Qnap NAS died...better alternatives.

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antok86

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been running a qnap ts-451 for about 7-8 years and looks to have completely died on me. (not sure how easy it will be to get the data off) but i am looking for better home nas alternative. any better DIY alternatives. my main needs are just file storage and for drive failure redundancy and maybe remote access from mobile device. Access to hot swap drives is a plus. dont need anything power hungry and ihave access to mount it to a 2u case to a rack
 
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DIY self often insolved bulky systems that use more power than a QNAP and or Synology. I went that route once and the headaches just were not worth the plug n play and go with QNAP/Synology. 7/8 years is a decent life.

Synology does tend to get more praise though as a far better NAS company.
 
MrGuvernment said:
DIY self often insolved bulky systems that use more power than a QNAP and or Synology. I went that route once and the headaches just were not worth the plug n play and go with QNAP/Synology. 7/8 years is a decent life.

Synology does tend to get more praise though as a far better NAS company.
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thanks for the input. ill look into synology lineup
 
MrGuvernment said:
DIY self often insolved bulky systems that use more power than a QNAP and or Synology. I went that route once and the headaches just were not worth the plug n play and go with QNAP/Synology. 7/8 years is a decent life.

Synology does tend to get more praise though as a far better NAS company.
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One of the advantages of DIY would be the ability to maybe get at the data though. Just something to consider.

Many people don't really need a NAS as much as they need good backups.
 
Only because I'm feeling the pain now but if going synology, look into the models to see if there are any major flaws? Not necessarily Synology's fault, but still wroth checking.
ex. Many products using the Atom C2000 series CPUs (older synology's rs815, ds1415, etc) have a fatal flaw that may render the device dead. There is a "fix" out there but still worth knowing. Also, as cjcox pointed out, backups! at least for the data you can't risk losing.
 
Outlaw85 said:
Only because I'm feeling the pain now but if going synology, look into the models to see if there are any major flaws? Not necessarily Synology's fault, but still wroth checking.
ex. Many products using the Atom C2000 series CPUs (older synology's rs815, ds1415, etc) have a fatal flaw that may render the device dead. There is a "fix" out there but still worth knowing. Also, as cjcox pointed out, backups! at least for the data you can't risk losing.
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That’s what happened to my qnap. At the time of purchase there wasn’t really any issues till recently and mines completely dead - looks to be cpu failure.
 
cjcox said:
One of the advantages of DIY would be the ability to maybe get at the data though. Just something to consider.

Many people don't really need a NAS as much as they need good backups.
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Can you elaborate not sure what you mean
 
antok86 said:
That’s what happened to my qnap. At the time of purchase there wasn’t really any issues till recently and mines completely dead - looks to be cpu failure.
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Depending on your actual issue, It'd be worth looking into the resistor fix. It looks like it may have the exact same issue and has a chance at a second life with a simple resistor. This would potentially give you the time needed to transfer over to a new solution. I will hopefully have my resistor tomorrow for the synology.

You'll have to check if your board is the same as the + version but here's a couple vids.

 
Outlaw85 said:
Depending on your actual issue, It'd be worth looking into the resistor fix. It looks like it may have the exact same issue and has a chance at a second life with a simple resistor. This would potentially give you the time needed to transfer over to a new solution. I will hopefully have my resistor tomorrow for the synology.

You'll have to check if your board is the same as the + version but here's a couple vids.

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Thanks! I’ll look at these videos.
 
Outlaw85 said:
Depending on your actual issue, It'd be worth looking into the resistor fix. It looks like it may have the exact same issue and has a chance at a second life with a simple resistor. This would potentially give you the time needed to transfer over to a new solution. I will hopefully have my resistor tomorrow for the synology.

You'll have to check if your board is the same as the + version but here's a couple vids.

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Which synology did you have fail
 
I had one fail, but Synology extended the warranty on them and mine fell in that time period.
 
brennok said:
I had one fail, but Synology extended the warranty on them and mine fell in that time period.
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You got lucky? lol. that it was in the extended warranty period. If OP is looking at new gear, this issue shouldn't be a concern but if looking at used too, I would keep an eye out since they aren't under warranty anymore. I think they ended 2017 or 2018.
 
