What do I need to use this NAS?

[Cyberspirit]

Hey, I've been thinking about getting a NAS lately and, I was curious if there was anything special I had to buy to use it.

This is the one I'm looking at right now: Link

Here are my specs if necessary: Link

 

I'd like to use this NAS mainly for backups but, it would be nice to use it as a media storage as well.

[Lurick]

You just need hard drives for it and you're good to go

It's got all the software and everything all ready to go.

[FIXXX]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

You just need hard drives for it and you're good to go

It's got all the software and everything all ready to go.

Seed torrents for a good-long time.

Set access to photo albums for friends/family.

Host personal cloud-storage.

Watch movies and stuff on any device - without a subscription.

And whatever else you would need.

 

The whole point is that you wouldn't need to keep a desktop PC running all the time to have the stuff above. At least those are good arguments for me.

PS: I bet there's lots of other stuff to experiment with when I get the NAS up and running.

[minibois]

Hard drive(s) + Ethernet cable to connect to your network or PC or whatever.

[Simon771]

Not sure about prices in your country but here TS-431P cost 250€. In Germany I can order HP micorserver for only 220€ and it would be much better NAS.

link: https://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/HP-Microserver-Gen10-X3216_1185053.html

 

You can also set Windows Server 2012/2016 on it and use it as VPN if you want to. Or tons of other options .... it's Windows OS on there in the end. If you buy TS-431P you are very limited with what you can do. That's not the case with microserver.

Another cool option is Plex server ... now it would work on TS-431P but it wouldn't encode in 1080p. Also if you have too many users it will work slowly. Meanwhile microserver Gen 10 have decent CPU to handle that.

And 8GB vs 1GB ram ... that should also tell you something

So I would look into that if I were you.

[NelizMastr]

27 minutes ago, Simon771 said:

Not sure about prices in your country but here TS-431P cost 250€. In Germany I can order HP micorserver for only 220€ and it would be much better NAS.

link: https://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/HP-Microserver-Gen10-X3216_1185053.html

 

You can also set Windows Server 2012/2016 on it and use it as VPN if you want to. Or tons of other options .... it's Windows OS on there in the end. If you buy TS-431P you are very limited with what you can do. That's not the case with microserver.

Another cool option is Plex server ... now it would work on TS-431P but it wouldn't encode in 1080p. Also if you have too many users it will work slowly. Meanwhile microserver Gen 10 have decent CPU to handle that.

And 8GB vs 1GB ram ... that should also tell you something

So I would look into that if I were you.

Don't forget the integrated graphics in the Opteron APU in that Microserver. That'll offload pretty well I'd imagine.

[paddy-stone]

1 hour ago, Simon771 said:

Not sure about prices in your country but here TS-431P cost 250€. In Germany I can order HP micorserver for only 220€ and it would be much better NAS.

link: https://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/HP-Microserver-Gen10-X3216_1185053.html

 

You can also set Windows Server 2012/2016 on it and use it as VPN if you want to. Or tons of other options .... it's Windows OS on there in the end. If you buy TS-431P you are very limited with what you can do. That's not the case with microserver.

Another cool option is Plex server ... now it would work on TS-431P but it wouldn't encode in 1080p. Also if you have too many users it will work slowly. Meanwhile microserver Gen 10 have decent CPU to handle that.

And 8GB vs 1GB ram ... that should also tell you something

So I would look into that if I were you.

Agree, I have a gen 8 that's still going strong, although it is not relegated to backup NAS for my main box as the main box has much better CPU for transcoding duties with plex. Downside is my main server uses waaay more energy than the microserver.

[Simon771]

2 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

Agree, I have a gen 8 that's still going strong, although it is not relegated to backup NAS for my main box as the main box has much better CPU for transcoding duties with plex. Downside is my main server uses waaay more energy than the microserver.

I was thinking about buying Gen8, but then realized 2 sata ports are 3Gbps and not 6Gbps ... so I decided to buy Gen10. Just need to save some more money before I buy it  

And I'm sure that microserver does use more power. But when it comes to electricity bills I don't think you will notice that 1€ difference per month.

It's also to be expected that it uses more power since it's a lot better than those purely NAS devices.

[paddy-stone]

1 minute ago, Simon771 said:

I was thinking about buying Gen8, but then realized 2 sata ports are 3Gbps and not 6Gbps ... so I decided to buy Gen10. Just need to save some more money before I buy it  

And I'm sure that microserver does use more power. But when it comes to electricity bills I don't think you will notice that 1€ difference per month.

