Good consumer NAS solution

[MiniNinja6]

Before anyone says it, yes I am aware that this has probably been asked/answered before but the only search I could find is the google site search at the top right and turned up way too many results to sift through most of which were not even from the forum. 

 

So lets get to it then, I have been dipping my toes into video production a little bit and have collected quite a bit of footage because of it. My current solution involves a 1tb internal HDD with a 1tb external backup. This sort of works but I am searching for a more permanent solution. My internet connection is crap (16mbps down, <1mbps up) so an offsite cloud service is not an option. That is why I want a nas/file server (is there a difference?). Our router is in the office and my computer is in my room with a 100mbps ethernet connection to the router. However, I'm rocking a gigabit switch at my desk so would I be able to get gigabit transfer between the nas and my computer if it is on the switch? If not 100mbps isn't bad. Once that's figured out, I need to decide on an actual nas. I really like the WD cloud solutions and they come pre-installed with the WD software so there is very little setup required which is a definite plus and they have some cool features. These run $300-$430 for the 4tb two bay versions. That seems like a decent price to me but would a DIY approach (building a system) work just as good or better for the same price? And if the WD solutions are better which one of the three is recommended?

 

Links to the WD Cloud solutions:

-My Cloud Mirror ($266)

-EX2 ($330)

-EX2100 ($400)

 

Edit: These all run $20-$40 cheaper on sites other than the WD store, I changed the prices to the cost on amazon.com

[Florb]

Seagate NAS Pro.

[AnonymousGuy]

I went DIY personally.  I know premade NAS's will have software and crap for streaming to other computers or whatever, but with a Windows based file server I can use it for more than just holding files.

 

DIY I could also do 24 drives, which no NAS can do.

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey MiniNinja6,

 

The WD My Cloud NAS devices are indeed very easy to set up and operate with. Basically all you need to do is connect them to the router and enter their IP in your browser and you are ready to go. They have easy access through the WD application and can be accessed from mobile device on your network as well as from any other place with Internet connection (provided the NAS itself has such).

 

WD My Cloud Mirror is the most simple of the three, offering a pre-configured RAID1 array which you can change if you want. It is great for simple backups and file storage that is shared across several devices.

 

WD My Cloud EX2 looks pretty similar to the Mirror but offers some additional features such as third-party support, torrent and FTP server and other useful things, if you need them. 

 

WD My Cloud EX4 offers 4 bays (compared to the two bays on the other two devices). It has all the features of the EX2 with some additions.

 

You could also check out the newer solutions:

WD My Cloud EX2100: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=NsLefn

WD My Cloud EX4100: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=K9kcIZ

 

A DIY NAS could be more budget-friendly, but harder to setup and with no actual support for the device. You also might get longer warranty on the different parts and more options for hardware upgrades. 

 

For simple storage of files I'd go with the WD My Cloud Mirror for the easiest setup and operation, most cost-friendly and simplest features (if you don't need the extra ones.

 

Captain_WD.

[MiniNinja6]

Seagate NAS Pro.

 

I dislike Seagate for a number of reasons, but I'd be willing to try out their nas solutions if they are recommended. However,  the 4tb nas pro is $550 (link), which is quite a bit more than the WD solutions and as far as I can tell doesn't have any features that justify that jump in price. There is the non pro nas for only $340 (link), which is definitely a reasonable price competing with the WD solutions. You also didn't give any reasons explaining how this is better.

 

I went DIY personally.  I know premade NAS's will have software and crap for streaming to other computers or whatever, but with a Windows based file server I can use it for more than just holding files.

 

DIY I could also do 24 drives, which no NAS can do.

 

I don't really mind setting up software and building a system, the problem is knowing what components to put in it. I'm assuming I should use server components but I know nothing about the server side of computers and haven't been keeping up with the desktop side either so I'm kind of a fish out of water.

 

 

Hey MiniNinja6,

 

...

 

Captain_WD.

 

 

I don't use the extra features of the EX2 at the moment (because I don't have anything to do them with) but I could see myself using the p2p capabilities so I will probably spring for at least the EX2 if not the EX2100.

 

 

Does anyone know if I can get a gigabit connection if the nas is connected to the same gigabit switch my computer is hooked up to? Or does the traffic have to go to the router first then back limiting it to 100mbps

 

Thank you all for the timely replies 

[AnonymousGuy]

I dislike Seagate for a number of reasons, but I'd be willing to try out their nas solutions if they are recommended. However,  the 4tb nas pro is $550 (link), which is quite a bit more than the WD solutions and as far as I can tell doesn't have any features that justify that jump in price. There is the non pro nas for only $340 (link), which is definitely a reasonable price competing with the WD solutions. You also didn't give any reasons explaining how this is better.

