New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Need advice from NAS owners

post #1 of 8
10/6/12 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys - had a question to those who have had a NAS for a few years now. I've filled up my conventional 2TB hard drive and I figured it's time I move on to something I can expand and offer more flexibility, long term.

From what I've read/researched thus far, Synology seems to be a solid performer. I'm currenty looking at the DS1812+ - close to pulling the trigger, that is. I then started to wonder if I should jump up to (perhaps) the DS2411 (DS2413 I think was just released...) so I have more potential storage over the long haul.

My question to you all is: do you tend to stick with the same nas for years+ or do you see yourself swapping out the nas for a new one relatively frequently? In other words, would you stick with a more modest nas (like the DS1812) and potentially replace it in 2-3 years or jump up to something larger with the intent of keeping for 5+ years? Do NAS offer longevity (unlike a conventional PC does)?

I guess another way to phrase the question is, do you ever regret not getting a bigger nas? I'm asking more from the pre-packaged/AIO NAS products and not really from the build your own crowd. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 8
10/6/12 at 6:12pm
I was thinking of buying a Synology since they are probably the best NAS out there, but I just couldn't spend that much money. I ended up building my own unRaid server, which can hold about 24 hard drives now. However, if I had the money I would of gone with the biggest and baddest Synology NAS I could afford.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 8
10/7/12 at 2:01am
I started off with a Synology ds1511. I now have a 1812. With the expansion units i can add a total of 18 hard drives(only have the main unit right now with all 8 drives filled with 3tb hard drives). With about 700 dvds and about 90 blu rays(just the main movie not the extras) I still have about 9TB available of storage. Only reason i upgraded was for more storage. If you can afford the 2413 go for it. I don't really see the need in you having to buy an new nas for a while once you get one. So basically yes i did regret not getting a bigger one at first. I dont see myself getting anything other than the expansion unit but that wont be for a long time. Still have plenty of space on my 1812.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 8
10/7/12 at 7:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluewhale1 View Post

I started off with a Synology ds1511. I now have a 1812. With the expansion units i can add a total of 18 hard drives(only have the main unit right now with all 8 drives filled with 3tb hard drives). With about 700 dvds and about 90 blu rays(just the main movie not the extras) I still have about 9TB available of storage. Only reason i upgraded was for more storage. If you can afford the 2413 go for it. I don't really see the need in you having to buy an new nas for a while once you get one. So basically yes i did regret not getting a bigger one at first. I dont see myself getting anything other than the expansion unit but that wont be for a long time. Still have plenty of space on my 1812.

I agree. I would just buy whatever you can afford. However, you also have to remember this doesn't include hard drives. So, if you buy a 5 bay unit and use 3TB hard drives you can have at least 15 TB of storage. I am not sure how storage protection works with Synology so I am not sure if you will lost a hard drive for parity protection or not.

The great thing about Synology is that you can keep expanding and they've got awesome support and applications. I also believe Q-NAP is another excellent NAS from what I've been reading. In all honesty, I wish I would of waited a few months to save some $$ and bough a Synology. Overall it is more user friendly than unRaid. Don't get me wrong, Unraid is excellent too, but I'm afraid to install anything extra. I know nothing about Linux. I tried installing Crash Plan plugging, and my server pretty much Crashed lol. The good thing was that I saved all my previous settings so I got it back working.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 8
10/7/12 at 10:12am
I am using the Synology hybrid raid with a 2 disk fault tolerance. So basically 2 of my disks are used for back up. On the 1511 i had 3 disk for storage and 2 for backup. Now with the 1812 i have 6 disks for storage and 2 for back up.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 8
10/7/12 at 5:25pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies - this helps a lot, actually. I'm leaning towards the 2413+ now so we'll see how it goes. As bluewhale1 mentioned, I was planning on using SHR2 so the 2413+ will still allow me 10bays of space + 2 drives of redundancy which seems pretty convenient.

I'm still considering which drives to use... the WD RED series seem great in that they come in 3TB sizes (although scarce now); however they're not yet on the 2413+ compatibility list. I also don't know how those drives behave in a 5+ drive NAS since they're "rated" for NAS of 5 drives and under... could just be a marketing thing. If not those drives, i'd consider the WD RE4's, but they seem to only offer a 2TB variety (though are approved right now). I've emailed Synology to see if they have any info regarding support for WD Red drives.

The other thing I kind of wonder - there's a rated "maximum" of storage for each NAS which seems to be based ont 4TB * # drive bays. Is this a theoretical maximum since 4TB are the largest (that I know of, that is) drives available? Let's say in a couple of years 5 or even 6TB drives become the norm - would I still be limited on the original products' maximum, I wonder? I guess Synology would know for sure...
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 8
10/8/12 at 1:58am
Hard to guess that answer. i do know that when i got the 1511 i had 3tb drives in it. The next firmware version was the official support for 3tb. When i updated it i had to save my movies on a bunch of other hard drives update the firmware which wiped everything out and then add the movies back in.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 8
10/8/12 at 11:36pm
I believe that the biggest and newest Synology NAS is awesome, but it is insanely overkill. No need for all the power it has.
I have an old DS 409+ and it is more than fast enough for home use. I would go for the smallest possible with the possibility to use an expansion unit.
Just my 5 cents.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks