My experience with WD MyCloud 6TB NAS

[parambir]

To begin with I am not sure if this is the right section for this but since I could not find any other head, I am posting it here. Admins are requested to relocate this to whichever thread they find suitable.

Ok so as the title says, I recently picked up Western Digital My Cloud 6 TB NAS. For those who have not heard it, Google it and go through the specs.

What was I looking for?

I was looking for a network based storage device where I can place all my data (personal files, music, movies basically anything under the sky) and can access from within my home network on a desktop, laptops, tabs, mobiles, Minix streamer, Yamaha receiver, Chromecast... basically anything connected wired or wirelessly to my home router. Plus I would like to be able to access this data from outside my home safely and securely. Additionally I should be able to share this with others based on what I want them to see.

This quest brought me to this device. Now there are plenty of devices available globally and this may not be the best but this is the best I could afford and after having used it for 15 days now, I would rate it 7/10 which by the way is a very good rating for any storage device.

What's inside the white box?

You can go through the specs on the net for details but briefly it has an Ethernet Gigabit port and a USB 3.0 port. Through the Ethernet port you connect it to your home router and USB port is used to connect to a USB HDD or Memory Stick for storage expansion (Will I need more than 6 TB?) or for backing up your backed up data !!! It supports media streaming, has a DLNA function built in and uses Twonky.

Present Setup

I have connected the device to my Internet Router TP Link WB841N. I have put all my data onto it. I use my Minix to browse the library and stream even Full HD movies at 7.2 ch seamlessly from NAS without any buffering or glitch. Minix even scans this data and updates movies meta information. Similarly I can stream audio too.

My Mobile is sync with NAS and every night at 0100 hrs it replicates the data with my NAS over Wifi.

Through my laptop or mobile I can access my files at home or from office or on the move.

I don't have a chromecast so could not check streaming onto my LCD TV but should not be an issue.

I have created accounts for my parents too who have a share folder on the NAS and can upload there data too from a different city altogether.

My Recommendations

The device seems very easy to use but can get frustrating configuring and getting a hang of. It took me 3 nights to get the thing up and running despite the fact I consider my self technologically aware. After having populated with my 150 odd movies, 1000s of songs and large collection of pictures, I have balance 4.9TB out of 6TB. So it is future proof for quite sometime.

Anyone who is looking for a solution as mine in terms of storage and streaming, can go in for this device or a similar one as they feel fit.

I would at this stage say that I am pretty much aware of this device and can help anyone get it up and running if required.

Thought of sharing my experience...

Good Luck.

 

[dolfin]

I use my Minix to browse the library and stream even Full HD movies at 7.2 ch seamlessly from NAS without any buffering or glitch.

@parambir: Thank you for this post. I'm also looking out for a NAS device but doubtful about the performance of MyCloud against QNAP and Synology which comes diskless at the same cost!

There are Jellyfish Bitrate test files posted here: Jellyfish Bitrate Test Files
Can you check what is the performance difference for 1080p 40mbps HEVC Main 10 played locally vs on the NAS?

Also if possible share the price you got this.

 

[sam9s]

@parambir: Thank you for this post. I'm also looking out for a NAS device but doubtful about the performance of MyCloud against QNAP and Synology which comes diskless at the same cost!

There are Jellyfish Bitrate test files posted here: Jellyfish Bitrate Test Files
Can you check what is the performance difference for 1080p 40mbps HEVC Main 10 played locally vs on the NAS?

Also if possible share the price you got this.

first mind you that My Cloud is not a NAS perse but more of a file server, it will not have the quitessential NAS features, but if you are looking just to have a setup to serve your files over LAN this is the device, there is a reason QNAP or Synology NAS are expensive

Second the quality of the playback of a file is not dependent on the storage, but the network condition and the end media player that playes the media. For the storage/NAS it does not make a difference if its a 1080p 40mbps or 4K HEVC file ...

 

[dolfin]

first mind you that My Cloud is not a NAS perse but more of a file server, it will not have the quitessential NAS features, but if you are looking just to have a setup to serve your files over LAN this is the device, there is a reason QNAP or Synology NAS are expensive

Second the quality of the playback of a file is not dependent on the storage, but the network condition and the end media player that playes the media. For the storage/NAS it does not make a difference if its a 1080p 40mbps or 4K HEVC file ...

@sam9s: I am looking out for basic features such as data back up, media server (e.g Plex), data security, possibly a download manager etc.