I have to say if a device fails after 7-8 years in this day and age I wouldn't feel too damning of the the device.

I'm amazed if anything lasts 3 years.

As for the Synology/QNAP debate its basically Ford/GM/Coke/Pepsi/Twizzlers/RedVines
 
Looking to do the resister fix to at least get my data then….eyeing a synology ds920+ but seems to be Out of stock everywhere
 
antok86 said:
Looking to do the resister fix to at least get my data then….eyeing a synology ds920+ but seems to be Out of stock everywhere
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The 920+ is an excellent choice. Enough bays to offer real flexibility, cpu that handles plenty (Intel based which is what you want) and you can upgrade the ram relatively easily.
 
I would think they would be getting close to a refresh for Synology for 2022 pretty soon.

I have a 1019+ and I can't complain. One extra bay compared to the 920+ and the CPUs are similar in terms of performance.
 
Outlaw85 said:
You got lucky? lol. that it was in the extended warranty period. If OP is looking at new gear, this issue shouldn't be a concern but if looking at used too, I would keep an eye out since they aren't under warranty anymore. I think they ended 2017 or 2018.
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I wouldn't say I got lucky. It was the Atom issue so a known issue. The system just wouldn't boot one day and they shipped me a replacement unit first. I think while they only announced a one year extension I didn't have to do anything to show proof of purchase.

I wouldn't recommend buying used since the warranty doesn't transfer IIRC.
 
Outlaw85 said:
RS815rp+ with the Atom C2538 cpu
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I have a DS415+ that needed the same fix. Has worked fine ever since.

We install Sinology's a lot for customers and availability has been bad since the pandemic. Inventory seems to show up once every couple months. If you can wait just back order the model you want from whatever e-tailer you trust.
 
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Dell T20, T30, or T40 server and DIY. If you don't mind a tower form factor. When I first bought my home T20 it had a dual core, 8 GB of ECC memory, and soft Raid 1 of WD Red drives. It pulled 34 watts actively writing and 24 watts idle. $32 per year in electricity costs at 0.8 KwH per day. I have several deployed to homes and small offices running Hyper-V with a single VM on them with AD/DNS/DHCP/File shares running Windows Server. Think I have four deployed and have been running 24/7/365 since 2015.

Once you've virtualized the hardware it can be switched out for virtually any Windows computer that could host Hyper-V. Your data is in an easily moved container that isn't locked into any specific vendor. Using Windows storage spaces or disk mirrors makes it easy to manage and monitor in an environment most people know. You gain the ability to snapshot/checkpoint before any updates.

I've used Synology, TrueNas, and FreeNas four different times and I never will again. Every time I tried to save a $ with one of these cheaper solutions I payed for it dearly when problems occurred. All of them have caused me lost data and significant repair time. I'm a windows guy and that's what I know. Stick to what you know.
 
brennok said:
I wouldn't say I got lucky. It was the Atom issue so a known issue. The system just wouldn't boot one day and they shipped me a replacement unit first. I think while they only announced a one year extension I didn't have to do anything to show proof of purchase.

I wouldn't recommend buying used since the warranty doesn't transfer IIRC.
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I meant for the warranty piece of it and getting an "official" fix for it, not that it carries a ton of weight these days. But the fact they did offer something when they didn't have to, is worth noting.
-I bought mine used about 2years ago from my old boss. It was running great until I did a DSM update. I don't know if it was just the right combo of things happening, software change and reboots. Or if the ticker is purely random when it decides to go.
-I was still on 6.2.xxxx and went to 6.2.xxxx update 3 when it started randomly shutting down. Then went to 7.0.1 which made no change. Powered it off, opened it to look at the board, closed it up, and powered back on, boom instant red alert light, flashing power light, 4 solid green disk lights.

