This NAS Box business

MrXpert

Hello

I'm considering venturing into the realm of NAS boxes. I have a basic file sharing network setup...a workgroup NOT a domain. I'm running win xp pro, 7 and Vista. For me it is a bit of a new thing as never had one before. I'm tired of localized backups and syncing between PCs. I'm going to explain what my opinion of a NAS box is and perhaps someone can tell me if i'm write or wrong about it and what other things to consider. anyone with a simple dummies guide to NAS boxes would help someone like me.

OK so you buy a NAS box and you first open it up and put your SATA hard drive inside it. I assume it connects up to something inside. Close the lid. Then connect up a straight cable to it and the other end will plug into the ethernet port of my wireless router. You then perhaps can access the NAS box settings after installing software, by typing in its IP address just as you would access wireless router settings?. Will it be visible to all hosts or a select few? ideally i'd want it to be visible to only a selected few. Can this be done.

I have no idea how its access from a remote pc but assume it shows up somewhere in the network neighbourhood(network places)

What brands are good to buy? and is their any particular hard drive type I should look for to go inside it? Is it likely to be a bit of a bandwidth hog as its constantly active on the network or does it go into sleep after a certain time and disconnect itself from the network?

thank you for helping a total NAS novice

crrussell3

All of the "soho" type NAS boxes I have dealt with are like the following:

You plug unit into network, install software on a server or desktop. Once configured, all other machines that require r/w access to it will be done via a network share. Soho NAS (not sure about Enterprise) only allow one r/w computer, and the rest have to be r/o unless its accessed via a network share or unc path. Now there could be some soho NAS that allow more than one r/w computer via IP, but I haven't seen one in the few I have messed with or looked at.

ptilsen

Most will not require software, and instead provide web management pages -- that said, some do use software for management. File access is generally provided by CIFS/SMB and NFS, with some devices having an option for iSCSI.

You install drives, plug the NAS in, access the web management page, configure volumes and arrays, file shares and security. Some may offer IP restrictions or things like that, but generally if you want to control security you will simply be password protecting the shares. You can access it via "Network" if you put it on the same workgroup as your computers, or via a UNC path to the SMB share in the address bar (\\myNASDevice\MyShare) in explorer. Some NAS devices have more features, like dropbox integration, bittorrent, media streaming, and so on.

At the end of the day, it is really not different than having a PC running Windows or Linux serving up files. The end result is the same; you have an SMB or NFS file share you access. Although, as crrussell3 pointed out, there are some NAS devices with silly limitations. I would say most function just as well as a basic Windows share in a workgroup environment -- as they should, since they use the same protocols. On that note, many NAS devices support joining to any LDAP system, including Active Directory, and more and more offer NTFS so you can use NTFS ACLs.

The advantages are form factor, simplicity, and ease of setup and administration. The disadvantages are cost, control, and performance. Make no mistake -- even the best SMB NAS devices out there will usually under-perform a $200 PC with SATA II ports. Almost all NAS devices use weak ARM processors, occasionally single-core Atoms, along with software-provided RAID. This does not perform well under any RAID configuration, even 0 or 1, compared to a PC running Windows XP or later or pretty much any distribution of Linux. I'm not saying this is a show-stopper -- just that depending on your needs and expectations, be prepared for lackluster performance.

Now for a low-budget end-user in the residential, SOHO, or SMB realm, a NAS device can make a lot of sense. It's easy to use and configure, small, low-power, and fairly reliable. For me, a NAS offers fewer features, higher cost, and unacceptable performance compared to a self-built PC running Windows or Linux.

jdancer

NAS are good for "set and forget" situations.

However, if you really want your own custom file server, then install your favorite operating system.

Personally, I use the HP Proliant Microserver (more info at HP ProLiant MicroServer series overview - HP Small & Medium Business products) with Archlinux installed.

It's my media and storage server running NFS for the network streamer and SMB/CIFS for my Windows laptops. I've had zero issues with the hardware and software.

demonfurbie

ive used those little nettops/netbooks for nas servers

set it up with linux and get an external usb drive

MiikeB

I have heard great things about the Synology NAS boxes and plan to get a 4 drive setup when I get home.

EV42TMAN

The company i work sells storage systems with openfiler installed on it. it works for a lot solutions a little bit of a learning curve if you're not well versed in linux. openfiler software is free which is always a perk

networkjutsu

I used Openfiler for about a week with my PERC 5/i. Decided against it since it keeps rebooting/crashing when transferring tons of gigs. I think my PERC 5/i is overheating that's why it kept rebooting/crashing Openfiler. Now, I am using Synology DS1812+ with 7 drives in it (3 x 1.5TB, 2 x 750GB, and 2 x 640GB) as one volume using SHR - click this to see the calculator and how it compares to RAID 5. They also have SHR2 which is similar to RAID 6. The one volume that I have are being shared by NFS and CIFS/SMB. I like that setup better than having separate volumes for NFS and/or CIFS/SMB.

Did a little bit of research but as far as I can tell, Synology's DSM software is one of the best out there. So far, I am pretty happy with it. I can have my own Dropbox setup to sync files across multiple devices.

radix

anybody tried freenas or OpenMediaVault?