Netherlands
Let me first point-out that
Anything with less then 2 disks is NOT A NAS full stop no discussions
they are 0.0% chance of guarding against hardware theft or fire damage .. or device failure..
some do allow some "rescue" options. More later in this post
The disk growth doesn't stop so your NAS will be underpowerd some day ..
whatever you buy.
Getting the most "bang for the buck"
The most important factor is how many users wil use the device at the same time (concurrent)
a low end NAS could suffer from streaming a big file (Iso/dvd/bluray) + some one accessing the device for other usage.
(file transfer) .. So more concurrent usage more you need to pay to get the performance you want.
If you don't have the budget, just make a better choise where to store "files" sometimes local storage
and a "backup" cycle via a automated file copy (MS synctoy can "sync" 2 locations at any given time)
There are 2 types of NAS devices Those who proform and those who don't
When investigating for a new NAS look for 2 things, CPU Type and Memory (prefferably expandble)
the website of smallnetbuilder can give some hints about the perfomance.
Anything below 60Mbps is "low end" they are cheap and do the "fileserver" task quite wel .. more tasks I would advice against.
(often they have apps you can "add" ... don't )
Anyone who tells you a home build server is "cheaper" is without a clue (no disrespect intended)
Its quite simple time costs money to build .. it isn't as easy as simply slaping a system together Whitebox.
beware home build systems often point out "hardware raid or expensive cards"
but they forget often that a hardeware dependency of using the RAID function of the Motherboard/addon-PCI(e) card
is a weak point in their design unleas they bought 2 identical parts just in case that hardware fails.
To get performance you need the right parts what equals research and tweaking + tuning.
However a Homebuild can "offload" a lot of functions .. if build correctly.
When implementing a NAS and thus increasing your "network" usage .. try to "offload" wifi as much as possible.
WIFI is a additive network with a limited bandwith. so for a B/G network you get example 54 Mbit (not Byte) what results in a 5.4 MByte "stream" to share with all devices .. streaming video and doing internet filles it quite easily .. so go cable when you can even if it means drilling holes and pulling cables .. its a quick return on investment (use store bought cables when cables get "replugged often, home made tend to fail fore some reason. these are fine to use for "permanent usage")
Storing your photo's and other "private documents" you might want to consider a (preferably) encrypted portion if possible
on your device .. if it gets stolen .. at least your picutures and data will not show up on the internet
Online backup will rescue you in case of fire and theft ..
Oww if you are able .. use a DVD/Blu-ray or even External Drive at an alternate location (every month or other period of time) to store a other "backup" I use a store bougth drive with encryption and store it in a Bank safe. why ? if you fail to pay the backup provider you lose your house .. a backup from your data is nice to have ..
(just think what you lose if your house burns down, its so simple)
some background:
I have a Cheap QNAP NAS TS-410(worst buy ever) so it serves now as a backup/central media for files and streaming is no go. (it works but not the performance I want)
A homebuild NAS I build earlier suffert a lot of performance problems due to budget hardware and some faulty Nic I bought ..
What I have learned from building my home server NAS, It might have been somewat cheaper.. however the spend time wasn't worth it. compared to a store-bought with more performance
some figures & thoughts
10 Megabit (Mb) = 1 MegaByte (MB) we devide 1000 / 10 instead of 8 for overhead purposes of the data stream.
to compare a 1 TB WD "green" EADS disk sends about 50Mbyte (exacte figures can be found at your HD company websitte
please beware these are "ideal" situations"
Bandwith is a big issue when building.
a Gigabit Network card can "send/Recive 100MByte per sec .. a "cheap" can send between 30MByte and 60MByte higher.
Hardware like Motherboard or PCI(e) add-on cards have a bandwith "limitations as well.
Its always worthy to check what "hardware" offloading capabilities your system has. A network card on the motherboard is almost always CPU dependend what implies it has no real offloading functionalities, worse it eats capicity
Like mentioned before a hardware dependency to "gain" speed/performance implies you need to buy 2 just to salvage data.
because try to get it when you need it the most (if you did not buy) 0.1% chance you can salvage data when the system dies otherwise .. (every version of firmware / hardware and supplier does it just a bit different .. so good luck if you didn't make backups..
