First home NAS setup

Ben6

Ben6

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At Least I think it's called a NAS setup :S
Just to make things a little clearer my plan it to store a copy of all my photos and music on it and then for it to be accessible from iPhones, iPads and the PC.

I've looked at what seem to be starter setups like the WD My cloud, http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0EQZQS4HDVG2PE1EV78Y
And then moved onto looking at the option of a NAS enclosure then adding the hard drives I want / can afford to over the next few months. http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/data-...nas-102-nas-enclosure-2-bay-21755037-pdt.html

One thing fairly high in my priorities is power consumption, the second option seems better for this as I can use the power off button on the unit when I'm away from home/sleeping etc.

Budget is around the £150 mark at the moment but can be stretched if needed.

Any advice much appreciated.
 
Any decent NAS should power down the drives after a period of inactivity and the remaining power consumption really isn't worth worrying about. Boot-up time can be quite long so the NAS may not be ready when you want it if it's switched off when not wanted.
The Netgear doesn't have a reputation as a speedy device so read some comparisons before buying. Also read the Amazon user reviews - that should put you off it.....
We've had several NAS threads recently so read them to get an idea of what's recommended
 
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indeed. depending on the device and the amount of drives it can take a few minutes for the NAS to power on and become available.

its more indented as an always on device. but as said, the power consumption is not worth worrying about.

for £150 you arent going to get anything mindblowing in terms of performance. also, have you factored in how you are going to back it up in case of hardware failure?
 
Thanks both for the replies. I hadn't really thought of boot up times so that's definitely something to consider. Streaming speed isn't a major concern for me. I won't be steaming films from it or anything like that.

The nas will basically just be a mirror of my PC and that's already backed up on another hard drive which I keep off site so not too worried about the nas needing another back up too.

Would you say the seagate Central is a better option than the WD? http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/data-...ss-external-hard-drive-3-tb-21499943-pdt.html

I had only gone to the WD first as I've always used their portable hard drives over the years and found them very good.
 
Save a bit more and get a Synology, I've not known any other NAS (with the possible exception of QNAP) to come close in terms of functionality and sheer performance. I have a DS214 Play and wouldn't contemplate anything else...
 
< snip >

accidental double posting. d'oh!
 
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I'd be wary of anything that requires you signing up and even subscribing to use all it's features. This I know, used to be a trait of some low end consumer NAS devices. I came across this with a pair of Seagate GoFlex NAS devices a client had purchased and wound up flashing different firmware onto them.

I'm sure there are some good budget choices out there, just read the reviews carefully.
 
No idea how to make it accessible to an iPad?
 
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