Help me pick a NAS

VDSL

banzai posted:

IB, don't you have something like voltage spike protector for your computing devices? I once had a Mac Mini fried during a storm, so I learnt, nowadays all of my computers and electronic devices are protected against electrical surges. Having said that, I am more nervous for my hi-fi system, which is not protected.

All of my valuable data are in the cloud, btw.

Surge protectors will almost certainly not prevent damage from a lightning strike. You need to disconnect the device from the mains, and from the network (unless it is optical).

True, unfortunately. A close lightning strike or a direct lightning current is simply too big to protect with a little electronic device inside a power strip, or even a hefty UPS unit.

Getting back to the original question,  i need to replace my ready NAS, having read this thread I am looking closely at Synology.  Given that I will use it to serve music and as a general filestore (photos etc),  I am wondering the value add of more memory and faster CPU.

The basic models have 1.0 Ghz CPU and 512MB memory (DS216J),  while others have 1.5Ghz CPU and 1GB memory (eg DS216Play),  price premium approx 50%.   Looks like the play is aimed at video.

It looks like a lot of people on here are happy with the lower powered device.

David posted:

Getting back to the original question,  i need to replace my ready NAS, having read this thread I am looking closely at Synology.  Given that I will use it to serve music and as a general filestore (photos etc),  I am wondering the value add of more memory and faster CPU.

The basic models have 1.0 Ghz CPU and 512MB memory (DS216J),  while others have 1.5Ghz CPU and 1GB memory (eg DS216Play),  price premium approx 50%.   Looks like the play is aimed at video.

It looks like a lot of people on here are happy with the lower powered device.

 

 

 

 

 

David

From one bass player to another
I'd suggest to keep your NAS dedicated to music streaming only - it will be a neater and a safer option.

Adam

David, why are you replacing your ReadyNAS? Those Netgear ones are the ones I recommend, I have used them for years and years with total reliability. Two years ago I upgraded my ReadyNas to a higher storage ReadyNas model and it has worked silently and flawlessly in that time, literally not one single issue, and I have about 2Gbytes of music media... it just works. I also use its inbuilt DLNA media server, its basic but fully capable and I get a small SQ boost from it.. (inter frame space timing consistency)... I wrote about it on the forum some time back. My advice KiS, avoid unnecessary cost, avoid the bling, and enjoy the music 

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

David, why are you replacing your ReadyNAS? Those Netgear ones are the ones I recommend, I have used them for years and years with total reliability. Two years ago I upgraded my ReadyNas to a higher storage ReadyNas model and it has worked silently and flawlessly in that time, literally not one single issue, and I have about 2Gbytes of music media... it just works. I also use its inbuilt DLNA media server, its basic but fully capable and I get a small SQ boost from it.. (inter frame space timing consistency)... I wrote about it on the forum some time back. My advice KiS, avoid unnecessary cost, avoid the bling, and enjoy the music 

If KISS is best then I should just keep my Mac mini with minimserver and external HDD going. Maybe I'll just that and make a backup of that HDD with another. 

I'm not sure if using a Mac as a server counts as KISS?

Simon

I agree KIS.  I have been using the ReadyNAS for nearly 6 years, initially with in the inbuilt DNLA server, and more recently with Asset running on a Raspberry Pi transcoding to WAV, and been perfectly happy with it.

Last week it refused to serve files, and it was not possible to connect to look at log files etc, the only way to shut it down was to pull the plug,  the on off switch was unresponsive.

On rebooting it never gets beyond the booting phase and does not connect to the network, to allow me to connect via the UI or ssh.  The power light is on, the fan is running at high speed,  and the activity light falshes very few seconds, and it sounds like it may be reading data from the disk for each flash of the activity light.  I have restored the firmware.

it may be doing a full disk scan due to the abnormal shutdown,  but this has been running for close on 48 hours without any change in behaviour.  There is approx 750GB data.

I did not install a RAID config, but I do have a backup,  which is now pressed into service connected directly to the Pi.

Hence the reason I am considering a replacement.

Based on your experience, would you expect the disk scan to take this kind of time, or does this suggest a problem with the chassis/CPU?

