NAS storage options for images and audio...

[mjm6]

My NAS device that I have been using as a music server just bit the dust, so I am looking for a new NAS that will work for both a music server and an image backuup device.

So I have a few questions for anyone who may have gone through this before...

1. There are inexpensive solutions out there like the MyWorldBook products from WD, but they are not really any good because they do not afford a swappable HD, so having redundancy becomes a problem. That essentially puts me into the swappable HD cases, correct?

2. We had a Buffalo NAS at the office that died, and the IT guy discovered that they have a propritary method of writing to the HD's so you couldn't just pull them an put them into a new box... That is a major problem, so how do I ensure that what I may purchase is not propritary in any fashion?

3. I plan to have the NAS mirror the data on the computer for the images, and possibly mirror itself for the music, so I am thinking I need a 4-bay drive. Is it likely that this is going to work for my needs? I expect so, but without doing a good amount of research, I'm hoping that someone here has done something similar and can chime in with some experience.

4. Anything else I need to know about these things?

Here's the one that I am thinking about right now...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822122010

Anyone have any advice on this?

Many thanks,

---Michael

 

[darr]

That is the model that I have 4-1Tb drives in. I have been using it for backup for almost two years. I do not run it everyday, but mostly on the weekends and when I upload SD cards into Lightroom. I have not had any issues with it. It does what it is suppose to do and I have already swapped out HDs (started with 2-500mb). I would purchase it again.

--darr

 

[socal]

Check the HP Mediasmart Server. Once you setup this server at home, you can download pictures from hotel room or anywhere has WIFI.

 

[mjm6]

Socal,

I've been looking into the HP server, and also this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1014&cm_re=acer_server-_-59-321-014-_-Product

These probably have a little more than I need at the moment, but I think they may work as well for me as a straight NAS. I need to to a little more research on these, I suppose.

Darr, Thanks for the input as well. I'm wondering if I would be better served by keeping the music and the images seperate. Get an NAS for the music, and get a firewire connected external for the images. I'm going to have to think about this a while...


---Michael

 

[meilicke]

My NAS device that I have been using as a music server just bit the dust, so I am looking for a new NAS that will work for both a music server and an image backuup device.

So I have a few questions for anyone who may have gone through this before...

1. There are inexpensive solutions out there like the MyWorldBook products from WD, but they are not really any good because they do not afford a swappable HD, so having redundancy becomes a problem. That essentially puts me into the swappable HD cases, correct?

2. We had a Buffalo NAS at the office that died, and the IT guy discovered that they have a propritary method of writing to the HD's so you couldn't just pull them an put them into a new box... That is a major problem, so how do I ensure that what I may purchase is not propritary in any fashion?

Nexenta (www.nexentastor.org) offers a software package that turns a PC into a "real" storage server. They have an Enterprise version (www.nexenta.com) and a community edition (Free). You can take the disks from one hardware system and plug them into another without issues. Since you bring your own hardware to the party, it is more involved than an all in one solution, and will probably take a little time to get everything up and running well.

Alas, no music server.

4. Anything else I need to know about these things?

Make backups of backups. Keep a backup offsite (I have found that crashplan works well if you have another person/box offsite).

Nexenta is nice in that it checksums every block of data as it is written to disk. If there is ever any errors to a file (hard drive error, software error, etc.), it will detect that and silently correct it, assuming you have the data protected (mirror, raidz, etc.).

-Scott

 

[mjm6]

Doeas anyone know if there are any NAS devices that format and write to a drive in a non-propritary manner? I reall don't want to muy a propritary device, because that is a real problem if the motherboard in the device fails...

I am looking at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822108041

as another option, but someone mentioned in the reviews that the drives are written in a propritary manner.


---Michael

 

[mjm6]

Based on all the feedback I've seen on various sites I felt that the best option for me is to get a Synology NAS device. This is what I got:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822108041

It's impressively robust on the software end. I'm sure it'll do everything I need and hopefully in a reliable manner. It's up a running, but I haven't populated it with much yet. I'm trying the figure out how I am going to do this all before I start moving files over.


--Michael

 

[Jan Brittenson]

I do backups to local disks, while I keep bulk data on an original quad bay Drobo attached to the Apple Airport Extreme that's also my firewall and gateway. The nice thing is I can access my files from anywhere remotely MobileMe/BackToMyMac, and the firewall can also remote wake my Mac Pro to provide me with ssh or screen sharing. The drive shows up no matter where in the world I am as long as there's an Internet connection. The Drobo is nice in that no special tools are needed manage it, but it's probably also the slowest device out there. But that's fine for bulk data. A NAS would obviously have a management panel, but a NAS storage unit would be difficult to access remotely without extra steps like bouncing off a desktop.

 

[routlaw]

Socal,

... I'm wondering if I would be better served by keeping the music and the images seperate. Get an NAS for the music, and get a firewire connected external for the images. I'm going to have to think about this a while...

---Michael

That would be my suggestion, keep the two separate. In the meantime I would recommend you peruse this website for information related to your questions. The emphasis here is on audio of course, but the info can used for you image storage as well.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/

Trust me this community turns everything into a science project. But there is tons of very useful information here about servers, NAS, HD backup etc. Check out the CASH list for recommended NAS, and HD's etc. Like most things dealing with technology you will find conflicting information here but usually presented in a laid back approach. But there is a deep wealth of info you can choose from at least.

As for backups, hd, raids etc. Here is another recommended manufacturer.

http://g-technology.com/

I just ordered an external HD from them to use for my music server.

Hope this helps.

Rob

 

[mjm6]

Rob,

That's the way I'll go eventually. The NAS will be for audio, and a direct connected HD array will be for images.

I haven't looked at audiophile stuff for a while, ever ssince I sold my MC275. It's amazing how rapidly the market has changed...

---Michael

 

[routlaw]

Rob,

That's the way I'll go eventually. The NAS will be for audio, and a direct connected HD array will be for images.

I haven't looked at audiophile stuff for a while, ever ssince I sold my MC275. It's amazing how rapidly the market has changed...

---Michael

Michael

FWIW I still use a direct HD (FW in my case) for my audio, with mostly no regrets thus far. But do keep the two separated using eSata drives for my images on my Mac Pro. I do keep backups… many of them. From every thing I have learned no perfect solution exist still, all have their pros and cons. Like photography there is no shortage of opinions on how to best do things with audio either. And no matter what you do today, things will change as you have seen and noted already. You are right the audio world has changed dramatically in the last few years and this is only the tip of the iceberg probably. I suspect within a few short years audio disc will not even be available as a delivery method. The sad part of course is an entire generation of people raised on compressed audio.

Enough pontificating for now. Best of luck in your decisions.

Rob