NAS Advice

I am looking to start moving my DVD and BlueRay collection to an NAS system. I started looking at some units and I am looking for recommendations as to a good unit to use for video playback. I am currently looking at a few units and they are:
 
WD My Cloud EX4 16TB
Synology DiscStation DS412+
 
I have been reading some reviews where the WD unit is not very fast, but it is about $400 less than the Synology unit.
 
Thanks for any advice.

I use the Thecus N4100Pro.
I upgraded the RAM to 512MB

A lot of the read speed depends on the RAID you set up.
I use four 2TB drives in a RAID 5.

I have a NetGear ReadyNAS.  What I like about it is it uses proprietary RAID that allows you to upgrade or replace disks on the fly that do not have to be matched.  (i.e. different sizes, etc).   The Unraid servers have similar capabilities.

If you wanna make your own look at unraid. Can't be beat.

My recommendation would be to go with the Synology.  I have used one for 3-4 years now.  I have used buffalo and dlink, and to be honest they didn't even come close in features/performance.  Synology continues to evolve their software and make great enhancements.  Upgrades have always been seamless, and never had an issue with an upgrade to date.  Not having looked that the WD, not sure what it's features are, but the synology would be worth the extra $$$.
 
MY 2 cents...

Frunple said:

If you wanna make your own look at unraid. Can't be beat.

Click to expand...

 
Along those same lines:
 
nas4free.org
or
freenas.org
 
 
I have a freenas 7 NAS and it has been rock solid for 3 or so years using spare computer parts.
 
Testing a NAS4free box right now and it also has been solid...

Here I have propietary Linux NAS boxes, Wintel and DIY boxes.
 
I never look at the propietary Linux NAS boxes (just go and go).
 
Wintel is embedded.
 
I did DIY a couple with the last NAS box using an IBM/SAS 1015 8 port SATA III card updated to an LSI firmware.  Works fine and cheap (think I paid $50 for it)..
 
I used an AMD E45 M1 for a motherboard and a very quiet server power supply.  Everything fit nicely in the box and it is very compact.
 
Most satisfaction was building this last box. (running with FreeNAS).
 
Have it sitting in the rack (never really look at it) and its a nice looking little 8 drive + NAS box.

Frunple said:

If you wanna make your own look at unraid. Can't be beat.

Click to expand...

 
I'm about to do this myself, and currently prefer the option to the other free options such as FreeNAS due to the way the data is stored on the HDDs.
 
For more info: http://lime-technology.com/
 
Plus the ability to mix-and-match HDD sizes

Timely  topic - I have been using an HP MediaSmart for years (on my second one actually) but it's dying.  I loved the versatility of using it as a NAS, auto backup, and running some of my home stuff since it runs Server 2003 - it could also run other things, from DynDNS updater to my Home Automation software.
 
I just asked Electron about this today since he's pretty well in the know.  Another brand that came up was QNap - I looked at their offerings and they look pretty cool too.  I'll either go that route or roll my own.
 
For those that have rolled their own, any recommendations on a chassis?  Power is very expensive here so I need to keep things as efficient as possible.  I probably want 4-6 disks; shallow rack mount would be nice otherwise something quiet enough to keep in my office or livingroom.

pete_c said:

Here I have propietary Linux NAS boxes, Wintel and DIY boxes.
 
I never look at the propietary Linux NAS boxes (just go and go).
 
Wintel is embedded.
 
I did DIY a couple with the last NAS box using an IBM/SAS 1015 8 port SATA III card updated to an LSI firmware.  Works fine and cheap (think I paid $50 for it)..
 
I used an AMD E45 M1 for a motherboard and a very quiet server power supply.  Everything fit nicely in the box and it is very compact.
 
Most satisfaction was building this last box. (running with FreeNAS).
 
Have it sitting in the rack (never really look at it) and its a nice looking little 8 drive + NAS box.

Click to expand...

 
Please share the model of that sexy black NAS case....

Qnap, Thecus, Synology, etc are some of the most expensive boxes out there but they also come with a ton of features.
 
Also, I am surprised no one has mentioned http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/
 
Click on NAS on the top row and there are rankers, charts, etc of about every NAS out there.
 
If you decide you want a 4 drive NAS and you want an atom processor, you can filter and get reviews and comparisons on any thing. It really is an awesome site.
 
For simple file storage, depending on your computer tech ability, you can build one with spare parts that will serve files just fine.

I found the NAS case pictured googling the internet.  I wrote to the company in China and did a direct purchase for around $160.  Not sure if that was a good price or a not.
 
It was about 2-3 years ago.  I will look at my emails as the company did want to sell their product here; but I noticed no real interest in the product.
 
They sold a similiar 4 drive case with even a smaller footprint.  Personally I like the way the mini ITX board mounts on the side of the case.
 
That said the case was well assembled.  It is very quiet.  The main 1U server style power supply has two fans and the large two fans are very quiet. 
 
I really never hear them.
 
You really don't need much to build a NAS box these days.  The embedded products I have have small boards in them.  That said using a standard PC motherboard will allow a bit more options relating to the OS of the NAS.  The box / motherboard / SAS card above provide me with some 14 SATA ports which is really nice for such a small footprint device.
 
I am only promoting a DIY here if you choose to go into that direction.  I have learned about NAS boxes though building another NAS in a full height tower with standard sized motherboard and a couple of drive cages mounted in it.  Its sort of too big but has plenty of capacity.
 
The purchased NAS (3) boxes are 4-5 drive cage boxes with propietary linux (no names will be mentioned here).  The embedded Wintel NAS is a 4 drive 1U box.  Power supply is too loud and needs to be upgraded.
 
BTW the NAS boxes are only that; they are pure storage and serve no other functions today.
 
There is a Homeseer user out there that build a multi- motherboard tower that is doing multiple functions (NAS, Homeseer, et al).
 
Never seen this before; very unique low powered device.
 
I learned much from the above mentioned site and the Serve the Home website here:
 
http://www.servethehome.com/

http://www.servethehome.com/
 
Thanks for posting this and your above comments. I will definitely frequent this site.

Thanks Gatchel for the smallnetbuilder site - I meant to include that in my post - electron has mentioned that several times in the past and they do a great job reviewing the different options out there.

I use a Thecus N8900 and it works pretty good.