USB file sharing ONLY - currently on DS213J (noisy HDD)

[floppydisk]

Hi,

I recently bought a DS213J which I'm using solely with an external USB device which has super/ military grade security. In a silent room the DS213J is very noisy, presumably due to it's disks. I'm not using disks for storage, although I understand they hold the OS. I have adjusted power settings and the noise continues so I'm confident it's the disks.

I bought the 213 used as an inexpensive solution. It's perfect for my needs, except for the noise. Please advise how I might get an inexpensive solution perhaps from any of these ideas:

a) by replacing HDD with a single SSD - please can anyone provide an example of what SSD could go in the 213, I require a very low cost solution. Just a single small drive will suffice. It will only hold the OS (no storage) and does not require any redundancy.

I have the odd spare SSD but I was told the requirements are very specific?

b) is there a newer Synology device which does not require the OS to be installed on the disks, ie. can be operated without HDDs? If so this might be good as it would serve the immediate need, and in the future I might want to add disks.

c) is there another solution from Synology or any brand that would accomplish the goal of providing USB file sharing on low cost, low energy requirements that I should consider?

Thank you!

 

[Rusty]

a) by replacing HDD with a single SSD - please can anyone provide an example of what SSD could go in the 213

Any model/brand will work

b) is there a newer Synology device which does not require the OS to be installed on the disks, ie. can be operated without HDDs?

Nope. DSM installs on the internal drives, that's it.

 

[floppydisk]

Aha, thanks Rusty, that's very interesting. I had previously been told they need to be some specific NAS SSD specification, please confirm if you mean literally any SSD will do, or are you meaning any NAS SSD (sorry I'm not familiar with the differences but someone more familiar with NAS than me told me it was the case).

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Rusty]

literally any SSD will do

There is no need for "NAS SSD", especially on that older, lower-end model. You can use consumer-grade SSDs as well.

 

[Akira]

(Edit as Rusty already answered the SSD question)
I may be over simplifying but:

Silex E1305 DS-510 USB Device Server : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy

www.amazon.co.uk

Unless you're using the NAS to specify user accounts who can access the USB, that should do what you want (you mentioned military grade security which implies the NAS may well not need to assign user accounts).

 

[floppydisk]

Wow Rusty & Akira, you've both been a great help, thank you.

Regarding the SSD type I'd obviously been told something else by someone else (which I thought seemed overkill for this requirement) so it's great to have that clarified.

As for the USB device server, I didn't even know such a thing exists. That's a great idea. I'm not doing anything military... it's just a secure USB device from iStorage. But the issue was that I'm not using the NAS for storage. It's helpful to know about this solution.

I've just ordered a basic new SSD.

Thanks

 

[fredbert]

c) is there another solution from Synology or any brand that would accomplish the goal of providing USB file sharing on low cost, low energy requirements that I should consider?

Raspberry Pi would give you fanless, wired/wireless network to USB. It would require some configuration, such as to setup Samba filing sharing.

 

[EAZ1964]

Many routers have Usb port to support, like my Fritz!box.

 

[floppydisk]

Raspberry Pi would give you fanless, wired/wireless network to USB. It would require some configuration, such as to setup Samba filing sharing.

I've heard of the Raspberry Pi but never tried it as yet. That sounds interesting. For now I've ordered an SSD which sorts the situation, but I'll look in to the Pi further. I gather the Pi is quite inexpensive, perhaps I can use it in the future. Thank you

-- post merged: 10. May 2021 --

Many routers have Usb port to support, like my Fritz!box.

Thank you for the suggestion. I like having file storage a step away from the router but definitely a good idea.

 

[fredbert]

FYI for future reference: Raspberry Pi 4 has USB 3 and USB 2 ports, the early versions had USB 2 only. So a '4' is the one to go for.

 

[floppydisk]

FYI for future reference: Raspberry Pi 4 has USB 3 and USB 2 ports, the early versions had USB 2 only. So a '4' is the one to go for.

That's helpful - thank you!