I understand network and media player also plays important role in quality of playback. Hence asked parambir about the difference in file played locally and over the network. I have nVidia Shield and it plays 120mbps UHD media perfectly from attached HDD. Network is AC750 (Dlink DIR 816). I am not sure how the performance will be on NAS.

 

[regeHA]

I use Synology, but WD does hold its own at the budget end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drBkyDuoeXU

 

[dolfin]

How about having a high speed AC3200 router with option to attach USB HDD? Will it be better option if I want just media server for 4K UHD playback?

 

[parambir]

first mind you that My Cloud is not a NAS perse but more of a file server, it will not have the quitessential NAS features, but if you are looking just to have a setup to serve your files over LAN this is the device, there is a reason QNAP or Synology NAS are expensive

Second the quality of the playback of a file is not dependent on the storage, but the network condition and the end media player that playes the media. For the storage/NAS it does not make a difference if its a 1080p 40mbps or 4K HEVC file ...

I agree with this but then it all depends on what you want and how much moolah you are willing to pay for it. Like I said I wanted a simple file storage which I can access at home and over the Internet and I have achieved it. Whether I wanted a RAID or other features is something I thought about before going for it. So yes, know what you want and then go for it.

@sam9s: I am looking out for basic features such as data back up, media server (e.g Plex), data security, possibly a download manager etc.

I understand network and media player also plays important role in quality of playback. Hence asked parambir about the difference in file played locally and over the network. I have nVidia Shield and it plays 120mbps UHD media perfectly from attached HDD. Network is AC750 (Dlink DIR 816). I am not sure how the performance will be on NAS.

I agree with Sam on this. Storage device has nothing to do with the rate at which it can feed the file to you. It is the capability of your network which in my case is WiFi since my Minix is on Wifi and Streamer ability to decode the file in realtime, again Minix Neo U1 is the best I could buy and it ain't bad either. So I have played my Full HD video over the WiFi and did not get buffering even though I randomly selected the location of playing the track. Mind it, earlier I used to play from an external HDD connected to Minix. So for me there has been no difference in that aspect. Hope this helps.

How about having a high speed AC3200 router with option to attach USB HDD? Will it be better option if I want just media server for 4K UHD playback?

Well, Like I said earlier. Know what you want then look for technology that gives you the solution. Many times we look at technology and go for it whether it meets your requirement or not. Connecting external HDD to your router and playing from it also a workable solution. But it will not give you a cloud functionality that is to say access this data or copy your data over the Internet. Well not impossible but then you will have to enable port forwarding and stuff compromising your security.

 

[dolfin]

It is the capability of your network which in my case is WiFi since my Minix is on Wifi and Streamer ability to decode the file in realtime, again Minix Neo U1 is the best I could buy and it ain't bad either. So I have played my Full HD video over the WiFi and did not get buffering even though I randomly selected the location of playing the track. Mind it, earlier I used to play from an external HDD connected to Minix. So for me there has been no difference in that aspect. Hope this helps.

What Router do you have? I am not able to conclude if AC750 is sufficient bandwidth for UHD playback or I need higher bandwidth.

Well, Like I said earlier. Know what you want then look for technology that gives you the solution. Many times we look at technology and go for it whether it meets your requirement or not. Connecting external HDD to your router and playing from it also a workable solution. But it will not give you a cloud functionality that is to say access this data or copy your data over the Internet. Well not impossible but then you will have to enable port forwarding and stuff compromising your security.

Like I mentioned before I want a server for my media files and it should play UHD clips. Cloud services is not a requirement but I should be able to copy data on home network, which I guess router solution will allow.

 

[parambir]

I am using TP Link 300M Wireless N Router Model No. TL-WR841N. I am able to stream on it easily. Basically for 4K streaming you need minimum 15.6 Mbps throughput (theoretically). Hence any WiFi router that has 802.11n or better still ac can support 4K streaming

 

[Audiodoc]

I do 4k streaming over wifi using a netgear 7500 ac wifi router. I also use a ac wifi extender from netgear as there are 3 walls between my router and bedroom setup. So dual band wifi ac is the way to go for 4k 60 fps. Distance and obstacles will determine if you need an extender.

All my devices are either wifi ac or upgraded to wifi ac using intel cards or dongles. This prevents prolonged buffering times for 4k 60fps. For 1080p my old belkin n1 worked fine.

 

[regeHA]

How about having a high speed AC3200 router with option to attach USB HDD? Will it be better option if I want just media server for 4K UHD playback?

