NAS drive recommendation.

Hi Yeti,

Learn from my experience and get proper NAS HDDs, I use Western Digital Red.

Coincidentally, I received emails from my Synology 1812 last night telling me that the were RW errors in one of my disks (one of my remaining Seagate  Barracudas); and that the disk had recovered. On trying to load up the web UI I had to wait an age. Bottom line: I pulled the faulty disk and now the partition is rebuilding using the hot spare. As a result I have just bought a replacement hot spare.

In looking at a new WD Red HDD I was thinking about the size. As I have been replacing my Seagate drives I have been moving from 3TB disks to 4TB disks, but I was thinking of buying a 5 or 6TB replacement, as these have become reasonably priced. Doing some research I found a review that, while positive, stated that it took 57 hours to rebuild the partition.

On thinking through my current usage I still have two unused slots, and have 16TB usable space, 5TB of which is still unused; I have therefore decided to stick with 4TB disks for the moment.

Hope this assists.

M

I would not stray too far from Synology & Qnap,  also +1 Mr Underhill & the WD Red HHD recommendation. 

What model returns the question about what size, what will be stored (music only or photo's, video, security & home business)  Do you want RAID or not, if RAID what level.   OK a lot of stuff & you probably need to do some research & more thinking.

As a benchmark,  a lot of folks around the forum have music only NAS with 2 bays loaded with 2x 2TB HDD's in RAID-1 (RAID-1 is a mirror imaged pair for security)    My NAS is a Synology 2 bay & its 2TB holds my 1000+ albums - a mix of CD rips & HD all in WAV  -  & is 35% used.

Additionally whatever you do with a NAS,  you need to have a backup.  That's not so complicated & can be done via the NAS units USB port into a USB SSD.

Sorry Yeti,

Just re-read your post, but my mind was in the HDD area and keyed into 'NAS drives'.

Mike has hit the nail solidly on the head. I have used a variety of NAS and SAN technologies over the years and have enjoyed using the Synology. I suspect that the technology offerings by all the major brands will equate - they tend to look at each other and copy the good stuff ....even if they call it by another name.

The reason I use a larger SAN is for work and video reasons.

I would ensure that any SAN you buy includes USB 3.0 ports, or other external connectivity. This help with backups and restoration. This was the reason I gave my Drobo away (this was a few years ago and they may have changed their design).

Final advice: remember that a NAS gives you resilience, not redundancy, i.e. you still need to backup your data. The NAS will assist if a HDD fails and you are using RAID. If you accidentally delete data, or suffer a catastrophic failure, a NAS won't protect you.

M

I can vouch for the AssetNas which is excellent.  Comes preinstalled with Asset upnp and can be easily upgraded.  Had mine for around two years without a single hiccup

Mike-B posted:

I would not stray too far from Synology & Qnap,  also +1 Mr Underhill & the WD Red HHD recommendation. 

What model returns the question about what size, what will be stored (music only or photo's, video, security & home business)  Do you want RAID or not, if RAID what level.   OK a lot of stuff & you probably need to do some research & more thinking.

As a benchmark,  a lot of folks around the forum have music only NAS with 2 bays loaded with 2x 2TB HDD's in RAID-1 (RAID-1 is a mirror imaged pair for security)    My NAS is a Synology 2 bay & its 2TB holds my 1000+ albums - a mix of CD rips & HD all in WAV  -  & is 35% used.

Additionally whatever you do with a NAS,  you need to have a backup.  That's not so complicated & can be done via the NAS units USB port into a USB SSD.

agree with Mike B i havr QNAP HS 210 x2 WD western x2TB red - running asster should not go wrong with either QNAP or Synology

dont forget to back up!!

I have a Synology NAS with WD red, and it is unacceptably loud. Because it's only for backup, I've been able to move it out of earshot, but there's no way I could tolerate it in the listening room. It only does a backup overnight, but is often audible during the day. 

I can recommend QNAP 'Silent NAS' range. They even look sort of OK - flat, as opposed to 'mini tower'. 

Hi

I have a Superuniti and s400's with a power line and vodka cables. My Nas is a synology DS212J and I have 2 x 2tb drives. I've never had any problems and have ripped everything using db power amp or xld. The Nas is really quiet.

and i have never had any issues in 4 years. also I access my music externally by using quick connect - it sometimes is slow but it works if you have good wi-fi

Tony

I think there's a later model now...

Drives = Western Digital 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM - Caviar Green

Nas = Synology DS212J 2 Bay NAS Enclosure

I'm currently using a QNAP TS-453S populated with 4 1Tb Samsung 850 EVO SSDs. Lightning fast and virtually silent. There is a fan in the enclosure but it hardly moves as the SSDs dissipate very little heat. I've always used QNAP and have found them to be rock solid.

Dave

tonym182 posted:

Hi

I have a Superuniti and s400's with a power line and vodka cables. My Nas is a synology DS212J and I have 2 x 2tb drives. I've never had any problems and have ripped everything using db power amp or xld. The Nas is really quiet.

and i have never had any issues in 4 years. also I access my music externally by using quick connect - it sometimes is slow but it works if you have good wi-fi

Tony

I think there's a later model now...

Drives = Western Digital 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM - Caviar Green

Nas = Synology DS212J 2 Bay NAS Enclosure

Please don't use Caviar Green in a NAS enclosure - it's a desktop drive designed for desktop computers, it's not designed for 24x7 operation in a NAS enclosure.

The drives you want for a NAS are the WD Caviar Red (the EFRX series) - they are proper NAS drives and will be more reliable long term.

Thanks for the input folks - very much appreciated indeed. Lots to think about! I have to admit that the QNAP 'silent' range, including the HS-210 and HS-251 have caught my attention. Possibly fitted with 2x Samsung 1TB 850 EVO SSD drives, probably in RAID0, then backup with one of my LaCie's D2's. I'm already using these Samsung drives, one in my Mac Mini and the other as main data drive for my work files in an OWC enclosure - they are fast!

ChrisSU posted:

I have a Synology NAS with WD red, and it is unacceptably loud. Because it's only for backup, I've been able to move it out of earshot, but there's no way I could tolerate it in the listening room. It only does a backup overnight, but is often audible during the day. 

Mine is in the loft, and certainly would be unacceptably loud if I had it in my listening room.

M

Yetizone posted:

Thanks for the input folks - very much appreciated indeed. Lots to think about! I have to admit that the QNAP 'silent' range, including the HS-210 and HS-251 have caught my attention. Possibly fitted with 2x Samsung 1TB 850 EVO SSD drives, probably in RAID0, then backup with one of my LaCie's D2's. I'm already using these Samsung drives, one in my Mac Mini and the other as main data drive for my work files in an OWC enclosure - they are fast!

Don't be tempted by the older Samsung 840 series SSD, there's a mysterious problem with their speed with older data dropping when they get more than 50% full.

Yetizone posted:

Thanks for the input folks - very much appreciated indeed. Lots to think about! I have to admit that the QNAP 'silent' range, including the HS-210 and HS-251 have caught my attention. Possibly fitted with 2x Samsung 1TB 850 EVO SSD drives, probably in RAID0, then backup with one of my LaCie's D2's. I'm already using these Samsung drives, one in my Mac Mini and the other as main data drive for my work files in an OWC enclosure - they are fast!

Don't bother with Samsung drives (as HH wrote). Your safest bet will be WD - do check the model numbers on the QNAP website.
Capacity wise - 1TB is almost not worth buying. For not much more, you can get up to 4TB.

I have two Synology 214play with WD Red. I would buy the 216play now simply because they are newer. Both are silent. Both sit in my living rooms. They mirror across the internet.

For those with noisy NAS problems . . . a NAS running in normal conditions may make some sound, but it shouldn't be 'very' noisy - obviously a relative term. There are some ways to make them quieter:

• Sit your NAS on a non-resonant surface. An old mouse mat is perfect for this. It can make a really big difference to disk click noise. This is your first/easiest/cheapest fix.
• Keep it in a cool place - reduces fan noise.
• Clean the fan blades (carefully). 
• Switch off RAID. Why do people use RAID? It offers almost no real benefit to a consumer user, is expensive and adds to the noise: more disk clicking, more fan whirring. 
• Use an SSD, if you like that kind of thing.
• If you're still annoyed by the noise, either move the NAS or get a silent one.