As for DYI, you could look at the SFF cubes if you are looking to keep the size similar. You probably won't get the hot swaps though unless you look for some of the older cases with the external 5.25" bays that you can add in a 3.5 or 2.5 caddy.
The 2u rack mounting gives you a lot of flexibility for either a DIY 2u that you can build and load your OS of choice onto or see what fits the bill in the prebuilt. FYI though, the prebuilt in rackmount form is considerably more dollars.
 
Honestly part of the draw to Synology vs roll your own diy nas setups is the software experience. Synology has some top notch software and app support for so many devices. Plenty of help also when you have a question. The internet is ripe with info on these.

If you diy a nas, you run in to so many more configuration issues etc. especially with accessing the info from outside your network. Then you go ask for help on forums and will quickly find out there isn’t much. Reminded me a lot of most Linux communities.

Synology just works. And you can find official apps for so many things. It may take some initial work and learning but once it’s done, these things are great and flexible.
 
jmilcher said:
Honestly part of the draw to Synology vs roll your own diy nas setups is the software experience. Synology has some top notch software and app support for so many devices. Plenty of help also when you have a question. The internet is ripe with info on these.

If you diy a nas, you run in to so many more configuration issues etc. especially with accessing the info from outside your network. Then you go ask for help on forums and will quickly find out there isn’t much. Reminded me a lot of most Linux communities.

Synology just works. And you can find official apps for so many things. It may take some initial work and learning but once it’s done, these things are great and flexible.
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Agreed. Just keep the specs in mind when searching. Not all Synology's are created equal when it comes to their horsepower.
 
ochadd said:
Dell T20, T30, or T40 server and DIY. If you don't mind a tower form factor. When I first bought my home T20 it had a dual core, 8 GB of ECC memory, and soft Raid 1 of WD Red drives. It pulled 34 watts actively writing and 24 watts idle. $32 per year in electricity costs at 0.8 KwH per day. I have several deployed to homes and small offices running Hyper-V with a single VM on them with AD/DNS/DHCP/File shares running Windows Server. Think I have four deployed and have been running 24/7/365 since 2015.

Once you've virtualized the hardware it can be switched out for virtually any Windows computer that could host Hyper-V. Your data is in an easily moved container that isn't locked into any specific vendor. Using Windows storage spaces or disk mirrors makes it easy to manage and monitor in an environment most people know. You gain the ability to snapshot/checkpoint before any updates.

I've used Synology, TrueNas, and FreeNas four different times and I never will again. Every time I tried to save a $ with one of these cheaper solutions I payed for it dearly when problems occurred. All of them have caused me lost data and significant repair time. I'm a windows guy and that's what I know. Stick to what you know.
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Nice but you can buy a QNAP/Synology off the shelf and have it up and running in 20 minutes.
 
Outlaw85 said:
antok86

Just completed the resistor "fix" and so far it's up and running! Even cleaned (more like chipped and scrapped) the cpu cement and put some new past on and added a 4gb ram stick i had laying around. I wish you the same luck !
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awesome! good to hear im trying to locate my replacement NAS before i attempt it
 
antok86 said:
awesome! good to hear im trying to locate my replacement NAS before i attempt it
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C'mon! You can't be [H]ard if you don't live on the edge once in a while! There was no way I was buying a similar model to swap the drives into. I'm not sure what I was going to do if the resistor didn't work. Probably call it a loss and try the drives in a different storage device.

But, I get it. one risk at a time :)
 
Good things come to those that wait. IMHO 20 minutes isn't enough time for the first round of benchmarking and documentation. It's about 1/24 of the time I'd recommend just for the burn in before 1 byte of meaningful data gets written to it.
 
cjcox said:
Depending, unlikely you can parity stripe anything of reasonable size in 20 minutes :)
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Not every business needs 6TB of storage. Most firms I look after 500GB is plenty. Not everyone handles 4K video. 2x1TB in RAID1 and I'm out the door.
 
cjcox said:
One of the advantages of DIY would be the ability to maybe get at the data though. Just something to consider.

Many people don't really need a NAS as much as they need good backups.
Click to expand...

QNAP / Synology use standard linux formats so taking a disk out if raid 1 you should be able to read them in a linux based OS. or if an external attached drive you can choose what to format it in.

No different than say FreeNAS..
 
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