So software is a acceptable performance "loss" what makes you less hardware dependent, Opensource ZFS would be the most wisest choise but allways make sure your system disk is backed up to a "safe and properly stored medium"
Anything with less then 2 disks is NOT A NAS full stop no discussions
they are 0.0% chance of guarding against hardware theft or fire damage .. or device failure..
some do allow some "rescue" options. More later in this post
The disk growth doesn't stop so your NAS will be underpowerd some day ..
whatever you buy. Getting the most "bang for the buck"
The most important factor is how many users wil use the device at the same time (concurrent)
a low end NAS could suffer from streaming a big file (Iso/dvd/bluray) + some one accessing the device for other usage.
(file transfer) .. So more concurrent usage more you need to pay to get the performance you want.
If you don't have the budget, just make a better choise where to store "files" sometimes local storage
and a "backup" cycle via a automated file copy (MS synctoy can "sync" 2 locations at any given time)
There are 2 types of NAS devices Those who proform and those who don't
When investigating for a new NAS look for 2 things, CPU Type and Memory (prefferably expandble)
the website of smallnetbuilder can give some hints about the perfomance.
Anything below 60Mbps is "low end" they are cheap and do the "fileserver" task quite wel .. more tasks I would advice against.
(often they have apps you can "add" ... don't )
Anyone who tells you a home build server is "cheaper" is without a clue (no disrespect intended)
Its quite simple time costs money to build .. it isn't as easy as simply slaping a system together Whitebox.
beware home build systems often point out "hardware raid or expensive cards"
but they forget often that a hardeware dependency of using the RAID function of the Motherboard/addon-PCI(e) card
is a weak point in their design unleas they bought 2 identical parts just in case that hardware fails.
To get performance you need the right parts what equals research and tweaking + tuning.
However a Homebuild can "offload" a lot of functions .. if build correctly.
When implementing a NAS and thus increasing your "network" usage .. try to "offload" wifi as much as possible.
WIFI is a additive network with a limited bandwith. so for a B/G network you get example 54 Mbit (not Byte) what results in a 5.4 MByte "stream" to share with all devices .. streaming video and doing internet filles it quite easily .. so go cable when you can even if it means drilling holes and pulling cables .. its a quick return on investment (use store bought cables when cables get "replugged often, home made tend to fail fore some reason. these are fine to use for "permanent usage")
Storing your photo's and other "private documents" you might want to consider a (preferably) encrypted portion if possible
on your device .. if it gets stolen .. at least your picutures and data will not show up on the internet
Online backup will rescue you in case of fire and theft ..
Oww if you are able .. use a DVD/Blu-ray or even External Drive at an alternate location (every month or other period of time) to store a other "backup" I use a store bougth drive with encryption and store it in a Bank safe. why ? if you fail to pay the backup provider you lose your house .. a backup from your data is nice to have ..
(just think what you lose if your house burns down, its so simple)
some background:
I have a Cheap QNAP NAS TS-410(worst buy ever) so it serves now as a backup/central media for files and streaming is no go. (it works but not the performance I want)
A homebuild NAS I build earlier suffert a lot of performance problems due to budget hardware and some faulty Nic I bought ..
What I have learned from building my home server NAS, It might have been somewat cheaper.. however the spend time wasn't worth it. compared to a store-bought with more performance
some figures & thoughts
10 Megabit (Mb) = 1 MegaByte (MB) we devide 1000 / 10 instead of 8 for overhead purposes of the data stream.
to compare a 1 TB WD "green" EADS disk sends about 50Mbyte (exacte figures can be found at your HD company websitte
please beware these are "ideal" situations"
Bandwith is a big issue when building.
a Gigabit Network card can "send/Recive 100MByte per sec .. a "cheap" can send between 30MByte and 60MByte higher.
Hardware like Motherboard or PCI(e) add-on cards have a bandwith "limitations as well.
Its always worthy to check what "hardware" offloading capabilities your system has. A network card on the motherboard is almost always CPU dependend what implies it has no real offloading functionalities, worse it eats capicity
Like mentioned before a hardware dependency to "gain" speed/performance implies you need to buy 2 just to salvage data.
because try to get it when you need it the most (if you did not buy) 0.1% chance you can salvage data when the system dies otherwise .. (every version of firmware / hardware and supplier does it just a bit different .. so good luck if you didn't make backups..
So software is a acceptable performance "loss" what makes you less hardware dependent, Opensource ZFS would be the most wisest choise but allways make sure your system disk is backed up to a "safe and properly stored medium"