It's also to be expected that it uses more power since it's a lot better than those purely NAS devices.

I think you misunderstood me. I meant that a NAS with desktop hardware would be MUCH higher electricity usage. NOT the microserver.

As for 3Gbps Vs 6, I don't think that would be a problem with NAS at all IMO, would only come close if using SSDs and a high network speed, or a LOT of users maybe... that's not something I've looked into TBH, but am pretty certain that it shouldn't be a problem for most users, and certainly not for a microserver where you'd be limited on the CPU/network way before the storage would be... but could be wrong.

[Simon771]

12 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

I think you misunderstood me. I meant that a NAS with desktop hardware would be MUCH higher electricity usage. NOT the microserver.

As for 3Gbps Vs 6, I don't think that would be a problem with NAS at all IMO, would only come close if using SSDs and a high network speed, or a LOT of users maybe... that's not something I've looked into TBH, but am pretty certain that it shouldn't be a problem for most users, and certainly not for a microserver where you'd be limited on the CPU/network way before the storage would be... but could be wrong.

Ah yeah that makes sense. Still I'm sure microserver does use a bit more power than NAS device. But difference is something like 40W vs 50W if you ask me.

Not sure how much would that 3Gbps link affect performance, but I'm not buying anything with less than 6Gbps speed on SATA ports in 2017  

[Cyberspirit]

9 hours ago, Simon771 said:

Not sure about prices in your country but here TS-431P cost 250€. In Germany I can order HP micorserver for only 220€ and it would be much better NAS.

link: https://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/HP-Microserver-Gen10-X3216_1185053.html

 

You can also set Windows Server 2012/2016 on it and use it as VPN if you want to. Or tons of other options .... it's Windows OS on there in the end. If you buy TS-431P you are very limited with what you can do. That's not the case with microserver.

Another cool option is Plex server ... now it would work on TS-431P but it wouldn't encode in 1080p. Also if you have too many users it will work slowly. Meanwhile microserver Gen 10 have decent CPU to handle that.

And 8GB vs 1GB ram ... that should also tell you something

So I would look into that if I were you.

4

Thanks for the heads up this one is cheaper here and, if it is better then, I will try to get one when it becomes available again.

So these NAS connect via ethernet but, the problem is that I only have one port on my motherboard and that one is used for internet. 

Just to make sure This is the one you mentioned right?

[Cyberspirit]

9 hours ago, Minibois said:

Hard drive(s) + Ethernet cable to connect to your network or PC or whatever.

I only have one Ethernet port on my Motherboard so could that be a problem?

[Simon771]

1 minute ago, Cyberspirit said:

Thanks for the heads up this one is cheaper here and, if it is better then, I will try to get one when it becomes available again.

So these NAS connect via ethernet but, the problem is that I only have one port on my motherboard and that one is used for internet. 

Just to make sure This is the one you mentioned right?

Yeah that is the correct microserver in your link.

This microserver does connect via ethernet and you can connect to it even if you have only 1 ethernet port on your motherboard. I believe you have your PC connected to router/modem/switch. Simply connect that microserver on same router/modem/switch and you can access to it from any device in same network.

I would suggest you configure static IP using router to avoid any problems. 

And if you have gigabit local network you can transfer files at 100MB/s speed from your PC to NAS and other way around.

 

You can get router with gigabit ports for like 45€, and switches for around 20€. Nothing too expensive if you ask me.

[minibois]

3 minutes ago, Cyberspirit said:

I only have one Ethernet port on my Motherboard so could that be a problem?

You have two choices,

1. Connecting it directly to your PC

2. Connecting it to your network (through your modem/router/whatever)

by far the most popular of connection is via the latter option, which makes the NAS available on your network, so your PC, laptop, smart TV, smart fridge, smartphone, etc. can all interact with it. The 1st option requires an ethernet port on your PC, which if you only have one port, makes it so you can't connect to your home network, but it's really not needed to connect it like this: unless you want to make sure your network doesn't 'suffer' because you're using the NAS.

 

So evaluate for yourself if your network could handle a NAS transferring data? Keep in mind this is data only 'inside your house', so only the quality of your router, switches, etc. matters: not the speed your ISP promises you.

If you really want to have it connected directly to your PC: you can purchase a gigabit ethernet PCIE card for like.. 15 bucks.

