I'm looking for a NAS suggestion

[gsander]

Hello
I'm looking for a NAS device to be a file server in a small business/ home office environment of 4 PCs running in a workgroup. I've come up with a list of what I think I need.
1) wired (not wireless)
2) 1-2 TB usable space.
3) Ability to map drives to it from Windows PCs
4) hot swapable drives
5) RAID 1 or 5
6) Good backup method - preferably to a cloud based service.
7) AD support for possible future changes.
8) Under $500

I would appreciate suggestions. Thanks

 

[altrenda]

Check out Synology, the DS412+ does almost all of this. http://www.synology.com/products/product.php?product_name=DS412+&lang=us

A client of mine has several Qnap boxes that seems to perform well. Heck, you can even get then from Walmart http://www.walmart.com/ip/QNAP-Turb...rver/27027894?findingMethod=rr#Specifications

Edit: here's another one, I have had spotty results with Buffalo, but this fits the price point , with the drives, but no hot swap .http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cid=267243&lid=4867792&acd=12309184332460810

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Another vote for Synology....they're good performers and very feature rich.
Has an Amazon Glacier backup client
Only thing it won't meet in your list is the sub 500 dollar price tag...which I'd stay away from in the first place. You're going to spend over 200 bucks on good hard drives...why leave only 300 bucks for a unit that you want to have lots of features and quality for. Shoot for trying to keep it under 800 bucks...get a good unit...get a Synology.

 

[ZATZAi]

Just set up a Synology 412+ myself, they're great machines and you can run them in RAID 6 as opposed to RAID 5 for better redundancy. You can get a smaller 2 drive unit if your budget is strict but better to get something you won't grow out of down the road and then have to buy what you should have gotten in the first place.

 

[SAG]

To add more functionality you could get one of the ReadyNAS units that work with Egnyte that way they have cloud access to their files.

I have a client on this very setup. I even have a special folder on the NAS that I push workstation backups to and then the NAS syncs those backups to their Egnyte cloud.

Just another option.

 

[Martyn]

Hello
I'm looking for a NAS device to be a file server in a small business/ home office environment of 4 PCs running in a workgroup. I've come up with a list of what I think I need.
1) wired (not wireless)
2) 1-2 TB usable space.
3) Ability to map drives to it from Windows PCs
4) hot swapable drives
5) RAID 1 or 5
6) Good backup method - preferably to a cloud based service.
7) AD support for possible future changes.
8) Under $500

I would appreciate suggestions. Thanks

Another one here for Synology. I have a 2 bay and wish I had got a 4 bay. I have a business with the same setup as you.

1. Yes
2. Yes the business has 2 x 1TB drives set up as raid 1
3. yes all users have mapped drives
4. Not hot swappable
5. They do support raid
6. All users profiles gets backed up every day. 2 x hard drives set up as raid. Backs up hourly to two external hard drives(one offsite at any one time). The whole thing gets backed up to Amazon S3 once a week at weekends. It did used to be daily but the line they have is not great so I used the weekend for off site ones.
7. Pretty sure it supports AD, you need to check.
8. Depending on the model you might get a lower spec one with 2 drives. Synology has a list of drives they support.

 

[tankman1989]

I bought a Zyxel NSA 320 for $90 with no drives. I think it usually runs around $130-140 though. It has a great web interface and runs on some type of Linux OS i believe. I have 2 1TB drives in it, RAID 1, and it has been excellent. It has 2 drive bays.

IT does have hot swappable drives although the caddies aren't super easy snap in caddies like Poweredge servers or anything, but they are easy enough - might take about 15 seconds to pop it out.

For those who don't know Zyxel, they make some pretty decent hardware for a great price. Most of their products receive good reviews and their tech support has been great when I needed it.

The 320 will definitely support 2 TB drives and Zyxel said they are working on a firmware update for them to support 4TB drives.

 

[AlexT]

I have a Zyxel NSA 325 in my home, while it is ok for home, i certainly wouldn't trust it in business as i've had quite a few problems with it. I would go for something more dependable like a Synology box.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

7. Pretty sure it supports AD, you need to check.

Yes they do.

You can also remote in via a browser portal and access files on it.

We have an RS2212+ at the office.

The amount of "Apps" you can install on them is AMAZING now. They recently did some big updates to their operating system. You can pretty much make it a small business server...plus a lot more.

 

[altrenda]

One thing to note, the addition of hot swap capability adds a lot to the cost and cuts down your choice a bit.

 

[nesrinamb]

Im gonna go with the flow and say synology.

If you do need to keep the low budget i would say repurpose an old machine by sticking free nas on their.

 

[Rosco]

Check out Synology, the DS412+ does almost all of this. http://www.synology.com/products/product.php?product_name=DS412+&lang=us

A client of mine has several Qnap boxes that seems to perform well. Heck, you can even get then from Walmart http://www.walmart.com/ip/QNAP-Turb...rver/27027894?findingMethod=rr#Specifications

Edit: here's another one, I have had spotty results with Buffalo, but this fits the price point , with the drives, but no hot swap .http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cid=267243&lid=4867792&acd=12309184332460810

Love Synology. Only use them. You can get a great unit and 2 hard drives for your 500 price point. They are easy to use and feature rich. This is what i put into small offices that don't need a server.