[debrat98]

Hi all,

Here is what my current setup is -

PC connected to ADSL Router via Powerline - 200MB Comtrends on each end
PS3 connected to ADSL Router via ethernet cable
Wii connected wireless to ADSL Router

I am looking for a NAS to be able to do the following -

1. back-up the usual docs, pics, music and videos - 2 laptops & 1 PC
2. stream to PS3 - photos, music and videos
3. have usb ports for extra expansion/print server/camera connection etc

I have read through many posts/forum/review and am even more confused then when I started! Luckily I have narrowed it down to 2 brands - QNAP & Synology. Have looked at the 2-bay models but even with RAID, I will still need to back my NAS up. So I am thinking, why pay extra, go for the 1-bay model and buy a external drive that I can connect via USB/e-sata that I can use to back-up the NAS?

Would appreciate your views and pros/cons to this? Also any recommendations for the 1-bay QNAP's and Synology's? I am looking for about 1.5TB space and looking at the Samsung eco drives.

Thanks

[ntm1275]

Which ever you go for both the Qnap and Synology will give you the features that you need

As for which is best, both are very similar and only differ in small areas

I have used Synology products for a number of years and have found them excellent, but I'm sure that the Qnaps are just as good

[debrat98]

Originally Posted by ntm1275

Which ever you go for both the Qnap and Synology will give you the features that you need

As for which is best, both are very similar and only differ in small areas

I have used Synology products for a number of years and have found them excellent, but I'm sure that the Qnaps are just as good

Thanks ntm1275. Have been reading that a usb backup from a 1-disk based QNAP was not very good, has this changed? Do you have any personal experience of backing up a NAS via USB?

[ntm1275]

I have a 2 bay NAS that I used to backup to USB

My model was the DS209+II which has fairly high spec hardware, so backups were fairly fast

You will find with most NAS's, that once the initial 'full' backup has been made (which could take quite a few hours depending on how much there is to backup), the subsequent backups are only files that have changed

If you choose a NAS with an eSATA connection, you could use a combined USB/eSATA external drive, and the eSATA backup would be faster than the USB

[colonelblighty]

Hi,

I recently got a Qnap 119 and popped a 1.5tb dsik in it and what can I say it's fantastic, allows me to acquire my downloads remotely etc and stream to my ps3.

I went fo the one bay druive for the same reason and i plan to get an external esata drive to back up everything in the not too distant future

[debrat98]

Originally Posted by colonelblighty

Hi,

I recently got a Qnap 119 and popped a 1.5tb dsik in it and what can I say it's fantastic, allows me to acquire my downloads remotely etc and stream to my ps3.

I went fo the one bay druive for the same reason and i plan to get an external esata drive to back up everything in the not too distant future

This is exactly my issue. So here is the cost breakdown -

QNAP TS-219P with 2 x 1.5TB Samsung Drives = £460 delivered (Experts In Storage Website)
Synology DS209+II with 2 x 1.5TB Samsung Drives - £561.00 (Aria)

Compared to -

QNAP TS-110 with 1 x 1.5TB Samsung - £230 Delivered (Experts In Storage)
Synology DS-110 with 1 x 1.5TB Samsung - £210 (Aria)

Even if I bought one of each it would be £20 cheaper then buying a 2 bay QNAP! Another reason for not buying a 2-bay is that supposed my house get flooded and my NAS is on the ground floor, both drives get messed up and I have to rely on my back-up.

So instead get a 1-drive NAS and then a back-up drive which I can store away from the the NAS as should be. I know the initial back-up may take long as I have about 375-400GB, but once done only the additonal/changed files will be done. This process should not take too much time and considering the huge cost factor, I am willing to live with.

Given my main thng is streaming to PS3, a 800 Mhz processor and 256MB Ram should be able to cope with with it right? Any personal experiences from people owning the above products would be appreciated.

[ntm1275]

I don't think your comparing like for like

The Synology DS209+II may be a 2 bay, but it is Synology's current top of the range 2 bay model, whereas the DS110j is their current bottom of the range 1 bay model

If you were to compare using the equivalent spec DS210j model the cost is less of a difference

TS-110 + Samsung 1.5TB = £210.61 (scan.co.uk)
TS-210 + 2 x Samsung 1.5TB = £322.73 (scan.co.uk)

DS110j + Samsung 1.5TB = £184.86 (scan.co.uk)
DS210j + 2 x Samsung 1.5TB = £307.31 (scan.co.uk)

2 bay units don't have to be mirrored in Raid 1, they can be used in JBOD or Raid 0, which will give you 3TB of space

Raid 1 mirroring isn't meant to be a backup solution, it's there so that if one hard drive fails, the NAS can still be used to access your files while you source a new drive, so there is no down time
When the new drive arrives and it's installed, the NAS will automatically rebuild the Raid 1 Mirror to the new drive, and you still have access to your files while it is doing this

With single drive NAS units, if the hard drive fails, there will be down time while you get a new drive, and then there is the possibility of hours of waiting (depending on how much data you have) while it restores to the new drive

It doesn't matter what 'volume' type you use on the NAS, you should always have a seperate backup device anyway

I have my DS209+II setup in Raid 0 for speed, but I also have an older model DS207+ (also in Raid 0) as a network backup
The DS207+ is situated in my garage about 30 feet from the house and is setup to automatically backup the DS209+II every night
If my DS209+II did completely fail for some reason, I can just access my files on the DS207+ over the network, while the DS209+II is fixed or replaced

[Zarch]

Originally Posted by debrat98

Given my main thng is streaming to PS3, a 800 Mhz processor and 256MB Ram should be able to cope with with it right? Any personal experiences from people owning the above products would be appreciated.

