What is the most economical and reliable NAS

[Staxxx]

I am looking for a NAS for back-up storage of my music files. I will need about 6 TBs in total. I am not sure how this works - but can I add (slot in) my own new 2TB internal drives, or does the NAS usually come equipped with the drives? Speed is not essential, but longevity and reliability is.
Look forward to hearing about reasonable alternatives that are available in India. I am not the DIY kind so will not be able to put one together. Thanks!

 

[jaganm]

Have you considered MyBookLive and MyBookLive Duo from Western Digital? In addition to the usual NAS tools, they have some really good ios/android apps which makes them accessible from anywhere in the world. It's proved to be a lifesaver for me a couple of times as I was able to access my files in bangalore from mumbai

 

[fragpic]

Take a look at Netgear ReadyNAS Pro

 

[ranjeetrain]

Economical and reliable is an oxymoron, specially when it comes to a NAS.

As of today, WD MyBookLive is undoubtedly the most economical NAS. In fact I am considering getting one as a backup to my main NAS (which I am not running on RAID anymore).

Reliability is a big concern, specially when it comes to a NAS. It should weigh much more than economy aspect. Unless there is always a trivial way to get the data back in case of a failure. When reliability is the concern, Netgear comes to mind first. Followed by Synology.

When I was out looking for a NAS, I bought a Buffalo (A Japanese company with manufacturing in China). Buffalo was not my first choice, it was Netgear. But Netgear was way overpriced in my market so I had to settle with Buffalo. And I have not been let down. Buffalo promised me a read speed of 71.2 MBps. In actual use I have got 70 MBps (sustained speed). It runs 24x7 and hasn't given me any issues. Built in NAS software is fairly good and has allowed me to access my data from anywhere in the world. Overall, Buffalo, despite not being a first choice for me, has served me very well. And to think that I was hell bent on buying a Netgear (which was nearly twice as expensive, had a slower processor/memory and specifications were low). I am glad I chose Buffalo.

It can also be a matter of chance. Sometimes, not-so-computer-savvy users end up messing with their NAS units due to their own ignorance and due to the nature of Internet, such negative reviews gos viral. I have read negative things about nearly every NAS product (when I was researching). I said to myself, "if I have to go against the user reviews anyway, why put in more money? Let's start small." So I went with Buffalo.

Buffalo LinkStation NAS in actual use.
Copy a 3.8 GB file from a local hard drive to the NAS.
Performance peaking at 75.7 MBps (write speed).
​

When we talk about "economical and reliable" my vote goes to Buffalo. For it's fuss free operation, not complicated setup, ease of access and most importantly for blazing fast operations in actual use.

 

[Staxxx]

Thanks Ranjeet. I looked at the Buffalo site and there is a bewildering choice of NAS products. Could you answer a few basic questions for me.
1. Do these NAS come with built in HDD or can I buy them separately (one FM is selling a few 2 TB drives) and install them in the case?
2. The 8TB LS-QV sounds like a good option with quad drives - but I really wonder what kind of money we are talking about?
3. I assume they can easily be user-configured as a single array (in raid 0) and used as a back up for the files on my music server?
Thanks.

 

[Shivam]

Netgear ReadyNAS Duo v2 'without RAID' gives a maximum of 6TB. It is a reliable and good NAS.

Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ v1 with RAID (XRAID) can support a total of 6TB free space and 2TB redundant (can withstand one HDD failure).
v2 supports higher capacity drives at the expense of some advanced NAS features.

HDD can be purchased built in or bought separately. I prefer buying inexpensive HDDs separately.

(Buffalo is also a good option but as far as I know their firmware/OS is on the HDD which is not good. Find out about it before opting to buy Buffalo.)

 

[ranjeetrain]

Thanks Ranjeet. I looked at the Buffalo site and there is a bewildering choice of NAS products. Could you answer a few basic questions for me.

Thanks.

