There has been a recent explosion of NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices released onto the market, as the major peripheral manufacturers start addressing the storage and network needs of home users and SMB (Small and medium sized businesses).
Previously these users may have used external hard drives as their primary back up medium, but as more desktops and laptops are deployed, users require more sophisticated features.
See my previous post about external hard drives
The disadvantage of external hard drives is that they must be attached directly to a PC and are not fast enough to support multiple PC’s.
The answer is to use a NAS device which is connected to the network and allows multiple users to connect to it simultaneously.
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There are of course many manufacturers making these devices, so I have concentrated on just a few.
These devices may offer far more features then just network storage, and a previous post about the Bubba Server is one good example.
Features
Whilst looking at these devices I specifically looked to include ones with the following features;
- Support of multiple hard drives – ideally with RAID support
- Web based browser administration
- FTP access – useful for remote access
- USB Ports – useful for adding printers or external hard drives
Do It Yourself
If you have an old PC, you could install your own software and create your own NAS server.
See this review of FreeNas (an opensource project currently in beta), or NASLite (a commercial product from Server Elements).
If you don’t have an old PC, or are concerned about running a power hungry machine 24/7, you could look at some of the following PC’s;
Tranquil
Efficient PC
Install your own OS or use the forthcoming Windows Home Server.
Speed Tests
Speed test graphs of many NAS devices from Small Net Builder
Choices, Choices, Choices
The first choice is the number of hard drives the device should support.
Looking at the 4 or 5 drive devices, I came up with two contenders;
Thecus N4100 – benefits from very fast read & write speeds
ReadyNAS NV+ – Well established
If you only need 2 drives, then these would be my two contenders;
Qnap TS-209
Synology DS-207
Update – April 25th 2008
I took the plunge and purchased the Qnap TS-209 with a pair of 750Gb Seagate hard drives – So far I’m very happy.
It sits quietly in the corner of the living room with the hard drives powering down when not in use.
My broadband gives me a dynamic IP address, so I registered for free with Dyndns.org and have very happily accessed the NAS to find archived files while traveling abroad.
Where to Buy
Check Google products / Froogle and the large online retailers;
Scan
Amazon.co.uk
Dabs
In my searches I found the following, who do a good range of NAS Devices;
XSPO – they stocked Synology, Qnap & Thecus
I bought my Qnap TS-209 from SQS Data Storage in Reading, Berks.
Manufacturers
Synology CS407e
Netgear – including Infrant Technologies – ReadyNAS NV+
Iomega – StorCenter
Buffalo Technology – TerraStation Home Server
Qnap