Alternatively could it be a disk problem,  in which case a replacement disk would fix it,  and if that did not work I could use the new disk with a new NAS anyway.

Thanks

David

David, it does not sound like a disk problem to me - but instead unfortunately a system or disk controller failure of some kind - this does happen from time to time but is rare in my experience - However I would contact Netgear support - they will/should be able to confirm what it is indeed doing by were it gets to in the reboot process. Can you run RAIDar when the NAS is doing this activity? If so what does it say as the status?

S

ChrisSU posted:

I'm not sure if using a Mac as a server counts as KISS?

Why on earth not? It is as simple to set up as any NAS, equally effective for music serving, and very reliable.

When I first had my Mac Mini I installed the free Serviio UPnP player and it worked a treat serving to a networked ND5XS. And no occasional lock ups as I had had with an NSA325 NAS previously. And as with many NASs the user has a choice of UPnP servers to suit personal preference.

Add to that the fact that it is virtually silent as well, and is small, and runs headless (no screen or keyboard), any control being possible remotely from any other computer, tablet or smartphone using free VNC software. It even turns on and off with a simple press of a button just like any other bit of hifi gear.

And the ultimate in KISS is to run the renderer on the MM with output direct to DAC, when no network is needed, avoiding the many problems others seem to have - not to mention not having to think about whether network cables are significant. However an installed UPnP player equally can still stream to external players if desired.

I have no knowledge or experience with minimserver, but with, for example, Audirvana on the MM as renderer in optimised mode and using  a dedicated USB bus output, SQ is up there among the best.

The only problem with the Mac Mini is the disk space, otherwise it acts perfectly as a NAS.

I use both a headless Mac Mini with Audirvana and QNAP. Audirvana accesses my music library with the QNAP multimedia folder mounted on my Mac Mini, so I have no need for any UPnP software.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

David, it does not sound like a disk problem to me - but instead unfortunately a system or disk controller failure of some kind - this does happen from time to time but is rare in my experience - However I would contact Netgear support - they will/should be able to confirm what it is indeed doing by were it gets to in the reboot process. Can you run RAIDar when the NAS is doing this activity? If so what does it say as the status?

S

 

Thanks Simon.  The devices not connecting to the network, so I don't see how RAIDar will be able to communicate with it.   It is old and not supported anymore according to netgear website, but I will try contacting netgear support.

Given the current status, I don't see I have much to lose with trying a full factory reset from the boot menu.

if I were to replace with another netgear, any recommendations ?

D

Dave - I use a cheap ReadyNas 102, with mirrored 3Gbyte disks. Appears nice and silent most of the time in operation - it has a temperature controlled fan that seems to be very quiet... hearing the disk head stepper motors clatter when writing is louder than the fan....

ChrisSU posted:

I'm not sure if using a Mac as a server counts as KISS?

Sure it is. I have it running. If I add another piece of hardware,NAS, then it gets a bit more complicated. It works and I went today and finally bought another HDD for backup. I may return to a NAS consideration at a later date but for now I'll just stay with what I'm used to for a while longer. At least the next time I'll have a better idea when I start the process than I did this time. 

Hi John,you could also wait and get the new uniti core like I may do,just waiting for the reviews to come out,but I am a believer the the server does matter from what I have read,and what could be better than a Naim server,serving a Naim streamer.

spurrier sucks posted:

ChrisSU posted:

I'm not sure if using a Mac as a server counts as KISS?

Sure it is. I have it running. If I add another piece of hardware,NAS, then it gets a bit more complicated. It works and I went today and finally bought another HDD for backup. I may return to a NAS consideration at a later date but for now I'll just stay with what I'm used to for a while longer. At least the next time I'll have a better idea when I start the process than I did this time. 

Well I can see that not having to change anything is simpler than buying something else. It just seems to me that a basic NAS with a UPnP server on it is more suited to the job of serving music files. A Mac has loads more functions not related to this, expensive storage, and a reputation for being electrically noisy. Not the weapon of choice as a UPnP  music server, I would have thought. Still, you have one, and it works, so I guess it makes sense to keep using it for now. Maybe when it dies, is the time to have a rethink?

