Small business NAS recommendations?

[Siorus]

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of upgrading our network at work from Win2k Server w/2k & XP clients to 2k8 Server w/Win7 clients. One of the things I need to do is set up a backup system (the previous admin considered RAID 1 a backup... ) and install a new file server of some kind.

I had planned on just going with a 2k8 box with a shared folder on it that's backed up to a second server, but it's been suggested that I look into NAS devices as well. I'm completely unfamiliar with NAS equipment... My background is in modding and overclocking; my network administration knowledge is all self-taught and I haven't dealt with NASes before, so I'm a little lost, and after searching around the data storage forum a bit, I'd appreciate some advice.

We've only got about 500GB of data right now and about 80 users. I need something that:
-works with active directory so I can set permissions and such
-will run RAID 6 and allows drives to be flagged as spares
-has redundant power supplies
-supports backing itself up to another device (either a NAS or a server)

I was looking at the Thecus N8800PRO; has anyone got any experience with the N8800 or is there something else that I should be looking at?

Also, what do I really gain by using a NAS device instead of just using a shared folder/drive? Is it just that the NAS is probably going to be cheaper and take less time to set up than assembling and configuring a server would (at the expense of having proprietary system that's probably going to leave me up s*** creek if the RAID controller fails), or are there other advantages as well?

Thanks.

 

[keenan]

I have a couple qnap devices out there, my experience with them has been positive, and I think they're pretty well regarded. They have a product that seems pretty comparable to the Thecus unit, the TS-809U-RP, but I think these are both overkill for your needs. Something a bit smaller like the TS-459U-RP seems like it'd be a bit more suitable. Might take a look at their offerings as well.

Also, what do I really gain by using a NAS device instead of just using a shared folder/drive? Is it just that the NAS is probably going to be cheaper and take less time to set up than assembling and configuring a server would (at the expense of having proprietary system that's probably going to leave me up s*** creek if the RAID controller fails), or are there other advantages as well?

Less maintenance, mostly. You might save a bit on cost as well. As far as recovering, most if not all of these types of NAS use Linux softraid, so if you ever have to, you can pull the disks, plug them into a random Linux box and recover your data.

 

[Siorus]

Thanks,

I looked into the Qnap stuff as well; they look like they're pretty much the same thing as the Thecus boxes.The N8800 and the Qnap equivalent are probably overkill for what we need in terms of drive capacity, but they're the only models each company offers that have redundant power supplies, which are fairly crucial for our use. My boss hasn't decided whether he wants to go with NAS boxes or Windows servers. If we go with NAS boxes I'll probably end up going with whichever one is cheaper; there's very little hardware difference between the two. The only thing I can say in Thecus' favor is that when I called their tech support the rep that picked up spoke English and I had no hold time. Qnap wasn't quite so good.

 

[keenan]

The qnap TS-459U-RP and TS-439U-RP are smaller, 1U boxes that also have redundant power and are considerably less expensive than the TS-809U-RP or the Thecus. But the Thecus 2U box looks quite a bit cheaper than the qnap 2U from my quick survey, so it might even be worth the extra over the qnap 1U for the extra slots, it was only a couple hundred difference.