looking for a NAS drive to attach to our router and be able to see from 2 laptops or remotely
I do not want to have to log in to some interface when I am in the office so that I can use the files, I want this to be visible in the My Computer section.
accessing remotely is an added benefit not a must...
do you have any recommendations?
I had the pogoplug before but that was a pain to set up in My Computer and it was slow to pick up after laptop sleep
Replies (25)
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Synology
Try www.synology.com/en-uk/ and look at the Plus (+) Series models.
Chose 1 bay or 2 bay for RAID.
NAS operating systems can be a bit basic but DSM from Synology is very usable.
Captain Black
Was going to post the same question
Interesting question - I was going to post the identical one.
Remember backups!
Remember to think about backing up your NAS.
If you go for a 2 or 5 disk (RAID capable) model it will be more resilient to disk failures but this is not a backup mechanism. The Synology DSM operating system has a backup solution which will make backups to external USB3 disks (very fast) or there are "Apps" known as "packages" you can download to automate off-site backups, eg synchronisation to Amazon's cloud.
Here is a link to model on Amazon:
www.amazon.co.uk/Synology-DS215-DiskStation-Desktop-Attached/dp/B00X17ZW...
You can get them with or without disks (i.e. you can just buy the unit and chose/fit the disks yourself). For NAS drives always pick NAS specific disks such as WD Red drives.
Captain
Synology
I also recommend synology. You will have to set up a shared folder on the NAS and then map a drive letter on your computer to it, but once you have done that it is very robust. You can also get cost effective cloud backup - I use iDrive.
Yes you map a drive letter
Yes, you plug the NAS into a spave Router Ethernet port, just like a computer.
Make sure your Router has 1Gb ports not old style 100Mb ones.
Once the NAS is operational (as an earlier comment suggests) you "map a network drive" to it from each PC that wants to use the NAS. So for example you make Z:\ your NAS.
You then save work to Z:\Client\Bloggs, etc, in the normal. way.
Captain
QNAP
I have a 6-Drive QNAP NAS drive. It is a bit old (3+ years?) but it is still working great. I have them setup as RAID 5 and have an external USB drive as a backup. So far, I have had to replace one of the drives in it and it made this process seamless. You simply take the dead drive out and put the new drive in while data is continuously available. It also has a lot of apps available that you can install and use (for free). I currently use it as a backup for my other computers, a shared drive (with data files) for all systems, a media store for the whole house and it stores mysql databases for my shared Kodi installations.
Local Encryption
I have found local encryption to be more hassle than its worth. On more than one occasion, I had to take a drive out of one system and put it into another to recover data. With encryption, it would not be possible. Of course, if you are using RAID, it is also not possible to recover data from one of the drives in the set (at least without using specialized tools).
How about a cloud service?
*Ducks first*
Can recommend:
Its got great functionality and ability to limit each users view very easily.
Clouds
Cloud services can be good for accessing data from various devices and while on the run. However, if your data is mostly local or need more local access, then you can weigh pros and cons of clouds vs local.
One more thing to worry about when using a cloud service is if you have client data. Some EU clients do not allow you to store their data onto a service that may store that data in a US data center or other regions outside the EU without prior approval. Some may not allow this at all.
WD Cloud EX2 (comes recommended)
I'm in an IT background.
I recently bought a Western Digital (WD) Cloud EX2 drive. It came with two 2 GB WD Red drives.
The operation is RAID 1 - this means data is written to both disks and the capacity to store data is reduced to 2 GB. If one drive fails, a replacement drive can be added to restore the drive to RAID 1. Alternatively the single drive can be accessed to recover the data e.g. transfer to something else. WD Red drives are specified for 24 * 7 operation unlike normal desktop drives.
What I like:
The user interface is via a web interface that's very easy to use.
The unit has additional applications which add function. I use one called Transmission.
The cost of the unit is little more than the cost of the two drives if bought separately.
WD know a thing or two about making and using drives.
WD Red drives have a three year warranty for replacement. I did not have good experience with two seagate drives special the 3 GB models.
The unit has a small fan like you find in a server "pancake". It does however only run if the temperature is close to the limit for the disks. In practice it has never run except when the unit does a self test when it is first powered up. It's been "up" (running) for the last three months continuously. In some environments like a home the presence of a spinning fan can be annoying especially if it's aggregated with others in TV, set-top boxes etc. so best avoided.
With the web interface you create users and shares which the users have access to. This can be as simple or complex as you like.
Well, I hope that's enough to give a true overview.
Encryption isn't normally used within an intranet type network. Access control via users is normally sufficient. With encryption a strong key is required, but loose the key and your data is toast. I switch this facility off.
Access from the Cloud. Also possible but I have this feature off. Just because you can doesn't mean you should... There are other ways to access data remotely, I like Dropbox.
Using a NAS in a RAID 0, JBOD or spanning mode isn't a good idea. If one or the drives becomes dead then all or most of the data is lost. So unless the cost is more important than the data (it isn't) then this should be avoided.
Kind regards
Simon
PS back to my "true love" RDR3 and RDR5 and how it applies to me when I eventually return to the UK.
Router USB
If you are plugging into router's USB, then you don't need a NAS drive, but just a usb drive.
NETGEAR
I would suggest a Netgear ReadyNAS. It has a cloud function and easy to setup. Happy to chat more about it on a call.
Expand
Neutru, can you expand on your last comment? Add some more detail to what USB are you referring to?
Speed and access
The speed of transfer depends on the technology in place however I would expect USB 2 or 3 to be faster than over the network in real world cases.
Saving to and from a browser again depends on the technology in place. Netgear ReadyNAS has a nice web console that provides drag and drop.
What would like to achieve?
mapped drive
You could use a USB drive attached to one laptop and then share this as a shared folder so that the other PC can see it. Simple and cheap.
You could even share a folder from the C drive on one laptop PC and access it over the network from the other.
Otherwise a NAS can create a shared folder and then you can map a drive letter of your choosing from each PC. The ReadyNAS is a good choice as it takes regular snapshot backups of the file stored on the NAS drives. The readynas 102 would be a good choice.
Does that help?
Inside a NAS there is usuelle a smalltalk Linux Computer Operating System using Open Source software to provide function and access to commonly available protocols.
So the functions offered are broadly similar. Using Linux and Open Source means that the talents of many individuals are used. That's something that big business doesn't ignore either and the uptake of this for business servers is enormous. Microsoft does not have all the cake.
For all the claims by manufacturers, they are primarily assembling hardware with existing Open Source and "shaping" the direction e.g. controlling the software operation (experience).
Some of the built in functionality like proving RAID and rebuilding iis really a commodity like function.
The operation of a NAS is usually via a web interface which is both simple to use and accessible anywhere within the network. It's possible to practically ignore this aspect once configured.
One feature I was looking for was Time Machine backup using the NAS. If you have a business that uses Apole products then using Time Machine to backup and restore is a good feature which comes for free. Of course providing the interface in the NAS only enables it and Apple products provide the service (intelligence).
The speed of access to a NAS is rarely too important when accessing documents. Access over a LAN is not slow and much faster than a Cloud based service. Being able to share files across a network to more than one PC or Mac is more important than direct connectivity via a USB drive. My aim is always to get data of a laptop as quickly as possible and then only access it when required. A laptop is easily lost or broken.
Using a NAS to store files and backup are two separate activities. Not all data has the same value. I store more valuable data in a separate directory structure and back this up to an external USB drive. The NAS provides this feature or it can be done from a PC or Mac. Backup from a PC to two USB drives is also possible but not so easy to arrange/remember.