NAS for backup and itunes library

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andyscott

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I am re aligning my systems at the moment.

I think the most sensible for me as I use a macbook pro and external monitor for editing, is to use, a big NAS as my backup system.

So currently I have 2tb working drive (usb 3)
Mac mini (old with external drive) as file server.

I need a recommendation for a 2 to 3 TB NAS drive I can whack my iTunes library on and use as a file back up.

What would you recommend? I have a total budget of £250 fixed.

Do I go for buffalo, synology etc? 1 or 2 bay (I know about raid, but how easy is it to recover when it goes tits up).

Thanks

Andy
 
synology every time.

recovering the raid shouldnt be too much of an issue providing you have another copy of the data (remember RAID should be treated as a single copy of the data, and should be backed up).
 
So in the theory of raid not being a backup

1 bay NAS and 1 usb drive should be better than raid 1?

As it's a nas raid 0 shouldn't be that much faster?
 
andyscott said:
So in the theory of raid not being a backup
Click to expand...

correct, RAID is NOT a backup when it is used to store the only copy of your data.

1 bay NAS and 1 usb drive should be better than raid 1?
Click to expand...

define better. better in that you can have 2 copies of your data? yes. however it is not expandable.

As it's a nas raid 0 shouldn't be that much faster?
Click to expand...

you wouldnt notice the speed increase of R0 over a network connection (especially wireless).
 
+1 for Synology.
I've been running one for nearly five years and it's been pretty good. The real strength is the software.

Couple of quibbles:
  • The AC/DC adapter died within a week. Replaced with one off ebay. That died a couple of years later, so it's been replaced again since
  • It occasionally chooses not to recognise USB devices. This can last for some time. It uses a fairly old Linux kernel and the problem is associated to a bug in that.
Mine is RAID1 (mirrored) and if a drive fails, I know I can recover it by plugging it into my PC and using mdadm under linux.
It's backed up nightly to a second cheaper NAS and periodically to an external hard disk drive.

On Edit: I set-up a Buffalo NAS on a friends home network. It's slower (60 mb/s versus 90 mb/s) and the software is pretty pants.

My second NAS is an old Netgear ReadyNAS Duo which is much better built than the Syno NAS, but not half as capable due to it's software.
 
Last edited:
neil_g said:
define better. better in that you can have 2 copies of your data? yes. however it is not expandable.
Click to expand...

I suppose a 2 bay synology isn't either and the big ones are above my budget sadly
 
I have setup my NAS with expandability in mind:
- Always on Syno 2 bay, was 2x2TB no RAID. now 4+2TB for a total 6TB of storage space.
- Bi-weekly run backup on HP Microserver. Syno runs a script to wake and shutdown the HP. HP has 4 bays in there, I started off with older 2x2TB disks, when I upgraded Syno, I moved the 2TB into the HP making 3x2TB. Using drive pooling software I generated a 4TB partition allowing me to do mirror backups.

Only problem is that when 1 hard disk dies in the Syno, all the apps go with it. Even if you do back up the @appstore folder, there will be some strange behaviours when you copy it back through CLI. I've had 2 drive failures in my Syno, I've not lost anything apart from a few hours of my life replacing the drive and setting up the apps again.

You can do something similar with 2 bay NAS. Backup to external drives.
 
neil_g said:
unless you started with 1 drive and then added a second and raid0'd it (just for the spanning and not performance)
Click to expand...

So can you just pop another in and the software then spans it without losing data?
 
When you say iTunes, do you mean serve media to other computers running iTunes or do you mean so you can play your music to airplay devices? If it is the latter then you need a full iTunes install, not the iTunes server you get on a NAS.
 
do not ever bother with a 1 bay NAS.. waste of time. i worked in IT for 8 years doing data storage techincal support and R&D. working alongside the likes of qnap, seagate, WD, toshiba, Hitachi, Synology, Thecus, Promise, Infortrend etc, specializing in NAS devices.
AS said above RAID is NOT a backup. the ideal scenario would be multiple drives in a RAID 5 or 6 but thats beyond budget. so the best option would be a RAID 1 ( mirror in a 2 bay unit ). for your budget this is easily acheivable though unless you are accessing the NAS via several computers from different locations you have to ask do you really need NAS and if so do you need all the features and functions on a NAS such as a qnap or synology.
You could just as easily get a USB3/esata 2 bay RAID 1 enclosure if your only storing files from one computer.
if using multiple computers then a 2 bay WD or Seagate NAS that comes prefitted with Hard drives would be well within budget.
4TB Seagate Nas £199 ( 6TB for £249 )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-STB...UTF8&qid=1405162151&sr=8-5&keywords=2+bay+nas

i wont go into full technical details about the ins and outs of external storage and NAS otherwise id be here for a week and bore you all to tears.
just remember that any external storage is only a backup IF you have the original files elsewhere. seen so many times in the past people have "moved" all the original files onto an external encliosure thats failed and when asked where the originals are they have said its all on the nas cos it was there backup ( DOH ).
my advice.. backup in triplicate ( on your computer or hard drive , on external storage ( nas, USB, eSATA, Firewire etc ) and in the cloud ).
 
Isn't the seagate nas in the link very noisy? Most reviews say it is.
 
Running a DS214 Play and DS414 here, fantastic kit and the standard 214SE is excellent value and within your budget.

Quite frankly, I've found Seagate, WD and especially Buffalo to be poor in terms of either performance, versatility and other variables. Synology 1st with QNAP a close 2nd for me
 
I use a Synology DS212 at home and use QNAPs at work and both are very good units but I think the Synology DSM always has the edge. That said, I'm currently looking at cloud solutions in addition to achieve a full 3 2 1 backup strategy (three copies, two formats, one off site).

For your budget, IMO you can't beat a Synology unit.
 
The Chromecast support within the Synology range is a huge point for me, and has made everything else redundant in the house!
 
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