Best Soho Nas of 2022 Reviews

Table of Content

• Our pick: Synology DiskStation DS218+
• How to install Kodi and Netflix on your QNAP NAS in 2017
• Understanding Hard Disk Drive Terminology
• What is the difference between the WD Colours – Blue, Red, Black, Green, Purple and Gold
• Best Budget NAS Device for Most Users

I bought a synology 1815 three years ago after having built many NAS myself. I went thru the loop of hand building my own NAS, but years later revert to QNAP or Synology. Whilst what you post was fascinating, well it does not matter what great hardware you build. Unless it is running either a QNAP or Synology OS you will always be in the /dark ages/. Remote controlling BlenderNote that none of this is secure and VNC sends everything over the LAN unencrypted so if any nefarious characters are on your Wifi you should not use this .

Synology rated 9.0 or better for accessing all types of files across the internet and sharing those files with others. For the seventh year running, Synology wins our PCMag Readers' Choice Award for network attached storage. The past two years, Synology shared the award with QNAP, but this year it stands alone.

Our pick: Synology DiskStation DS218+

Compatible with 3.5" and 2.5" SATA HDD, 2.5" SATA SSD. For better and stable perofrmance, please use dedicated NAS hard drives. It has 10 physical cores and 12 threads, which makes it perfect for running a media server and so much more. It has two cores and four threads, allowing you to do basic tasks and more on the server.

These modules are like super-fast drives, allowing the operating system to store software and other files that can be quickly accessed at request. All data stored on RAM is cleared when the device is turned off. Features an aluminum-alloy shell and intelligent temperature control ultra-quiet fan, good in heat dissipation. The F5-221 NAS enclosure is compatible with 3.5" and 2.5" SATA HDD, 2.5" SATA SSD. For better and stable performance, please use dedicated NAS hard drives.

How to install Kodi and Netflix on your QNAP NAS in 2017

Of course, if you don’t like spending hours learning this crap, then don’t bother! I went with Ubuntu 17.04 which like most linuxes has ZFS and NAS and Samba and all the good stuff. I installed it via a USB drive and installed all my favorite programs, set up SSH, got the nVidia proprietary drivers, and we’re off. ORGANIZE AND SECURE YOUR DATA – Use NAS as an easy-to-access central storage location.

And finally, we will answer some frequently asked questions about the best NAS devices for using Plex. For starters, you can expand your storage capacity to over 100TB. That is large enough to store your precious collection, which you may have spent years curating. Further, by attaching it to a network, you can grant access to any number of users you want. But the most significant advantage of using a NAS device is installing and using Plex Media Server.

Understanding Hard Disk Drive Terminology

Hence, it is best suited for novice users unfamiliar with drive selection and installation. The Netgear ReadyNAS 316 comes with six 4TB drives along with the enclosure. It uses the Intel Atom 2.1GHz Dual-Core processor and offers you 2GB DDR3 RAM. Supports 4K Plex streaming and transcoding for viewing on any device. The Lockerstor 4 AS6604T is one of the most potent NAS devices on the market. It comes with an Intel Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake processor (4-Core, 4MB Cache, and up to 2.7GHz).

A two-bay NAS is the best option for most people who want to use theirs for home backup, but if you need more capacity or data protection, get the Synology DiskStation DS418play. This model has the same CPU and memory specs as the DS218+, but with two more drive bays. The DS418play has one fewer USB 3.0 port on the back but offers dual Gigabit Ethernet for link aggregation; this feature doubles the network bandwidth available to your NAS, though not many home routers support that function. You can also turn the DS218+ on and off according to a schedule, and it supports Wake-on-LAN and multiple fan-speed modes, the latter of which can help reduce the overall noise of the DS218+. No NAS is completely quiet, but to our ears the DS218+ was less noticeable than the QNAP TS-251A or TS-231P2. NAS devices don't serve as basic a need as routers, but they provide a lot of very valuable benefits for all sorts of users.

The 10 Best NAS for Home Users in 2023 (With Use Case Recommendations)

Think of it as your personally owned Netflix in which you curate, catalog, and manage media files and users. It does away with the need for sharing external drives with friends. And the best part is you can easily access your media file remotely using any portable device. Owners of the DS220+ will be pleased with its refined appearance, tool-less drive installation, quick setup, and easy configuration.

