Discuss: Synology DSM vs QNAP QuTS Hero NAS - Photo Management <br><iframe width='560' height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fxz8eVxuN-g' frameborder='0' allow='accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture' allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hello there!

I found you from your video &quot;Mac Mini vs NAS for Plex&quot; and am blown away by how much content you have available!

I have a simple use case: my father lives in an area which only has DSL available, so download speeds are around 8Mbps and upload around 0.3Mbps (yes, you read that decimal right). I am looking to update his ancient media server solution (mac mini + JBOD + iTunes + AppleTv) to something more robust. Your video convinced me that NAS is the way to go.

My use case is as follows:

Plex server: He has a few hundred Blu-rays that will be ripped down. Also, conversion/removal of DRM from iTunes-purchased movies so he can watch them when his internet is down. Obviously with his internet speeds he will not be sharing them. He has two AppleTVs and one Roku which will be streaming media, and an antenna for local channels.

Roon server: He is an audiophile that is keen to have Roon. He has mixed media here too: physical CDs that will be ripped down, plus songs purchased from iTunes.

Backup server: Back up his Macbook with Time Machine.

Possible future: Cameras/security.

Environmental issues: His power goes out frequently. He has a backup generator but it takes a minute to kick oon. I'm sure this issue could be ameliorated with an appropriately-sized UPS.

He has ethernet throughout his house and it's either cat5 or cat6.

He probably only has about 4-6TB worth of data now, and growing slowly (maybe 2-3 movies/month). I want to avoid data loss as much as possible but it's not a total disaster if he loses a drive.

I'd like something that is good for both Plex and Roon, yet has a friendly-enough interface that he can use it independently. I see on their site that Roon recommends QNAP TS473, but is also compatible with Synology and Asustor.

I'm trying to future-proof without completely over-engineering a solution, especially for such a simple setup! I'm favoring Synology based on reports that it most closely resembles MacOS, with four bays.

Have a cup of coffee on me for reading this far, and thank you for putting out such clear and interesting content on what can be a dry subject.

Cheers!
Kristin

DS920+ with 4x WD 14TB Drives and 2x Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB

Do these SSDs work well as cache drives?
How do you setup/initialize them?

Dear team of NASCompares,

I would be happy to get advise concerning my search of a right NAS-HDD.

A few months ago I bought a Synology DS1819+ for private and freelance work. Since I like drives by Western Digital and as I was searching for a fast and reliable drive I chose the WD Gold 8 TB (WD8004FRYZ). Of course silent drives are a nice to have but in these circumstances the other criteria were a more important factor to me. Nevertheless after having installed two of these drives I was disappointed because that loud and hard appearing ticking noise every 5 seconds was disturbing me. Much to my regret I am planning to buy other drives for the unused bays in my NAS. Of course the WD Gold drives using helium (e.g. the 12 TB WD Gold WD121KRYZ) would be still the first choice but I couldn't find reliable information in the internet wether the ticking noise is still to be heard of the WD Gold helium drives.

Can you give me a hint whether the WD Gold helium drives still show the clicking noise?

My second choice would be the WD UltraStar 12 TB drives (HUH721212ALE604). Do you know if these drive have a similar ticking/clicking? Can you tell me whether the DS1819+ needs drives with the pin 3 power down function?

Thanks a lot for your answer in advance.

All the best for 2021 and keep you healthy!

Best regards,
Christian

My goal: to digitally convert 50 years plus of video (8, Super 8, Mini DV, photos, negative, birthday cards, special keepsake documents, etc and have the ability to STORE & EDIT this data. I have a Mac (M1 chip) Mini (1Tb internal SSD / 16 Gig RAM). For daily editing tasks I will use a 2 TB SAMSUNG SSD. I’m looking for a NAS that is expandable with RAID capabilities. I have no idea the amount of storage space I will need as I begin Digitizing / Converting my 50 years of content. Your recommendation’s would be most appreciated. PS: I feel that I have a LOT of content to convert. Thank you, Tim Carr