All the models will stream video content no problem, there is no need to worry about CPU/memory specs.

Check out the NAS sticky for network streaming requirements:
NAS Basics (Data Protection, Performance, Configuration and more)

[debrat98]

Thanks all for your replies,

Here is what I am seriously considering -

TS-110 + Samsung 1.5TB = £210.61 (scan.co.uk)
OR
DS110j + Samsung 1.5TB = £184.86 (scan.co.uk)

And then for backing-up the NAS a -

2TB Seagate BLACKARMOR (has both eSata & USB 2.0) = £151.09 (scan.co.uk)

I currently have a 500 GB HDD on my PC with about 400 GB of media, so 1.5 GB should be ok for me for the next 12-18 months atleast. May strech to the 2 TB drive on the NAS for another few quid though.

As said before there is not really that much between the QNAP and Synology except for the £25 price difference which could go towards the 2TB HDD upgrade? I am still maybe not seeing the need for a 2-bay NAS apart for the fact that if one drive dies, I can carry on working (In RAID 1) with one drive. Its about a £110+ difference on the 1.5TB models. As long as I am disciplined in backing-up the NAS to the external drive, I should be ok right?

Just thought about something else - would it not be worth considering buy either 1 of each or both of the same model and having one as the back-up NAS? Gives me the network connectivity and I can schedule nightly backup's over my network and store the drives in different locations in the house to minimise risk?

[Zarch]

Originally Posted by debrat98

Just thought about something else - would it not be worth considering buy either 1 of each or both of the same model and having one as the back-up NAS? Gives me the network connectivity and I can schedule nightly backup's over my network and store the drives in different locations in the house to minimise risk?

Not sure about a QNAP solution, but Synology have this feature to schedule backups between two of their NAS's:
Synology Inc. - NEW NAS Experience - Solutions :: At Work :: Remote Backup

[Kiangs]

Originally Posted by debrat98

Just thought about something else - would it not be worth considering buy either 1 of each or both of the same model and having one as the back-up NAS? Gives me the network connectivity and I can schedule nightly backup's over my network and store the drives in different locations in the house to minimise risk?

From what you've said, it sounds perfectly reasonable to me to get 2 x single-drive NASes - this removes any single point of failure altogether. I've been looking at the features of the Synology devices recently, and as Zarch has posted the scheduled backup feature would suit your needs perfectly

[s7uar7]

I've just been through a similar choice and ended up going for a Synology DS110j with a 1.5TB drive and a USB drive for backups. Anything irreplaceable (e.g. photos) also gets uploaded to Amazon S3 using Jungle Disk, so if the absolute worst was to happen I won't lose them.

I couldn't justify the extra cost of a 2 drive NAS just for redundancy, and if my storage requirements go above 2TB in the future I can just upgrade the Synology unit to something bigger.

[debrat98]

Originally Posted by s7uar7

I've just been through a similar choice and ended up going for a Synology DS110j with a 1.5TB drive and a USB drive for backups. Anything irreplaceable (e.g. photos) also gets uploaded to Amazon S3 using Jungle Disk, so if the absolute worst was to happen I won't lose them.

I couldn't justify the extra cost of a 2 drive NAS just for redundancy, and if my storage requirements go above 2TB in the future I can just upgrade the Synology unit to something bigger.

How are you finding the DS-110j? I am leaning towards it with a 2TB drive and either a second one on or a 2TB USB external for backup. May look at cloud storage for all irreplaceable data not decided yet.

[s7uar7]

I'll let you know, Scan are (hopefully!) delivering it tomorrow. At the moment I use my PC for everything the NAS will be doing, so as long as it's able to stream to my Asus O!Play and is reasonably quiet I'll be satisfied.

Once I had decided to go with a single drive NAS I spent a couple of days trying to decide between the Synology DS110j and the QNAP TS-110; the QNAP is more expensive and has more RAM, but for what I'll be using it for 128MB should be plenty.

[debrat98]

Originally Posted by s7uar7

I'll let you know, Scan are (hopefully!) delivering it tomorrow. At the moment I use my PC for everything the NAS will be doing, so as long as it's able to stream to my Asus O!Play and is reasonably quiet I'll be satisfied.

Once I had decided to go with a single drive NAS I spent a couple of days trying to decide between the Synology DS110j and the QNAP TS-110; the QNAP is more expensive and has more RAM, but for what I'll be using it for 128MB should be plenty.

Hi mate,

Did you get your new toy from Scan? If so how are you getting on with it?

[s7uar7]

Yes, arrived early yesterday morning. I've started a new thread with a mini review of it:

Synology DS110j Mini Review