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Best Synology NAS

J

jogrug

n00b
Joined
Dec 25, 2013
Messages
6
Hello all!

I need to some input on my NAS solution please.
I will be using 3 x Physical Hosts for ESXi, so this NAS will be used as DataStores in a home lab for VMWare / Windows Studying and not much else for now.

I will most likely be going for a Synology solution, but willing to change my mind if anyone has any other suggestions.

The two I have been looking at is the Synology DS412+ 4 Bay - £459 / $750 ($569 on US Amazon :() or the Synology 213+ 2 Bay for £254 / $417..

If I went for the 4 bay, I was thinking of filling with 4 x WD REDs in a RAID 10 Array, or 2 x HDD and 2 x SSD if that is possible.

This will be my first NAS, previously I've just run Software NAS for my lab but would like to splash out a bit to get a lab that will last a few years :)

Any input would be appreciated.
 
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Considering that you linked to a 4-bay and a 2-bay, the choice seems to depend on the amount of storage you need - something only you yourself can answer.


or 2 x HDD and 2 x SSD if that is possible.
Click to expand...
Synology's documentation says
Synology’s proprietary read-only SSD Cache technology, which supports up to two SSD disks, is available on all XS+ series products.
Click to expand...
http://ukdl.synology.com/ftp/ds/userguide/Synology_SSD_Cache_White_Paper.pdf
Based on that, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to add SSDs to the two units you linked.
 
Thanks for the information and excuse my lack of knowledge on this.

Well... I would say I need around 1TB, it will only be for lab stuff, don't really have real production use for it yet, just a lot of testing!

I've checked and the 2 bay is not on the VMWare HCL, the only other 2 Bay Device seems to be the DS713+ which is only ~£50 less than the 4 bay.

Not sure would the optimum configuration would be for the 4 bay if I did get it.
 
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The four bay is great, it's not as amazing as the five bay, but hell, we could play that game all day long.

I've owned all sorts of syno's, they are all fantastic. I noticed you mentioned 3 X physical hosts. I don't know what you're planning to have for workload, but that will be pretty demanding on storage. The SSD caching feature works on all + series syno's. So you are fine in that regard. The real decision you will need to make is if you want to use the SSD's as datastores themselves, or use them just for caching. I'd recommend datastores if you expect large load.

Don't consider spinning disks for datastores unless you have good caching available, they will bog down so fast with just a few VM's. Also, go with at least the four bay models! Two bay is just a waste of time + money!
 
Phog thank you for the information. This Storage budget just seems to be getting bigger... :( The 5 bay is nearly £200 more, so I won't be going for that.

I'm going to utilize 1 Host as a 'Management Cluster', which I could probably run on local storage, but wanted the the two other hosts to have the full access to all High Availability functions with shared storage. I'm not expecting large load tbh, it is only for testing as I've said, but I don't want it to run like a dog.

What RAID configuration would be best within a 4 bay?
I would be using thin provisioning, and I can't imagine using more than 10 VMs at a time with about 30GB each, some with more, some with less.

3TB WD Red is around £95
1TB WD Red is around £55
Kingston 240GB SSD £127

Edit. It seems these Synology boxes do a lot more than just a plain and simple NAS, is there any other alternatives that maybe just do the Storage side of things with no additions for cheaper?
 
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Well, if you use the four bay, and have two spindle disks and two ssd's, the decision has already been made.

RAID1 and RAID1 for both.

So with two 3TB drives, you'll have 2.67TB usable on the spindles, and like 210GB usable on the SSD's.

I don't really understand why one of your physical hosts will be a "Management Cluster", but up to you of course.

Synology does much more than just simple storage, but they are top notch and worth every penny. I highly recommend it. People have time justifying spending the extra cash for a Synology (I did) but after using them, you will realize they are awesome.
 
Phog said:
Well, if you use the four bay, and have two spindle disks and two ssd's, the decision has already been made.

RAID1 and RAID1 for both.

So with two 3TB drives, you'll have 2.67TB usable on the spindles, and like 210GB usable on the SSD's.

I don't really understand why one of your physical hosts will be a "Management Cluster", but up to you of course.

Synology does much more than just simple storage, but they are top notch and worth every penny. I highly recommend it. People have time justifying spending the extra cash for a Synology (I did) but after using them, you will realize they are awesome.
Click to expand...

You have been great help, thank you.

I already have a lower powered server for the job of managment, I want to buy 2 new reasonably powerful Tower servers for the working cluster.
 
Another quick question. Backups are not of big concern, but can I just attach a cheap external drive to this for backups?
 
jogrug said:
Another quick question. Backups are not of big concern, but can I just attach a cheap external drive to this for backups?
Click to expand...

Yes. They also have an app you can download that will automatically upload to a Crashplan account.
 
jogrug said:
Another quick question. Backups are not of big concern, but can I just attach a cheap external drive to this for backups?
peanuthead said:
Yes. They also have an app you can download that will automatically upload to a Crashplan account.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I think he means if he can backup to an external drive. Yes both USB 3 and eSATA are available as an option and both work well, for the 412+ model.
 
Moogoos said:
I think he means if he can backup to an external drive. Yes both USB 3 and eSATA are available as an option and both work well, for the 412+ model.
Click to expand...

Thanks.


Another quick question.

This is nearly $200 on the US Amazon. (I'm in the UK).

How does the power work with this device and how easy could I get the US device to work in the UK? Is it just a different power lead/adapter?
 
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