Help choosing a NAS / media server solution

[samssf]

Hi all,

I recently started considering buying a NAS, but I want to get whatever will best fit my needs.

I have a few devices a use regularly: Windows PC, hackintosh with OSX, a Macbook Pro, iPad, and PS3. Currently on my desktop machine I've installed OSX and Windows 7 on two separate disks, and have a third disk formatted as HFS+ where I store "shared" data (videos, music, etc).

All of my important / authored / non-replaceable documents and files get synced and backed up automatically between my machines using dropbox. But I manually have to back up videos, music, etc.

What would be nice is to have all the shared data on a NAS, but I would also like the ability to stream videos over wireless-N from the device to my desktop, PS3, or even ipad for viewing. I'm a little confused on the differences between a NAS, home media server, etc. I also am not sure how to best set up my network - right now I just have a wireless router, but I've seen gaming and video APs and bridges, but I'm not sure why I would need one and what they're actually for (such as the Netgear WNHD3004).

Can someone here suggest a device(s) that would work for this setup?

 

[Jesse B]

A 'Home Media Server' and a NAS are fairly interchangeable terms; there's a not a whole lot different about them when you get down to it.

If you're looking at buying, Qnap and Synology make fantastic units. These will store data, stream, etc. They've got tons of plugins available.

If you wanted to build, you could throw together an inexpensive machine, and install your OS of choice. Linux/BSD are free, and have numerous free solutions to do what you want.

For your network, I'd consider upgrading to gigabit (addition of a switch would be all that's necessary), although this isn't mandatory. Wireless N should be able to stream HD content without issues.

 

[samssf]

A 'Home Media Server' and a NAS are fairly interchangeable terms; there's a not a whole lot different about them when you get down to it.

If you're looking at buying, Qnap and Synology make fantastic units. These will store data, stream, etc. They've got tons of plugins available.

If you wanted to build, you could throw together an inexpensive machine, and install your OS of choice. Linux/BSD are free, and have numerous free solutions to do what you want.

For your network, I'd consider upgrading to gigabit (addition of a switch would be all that's necessary), although this isn't mandatory. Wireless N should be able to stream HD content without issues.

Thanks for the info! Do you have any opinion on Synology vs Qnap as far as which one is more versatile, etc?

My router is a DLink DIR-655, and has four LAN ports... don't remember if they're gigabit. Why exactly do people buy switches, anyway? Don't most routers act as switches? There must be something I'm missing here. And when would a person require something like the Netgear WNHD3004?

 

[Jesse B]

I honestly don't own either NAS units; I'm just going off the general consensus. I've yet to hear a bad thing about either company. Either should perform about on-par and have very similar plug-ins. Just do some looking around, I'm sure you'll find something that fits your needs.

People use switches for different reasons. One of the more common reasons is just additional ports. Obviously routers only have 4 or 5 ports, so if you have more devices, you're out of luck otherwise. A gigabit switch tends to be cheaper than a gigabit router as well, so it just makes things easier. You could get a gigabit router if you wish (and only have 4 devices).

As long as you have a decent router you're good to go. A lot of these enthusiast devices tend to be more expensive than they're worth. The average mid-range consumer router will perform just fine.