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Choosing a Network-attached Storage System

Available Features in a NAS system:

Gigabit Ethernet capability
    Did I even have 10/100/1000 byte LAN capabilities? I had to look it up in my motherboard manual. (The answer was yes.) Of course my router doesn’t support it yet, but eventually my whole network will. This opens up the possibility of serving movies on the home network. Most NAS boxes are gigabit capable, but check those bargains and closeouts closely. They might be on sale because of slow network speeds.

RAID
    Some NAS systems have two bays, and the option of setting up a RAID. Having a mirrored (RAID 1) system means two hard drives act as one, reducing the chances of data loss. Lose one drive, and you only lose time rebuilding the RAID. This sounds like a great feature for me, as I want to store and backup precious data. A RAID 0 system splits up the data across the two drives, and speeds up reading and writing throughput, but increases the risk of data loss. Business class systems have 4 or more bays, with all sorts of options, but that is beyond my home network need.

Backup automation
    The various manufacturers include  backup software, potentially automating data archival. You may already be using something, so it won’t matter - if the software can back up to a network device. This also applies to the NAS - can it backup to another network device? That would be handy if you want to be really secure. Then you could buy a second NAS as a back up.

Heat and Noise
    These two are linked. A sealed metal box without a fan will be quieter, but may run hotter than a perforated metal box or one with a fan. Some hard drives make more noise than others too. Maxtor has a reputation for noisy drives, while Seagate and Western Digital are supposed to be quieter.

UPnP
    Universal Plug and Play is an emerging standard for networked devices. If your NAS box is UPnP capable it should more easily communicate with other PCs and non-computers on your network with fewer configuration headaches.

USB ports
    One or two USB ports on the back of your NAS device allow the further addition of storage or a printer.  You need to read the fine print to see how usb devices are treated. Sometimes the NAS firmware cannot share a USB drive securely.

Print servers
    I have a network capable printer already, but this is a nice way of creating one. Again check the reviews and product specifications to see how well this actually works. 

Torrent clients
    If you do a lot of torrent downloads, having a separate system to serve your files could allow you to shut down your main PC, saving energy.

Samba/FTP protocols
    Most products support these common file sharing protocols. Anything else is gravy. Some of the older systems required you to use their proprietary protocols. Stay away.

Media serving
    While you don’t need a media server on board your NAS in order to share the music and use it on your PC, media server capabilities will allow streaming to devices such as XXX.

Upgradabliity
Check the maximum storage capabilities to make sure you’re not getting an old firmware that doesn’t support big drives. You’ll want at least 2T, preferably 4T computability.

3. Recommendations

Here are my conclusions, based on web research:

• Avoid cheap Chinese generics - with no name NAS systems, there are more compatability and hardware issues. Your time and data is too important.
• Get a RAID if you are planning on storing important data - and what data isn’t important?
• Wait a while if your primary interest is serving movies, becasue the hardware isn’t quite there yet.
• Save money by buying at the deflection point of hard drive prices. They wear out anyway.
• Check out several sites for current gear reviews. Look for truth in advertising complaints - was it really quiet, easy to configure, did the UPnP actually work?

To compare feature sets head to head, check out smallnetbuilder.com’s charts page.
For specific brands, I would start with the HP MediaVault (mv2120). It has good reliability, and feature set, easy upgradability for about $300 with one 500GB drive. Complaints include the lack of a print server, and difficulty swaping out the primary drive, as it contains the operating system. (You have to get a specific utility from HP to format a new primary drive.)

A strong second in the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo (RND2150), which runs $400 with one 500 GB drive. It seems to be one half generation behind the HP, with less features, but solid reliability and speed ratings. If Netgear comes out with an updated model, it might be my number one.

If you want to go cheap, and are prepared to fiddle a bit in configuration, the Linksys NAS200 is an older system that is $130 without drives. It delivers but has no gigabit ethernet and is a bit slow in read/write tests.

Buffalo Technologies have a good reputation too, but as of this review didn’t have a competitive product on the market.

Resources

• Smallnetbuilder.com has lots of info on NAS systems, including DIY builds.
• To get a sense of what middle America thinks of a product, I head to Amazon.com.
• To find what geeks think of a product, I head to tigerdirect.com, or newegg.com.
• To find the absolutly lowest prices, I head over to pricespy.com, its New Zealand equivalent.

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This article was written on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 and is filed under Mastering Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.