NAS questions

[Mr E]

Hoping to tap the collective PH wisdom here.

Run various machines in the house, but the main box upstairs is a big linux machine which does all my general work and photo processing. The TV has a Win7 box underneath that does all the TV/DVR/DVD/BR/Music/Streaming type stuff.

I need a NAS for video, music and photos that all the machines can access easily. Ability to run as a print server would also be useful. I'm also considering a pure sensia (http://www.touchmyradio.com/) for the kitchen/patio/etc which should also hook in and stream media as required.

A final nice touch would be if selected people could also access the NAS remotely as read only (I'm thinking of photo distribution here).

Looking around, the Buffalo Linkstationo Live would seem to do all of that, and is a decent price;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buffalo-LinkStation-MultiM...

Anyone got one? Is it any good? Is it quiet? Will Ubuntu/Debian/RedHat talk to it and play nicely?

Cheers for any info.

[marctwo]

The Linkstation does look very good value. I have a QNAP TS-210 which does everything you specify. I use it as a file server as well as streaming music and videos and it does everything very well.

You might find some useful info here:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

[Munter]

I run a Synology unit with 2 disks as redundancy against disk failure. Which does everything you suggest. One thing to check is that your printer is on the supported hardware list. Otherwise you can get some interesting results! (Our colours are all over the place so B&W only on network print). Everything in the house easily picks it up as a media server. xbox, laptops etc.

[Ranger 6]

I haven't got a clue about the techie stuff you talk about, but I've just got a NetGear ReadyNAS Duo. They're running a promotion for a free HD with it if you have a scout round.

(if anyone knows about these things - how do you get itunes running on it for multiple users?)

[Podie]

I've got a ReadyNAS NV+ - RAID, 4 drives, masses of space and will stream TV at the same time as music - to different parts of the house.

Solid, reliable and quiet.

[bogie]

Readynas Pro here ...its super fast, reliable, quite, massive amount of 3rd party add ons now...runs my media streaming, backups, NZB downloading etc ...couldnt manage without it

..oh and you get a 5 yr warranty on Readynas stuff, vs 1yr on most others...including any hard drives supplied

[T350 Al]

Mr E said:

Hoping to tap the collective PH wisdom here.

Run various machines in the house, but the main box upstairs is a big linux machine which does all my general work and photo processing. The TV has a Win7 box underneath that does all the TV/DVR/DVD/BR/Music/Streaming type stuff.

I need a NAS for video, music and photos that all the machines can access easily. Ability to run as a print server would also be useful. I'm also considering a pure sensia (http://www.touchmyradio.com/) for the kitchen/patio/etc which should also hook in and stream media as required.

A final nice touch would be if selected people could also access the NAS remotely as read only (I'm thinking of photo distribution here).

Looking around, the Buffalo Linkstationo Live would seem to do all of that, and is a decent price;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buffalo-LinkStation-MultiM...

Anyone got one? Is it any good? Is it quiet? Will Ubuntu/Debian/RedHat talk to it and play nicely?

Cheers for any info.

I've got a 1TB Linkstation Live; fantastic little bit of kit. I use it for streaming video to my PS3 and as the main storage box for 3 laptops. It is pretty quiet, depending on what surface you stand it on (anything hard tends to pick up drive noise a little). I run Ubuntu on one laptop and it has no problems connecting.

You can also set up user access rights that apply both internally and externally to the network (ie: you can access the drive from t'interweb and have seperate logins), but I've never had any need to use that feature.

[pdV6]

I'm using an LG N2R1 that does everything you want.

[sjg]

Anything running Windows Home Server: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamil...

If you don't want an off-the-shelf one (or are on a tighter budget), pick up an Intel SS4200-EHW for about £140, an OEM copy of WHS for £60 and install yourself. The hardware is pretty nice, takes 4 SATA disks and is rather compact and quiet.

[Roop]

Another vote for ReadyNAS NV+ here. Nice kit.

[bodhi]

Have I just read the phrase "fantastic bit of kit" used in reference to a Buffalo product? When I asked for a bacon and mushroom sandwich this morning, what mushrooms did they put in it?

Buffalo products are the work of Satan. Cheap and nasty, unreliable RAID, crap support, half the advertised features don;t work properly.

You want a ReadyNAS. Best products on the market by a long way.

[Mr E]

Are ReadyNAS suitably silent?

[ukwill]

Are we aiming at a record number of "What NAS device should I buy" threads?

[Munter]

ukwill said:

Are we aiming at a record number of "What NAS device should I buy" threads?

I think it shows an improved understanding in the "general" population that some form of central storage for the house is bloody useful. But it's new to people.

[Podie]

Mr E said:

Are ReadyNAS suitably silent?

Yep.

Pick carefully on your drives, and you hardly know it's there.

[Ranger 6]

Mr E said:

Are ReadyNAS suitably silent?

Mine is - once it's done the setup 'thing' where it blows hard it's very quiet.

[ukwill]

Munter said:

ukwill said:

Are we aiming at a record number of "What NAS device should I buy" threads?

I think it shows an improved understanding in the "general" population that some form of central storage for the house is bloody useful. But it's new to people.

I think it shows a reduced understanding of the "Search" function personally.

[bogie]

Mr E said:

Are ReadyNAS suitably silent?

the bigger = more quiet (!)

as the bigger units, have bigger fans, that move more slowly

actually even the small ones are very quiet ...i have a 6 bay jobbie next to me, about 2 foot from my left ear, all day long and cant hear it

[Mr E]

Thanks for the info all.

I have purchased a Netgear ReadyNAS for what I think is a decent price. Will update when it turns up and is installed.

[Trevelyan]

I'm at the point of buying a NAS box myself, and have narrowed it down to a choice between the QNAP TS-219P, a ReadyNAS Duo or a Synology DS210j.

I plan on buying the device without disks and fitting my own, so can anyone who has done the same with the above devices confirm that the come with the necessary software on a CD (particularly the QNAP). With QNAP you can have the software installed if you buy it with the disks fitted, but it's not clear if it comes with software otherwise.

Also it may be a fairly obvious question, but to start with I just want the box to appear in Windows Explorer (running XP / Win 7) as a network share drive while I have a bit of a tidy up of my files, with a few scheduled and manual backups carried out using Synctoy. Are all of the above boxes capable of running in this basic fashion? Although I'm fairly technically minded, networks and NAS are new territory for me so I want to start simple and move on from there. A lot of the technical info on the manufacturers website has gone right over my head, and I really want something which is basically plug and play to start with!