NAS Help.

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willf1203

n00b
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
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Looking for some guidance as to which NAS device would suit me best. I
am relatively new to NAS devices having no prior experience with one,
so I was hoping I could get some insight here.

Here is the scenario, I just recently purchased a Mac Book Pro and
wanted a central location to store my files where both Windows / Mac
OS X can read and write to (which sorta rules out an external Hard
Drive - although I'm aware there are ways to get around this)

So here is an outline of the factors that are coming into play.

1. Platform independency (most importantly) basically as I stated
before the ability to map the drive on both the Mac Os X and my
Windows machine, as well as read and write. Please let me know if this
is not possible, I am under the assumption that it is. A device that
does not require any specific proprietary software to read or write - I believe
some of the devices do have this restriction.

2. Speed - Something that is relatively fast (read especially). Would
it be too ambitious to say I would like to watch movies right off the
the NAS device?

3. Remote Access - not so important, but it would be a great feature
to have read access to the drive from anywhere with a browser.

4. Size - 250-500gb is sufficient for me. Redundancy is not that important.

5. Price less than 500$ - this is not a strict budget, but of course
the cheaper the better.

This would be for home use and the goal is to have a central
repository where my family can store or back up any of their data
(videos, music, documents).

Any suggestions on which product will be greatly appreciated! Thanks =)

-Will
 
Does the price include just the NAS box or does it also include the drives?

The Thecus N5200 and the Infrant ReadyNas NV+ are both around $625 WITHOUT any drives. Add $125 for a 500 GB drive. That said, if you were to only get one drive, I don't see why you'd get a NAS - it seems like more trouble than it's worth. If you're building a NAS, typically you want at least a couple of hard drives for the redundancy.

Edit: Guess I only mentioned the 4-5 drive boxes. You can also get a N2100 for much cheaper, I believe.
 
Sorry I'm not familiar enough with this one to know if it meets your needs, but thought I'd throw this out there as a more inexpensive (<$100) yet still customizable and expandable option (opensource projects supporting it)

Linksys NSLU2
 
Yeah, I was actually looking into the Infrant ReadyNas NV+ but it came out to be a little pricey, so I wanted to look for slightly cheaper alternatives.

Thanks for the tip on the N2100, Gonna look into it
 
I have the ReadyNas NV+, and it satisfies all your conditions except number 5. I put in two 500 GB drives in a redundant configuration, and am able to watch video directly off the NAS. It also has an HTTP server that allows access to the shares from a web browser. (I don't use this and turned it off, so I can't speak to its speed) I have also been able to access the device from my windows PC, Linux, and my roommate’s Mac. Keep in mind that to take full advantage of the speed, you will probably need a gigabit router. I am using the D-Link DGL-4300 and have not had a problem with the speed.

One other thing to note that I would have liked to know ahead of time: this NAS is not quiet. It is not TOO noisy, but I would not recommend trying to use it in the same room that you sleep in unless you are a heavy sleeper.:D
 
You so don't need a ready NAS for 500GB of storage. You can get plenty of RAID-1 NAS options at your local brick and mortal that use two 500GB drives. You don't need to pay $1000 as people have mentioned here just to get 500GB of storage.
 
I have heard good things about the NV+ but it just came out slightly too pricey. I decided on the Buffalo Linkstation Pro 500gb after doing some googling and reading some reviews.

Thanks all for your advice!
 
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