solution they have found.

DK,

    If you look though the naim web site, possibly in the white papers? Naim have done some testing on a number of NAS drives that they are satisfied work well. This might give you a steer !

I keep seeing Netgear, Q-NAP and Synology mentioned.  If I cannot use the WD or Drobo, I guess I would like to hear from someone that actually has an ND5 XS and one of these NAS drives.  The NetGear ReadyNAS Pro 4 for example, looks a lot like my Drobo FS.  I could take the (4) 2 TB drives I have in my Drobo and stick them into a ReadyNAS 4 for example but then what?  The way I understand it, I still would need to load and run some sort of media server software locally on the ReadyNAS in order to accomplish my goal of taking my iMac out of the loop...

I use synology 212j with my nd5xs. Works treat!

And your Naim talks directly to the 212J without having to have your computer on?  If so, what software are your running on the 212J - something you added or something it came with?  Are you able to play back Apple Lossless files along with hi-res files?

The Synology nas'es include a suite of software products, including a upnp server.  Just connect the nas to the ND5XS over your home network and the ND5 will "see" the music if the nas is properly set up.  Very easy.

wav, flac, mp3, hi res, apple lossless -- all are seen if they are in the Music folder being served up.

I think the "then what" is that you'd have a dead nas; most nas'es need to format the drives themselves, or some such, so that they know what's on them and how they are running and can recover data in case of a problem.  Swapping hard drives from nas to nas, across brands, sounds like a recipe for loosing all the data and not having it work.

Yes...but if the Synology has everything I need on it from a media server software side, I would load the four drives from my Drobo and format them...I have the media also on the WD from that experiment so ultimately I can add them to the Synology from there.  Do all of the Synology NAS drive have this Suite of software?  From their site, I see reference to downloading "Media Server."  Some of their drives seem designed for media playback, others more for an office environment.

Sure, so long as you plan on reformatting, you can use your old drives in your new nas.  And Synology's implementation of raid (1 I think it is) is happy even if all drives are not the same size.

I think that Synology does more marketing with models than actual differentiation.  The ones marketed for home use like my 212j do not permit hot swapping of drives.  I don't find that an issue.  Just check their web site, and any that support / come with the "media server" are fine.  The white ones like the 212j are targeted at home use, and get very good reviews.  I find it quiet, and totally sufficient for my needs.  But you can compare specs on their website.  (I understand that serving music files is rather easy on the cpu of the nas; no need to move up their line.)

I am pretty sure they all come with the same operating system, you can then download various additional software packages directly within the web based user interface.  DS213+ would be a good starting point, the DS713+ is much more expensive for upgraded hardware and the ability to add an expansion unit.

I'm just not clear as to why spending the extra for a 213+ for use as a home music server would make sense over the 212j.  The extra memory and processing power definitely is not needed.  The only hardware-specific benefit I see is that it supports hot-swapping hard drives, which is something that the home user should not have to do.  Oh, it does have an SD card slot (but so do my computers and I find it easier to move photos from the computer.)

And it uses a bit more energy and is a bit noisier, according to Synology's own specs.  "More" isn't always "more" imho.

And I prefer the white color of the 212j

In the context of the cost of most of the systems on here, the extra £100 or so for the extra convenience and processing power of the better specced unit was well worth it for me.  Especially not needing to take the whole thing apart just to get the hard drives in!

In my experience the higher grade units also run cooler and quieter than the j series. I have owned both.

Anyway, just my opinion.....

I have a 1.5TB WD MyBook (forgot which model) but it is just an external HDD not able to serve music files to your ND5 unless it is connected to a computer with Asset or similar. Since you want a streaming system independant of your computer, you will need a proper NAS or a dedicated computer running uPNP software. I am using QNAP 219PII / Twonky which has worked flawlessly.

Thanks for the feedback; I've not owned the higher-specced version.

Thanks to everyone that has responded so far...it is amazing to me sometimes how things I think should be easier are so complicated...I have a similar thread running on three other forums: Synology, Art of Sound and Computer Audiophile.  In the end, the Synology product line - along with Q-NAP - seems to get a lot of support.  In reading further, while both companies seem to be well respected, it appears that the Synology interface may be a little more user friendly.  I just want to make sure that if I buy my third NAS in this odyssey that I am on it works well with the Naim.  Further, it would be a nice bonus if it actually sounded good...At this point, I think the Synology media server software can handle every music format and the drive can also act as a location for my Time Machine and Windows based backups.  I am leaning that way right now...

I don't think you can go far wrong with Synology or Qnap, they are both highly regarded and make some excellent products.  I went the Synology route and this has worked pretty flawlessly so far, touch wood!

And just to be clear, you are using Synology media server software that runs locally on your NAS?  In other words, your NAS is independent of your PC or Mac?

Absolutely. 

And I do find the Synology Disk Station interface to be relatively user-friendly!