Decisions, decisions...

[Simon]

I am coming to the point where I will need more data storage.  I don't want to use Cloud services, so I am looking for local solutions.

My main computer is probably 7 or 8 years old now, and I guess the easy answer to this would be to get a new one.  However, I really don't want the hassle of having to move and reinstall everything onto a new machine at this stage, especially as, to all intents and purposes, this one is still working well, plus, I want to keep Windows 7 as I know some of my older programs will run on it.

So, what to do?  I could carry on buying bigger external hard drives, but I'd then also need to get another powered USB hub as the current one is full.  I've also been considering a NAS, but I'm not exactly sure what these do, and whether they can just be used for lots of storage (the 'server' side would be largely redundant).  I'd also quite like to neaten things up a little, as I've currently got three external drives sat on the top of the computer case, which isn't really a problem in itself, but makes the area look a little cluttered.

Ideas?

[Simon]

Having said I don't want a new machine, I've just seen this, which looks a reasonable deal, and put together by CCL, a company I have used before, and have found to be very good:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-multimedia-Speed-A25231uH-Windows/dp/B00EE5552K/ref=pd_sim_sbs_147_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YEYA9ATRXN36JABVKFQ

I could add extra internal hard drives to this, to save on some of the clutter.

[Glenn]

On the NAS side of things Synology make a very good range of products, one being http://www.expansys.com/synology-ds215j-2-bay-nas-270340/ it just needs a couple of HDU's adding.

The feature set can be found here https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/5.2/features

[colirv]

I've also been considering a NAS, but I'm not exactly sure what these do, and whether they can just be used for lots of storage (the 'server' side would be largely redundant).

That's the way I decided to go, although I use a couple of these, which are a bit cheaper. I just use them for storage, preferring the Serviio media server in my PC for streaming.

[john]

I bought a Synology DS213J NAS nearly a couple of years ago now together with 2 x 3tb drives. I can't remember exactly which drives they were but I think they were these Western Digital Red drives which are recommended for NAS drives. Synology make lots of NAS drives and the one I bought may have been superseded now.

They were easy to set up and together they have worked faultlessly since I installed them. I have downloaded music, photos and movies onto them and can access them from my laptop, tablet or smart TV. The only problem I have is that my Samsung TV won't let me fast forward movies but my older Sony TV does. However the Samsung TV has an app called DSVIDEO which displays the artwork and description of movies (although it sometimes gets this wrong) when selecting them from the remote control.

I've very pleased with the Synology NAS and I'm sure it has other features that I haven't investigated yet. I get e-mails every so often suggesting I do an update but it seems to do this all by itself anyway. In fact it sits next to the router and I leave it on continually and never touch it but it does go into a sleep mode after a period of non-use.

If you are looking for additional storage space I think it's an option you should consider unless you really want to buy another PC.

[Simon]

That looks a good bit of kit, John.  But, to add a couple of 3Tb hard drives brings it near to the cost of a new PC. 

I still can't quite get my head around what a NAS is / does.  As I said, I don't want to go down the Cloud storage route.  Could I, for example, have iTunes on the NAS, and be able to access it via any device on my home network?  As I said, it's mainly storage I need, so I'm not really looking fo a much more complex solution.  If it would just act as a bank of hard drives, that's really all I need, but is that the most economical option?

[john]

I don't use iTunes but I suspect it would and no doubt somebody on here could confirm it or not. You don't have to buy 2 x 3 tb drives as one drive is an automatic backup of the other but it's safer to do so. You could buy smaller capacity drive(s) but I think it's less cost effective.

If it's just for storage then presumably the most economical option would be to buy a single hard drive that has the capacity to handle your foreseeable requirements but a NAS does have greater functionality that I think you would find useful especially if you would like to access data, particularly media, on other devices on your network. With my NAS being on continually I don't have to boot my laptop up if I want to watch a movie on my TV or play music files on my Network media player. I can also access music that's on my NAS through my TV which plays through my HiFi system. All in all it's very convenient and works well. You can use a NAS as your local cloud storage.

[Simon]

You don't have to buy 2 x 3 tb drives as one drive is an automatic backup of the other

You've lost me there.  One drive would be for backups, but what do you mean by the above?  Do you mean they automatically clone each other?

[colirv]

Could I, for example, have iTunes on the NAS, and be able to access it via any device on my home network?

