NAS for Mac

[Phage]

Cripes ! Someone has asked me to recommend a NAS for a Mac...
I know SFA about Macs and their siblings. Can anyone recommned a NAS that will do this for a Mac and not cost a major organ ?

I have been looking myself at the 1Tb Buffalo which was on special at ebuyer, I'd be looking for something in same price range, i.e. cheap. and should be as automated as possible.
The time machine app is built in to the OS, I think. Do macs use regular ethernet RJ45 ?
I understand that the drive will work with Macs, but I expect there is some fiddling around re-formatting and connection.

What else should I know ? Thanks in advance.

[Gordy]

Pretty much any NAS will work with a mac, though some are better than others. You want one that uses AFP.

The one I would recommend is the Netgear readynas duo it has AFP support.

[Phage]

Pretty much any NAS will work with a mac, though some are better than others. You want one that uses AFP.

The one I would recommend is the Netgear readynas duo it has AFP support.

Isn't AFP something that would be created by a format ? OS is leopard I think.

[b0redom]

AFP is similar to CIFS for Windows - it's a sharing mechanism.

[peterb]

AFP and CIFS are network file sharing protocols. CIFS is closely related to (or might be the same as) SMB (server message nblock protocol) which has an open source version called SAMBA.

Apple's current operating system is *nix based (open BSD) and therefore will include SAMBA as standard, allowing it to communicate with other servers (windows or *nix based) that use the SMB/SAMBA protocol.

Therefore, provided the Apple has Samba correctly installed and configured, almost any true NAS (as opposed to directly attached NAS, which may use its own proprietary protocol) should work quite happily with an Apple machine.

[Phage]

But how does time machine fit into this ?
Soooo....

1) connect any storage box JBOD or RAID through ethernet to Router
2) fireup time machine
3) ???
4) profit !

Is that right ? Or would a firewire external Hdd be better ?

[Gordy]

Are you wanting to share files?

If not just a simple external hard drive would be better for you. Time machine supports them better for one. Cost is also better.

[Phage]

Are you wanting to share files?

If not just a simple external hard drive would be better for you. Time machine supports them better for one. Cost is also better.

Nope - AFAIK it's for back up of large media files. As in - this guy owns a marketing firm that produces artwork for major brand campaigns.

[Funkstar]

In that case something with a bit more performance, redundancy and capacity is probably needed. I'd look at one of the larger Thecus or Qnap units.

[TheAnimus]

If there is music to be shared, and stuff you want indexed:
http://www.wegotserved.com/2009/01/0...of-show-award/

these tend to blow a lot of the high end SOHO NAS units out of the water for home performance, because of the indexing, yet they are in no way designed for sheer throuput.

[vinnyT]

Scan have their Drobo on offer today http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/, about halfway down.

Although quite pricey, you also have to factor in the hard drive, this is a good nas device for a business, as there is plenty of room for expanding the capacity.

[Phage]

Scan have their Drobo on offer today http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/, about halfway down.

Although quite pricey, you also have to factor in the hard drive, this is a good nas device for a business, as there is plenty of room for expanding the capacity.

That does look like a fantastic piece of kit, but they do have a proper DR solution at the office. This is because he works from home a lot making the artwork and wants security at home, as well as backup for his domestic stuff.

What I think he's looking for is a set-up-and-forget box that backs up his data without him having to do anything.
Remember 1) He is an artist, 2) He's >50, neither pre-dispose him to finding the inner workings of his home network at all enjoyable. It has to be as fire-and-forget as we can make it. Also 3) I am a total N00b on all matters Apple.

[b0redom]

Sounds like a job for an external drive + time machine tbh.

[Gordy]

Sounds like a job for an external drive + time machine tbh.

I agree. Just plug in an external drive and click the option that pops up asking for it to be used as a time machine drive.

Nothing more needed really.

I'd not touch the drobo its over priced and under featured. Add to that if a drive fails or the unit fails you need a drobo to recover the data I believe.

[Phage]

Big thanks to Gordy and boredom.
Have pased on the details and I'll let you know the outcome.

[5eb]

I use Qnaps and Synologies. I prefer the Synologies as the interface is superb, but both work perfectly for my NAS.

The great thing about the Synology NASes is that from July they'll be able to work as TimeCapsules!