If you are looking to add HDD to a router then go the route of a Synology router, or at least router with multiple USB 3.0 and gigabit ethernet. I've done it this way, and while streaming works very well, file transfers are slower.

For less than 10K I converted an old PC into a backup NAS (running OMV), added a gigabit network switch and it just works flawlessly. I tested with streaming video (FHD) to 12-13 devices and 1 4K stream (have only 1 4K capable TV) and it worked without a hitch. I'm not sure a router would be able to handle so many simultaneous streams.

PS: Even the Pi streams great, but try with 3-4 devices at the same time and it chokes... and seeing most routers have a Pi in them I'd think they'd perform the same. My vote is to get a NAS with a proper multi-tasking processor or convert/build a low budget PC into a NAS with either OMV or FreeNAS.

 

[manoj.p]

Rege +1

Each of these have different purposes and benefits. Attaching a USB drive directly to a router is simplest form. However, I don't think there is any router (yet) which can serve as good quality file server, especially giving lots of data through put. First of all, these routers have hardware limitation, that is USB. Then the read/transfer/cache areas come into play, alongwith its own processing power. Remember, it has to do other things as well like networking.

There is also a need to get the throughput. With wireless, we can stream compresses data, even 4K movies. However, it stops at that. If one has to stream an uncompressed bluray, wireless is not sufficient. You will need to go to wired Gigabit for that and that too, using faster protocols like NFS. Try streaming a full 3D bluray movie with wireless and then let us know.

A simplest approach is what Rege has done. Get an old desktop, with capability to have SATA disks. There are some free/Opensource softwares like OpenMediaVault, Nas4Free etc. Yes, there is a little bit of learning curve compared to Synology etc. But you get similar functionality, if not more at a very less cost. You can add drives as needed depending upon how much expansion you have in the computer. The extra plugins like SmartCtl, Snapraid, print server, backup server, DLNA, Plex, Itunes, download client etc and its priceless at this price point.

Oh, and you can access it from outside using Seafile plugin or several other cloud plugins. So, if someone is upto challenge, you get a multi-purpose FileServer/NAS for fairly cheap price, surpassing the commercial NAS boxes.

 

[sam9s]

@sam9s: I am looking out for basic features such as data back up, media server (e.g Plex), data security, possibly a download manager etc.

These are not basic features, .., backup, data security with proper management is something which only a quality NAS OS can do properly.
I don't think WD Cloud provides all this in all its glory. Backup as far as I know, WD Cloud only supports Raid 1.(Mirroring). There is no data security on WD Cloud (but that is ok if you are not planning to put your cloud on Internet, i.e not planning to access it via Internet).
Media server is a basic thing and I am sure WD Mycloud will have that.
PLEX how ever is a different ball game. Even though it might have the plex server app. I am sure neither WD cloud or synology DS216J has the juice to do the transcoding PLEX needs to work effectively.

I understand network and media player also plays important role in quality of playback. Hence asked parambir about the difference in file played locally and over the network. I have nVidia Shield and it plays 120mbps UHD media perfectly from attached HDD. Network is AC750 (Dlink DIR 816). I am not sure how the performance will be on NAS.

Well you have shield tv what else you want, Shield can play 400mbps UHD media perfectly, forget 120 mbps. Also if you have shield, why would you want to have plex server on your NAS. Shield is the BEST hardware at present when it comes to run PLEX server. I have shield pro as well and my plex is running on it and I couldnt be more happier by it performance.

If you wanna play UHD high bitrate files from NAS over network, make sure you have wifi AC or gigabit LAN and you should be fine, irrespective of what kind of NAS you purchase ....

 

[dolfin]

Well you have shield tv what else you want, Shield can play 400mbps UHD media perfectly, forget 120 mbps

The problem with the Shield is that its external storage can not be accessed on network to copy files on it (sharing is read-only). Every time I have to upload new media, I need to disconnect the HDD, attach to PC and copy. Its bit of a mess since I upload new media every alternate day. I am also doubtful about the reliability of portable HDD drive. Hence I thought of investing in a NAS with good quality NAS-HDD.

Shield is the BEST hardware at present when it comes to run PLEX server

Absolutely agree, but I am not sure if I can use its server when my media files reside on NAS (assuming I go for NAS)

 

[parambir]

Well like I said earlier, there are sea of opportunities and millions of way to get drowned !!! I chose getting a My Cloud because I was more interested in 6 TB and streaming it locally which it does without a hitch. I am not in an environment where there are people demanding multiple streams. Its just me streaming from my living room or at the most another stream on Chromecast. All this for about 16K I think is a bargain I can live with.