No quarter posted:

Hi John,you could also wait and get the new uniti core like I may do,just waiting for the reviews to come out,but I am a believer the the server does matter from what I have read,and what could be better than a Naim server,serving a Naim streamer.

For the money I think I'll stay with my MM or geta NAS and use the leftover cash to buy more music.

It is not very clear from the OP's question about the role of the Mac Mini in his system? (a) Does the Mac Mini connect directly to the a (Naim) streamer or (b) Is it sitting somewhere and streaming music via a UPnP server?

If it is (a) you need a NAS and you do not need a UPnP server, since the Mac Mini can render music and feed the streamer directly.

If it is (b) you do not need a Mac Mini, and you can stream music from a UPnP server.

banzai posted:

The only problem with the Mac Mini is the disk space, otherwise it acts perfectly as a NAS.

I use both a headless Mac Mini with Audirvana and QNAP. Audirvana accesses my music library with the QNAP multimedia folder mounted on my Mac Mini, so I have no need for any UPnP software.

I have two 1GB SSDs in mine, which is more than I will ever need for music. It also have additional external attached drives, though of course not as neat.

it is expensive if bought as a NAS, but not if you already have one - and not expensive compared to similar quality rendering options plus silent NAS.

And to use as combined store/renderer it does need an isolated on the USB output if the DAC doesn't incorporate adequate isolation (e.g. Hugo) - but the network output is no worse than a purpose built  NAS for streaming to a separate streamer/player

Hopefully it will be obvious that I meant 1TB drives! And of course larger capacity drives can be fitted, just as in any NAS, there being 2 slots if you don't have an internal CD/DVD drive (external is fine for ripping, or on a separate computer), but RAID isn't an option(of dubious benefit for music storage anyway)

spurrier sucks posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

David, why are you replacing your ReadyNAS? Those Netgear ones are the ones I recommend, I have used them for years and years with total reliability. Two years ago I upgraded my ReadyNas to a higher storage ReadyNas model and it has worked silently and flawlessly in that time, literally not one single issue, and I have about 2Gbytes of music media... it just works. I also use its inbuilt DLNA media server, its basic but fully capable and I get a small SQ boost from it.. (inter frame space timing consistency)... I wrote about it on the forum some time back. My advice KiS, avoid unnecessary cost, avoid the bling, and enjoy the music 

If KISS is best then I should just keep my Mac mini with minimserver and external HDD going. Maybe I'll just that and make a backup of that HDD with another. 

Why not just add another external drive and use disk utility on your Mac Mini to set up a RAID 1 mirror, all automatic then.

Dave my idea of KISS does not include using a Mac as a general purpose computing resource for music storage and streaming with all the considerations that go with a PC.. A good NAS can be simply be setup and be left to do its stuff without any need to to worry about OS, configuration and the such like .. but each both their won..

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Dave my idea of KISS does not include using a Mac as a general purpose computing resource for music storage and streaming with all the considerations that go with a PC.. A good NAS can be simply be setup and be left to do its stuff without any need to to worry about OS, configuration and the such like .. but each both their won..

That's pretty much what I was trying to say above: perhaps, as a Unitiserve user, I'm being a bit hypocritical, as that is a kind of Windows computer, but then I'm hoping Naim have left out the bits I don't need.....pay more for less 

David posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

David, it does not sound like a disk problem to me - but instead unfortunately a system or disk controller failure of some kind - this does happen from time to time but is rare in my experience - However I would contact Netgear support - they will/should be able to confirm what it is indeed doing by were it gets to in the reboot process. Can you run RAIDar when the NAS is doing this activity? If so what does it say as the status?

S

 

Thanks Simon.  The devices not connecting to the network, so I don't see how RAIDar will be able to communicate with it.   It is old and not supported anymore according to netgear website, but I will try contacting netgear support.

Given the current status, I don't see I have much to lose with trying a full factory reset from the boot menu.

if I were to replace with another netgear, any recommendations ?

D

Factory reset has resolved the issue,  i am now in the process of restoring the backup.

Next job is to increase capacity -  can i do this by inserting a new disk with higher capacity in slot 2 ,  allowing it to synchronise and then putting second disk of the same higher capacity in slot 1?

Thanks

David