Looking for a small home NAS

[Sly870]

Good morning,

Been researching this for a while and can't seem to make my mind up so would like some opinions from users of these various products.

I am looking for a NAS for home use to stream Plex media library and store pictures/videos etc that then has a certain portion, the important family pictures/documents etc, backed up to Dropbox, raid isn't a back up

I currently have a 6TB Ironwolf Pro in my PC and would move this to the NAS once the NAS is set up etc.

My only concern is the Plex part, I am not very clued up on transcoding etc, we would either watch on the 4K tv (not many movies on my Plex that are 4K sadly) or watch on my PC which is 1440p, very rarely or seldom would we use our phone/tablet but would be nice to do so.

I am comfortable around the £250 for the NAS mark, but can stretch it to £300+- if that helps with streaming.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Rusty]

In that price range you will not get a model from the '+' lineup. Still, saying that, if you will not have any need for plex transcoding (all plex clients are capable of direct play), then you can use the 'j' lineup. Keep in mind that J linup and plex could lead up to problems in the long run especially if you will also use some other services (like photo management and the likes).

So imho for your needs with multiple services and multiple users, a solid DS220+ or DS720+ model would be my suggestion.

 

[Sly870]

In that price range you will not get a model from the '+' lineup. Still, saying that, if you will not have any need for plex transcoding (all plex clients are capable of direct play), then you can use the 'j' lineup. Keep in mind that J linup and plex could lead up to problems in the long run especially if you will also use some other services (like photo management and the likes).

So imho for your needs with multiple services and multiple users, a solid DS220+ or DS720+ model would be my suggestion.

Thanks Rusty.

Been researching this morning and I may bite the bullet, up my budget, and look into a 4 bay NAS for
A) expansion
B)slightly better specs

Way of my £250 but not going to buy something now that won't do exactly what I need/want it to do to then buy again in the future, been stung doing that many times in the past

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Rusty]

In case of 4 bay there are only several options, but again, same principle applies, stay away from 'J' lineup for the long run/media streaming/multiple users scenarios.

 

[Sly870]

In case of 4 bay there are only several options, but again, same principle applies, stay away from 'J' lineup for the long run/media streaming/multiple users scenarios.

I've narrowed it down to 2 (expensive to me) ones..

DS420+ and DS920+...

 

[Rusty]

Like I said, only several options. Again, imho, taking 420 over 920 is not an option. If you are already in that NAS segment, take 920 and be done with it.

 

[Sly870]

Like I said, only several options. Again, imho, taking 420 over 920 is not an option. If you are already in that NAS segment, take 920 and be done with it.

I am in agreement, buy once, cry once, and be done with it.

What is your suggestion for drives? I currently have a 6TB IW Pro and I was just going to buy 2 more of those for now, good enough?

 

[Rusty]

good enough

More then enough. IR work just fine with this model.

 

[Sly870]

More then enough. IR work just fine with this model.

Thanks Rusty.

I must say, this forum has opened my eyes a lot. Just been looking at the security section and also looking at going RT2600ac or Unifi and throwing out my Fritz

 

[Rusty]

Just been looking at the security section and also looking at going RT2600ac or Unifi and throwing out my Fritz

Be sure to read up a bit on these elements on the forum as well, but for the most part it will depend on your expected working scenarios.

As a 2600+2200 users (mesh), I can't say anything bad about it. Works. Have some 10G unify gear as well, and again, works for what I need it.

 

[Sly870]

Be sure to read up a bit on these elements on the forum as well, but for the most part it will depend on your expected working scenarios.

As a 2600+2200 users (mesh), I can't say anything bad about it. Works. Have some 10G unify gear as well, and again, works for what I need it.

Noob question: I will still need my Fritz and connect it via WAN into the 2600 correct? Sadly still on FTTC and then copper to my house so got the pesky ADSL cable.

 

[Rusty]

I will still need my Fritz and connect it via WAN into the 2600 correct?

It depends on your ISP. 2600 support bridge mode (if supported by your ISP), and can work in double NAT configuration as well (ISP router in router mode). Also, again it depends on your ISP, you can run direct FTTH to it using a media converted and PPoE on it to initiate a connection (I have it like this with my fiber provider).

In short, it will work in multiple scenarios.

 

[Sly870]

@Rusty thanks for the advice mate! Ordered a DS920+ with a IW Pro 6TB.

 

[EAZ1964]

Throw out the Fritz In favour of a syno Router? Not a good idea, Fritz is top notch, and you will degrade your LAN.

 

[Sly870]

Throw out the Fritz In favour of a syno Router? Not a good idea, Fritz is top notch, and you will degrade your LAN.

I've ordered a USG gateway to try it out and see how it goes. Find the Fritz port forwarding and that isn't "as user friendly" as previous routers I have tried.

 

[EAZ1964]

cannot argue with a single action that you probably do once a year.
if you look at security, support, uptime and speeds, the result will be completely different.
also read: https://www.fkie.fraunhofer.de/cont...omeRouter/HomeRouterSecurity_2020_Bericht.pdf