Moving From NAS to External HD.

Posted by: tonym on 20 August 2010

I currently store my music & photos on a Qnap NAS with 1TB of storage (mirrored onto a second 1TB drive). This connects to my iMac via Cat6 ethernet cable & also to SWMBO's computer upstairs. Various other connections go out to BluRay player, Time Machine, wireless modem etc.

I've been using this arrangement for a fair while and although it generally works OK there have been a few very irritating glitches which so far I've managed to resolve.

I really don't think Apple have got to grips with the fact that folk like to use NAS and as a consequence I've had issues around the iMac demounting the NAS and me having to reboot to get the thing back on line, and the latest glitch whereby for some peculiar reason the network has decided SWMBO's Macbook is the Qnap and to cure the problem I've had to completely reboot the whole shebang.

Given that SWMBO doesn't use the Qnap I'm considering going for an altogether simpler arrangement by storing music & photos on a 1TB LaCie HD connected to my iMac via Firewire 800, with a spare 1TB HD for backup.

I believe this'll be a more robust affair, no worries about having to mount the blasted drive, easier to back up, more portable, and quieter (although the NAS is upstairs, the fan's running constantly and is relatively noisy) and easy to take the HD to another location.

A couple of questions then; has anyone else gone back to HD from NAS? I'm also wondering if I remove one of the 1TB HDs from the Qnap, can I just insert it into the LaCie & use the files already on there, or will I have to copy them all over from the Qnap? I've tried copying everything across via the iMac through the network but this invariably ends with an obscure error message after an hour or so.

All help and advice gratefully received!

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by Geoff P

Is USB an alternative to firewire? I am unfamiliar with MAC's. In PC land a typical NAS has a USB port on it ( don't know QNAPS) which may, or may not, be a connection that allows an external USB drive to be copied to via instructions sent on the network.

You realise you will most likely loose the folder structure which you have your music in currently in anything but an indivual folder drag & drop copy.

I guess removal of a drive from the QNAPS will depend on how you duplcated your files. Software or RAID mirroring will be screwed I suspect if you just yank a drive but if you did it manually probably no problem as long as you can read teh directory structure when you plug it into the MAC.

regards
Geoff

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by Eloise

quote:
I'm also wondering if I remove one of the 1TB HDs from the Qnap, can I just insert it into the LaCie & use the files already on there, or will I have to copy them all over from the Qnap? I've tried copying everything across via the iMac through the network but this invariably ends with an obscure error message after an hour or so.

I think this is unlikely to work - can you connect a USB drive to your QNAP and copy the files directly QNAP to external HDD rather than via the network?

Eloise

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by tonym

Thanks John, I'll do that.

Hi Eloise, I'm just in the process of doing this!

The Qnap calls it a backup but it appears to just copy the files over. The HD I'm using for the copy's formatted in FAT so presumably the Mac'll be able to read it OK?

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by Geoff P

So you can use USB. Have you figured out how you organised your backup on the QNAPS? Like I said you might be able to remove a drive.

regards
Geoff

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by tonym

Hello Geoff. I use the Qnap's own firmware for backup, but from what I can gather it just makes a straight copy across - no compression.

I've been unable to access the files directly from my backup disc so far because for some reason they look like gobbledegook on the Mac. When I've subsequently tried to use the disc again to synchronise the backups I've had to reformat it - pointing to the original backup becoming corrupted somehow.

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by Guido Fawkes

quote:
I really don't think Apple have got to grips with the fact that folk like to use NAS

More likely that the NASgulls haven't got used to the fact some of us like Apples - if your NAS will support NFS then all your problems will vanish. Mac OSX is great with industrial strength Network File Shares, but Samba was never that wonderful.

If the lord had meant us to use CIFS then he'd made a Windoze machine that didn't crash.

Have a look at NFS on the QNAP site here

Posted on: 20 August 2010 by tonym

I'm using NFS ROTF...

Posted on: 21 August 2010 by garyi

I have a QNAP and it never drops off the mac.

I think you problem is neither the NAS or the mac but the router.

What is the router you are using?

Posted on: 21 August 2010 by tonym

At the moment I'm using a Netgear DGN 2000 Gary. It's only a couple of months' old and replaces another Netgear wireless router which seemed to be fine (in fact it's working OK in it's new location in our holiday home) in case it was the problem. This goes into a Netgear Prosafe 8-port Gigabit switch. Everything's wired up with Cat6 cabling. Going wireless hasn't improved things either.

Posted on: 21 August 2010 by tonym

quote:
Originally posted by AllenB:
Most NAS systems use EXT2 as their file system so you cannot simply plug in a hard drive from the NAS to your PC / Mac and expect to explore it.

Hi Allen. Before starting the latest backup (which is still running) I used the NAS to format the external HD using FAT. Hopefully I'll be able to read this directly from the Mac?

Posted on: 21 August 2010 by Guido Fawkes

I've never used FAT on a network file system, but it's not designed for NAS use and I believe some operations that depend on permissions will not work as they would on ufs or hfs+. I could be wrong about this, but it may be the cause.

Hope you can solve the problem.

Posted on: 21 August 2010 by garyi

Take the FAT off it will cause issues with certain file names and with any files bigger than 4 gig. May not be an issue for you but certainly is for me as I have a lot of movies.

If its just temporary then yes a mac will read it fine.

Posted on: 22 August 2010 by tonym

OK, after taking day or so, my music and photo files have successfully copied over to a LaCie 750Gb HD, and I can access all the files directly from the Mac using Firewire 800.

Music via iTunes works the same but the photo files load up a damn sight quicker! Mind you, the HD sounds like a tree-full of demented woodpeckers...

Posted on: 29 August 2010 by tonym

After some excellent help and advice from Fixedwheel (thanks John) I'm now the proud possessor of a Drobo HD storage unit, currently running 2x 1TB Samsung HDs and attached to my Mac via Firewire 800.

It all installed faultlessly - a very well sorted bit of kit - and currently holds my music and photos.

It's located just behind my computer desk and is inaudible. Loading photo collections is much faster than the NAS; mounts instantly, shuts down automatically when I turn the computer off, and, boy, does the music sound so much better!

(OK, made that last bit up)

An altogether better solution for one user (although SWMBO can access the Drobo through the network as long as my Mac's on)

The NAC's destined for installation in the garage as a remote backup.

Thanks again John, you're a star!

Posted on: 29 August 2010 by garyi

Ik, good luck with that. A very happy moment when I sold my drobo on.

Posted on: 29 August 2010 by Guido Fawkes

Tony - this set-up is virtually the same as the one Apple recommends using the the Promise DAS available through the Apple store. Apple used to manufacture the rather horribly noisy, but quite reliable XSAN. The next stage when it becomes viable is to replace HDD with SSD and listen to silence. A good solution IMHO that eliminates the need for UPnP.

Posted on: 29 August 2010 by fixedwheel

quote:
Originally posted by tonym:
Thanks again John, you're a star!

Awww, shucks!

John