New to NAS World

[thstudios]

Hello, very new to the NAS/Data Storage world. Planning to pickup a dedicated pre-built NAS & would like to know if. 

 

A. This is a good idea

B. Can i run the nas through say a windows laptop (ie install the OS ect..) needed to run the Dedicated NAS. Not turning the laptop itself into a NAS

 

The general use is just simply moving files between computers and data storage so nothing crazy hardware is needed for the nas. The prebuild is from QNAP & has 12 bays

[Sawa Takahashi]

8 minutes ago, thstudios said:

A. This is a good idea

This is a great idea if you need one. Moving files from computer to computer and data storage is probably the most common use case of these devices.

9 minutes ago, thstudios said:

B. Can i run the nas through say a windows laptop (ie install the OS ect..) needed to run the Dedicated NAS. Not turning the laptop itself into a NAS

Not entirely sure what you mean by that sentence.

After the initial setup, a NAS acts as a drive on any computer connected to it and you can use file manager  to write file to the NAS or read files from the NAS. You can also schedule automatic backups on each computer (either via Windows scheduler or an app).

As for the initial setup, it normally consists of configuring the drives (partitions and user accounts) and the way the NAS connects to the local network.

 

Hope that helps.

[Godlygamer23]

Evaluate your requirements to see if you really need one. Some of the functions that a NAS covers, you might be able to accomplish with simply external storage. I use a NAS, and it really is nice to be able to access my files on all of my devices as long as I'm connected to my network(I only use it within my network).  However, it is another device that you do have to manage, but IMO, the pros outweigh the cons.

[thstudios]

22 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Evaluate your requirements to see if you really need one. Some of the functions that a NAS covers, you might be able to accomplish with simply external storage. I use a NAS, and it really is nice to be able to access my files on all of my devices as long as I'm connected to my network(I only use it within my network).  However, it is another device that you do have to manage, but IMO, the pros outweigh the cons.

Fair enough! For myself i do alot of work on PC but i edit off a Mac so being able to just have access to those files right away is worth it. Plus looking into say DAS options are maybe 2-300$ cheaper then the NAS but i have to transfer it from system to system for files. 
 

appreciate the insight & info

[thstudios]

41 minutes ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

This is a great idea if you need one. Moving files from computer to computer and data storage is probably the most common use case of these devices.

Not entirely sure what you mean by that sentence.

After the initial setup, a NAS acts as a drive on any computer connected to it and you can use file manager  to write file to the NAS or read files from the NAS. You can also schedule automatic backups on each computer (either via Windows scheduler or an app).

As for the initial setup, it normally consists of configuring the drives (partitions and user accounts) and the way the NAS connects to the local network.

 

Hope that helps.

Yeah fair enough. Can tell im all over the place . I got a way better understanding. Theres just not alot of straightforward help online in all the research im doing. Glad i got proper help here on the forum

[Sawa Takahashi]

2 minutes ago, thstudios said:

Yeah fair enough. Can tell im all over the place . I got a way better understanding. Theres just not alot of straightforward help online in all the research im doing. Glad i got proper help here on the forum

Yeah, I can feel you.

When I decided to purchase a NAS some years ago, I knew pretty well what a NAS was supposed to do but there's not much info you can find online about how to setup or use it. The best documentation you can probably find is the User Manual of the device you plan to purchase. You may not understand the whole of it but it should be enough to show you the basics of setting up and using a NAS.

 

Good luck !

[Godlygamer23]

3 minutes ago, thstudios said:

Fair enough! For myself i do alot of work on PC but i edit off a Mac so being able to just have access to those files right away is worth it. Plus looking into say DAS options are maybe 2-300$ cheaper then the NAS but i have to transfer it from system to system for files. 
 

appreciate the insight & info

My NAS currently has TrueNAS 13 installed, and it's configured to automatically back up set folders to the cloud(Dropbox for me), and offers integrated encryption if you want to go that route, and I imagine some of the NAS companies, including QNAP offer similar integration. So if your NAS is going to be running 24/7, it might allow you to automate tasks on there, instead of doing it manually, or having to turn on a computer in order to accomplish the same task.