Small IT job help?

OK so I am setting up a small business with a NAS so they can store scanned documents, which is basically all they will be using it for, but it will be A LOT of documents. They have 5 computers running windows 7. They want the NAS to be reliable and as future proof as possible, and to be able to backup the files in case a hdd fails. Pretty much they want to be sure none of their documents will ever fail. What are some good NAS in the market right now? They didn't really specify a budget so much as the features I noted above.

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Comments

fifrasco

what's the budget like?

fifrasco

I've had great success with a Qnap TS-569 Pro storage system for a little department.

antielvis

I can't comment on the make or model of a NAS but if you want to back up the data on the NAS, look at Amazon Web Services Glacier backup. It's slow but it's dirt cheap (like 1 cent a GB).

TLeTourneau

I have had very good experiences with Synology DS1513+ and DS1813+ in the small business space. Budget and requirements will help determine the hardware.

scaredoftests

I have a LaCie 1TB drive for our home. I think it'd be great for a small office. Their customer support alone is aces. When mine went down during a major outage and got corrupted, they replaced it free of charge and I got it in 2 days.

cyberguypr

As others have said, budget is the key element. Synology devices are definitely highly regarded in that space. Finally, make sure they understand nothing is 100% safe, secure, or reliable.

pixa241

cyberguypr wrote: »

As others have said, budget is the key element. Synology devices are definitely highly regarded in that space. Finally, make sure they understand nothing is 100% safe, secure, or reliable.

Well shebsaid there really is no budget, and like you said I told her nothing is 100% but she wants to get close to it as possible. Also will the NAS for instance if I get a 4 bay one with 1TB hdd with raid 5..can they later switch the hdds to 2 tb for instance?

TLeTourneau

Any decent device should allow you to increase capacity in that manner. The better devices in that space are SAN/NAS and have multiple forms of connectivity including iSCSI which can improve functionality.

pixa241

TLeTourneau wrote: »

Any decent device should allow you to increase capacity in that manner. The better devices in that space are SAN/NAS and have multiple forms of connectivity including iSCSI which can improve functionality.

What would you guys also suggest be the best RAID setup?

scaredoftests

What I did at a former job, (since the budget was almost nill), was to get a RAID enclosure)to accommodate 5 hard drives..hook it up to a spare machine. It was less than $300 to do.

TLeTourneau

pixa241 wrote: »

What would you guys also suggest be the best RAID setup?

For redundancy, probably RAID 10 or 50 plus some form of off-site synchronization. Again, it depends on the budget and requirements of the client. Without that information it is difficult to make an informed recommendation.

pixa241

TLeTourneau wrote: »

For redundancy, probably RAID 10 or 50 plus some form of off-site synchronization. Again, it depends on the budget and requirements of the client. Without that information it is difficult to make an informed recommendation.

Yeah they dont really have a budget, they just want something that works. They will only store documents in black and white,which will be its main use as of right now.

TLeTourneau

Well then I would go with a Synology DS1513+, hard drives that get you the capacity you want in RAID 10 or 50 and a gigabit switch that supports link agrigation for the 4gb ports on the Synology.

pixa241

TLeTourneau wrote: »

Well then I would go with a Synology DS1513+, hard drives that get you the capacity you want in RAID 10 or 50 and a gigabit switch that supports link agrigation for the 4gb ports on the Synology.

Exaclty what I sent her. Thanks for the advice guys!