[Cyberspirit]

1 minute ago, Simon771 said:

This microserver does connect via ethernet and you can connect to it even if you have only 1 ethernet port on your motherboard. I believe you have your PC connected to router/modem/switch.

 

Simply connect that microserver on same router/modem/switch and you can access to it from any device in same network.

 

I would suggest you configure static IP using router to avoid any problems. 

3

Is there a way to limit access to the NAS? Like a password or something?

Quote

And if you have gigabit local network you can transfer files at 100MB/s speed from your PC to NAS and other way around.

2

Not sure what exactly a local gigabit network is but I'm interested if you can tell me more.

Quote

You can get router with gigabit ports for like 45€, and switches for around 20€. Nothing too expensive if you ask me.

My current Router came with my internet subscription and it does have multiple Ethernet ports but I honestly don't know if it is compatible with a NAS or not.

[Cyberspirit]

3 minutes ago, Minibois said:

So evaluate for yourself if your network could handle a NAS transferring data? Keep in mind this is data only 'inside your house', so only the quality of your router, switches, etc. matters: not the speed your ISP promises you.

Is there any way to test if my router can handle it or not?

[minibois]

Just now, Cyberspirit said:

Is there any way to test if my router can handle it or not?

Not reeeaaally.. But unless it's some junky old ISP modem and if you're not hitting the NAS with ten people at the same time: you're fine.

[Cyberspirit]

4 minutes ago, Minibois said:

Not reeeaaally.. But unless it's some junky old ISP modem and if you're not hitting the NAS with ten people at the same time: you're fine.

Found some info on it and it says on the website that it can handle 500 Mbit/s.

The router is a UPC Connect box but I couldn't find an English site for it.

[Simon771]

8 hours ago, Cyberspirit said:

Is there a way to limit access to the NAS? Like a password or something?

Not sure what exactly a local gigabit network is but I'm interested if you can tell me more.

My current Router came with my internet subscription and it does have multiple Ethernet ports but I honestly don't know if it is compatible with a NAS or not.

Yes you can limit access to NAS with credentials. If you are using micorserver and install windows on it, just make few other users and give them access. Then you will be asked for those credentials when you will try to map network drive on your PC.

All routers are compatibile with ethernet cables ... if you can plug your PC into that router, you can also plug NAS device there. Afterall NAS device is just another computer.

 

Gigabit ethernet means that your router have gigabit ethernet ports on it. You can either have 100Mbps or 1000Mbps

You can check that in your adapter settings:

 

 

From this picture you can see that it's 100Mbps ethernet speed, so max file transfer will be around 10MB/s.

If you have 1000Mbps speed in those infos, max transfer speed will be 100MB/s between NAS and your computer.

[minibois]

8 hours ago, Cyberspirit said:

Found some info on it and it says on the website that it can handle 500 Mbit/s.

The router is a UPC Connect box but I couldn't find an English site for it.

Is that via WiFi or wired connection?

[Cyberspirit]

3 hours ago, Simon771 said:

Spoiler

 

Yes you can limit access to NAS with credentials. If you are using micorserver and install windows on it, just make few other users and give them access. Then you will be asked for those credentials when you will try to map network drive on your PC.

All routers are compatibile with ethernet cables ... if you can plug your PC into that router, you can also plug NAS device there. Afterall NAS device is just another computer.

 

Gigabit ethernet means that your router have gigabit ethernet ports on it. You can either have 100Mbps or 1000Mbps

You can check that in your adapter settings:

 

 

From this picture you can see that it's 100Mbps ethernet speed, so max file transfer will be around 10MB/s.

If you have 1000Mbps speed in those infos, max transfer speed will be 100MB/s between NAS and your computer.

 

10

 

10

It says 1,0 Gbps so I should be fine then I guess.

 

2 hours ago, Minibois said:

Is that via WiFi or wired connection?

I think WiFi is 500 and wired is 1000.

 

[Simon771]

42 minutes ago, Cyberspirit said:

It says 1,0 Gbps so I should be fine then I guess.

 

I think WiFi is 500 and wired is 1000.

 

Yeah in that case you have gigabit LAN and your transfer speeds will be good.

[minibois]

1 hour ago, Cyberspirit said:

I think WiFi is 500 and wired is 1000.

Than you will be fine, as in that case all your Ethernet ports will have 1000 up and down.