The drive I linked to lists functioning as an iTunes server amongst its features. I imagine most NAS drives will be the same.

[pctech]

If you want local storage Simon I've been using one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=my+cloud&sprefix=Mycloud%2Caps%2C176

Does have the benefit of being remotely accessible if you want it to be.

[john]

You've lost me there.  One drive would be for backups, but what do you mean by the above?  Do you mean they automatically clone each other?

Yes, you can configure them using Synology's default RAID array which is essentially RAID 1 where the second disk is a backup of the other.

There is a review of it here : http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/storage/nas-drives/52780/synology-diskstation-ds213j-review and it mentions this near the end.

[Simon]

The drive I linked to lists functioning as an iTunes server amongst its features. I imagine most NAS drives will be the same.

Thanks Colin.

If you want local storage Simon I've been using one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=my+cloud&sprefix=Mycloud%2Caps%2C176

Does have the benefit of being remotely accessible if you want it to be.

Thanks Mitch, I have looked at those but the word 'cloud' put me off, and the reviews aren't all great for them.

Yes, you can configure them using Synology's default RAID array which is essentially RAID 1 where the second disk is a backup of the other.

There is a review of it here : http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/storage/nas-drives/52780/synology-diskstation-ds213j-review and it mentions this near the end.

Thanks John.  RAID is another mystery to me, but I'll take a look.

[john]

This article may explain RAID arrays in sufficient detail:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2849289/supercharge-your-pcs-storage-with-a-raid-setup-everything-you-need-to-know.html

[Simon]

Right, so, if I understand it correctly, with a RAID set up, two 3Tb hard drives will only actually offer 3Tb of data storage in total?  That's kind of an expensive way to defeat the object of creating more storage space.  I have 3Tb now, if I combine the capacities of my existing drives, so unless I also carried on using the old drives as well, I wouldn't be gaining anything with the Synology RAID system.  I guess I could use the NAS purely as a backup, which would free up one of my other drives, but again, it seems expensive as an option to achieve that.

What I want is at least 2Tb of space for music, another 2Tb to back that up, plus at least another 2Tb for everything else, including backups.  That would then free up the computer drives for the 'everyday' stuff.   

[john]

You are correct that 2 x 3tb drives in a RAID 1 array will only give you 3tb of storage (although with backup) however if you are prepared to risk not having backup or wish to arrange your own backups I think you can configure the drives in a RAID 0 array which I understand writes the data across both drives and uses the full 6tb but without the backup facility.

[Glenn]

It all depends on what raid level you want to use, Raid 0 will write data across all the disks fitted, the dis advantage is no backup, Raid 1 with give you a backup, Raid 5 can be configured to provide an redundancy but at the cost of some space, but if one drive fails, the remaining drives have the data to rebuild the replacement.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/5.2/features

I use a HP Microserver running XPenology, a reverse engineered version of Synology with the data stripped (Raid 0) across 3 drives.

[colirv]

Why not do what I did and get two separate single disk stations, mapped to two different drive letters. If you don't fancy the cheaper WD ones, go for something pricier. Then you can duplicate/backup as much or as little as you like.

[Simon]

Why not do what I did and get two separate single disk stations, mapped to two different drive letters. If you don't fancy the cheaper WD ones, go for something pricier. Then you can duplicate/backup as much or as little as you like.

It's certainly a consideration.  The one issue being that they take up quite a bit of space. 

[colirv]

Not much more than one double station. Presumably they'll be by the router, wherever that is - the hall table in our house!

[Simon]

What about this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00N2N3A4K/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_cvK0vbW4NQMFB

[john]

Not much more than one double station. Presumably they'll be by the router, wherever that is - the hall table in our house!

My router and NAS are on a shelf under the hall table too, is this the norm do you think? 

[colirv]

What about this?

Looks impressive! I'd never buy from Amazon, though - hate their business practices.

[colirv]

My router and NAS are on a shelf under the hall table too, is this the norm do you think? 

Wouldn't be surprised!

[Simon]

This one is a little cheaper:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00N2N3A4K/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_cvK0vbW4NQMFB

Given that these are empty drive bays, I'm not quite sure why there is such a price difference between one which can take up to 12Tb and one which can take up to 20Tb, as surely they essentially do the same thing, and it's the actual drive capacities one is paying for?

[john]

That appears to be the same one as your previous link Simon