However, there are many challenges for today's consumers to experience high-quality computing with QNAP systems. It delivers better overall system performance by utilizing a more powerful quad-core Cortex A55 processor than other processors today. Random access memory is what is used by a device to store data for quicker access.

You might be able to save a little money and space by using your router to manage your network storage but our survey respondents seem to be recommending you opt for a dedicated device instead. This is the perfect solution for businesses who want to avoid extra infrastructure costs such as Ethernet, power supply, and networking. Synology DS218play is a versatile device that can run all kinds of applications on it. When it comes to network-attached storage, there are two routes to go down for setting up your own server. The first is by using the best NAS enclosure and installing a few hard drives. The second is to go it alone and build your own NAS from scratch.

Both companies' 3-node systems list for $499, though you should be able to get them for less. In terms of reliability, the Orbi actually outscored the Velop, 8.8 to 8.6; not a single Orbi rated required repairs in the last 12 months. This means that you'll probably need to find them a spot that's close to your internet modem at home or in your office. You can grab it as a full installer, or make a LiveCD version that boots off a disc to give it a try. Windows Phone Foxit Reader is free for not just reading, but also creating PDFs and collaboration on the files (at least you can with the Windows version; Mac and Linux are more limited).

What is the difference between the WD Colours – Blue, Red, Black, Green, Purple and Gold

The last, the IronWolf SSD and HDD drives, combine both technologies in a single drive that then has its own firmware logic to distribute data for optimal performance beyond what SSD delivers on its own. The Drivestor AS3302T is a moderately priced two-bay NAS that is equipped with a 2.5Gbps LAN port, three high-speed USB ports, and a quad-core CPU. It’s a solid performer that is easy to install and manage using the Microsoft Windows-like operating system, but it lacks the HDMI port and M.2 slots that you get with its more expensive sibling, the Lockerstor 2 Gen2 .

8 Best NAS Drives for 2018 Best Network Attached Storage Devices for Home Use

Table of Content

• The Best NAS (Network Attached Storage) Devices for 2022
• How we tested
• Small Office
• 1 TerraMaster F2-221: Best Cheap NAS for Home Office
• How much RAM do I need for a Plex server?

The two 2.5GbE ports support link aggregation, giving you up to 5Gbps speed. Synology provides its range of software for better security, management, and cloud storage options. I own 5 different Synology NAS arrays and have yet to regret any of my decisions to purchase them. Stuffed with 16TB of Seagate's finest and 6GB under the hood, it sings for me each time I push or pull files to it. My eldest still chugs away, babysitting a UPS battery, ready to send shutdown signals to my server garden if we go to candle power. For this we used a 4.22GB folder of video files, transferred to the NAS and back.

I had it plugged into a TV monitor through one of the motherboard HDMI port and tried switching it around. Eventually I discovered that it had to be in the nVidia GPU and that the TV had to be plugged in when the PC booted. There is an excellent variety of ways to lose data while backing it up.

The Best NAS (Network Attached Storage) Devices for 2022

They're the real documents used in the production of a few of my projects. Synology had the highest satisfaction ratings on every drill-down question. Its top scores were a 9.5 for storing photos, music, and videos for access on the network and 9.6 for storing other types of files for network access, as well as a 9.6 for satisfaction with reliability.

Sure, Intel's bargain basement processors, Gbit networking, what did you expect? If you got a firecracker like the DS420+, my friend, you would look back at your previous choice and say "what a fool I was to have chosen that cracker box". Digital security is also important, and Synology has solid options baked in, from a firewall to antivirus options provided by Norton, as well as robust, customizable security options in its Control Center. If you're super-comfortable with specing PC parts and building PCs, you'll probably want to go it on your own. But if you're new to PC building, buying an appliance NAS is probably the way to go.

How we tested

If you're doing high-performance video production on a single machine, you might want to connect a DAS device right to your machine so there's no delay. I strongly recommend cloud storage as one leg in a backup strategy, but for home and small office use, a NAS can be invaluable. NAS speed varies widely depending on many factors, but expect them to be significantly slower than a typical external hard drive. These are devices primarily useful for backing up and storing data long-term where speed isn’t a significant factor. Though the DS918+ is quite expensive, you get your money's worth with the potential storage capacity.

