+- ASK NC (https://ask.nascompares.com)
+-- Forum: Q&A (https://ask.nascompares.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Before you buy Q&A (https://ask.nascompares.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: NAS advice (/showthread.php?tid=11989)
NAS advice - Enquiries - 05-08-2025
Would this work? 4 bay nas 2x16tb disk setup raid 1. either a 1 disk or 2 disk raid in the remaining 2 bays exiting 8tb disks as the backup.
Usage
I switch the nas on an hour a week to copy over my tv recordings.
Ability to archive emails
Not used for remote access or sharing files
I may get a few surveillance cameras
I don’t do gaming.
My nas short list
TERRAMASTER F4-212 4 Bay NAS - Quad Core CPU, 2GB DDR4 RAM,
TerraMaster F4-210 4-bay NAS Quad Core 2GB RAM Media Server Personal Cloud Storage
Asustor AS5304T 4 Bay NAS, 1.5GHz Quad-Core, 2 2.5GbE Port, 4GB RAM DDR4
Asustor Drivestor 4 Pro AS3304T 4 Bay NAS, Quad Core 1.4 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM DDR4
QNAP TS-462-4G Intel Dual-Core 2.5GbE Multimedia NAS with M.2 PCIe slots and PCIe expandability
QNAP TS-433-4G 4-Bay NAS, ARM 4-core Cortex-A55 2.0GHz processor, 4 GB RAM
My 16tb disk short list
Seagate Exos X18 Enterprise Class, 16TB, Enterprise Internal 128MB cache (ST16000NM000J)
Seagate 16TB ST16000NM001G Exos X16 SATA 6Gb/s 7.2K RPM
RE: NAS advice - ed - 05-09-2025
TERRAMASTER F4-212 and F4-210: These are more budget-friendly options, and while they should work fine for your setup (archiving TV recordings, emails, and potentially some surveillance cameras), the 2GB RAM might limit you if you decide to scale in the future or add more resource-intensive tasks (like surveillance or media streaming). Also, these don’t offer expandability for additional ports or features down the line.
Asustor AS5304T: This would be my top recommendation from your list. It comes with 4GB RAM and 2.5GbE ports, which provides good future-proofing for speeds as you expand your network. This is also more suitable for handling multiple devices and users, if needed.
QNAP TS-462: Offers expandability with PCIe slots (which could be useful for adding 10GbE ports or storage). It's a bit pricier than the Asustor, but if you anticipate needing expandability or want to add M.2 SSDs for cache, it’s a solid choice.
Disk Options:
Both Seagate Exos X18 and X16 are great for a RAID 1 setup as enterprise-class drives. They are designed for high durability and large capacities.
The X18 is newer with slightly better performance metrics, though the difference between them might not be noticeable in your use case, considering the light nature of your setup. If you plan on expanding and need more reliability for archival data, Exos drives are a solid choice.
RAID Configuration:
A RAID 1 configuration with 2x16TB drives will give you 16TB of usable storage with redundancy (ideal for protection in case one drive fails).
The remaining 2 bays can be used for backup drives (using 8TB drives as you mentioned), and setting them up in a RAID 1 configuration will give you an additional level of redundancy.
The Asustor AS5304T with Seagate Exos X16 16TB drives sounds like the best balance of performance, future-proofing, and cost. If you’re looking for expandability and a more flexible future setup (like adding 10GbE or additional cache storage), the QNAP TS-462 would be a good choice as well. If your budget is tight, the TERRAMASTER F4-212 or F4-210 should still work but may limit future expandability and performance.