 

[sam9s]

The problem with the Shield is that its external storage can not be accessed on network to copy files on it (sharing is read-only). Every time I have to upload new media, I need to disconnect the HDD, attach to PC and copy. Its bit of a mess since I upload new media every alternate day. I am also doubtful about the reliability of portable HDD drive. Hence I thought of investing in a NAS with good quality NAS-HDD.

Copying files from PC over Shield is not that difficult. This is what I have done .....

1. Install the below ftp server on your shield. Run it and note the url

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oxsoft.ftpserver&hl=en

2. Download FileZilla FTP client on your PC/laptop and install it

3. Connect to your shield via FTP using the filezilla client and copy what ever you want from PC to Shield HDD, internal or external.

Absolutely agree, but I am not sure if I can use its server when my media files reside on NAS (assuming I go for NAS)

Yes you can use your server (PLEX on sheld) with all your media files stored on NAS, that is what I do. Shield's PLEX server even works when shield is in sleep mode (Amazing piece of hardware) so you don't need to even worry of shield always on coz of this ....

 

[dolfin]

Copying files from PC over Shield is not that difficult. This is what I have done .....

1. Install the below ftp server on your shield. Run it and note the url

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oxsoft.ftpserver&hl=en

2. Download FileZilla FTP client on your PC/laptop and install it

3. Connect to your shield via FTP using the filezilla client and copy what ever you want from PC to Shield HDD, internal or external.

@sam9s: It worked! thanks a lot for the help!!
I still think that I should go for NAS since for some strange reason my HDD keeps getting ejected randomly from Shield (even during playback). I have been facing this problem earlier as well and whenever I disconnect it physically it takes a while to connect it back again...

 

[sam9s]

Most welcome .... anytime ....

Not saying you should not go for NAS, by all means anyone with random scattered data more than 3-4 GB should go for NAS, atleast a basic one, it makes the life much easier. All I am saying is, dont expect the basic file server to give the specific NAS features, like RAID, Cloud Backup, Cloud Sync, Added security, Antivirus ...and stuff like that, and definitely dont expect Plex server on these low profile NAS. (use shield). If you want a storage central location, a basic file server that can serve your entire media content from one location, WD Cloud will serve you well, I however would still highly recommend Synology 216j, simply because of the DSM OS it has which is miles miles ahead of any NAS OS out there. Once you start using it there is no looking back, and I believe the price difference for WD cloud and DS216j is not much either. Even if it is DSM OS is worth spending that extra buck... IMHO ..

 

[dolfin]

@sam9s: FTP access is read only in spite of selecting write mode in server settings. Do I need to root Shield or there is another way?

Also how about Asustor AS-302T? I found it 17k online. I have read reviews of DSM and also read that ADM 2 of Asustor has significantly improved over its previous version. Hardware wise Asustor is much better than 216j. Also I found later costing 23k.

 

[sam9s]

@sam9s: FTP access is read only in spite of selecting write mode in server settings. Do I need to root Shield or there is another way?

No it is not, I can read and write both from shield's internal HDD (500GB) to my laptops drives, using the same FTP server and file zilla. Try writing and reading from internal storage, instead from external. does that work ..???
I have not rooted it, no need as of now. Try from the explorer as well, type ftp://192.168.x.y:2221 and see if you can read write from there.
Belwo screen shot shows copying from shield hdd to my laptop

Also how about Asustor AS-302T? I found it 17k online. I have read reviews of DSM and also read that ADM 2 of Asustor has significantly improved over its previous version. Hardware wise Asustor is much better than 216j. Also I found later costing 23k.

Again all depends what you wanna use your NAS for. Personally with experience a NAS does not need a beefy hardware. The OS matters a LOT if you ask me when it comes to NAS. For basic needs like file serving, RAID, shares, user access, even 512 mb is more than enough.

Asutor is not bad, and if you are really really on a tight budget go for it. Difference lies in the minute details and features you get when you start using the device, form the top of it Austor OS looks ok, (watched couple of reviews). Plus the community support and constant development and upgrades also matter, which is again best with synology, they have been upgrading their OS like crazy, I tell you.

If you can manage then synology, else if you seriously are on a tight budget Asustor is not a bad product and is been getting good reviews.