Or you can set it to export, say, only video files from a specific folder. It takes a little effort to get the button working how you want, but Synology's guide should help you configure the feature. While QNAP models often have a front USB port, most other NAS boxes do not, so it's nice to see on this Synology unit. For better or worse, instead of having one big app with tons of features, Synology takes a piecemeal approach to its mobile apps. DS Audio, DS File, DS Photo, DS Cloud, and DS Video are for accessing media. DS Finder is for monitoring the stats on your NAS, DS Get is for managing downloads, and DS Cam is for managing IP cameras.

Small Office

At a competitive price, they offer the very best UI in the business, a wide range of apps, and great features. All the offerings we're presenting are good, but Synology does itallright. Our experience with TerraMaster is a solid offering at a budget-friendly price.

A few models will also come with an HDMI port; this would let you use the NAS as a media server with a direct connection to your HDMI-equipped HDTV. For example, that, ahem, sweet DVD rip you have of James Cameron'sTitanicin AVI format will not open on an iPhone without some jiggering. It can be complicated, though, to guarantee that a specific file or file type will play on a given device, so look at the specs of the NAS closely to determine its capabilities.

To simulate drive failure, we pulled a drive from the NAS while it was running. A NAS should beep or flash an LED to alert you that something is wrong, and the interface should show a drive-failure notification. If the NAS allows you to set up SMS or email alerts, that's even better.

I’d recommend something like the SilverStone DS380B. It has support for up to 12 drives, four being fixed 2.5-inch bays and eight supporting hot-swappable 3.5-inch drives. There’s enough internal space for a graphics card though you will need to use the PCI slot for SATA expansion as only a Mini-ITX motherboard will fit here. There’s a lot to do still, including setting up the Machine Learning libraries, getting Samba going, configuring Kodi for the media server, tweaking power settings, etc. There are some great choices to make your NAS system easy to administer such as FreeNAS.Most people will enjoy using that. Personally, I’ve been avoiding pre-built applications like this because I like fiddling around a a lower level so I know how everything works.

Upgrade pick: Synology DiskStation DS418play

It’s supported by both the Intel Pentium and Core i5 processors, has more than enough capacity for most scenarios, and has a speed rating of DDR with a latency of CL38. Luckily, there’s a low-profile cooler from Noctua that will do the job just fine for either CPU. Noctua is one of the leading brands when it comes to fans and the Noctua NH-L9i is about as good as it gets. The ASUS ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WiFi is an affordable motherboard that supports 12th Gen Intel processors. The four SATA ports can be complemented by an optional SATA PCI card. The ASUS ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WiFi is a brilliant Mini-ITX motherboard with plenty to love.

Small-business owners and home enthusiasts who require a robust two-bay NAS with high-speed connectivity options should put the AS6702T at the top of their shopping lists. Still, even though Synology advertises the DS218+ as being capable of all kinds of transcoding, you'll want to use a more powerful computer than the DS218+ if you're serious about on-the-fly media transcoding. We recommend transcoding your video files ahead of time if you plan on using your NAS as a media server. You can do this with the Offline Transcoding feature in Video Station, though unfortunately you need to manually choose individual videos to convert. If you're looking for an automated option, QNAP's software allows you to set up a specific folder that the NAS monitors; the NAS then transcodes any files you drop in. Network-attached storage devices allow users to easily create personal cloud storage for their files and system backups.

One way you can do this is via "striping," in which the data will span both drives. Striping by itself is chancy; under some circumstances, it enhances the speed of reads and writes, since you're accessing two drives at once. But if either disk fails, it's possible that all your data will be lost, so we don't recommend this approach. The beauty of a NAS device is that it can use some version of a technology called Redundant Array of Independent Disks . This tech allows the software that manages the NAS devices to distribute and duplicate the data it stores across multiple hard disks.

You have access to all the same mobile apps for streaming, backup, and everything else the DS218+ offers. Since this model has two more bays than our top pick, you can use different storage configurations that offer better data protection and performance. This NAS is best suited for professionals or anyone who wants to expand a NAS system with more storage down the line. Although these devices didn’t make the cut, any one of the NAS systems we looked at for this page would make excellent additions to your home network.