1. Do these NAS come with built in HDD or can I buy them separately (one FM is selling a few 2 TB drives) and install them in the case? -- Yes, by all means. That's actually a much better way to go about it.

They do come with built in drives, but I'd advise against going for the ones with built in storage.

I'll recommend this one. http://www.buffalo-asia.com/india/products/product_details.php?id=463&name=LS-QV

The last option: LS-QVL/E is ONLY the ENCLOSURE. That's what you want. You can insert up to 4 drives in it.

2. The 8TB LS-QV sounds like a good option with quad drives - but I really wonder what kind of money we are talking about? -- Cheaper than the equivalent Netgear by 30-50%. Not counting the performance advantage.


3. I assume they can easily be user-configured as a single array (in raid 0) and used as a back up for the files on my music server? -- Yes, that will allow you to do what you are asking for. In fact, it can even run its own scheduled backup.

(Buffalo is also a good option but as far as I know their firmware/OS is on the HDD which is not good. Find out about it before opting to buy Buffalo.)

I am not a Buffalo salesperson, just a happy user. And I have to say that that's not always true.

OS on the HDD is only in the case of the units with built-in drive(s). In my NAS, which didn't have a built-in drive, I have inserted removed drives many times, playing with the configuration before settling with the current configuration. Without any data loss. Clearly, it has a smart OS that knows how to work with drives.

Yes, it is always better to download the user manual and read it before purchasing something as important as a NAS appliance.

 

[square_wave]

Even I am looking for one.

I can see that there are NAS products which already come with hard disks attached. These are the most common ones people use.

On wiki, it says : NAS systems contain one or more hard disks, often arranged into logical, redundant storage containers or RAID

So, If I need to use a NAS in a raid configuration, are there any particular products I should be looking at ?

What I am looking for : If I copy a file into the primary hard disk, the device should automatically create an identical copy in the backup drive.

 

[GeorgeO]

I'm using the ReadyNAS NV+ V2, which supports the 3 and 4 TB drives and has both GbE and USB 3.0. I'm happy with my unit, have put two 3TB drives and plan to expand it to 4 shortly.I bought it diskless.

 

[square_wave]

I'm using the ReadyNAS NV+ V2, which supports the 3 and 4 TB drives and has both GbE and USB 3.0. I'm happy with my unit, have put two 3TB drives and plan to expand it to 4 shortly.I bought it diskless.

Thanks George. Where are these available ? Cost ?

 

[GeorgeO]

Amazon is where I bought mine. Check current prices there-last years price would definitely have been considerably higher. All HDDs are from the US.

 

[GeorgeO]

RAID options are flexible in my NAS( and I suspect most others)-you can choose to opt out and not use RAID is you dont want.

 

[GeorgeO]

Sorry I should have been molre clear-if you opt for RAID and you have 4 X 3TB, then your actual available capacity will be 9TB-the other 3 TB is used up for RAID-this is how I understand it.

 

[square_wave]

Thanks George for the tips. I will look into this.

 

[KiranPS]

If you can DIY , then you can put together free nas pretty quickly. It has features of most high end NAS boxes and you can choose a motherboard that has software raid in bios.

 

[kuduku]

If you can DIY , then you can put together free nas pretty quickly. It has features of most high end NAS boxes and you can choose a motherboard that has software raid in bios.

Any advise on it ? I also want a NAS but dont require a RAID , for my media collection

 

[square_wave]

My synology ds212j is on its way !

WD suggests only the red versions (HDD) for NAS. Any thoughts ?

 

[hemantwaghe]

Want to sell my Near Mint - used almost never X Treamer - Etrayz ...With Orignal Box

 

[GeorgeO]

Ive used Samsung and Seagate drives in my earlier and current ReadyNAS units, they have worked well for me.

 

[square_wave]

Ive used Samsung and Seagate drives in my earlier and current ReadyNAS units, they have worked well for me.

Thanks George. Ordered a 2 tb WD red from itdepot