Help with Qnap NAS setup ( newbie alert)

There are others better qualified but seeing as i set up a QNAP 412 with 2 bays it is a similar set-up to your own.

the short answer is it all should work and no need to sell on eBay. QNAP are not the most favoured NASs on here as Twonky which is the media server is (apparently) not as good as Asset, but it works fine for me to a UniQute so should work to a superUniti just as well.

It is generally plug and play, once you attach the NAS to your network there is a CD which with Qfind or some-such which allows you find and setup the NAS. If your NAS has a USB port you should be able to transfer all your ripped CDs to the NAS via the QNAP admin panel. If not you should be able to connect the USB to your PC and move it to your NAS but it would probably be quicker with a direct connection.

You should be able to set the path for dBPoweramp so that it rips directly to NAS.

So it should all work but undoubtedly there will be a few scares along the way, but the forum is a great source of support and help with some truly knowledgeable people here, so don't be afraid to ask.

SJB

I have a TS-459 and from what I recall it was dead easy to set up.  As SJB says, a simple set up app which creates the basic config, then everything else can be done with a browser via the htttp interface. There are some standard shares, but you can create new ones as required.

I use Asset on a separate server rather than the built in DLNA server, but the basic built in ine should be ok to get you started, just not as flexible or rock solid as asset.

I use dBPoweramp ripping straight to a share on the TS-459.

Post again if you have any issues and I'm sure people here will help.

Dave's last point is spot on. I use a UnitiServe, but got really confused setting up my Synology as a backup, and several people on here helped me enormously.

i would say, though, that if you can afford a UnitiServe, it really is very good and avoids the need to use a computer to rip. But it's not cheap.

I'll just add my contribution, duplicates and all.

1. There is a utility called called QNAP finder (or something similar) which you run on your PC. It scans the network and if your QNAP is switched on and plugged into the hub, it will show up. You then use a browser based control panel to make config changes to the NAS, run services, set up RAID etc. Both these utilities can be downloaded if necessary.

2. Yes. You create a share on the NAS, locate it on your PC or mac and you can copy and paste.

3. Yes.

4. Yes. No.

Glad it's panning out. I should say that my comments apply to running a QNAP with the HDX.

If you set up a share you will get to chose which disc to put it on, or which mirrored pair. RAID 1 is two mirrored disks. The only thing you have to do to ensure  that your music collection displays in the share is to tag the files so that a server can read then. dBpoweramp has excellent tagging facilities. I have a directory structure which goes Artist/Album/Tracks. I have several shares which all begin with the word "music". This ensures that the HDX will pick them up although in reality it will pick up anything.

The one touch USB copy is a standard NAS feature and not so much useful as vital. because if the NAS box fails, mirrored discs won't save the data. Every time I make a change to my music collection I do a backup to external USB and the backup drive lives in a metal cabinet in another building.

Hi Keith,

you are doing well. Al the stuff you need is on order or already in your possesion. Your intended setup is one that many people here use, so plenty of help and advise available. I have a similar set-up. OncenQFinder is installed on your pc, you will see 1 drive for the NAs that you can copy to. A best practice is to use a folder per AlbumArtist with subfolders for each Album of that ame AlbumArtist. Don't know how many CD youbhave or intend to rip, but if the amount is more than 100, you might want to use a tool that helps managing your library a bit. iTunes is one of them, but if you want to do some extra stuff with tagging and reports, you might want to consider JRiver, MediaMonkey or Foobar. These tools help you catalogueing your library.

For your 2 bay NAS only Raid 0 or 1 apply. I think Qnap is standard set to 1 and that is just fine

cheers,

iver

Thank you Gordon,

no worries really, the SU is only just on order and the dealer hasn't even discussed about setting it up to the network, its just typical me wanting to know how it all ticks, so if I have a functional upnp Nas on the network and a means of ripping to a shared drive I wont be having information overload when the big day arrives getting my head around how it all works and connects.

Thank you Iver,

for the info on file organisation and the utilities.. I know this time next year is too late to try and reorganise from scratch so having a play with some folders will assist me greatly.

thanks again guys

regards

Keith M 

Hi Ingenius,

You seem to be well on your way... A few more thoughts and tips.

Don't worry about the multiple instances in Finder. Mac's display a separate line for each protocol the NAS supports so you will get SMB( or SAMBA), AFP and Time Machine in some cases.

Regarding folder structure I use - Multimedia/Music/(Album Artist)/(Album)/(Track.flac) I think Multimedia is one of the standard shares that come preconfigured on the NAS. Keeping folders separate and in a logical structure really helps managing your collection as it grows.

I run Windows 7 under Parallels on the Mac for dBPoweramp and Tag&Rename which I have found to be better than any native Mac apps for ripping and editing metadata.

Asset runs on a separate Windows 7 server I built myself. It's based on a Shuttle bare bones PC with an i5 cpu and a 256Gb SSD. Lightning fast, and also runs a mail server and an internal DNS cache.

I rip to flac as it has better metadata support, then use Asset to transcode to wav.

My NDS found Asset on the first attempt, and has worked flawlessly ever since. 

Keith.

QNAP have a program called NetBak Replicator. Very useful for backing up to your NAS music and photos etc. If you want to back up the My Pictures folder on your PC, it identifies any photos in that folder which are not in the NAS and copies them to the NAS.

Hi Guys,

just an update, I have the Qnap all set up and running, the shares are available to both my PC ( windows 8) laptop and mount on the Mac no problems. I have ripped all my CD`s to a 1TB usb drive and copied these over to a share on the Qnap called Mutlimedia. So far so good. The only annoying thing is that dbPoweramp cant see this drive to rip straight to.. dont know why ? The laptop that am running it on can see it in the my computer bit. I suppose the fun will start when the Superuniti arrives.

regards

Keith

In my Win7 file manager, I have mapped the network shares so that they show up as folders along side the other drives, C,D etc. dBpoweramp can see these and write to them. Don't know if that's of any help?

Right click - Add network Location.

Hi Harry,

thank you that's all it was. Bloody hell sometimes,I cant see the wood for the trees. when I tried to map it from file explorer it couldn't see it, so I brought it up in Qnap finder and right clicked as you said.. seemples..  that's what happens to a newbie.. but it all adds to the experience

thanks again

Keith

Glad you're up and running Keith. Now let the enjoyment begin.

Thanks Harry,

ju

Thanks Harry,

just waiting for the hardware (SU) and new speakers to arrive that's when the fun begins

regards

keith