Hi, Happy New Year, assuming that it has started!
The simple question is right at the end of this message, but I've put in some problem details in case you need them.
I currently have a NETGEAR RN204 with all 4 bay populated. It runs XRAID and offers 5.44TB of which 1.43TB is used.
The storage contains a shared iTunes music library, PC backups and stores video for a CCTV application which runs on an 'always on' PC.
My wired network probably runs at 1Gb. All the devices on it have Gigabit interfaces and the cable runs have been installed carefully.
The RN204 seems to be getting a bit creaky. It has taken to regularly failing to download the anti-virus updates and reporting the addition of an external USB drive (there is one that is used for backups).
I think that, over time, I have relied on it more and more, and now it simply can't keep up! After all, it isn't equipped with sparkling processor. To cap it all it is so end-of-life that the NETGEAR site no longer servers up its documentation.
So, the time has come for a replacement. Fortunately I came across your excellent website. I have tried to spot your personal preference. I reckon that it is Synology over QNAP, by a tiny margin.
I have found https://nascompares.com/2020/07/12/synology-ds920-vs-ds420-vs-ds720-vs-ds220-nas-comparison/ very useful. It describes the marketing game that Synology are playing with this interesting range while highlighting the subtle differences between nominally equivalent systems. I could very well go for one of those, after I've investigated further with my aims in mind.
But what of QNAP?
The simple question is, if I am looking at the Synology DS[2479]20+ enclosures, which QNAP boxes should I study?
Thank you for any assistence.
Cheers and take care, 'Nic

Hi.

I just purchased a Synology DS1821+ with 4 6TB drives that were purchased together. I did not add extra RAM or SSD for cache at this stage. I will also add later 1 or 2 additional 6TB drives after moving a backup of my PLEX database from a PC. This will be the 4th Synology in my home. The current installation is single duty with a DS1511+ for PLEX, a DS716+ for Surveillance Station (11 cameras and 2TB storage) and a DS411+ for data, photos and Surveillance Station Backup. The environment is rather light use as only 3 people reside in the house regularly and no use is planned for off premise viewing. Max concurrent streams will be 3.

The plan is to centralize the data, photos and Plex on the new DS1821+ and use the DS1511+ and DS411+ for backup. They will also handle backup duty for 3 PC's, and will also backup an additional Synology DS216 used for surveillance in my boat.

My questions are:
1. Can I install 1/2 SSD drives in a separate array in the new nas to use for data and PLEX working files and metadata - movies in the main spinning disk array?
2. I would prefer not to pay the exorbitant Synology RAM prices - is the use of Kingston/Crucial problematic?
3. For the intended application, what amount of RAM should be ideal?

Thank you.

I've brought DS1621+ mostly use for storage and sharing photo and trying to run video server like flex.
may be running 1 or 2 VM. would like to understand

Planning to increase memory to 32GB, but Synology one is very expensive, any recommended memory model other than synology.

Also upgrading 10GB ethernet PCI card make sense or if I don't have internet speed not meet GB then upgrading does not make sense ?

Discuss: The DSM 7 0 Beta - Before You Try <br><iframe width='560' height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mT3OD1KLxaE' frameborder='0' allow='accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture' allowfullscreen></iframe>

I have on order a Qnap TVS-h1688x NAS. I have purchased 6 Seagate 16TB drives. I originally thought of doing RAID 6 but, after more reading, it seems I should move to RAID10. In that case I will probably purchase a 7th drive as a hot spare. Do you agree with RAID 10? Next, I have purchased 2x 2TB Adata SX8200 Pro NVMe cards. I am thinking about using those as cache with 20% over provisioning since they lack the endurance of some cards (Iron Wolf?). The question comes with regard to the 4 SATA SSD bays. I am considering putting 4X 1TB SSDs (RAID 10) and using Qtier. Then again, I might use it as a separate SSD pool for the Qnap apps and for OS for virtualization. I haven't found any video that shows recommendations on setting up the 3 tier Qnap storage system. I found one NAScompares video that mentioned having all three types of storage in the system but then only talked about setting up the main pool. Another video compared caching to pure SSD storage but didn't fully cover a three tier system. What are your thoughts. This is a hobby project so I am having some fun designing my dream system. NAScompares keeps mentioning in equipment reviews liking the Qnap 3 tier (SATA drives, SATA SSD, NVMe SSD) but never says how to configure the system. What do you recommend?