 

 

I don't really mind setting up software and building a system, the problem is knowing what components to put in it. I'm assuming I should use server components but I know nothing about the server side of computers and haven't been keeping up with the desktop side either so I'm kind of a fish out of water.

 

 

I don't use the extra features of the EX2 at the moment (because I don't have anything to do them with) but I could see myself using the p2p capabilities so I will probably spring for at least the EX2 if not the EX2100.

 

 

Does anyone know if I can get a gigabit connection if the nas is connected to the same gigabit switch my computer is hooked up to? Or does the traffic have to go to the router first then back limiting it to 100mbps

 

Thank you all for the timely replies 

 

The hardware for a DIY server depends on your usage . If it's mostly just files then you can really get away with a low power dual core (i3).  If you're planning on running lots of VMs then you'll want a TB SSD, and as many cores and RAM as you can afford to throw at it.  My server is using 80+% of the 4790K @ 4.4 Ghz and 17GB/32GB of RAM because I'm running several Win 7 VMs and have backups running, etc etc.  Integrated graphics will be fine if you don't want your server to double as a "guest" gaming machine.  If you want something to be able to game, the new 5775C Boradwell integrated graphics are quite potent (huge leap forward over Haswell graphics...can compete with low end discrete cards now).

 

Also keep in mind that H-series intel boards won't have more than 4-6 SATA ports, and 1 of those is going to be used by your boot SSD.  You're better off with Z series if you can afford it (because you can also overclock with Z and not H).  Avoid ITX unless space is really at a premium.

 

You don't need "server" grade hardware for a home server.  Consumer stuff works fine.  Have a UPS though.

 

You need a gigabit NIC if you want to be able to get gigabit speeds to your desktop.  They're really cheap ($30 or so versus 10Gbit that's currently $350 a card) and Intel makes good ones.

[MiniNinja6]

The hardware for a DIY server depends on your usage . If it's mostly just files then you can really get away with a low power dual core (i3).  If you're planning on running lots of VMs then you'll want a TB SSD, and as 

 

...

 

You need a gigabit NIC if you want to be able to get gigabit speeds to your desktop.  They're really cheap ($30 or so versus 10Gbit that's currently $350 a card) and Intel makes good ones.

 

I plan to use it only as a file server, no virtual machines or gaming. The reason I was thinking server components is that they are rated for 24/7 use (right?), and unless I can just turn it off and boot it back up with a power button it will run 24/7 most of the time since it will be tucked away under my desk with no mosue/keyboard/monitor connected. What OS do you run? Are you using windows server or something like freeNAS (or another linux based os). I haven't looked too deeply into freeNAS but how are the files accesed? Is it mapped as a network drive or does it use an "online" (browser based) setup like the WD and Seagate solutions. And would it be possible to set up the WD cloud as a network drive?

 

For the DIY nas, would it be a viable option to boot off of a 64gb usb3.0 flashdrive? I got three in a really good deal online and have only ever used 2 of them.

[AnonymousGuy]

I could be wrong, but the memory in flashdrives is usually not that great and doesn't have a lot of the features / protections that a real ssd has.  I dunno if Linux can load a full OS into ram from a flashdrive and use that, but I know windows can't.

 

I use Windows 7.  It's an OS I'm familiar with, and I knew it would be able to easily network with all my other computers (all being Windows 7).  I didn't want a Linux OS because I knew I'd be wanting to run VMs and other software that isn't compatible.  My Asus router handles being able to access files from my phone, since it supports Samba / windows network sharing.  I dunno about plug and play NAS boxes and FreeNAS.

 

My server had a 100 day uptime before I shut it down to upgrade the hard drives and cpu and mobo.  It was originally a i3 3220T on a Gigabyte H77 board.  You only need Xeon in order to support ECC ram, and ECC ram is only needed for heavy transaction workloads (like serving to thousands of people where the odds of a ram error happening are higher) and for mission critical workloads.  None of that is really relevant to a home user.  As long as you put in quality hardware in the first place and don't cheap out on everything then your uptime limit will be OS updates or similar and not uncorrectable ram errors.  Also, don't overclock and you're reliability will go up.  4.4 Ghz isn't really overclocking on a 4790K since that's the turbo frequency that I just apply 24/7 to all cores.

[MiniNinja6]

So I shouldn't worry about up time with consumer components. I don't need to use the flashdrive for booting I just have it laying around and thought I could put it to use. For using windows 7, how do you acces the drives over network? There are a bunch of computers running a mix of operating systems that may use the files on the nas, including my windows 8 desktop, win7 notebook and a linux laptop. This will only be a file server, so I don't understand the need for an i3, wouldn't a very low power pentium be plenty? All it is doing is writing and reading files from a few hard drives. 

 

edit: The laptop with linux on I use mainly just to experience with various linux distros but it is currently running opensuse if that matters