Totally confused!

Started looking at NAS servers – even just looking at one company it is really difficult to work out what I need or even want.

Been looking at this one Synology DS214play and not sure if I need it or not.

I want something to stream music and films around the house. Is this overkill or about right? Surely someone can help!!

Cheers.

I know nothing of the Synology you have referenced but my requirements were very similar. I bought a WD MyBook Live 4TB. I use it in a Raid configuration so it’s 2TB but that is enough for me. I can stream to DLNA TV’s also laptops and tablets in the house. Also, using the WDTV Live app I access the drive from anywhere. Watch movies, upload and download docs/photos/music etc. I have been putting it through it’s paces over the last few months and so far it has worked really well, love the way it acts as more of a personal cloud than just a NAS.

> £200 for just an enclosure does seem steep.

What devices do you want to stream to ?

Just looked at the details of the Synology DS214play , seems very similar to what I have. Difference is price., looks like it will cost almost £500 for a 4TB model. Mine was £260. From the research I did Synology do make some excellent kit.

There are three considerations;

1. Storage and back up.
2. Performance.
3. User interface.

If all you want to do is make content stored on your PC available to DLNA compatible media players around the house then a basic NAS is all you need, it provides both backup to your PC and media server function in one. WD Live NAS products are great for this.

If you have a large media library and need to ‘host’ this on a NAS then you need something with two or more bays and RAID to provide at least an element of backup protection. I say element as there is backup and backup, some will argue quite rightly that a backup is something copied and stored separately, even off site. Anyway, a WD or Synology multi-bay NAS will provide this function.

Then there is performance and user interface. Synology have become very popular due to a great user interface, lots of features and great read/write data speeds making them very easy to live with. If you buy cheap you’ll soon discover why,

Set out your requirements and the right product will present it’s self.

I’ve used WD, Buffalo and Synology NAS’s and I much prefer the Synology ones as they seem more stable and seem to have a wider range of software that you can install to do different stuff. They are also the quietest of the boxes I’ve used. I can’t comment if it’s overkill in your case though but if I had the cash I would buy the Synology

This makes it a bit clearer.

In terms of devices, it will include dlna audio system, dlna TV and maybe a sonos system

QNAP TS-212 is cheaper and gets good reviews.

I’m in the market for a NAS but the prospect of shelling out ~£400 for a 3TB RAID-1 setup is one I’m still coming to terms with 🙂

Synology ones as they seem more stable and seem to have a wider range of software that you can install to do different stuff.

I think this is something to consider. Regarding stability my WD has been spot on but if you read reviews on Amazon they are hit and miss. From a noise perspective it is silent…and that is something that would bug me. Software wise you are limited for the cloud features but I have found loads of free apps that will access it on my iPad/iPhone etc for use in the home. One thing that might sway your choice is read/write speeds and something worth researching.

I’d say Synology or QNAP, both very well reviewed and I’ve heard very positive feed back on both. If it helps, don’t bother with DLNA audio it’s slow and no fun at all, get Sonos and live a happy musical life there after 😛

http://www.ebuyer.com/248760-d-link-dns-320-sharecenter-pulse-2-bay-no-disks-nas-enclosure-dns-320?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products&gclid=CKXU_drl-7oCFYgKwwodihsAJQ

Round about this time last year I went through the same dilemma.

In the end I decided on on a single bay Synology with a WD Red drive. Do you really need RAID? It’s not back up after all. Surely you will have everything backed up elsewhere, no?

But mine I got for running Sonos only….

+1 for Synology. Used Buffalo & WD at home, as well as much more expensive Dell NAS servers at work.

Synology models just work. Rock solid, fast performance, manageable, and they continue to update and support the products.

I’ve had two Buffalo NAS servers fail on me – the support was terrible, and their firmware updates have a habit of bricking the devices. So avoid them, in my opinion.

I’d say Synology or QNAP if you don’t want to end up buying again in the future. I’ve bought cheap before and regretted it – you do get a better product for your money with NAS devices.

Cool, so thinking synology ds114 with a 2tb red hdd now

Love my synology. Great bit of kit and decent iOS companion apps too.

If you buy cheap you’ll soon discover why,

This. It might have raid, and gigabit Ethernet, but if the controller is rubbish then it will struggle to even stream hd films, never mind if someone else is trying to use it for something else in another room. Also, when a nas dies, don’t expect to be able to read the disk in a USB caddy.

Having fallen foul of these pitfalls, I spent a but more on a Mac mini as a server. I think the little hp windows servers are probably better vfm still

Got a 3tb wd mycloud. For what I need, it’s pretty bloody good for £150 odd.

Do you really need RAID?

For those not in the know RAID is not backup, RAID is content protection and IMO if you’re hosting your library on the NAS without a backup yes you do. Hard drives have a tendency to fail and RAID ensures that if one does you can replace it without having to rebuild your library – something that you defiantly don’t want to find yourself in the position of having to do. The alternative is to backup the HDD but this is less efficient.

For the record I don’t have RAID but then when I bought my 2TB, WD Live NAS I didn’t have enough cash to buy what I really wanted. Also, I have a backup so whilst boring a drive failure will not result in a loss of media.

I think the comment about the interface is a valid one – hadn;t really considered that – I want something which will work well rather than just store my info.

So, any views on best interface for Smartphone / tablet interaction?

Ended up going with a Synology DS112 with 2TB disk. Just over £200 and so far I’m impressed.

Thanks for all the advice

As above do not assume raid equals backup. If you had to choose one, then backup every time.

If it’s any help, I recently bought a D-Link ShareCenter DNS-325 NAS into which I’ve put 2 x Seagate 2TB SATA HDD in a RAID1 array….and performance is terrible!

I’m pretty sure I’ve screwed up something and will eventually get around to investigating why read/write times are so abysmal…