NAS queries - and is this a good NAS unit?

[ik9000]

Thinking of getting a NAS unit so different computers can save to the NAS and get files etc. Possibly VPN access in the future (my router supports it). Is this unit any good or should I look for something else? NETGEAR RN204-100NES ReadyNAS

How many bays should I go for? Is 4 enough for sufficient RAID redundancy?

[b0redom]

As always, it depends.

Personally as a techie, I would go for a Microserver and some form of NAS distribution, eg FreeNAS as you'll get more bang for your buck.

4 disks will allow you to do RAID5 or RAID6, RAID 0+1 or RAID-10. Which one you use will depend on your use case, value of your data (is it reproducable), and if and how you backup.

[peterb]

It is probably as good as anything else! Essentially it is a PC with a customised Linux distribution installed, customised for ease of use as a filestore.

Personally I built my own using a standard motherboard and a Fedora Core distribution to do much the same thing but it takes some time to get it all customised.

This (or any other similar system) should work out of the box.

[ik9000]

As always, it depends.

Personally as a techie, I would go for a Microserver and some form of NAS distribution, eg FreeNAS as you'll get more bang for your buck.

4 disks will allow you to do RAID5 or RAID6, RAID 0+1 or RAID-10. Which one you use will depend on your use case, value of your data (is it reproducable), and if and how you backup.

wouldn't this should be able to run freeNAS anyway?
Is the spec ok for NAS - dual core 1.4Ghz and 2GB RAM max 4x6TB=24TB total?

[b0redom]

wouldn't this should be able to run freeNAS anyway?
Is the spec ok for NAS - dual core 1.4Ghz and 2GB RAM max 4x6TB=24TB total?

Highly unlikely it'll run anything but the Netgear custom OS they ship it with. As I said, it depends on what you're doing with it. It'll probably work fine as a NAS for a couple of users, but is unlikely to work fantastically well with a lot of plugins/users accessing it at once.

4x6TB != 24TB of space unless you're not doing RAID at all.
4x6TB = 18TB in RAID 5, or 12 TB IN RAID-6, RAID-10, RAID 0+1

Personally I went for one of these:

http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Lenov...UK/version.asp

WAY more powerful and upgradable than the Netgear, so it can do other things too, Plex, download manager etc.....

Don't be scared by Linux/BSD if you've not used it before, there are a bunch of distros which are specifically designed for use as a point and click NAS. I just happen to like FreeNAS.

[peterb]

How do you intend backing up 12 to 24TB of Data? (Assuming it is valuable and the loss would be catastrophic)

[ik9000]

How do you intend backing up 12 to 24TB of Data? (Assuming it is valuable and the loss would be catastrophic)

I don't need to back that much data up. Prob about 1-1.5TB at the moment. We would probably BD-R old photos and non-personal documents, but the lack of encryption puts us off doing that for anything sensitive (unless you can encrypt BD-R, in which case we need to make sure it is not dependent on a key stored on a machine that if the machine got nicked renders the back-up useless!)
Back up 2 would be an encrypted HDD, stored off-site.
NAS is the working back-up, VPN and house drive where everyone can save to regardless of which machine they're using. Also be interested in backing up the PVR to it too if the Humax box allows that.

[Spreadie]

I don't need to back that much data up. Prob about 1-1.5TB at the moment. We would probably BD-R old photos and non-personal documents, but the lack of encryption puts us off doing that for anything sensitive (unless you can encrypt BD-R, in which case we need to make sure it is not dependent on a key stored on a machine that if the machine got nicked renders the back-up useless!)
Back up 2 would be an encrypted HDD, stored off-site.

Can't you just encrypt the files before burning them to BD-R or store the key on the network?

+1 for a Microserver.

I have three 1TB drives in RAID5 which is backed up weekly to a 2TB drive in bay 4. The array is also backed up to a portable 2GB USB drive monthly, and important/irreplaceable stuff is backed up to a smaller encrypted drive, which is kept off site.

[shaithis]

Microserver

They really are amazing little NAS units with FreeNAS loaded on them....I'm about to reload one of mine with XPEnology to see what it's like for a friend.

[Spreadie]

Microserver

They really are amazing little NAS units with FreeNAS loaded on them....I'm about to reload one of mine with XPEnology to see what it's like for a friend.

XPEnology is OK - I found OMV more useful though.

[sblmbb]

I currently got QNAP NAS IP-119 and I'm pretty happy with it..

[Devaraja]

I would also recommend a micro server with freenas, you can do encryption, you can also put it plex or emby. there are a lot of tutorials out there and it is pretty easy to use, and if you can go for Raid 10 the better.