RAID 5 VS NAS

[Enquiries]

I own 3 Drobo FS, 2 filled with 4TB x5 and 1 with filled with 2TB x5. I have 5 new 16TB Seagate Ironwolf Pro drives. I am broke for the next while as the 5 drives cost 1160.33 CAN in total from aliexpress. Ideally a 4 bay nas is too small as a replacement fo 3 Drobos with 40TB. I feel a 5 bay at minimum would work and feel a QNAP TS-664 would take care of my future needs. I also have a spare computer. It is an i5-3570K with 16Gb ram with 8 sata ports, 6 supporting RAID5 and 1GB LAN and onboard HDMI. I'm thinking Unraid or TrueNAS but could easily create a RAID5 volume and make it a shared drive. Do I need a NAS? My Drobos have media, personal files and Windows image backups. I run 1 Drobo FS 24/7 and turn on the other media Drobos when wanted. I don't access from away or have a business. The spare computer system I rip my media to a SSD and write to the raid array directly. If runing Unraid or TrueNaS I would have to rip from my New system and transfer media over 1GB LAN.

[ed]

Thanks for sharing the details of your current setup and your plans. It sounds like you’ve got a significant amount of data and a few different options to consider.

Given your situation, there are a few key points to consider when deciding between using a NAS or repurposing your spare computer for RAID5:

1. NAS (Network-Attached Storage):
The QNAP TS-664 is indeed a solid choice for a 5-bay NAS and should handle your needs well. It offers several advantages, such as:

Ease of Use: A NAS like the QNAP TS-664 is designed for storage and data management, providing a user-friendly interface and features tailored for these tasks.
Redundancy and Data Protection: With RAID5 support, the NAS will offer data protection against drive failures and automatic rebuilding of the array.
Remote Access and Integration: Even though you mentioned not needing remote access now, having a NAS makes it easier to enable this feature in the future if your needs change. NAS devices also offer various integration features like cloud backups and media server applications.
Power Efficiency and Reliability: NAS devices are designed to run 24/7 with minimal power consumption, which is ideal for continuous operation.
2. Using Your Spare Computer:
Your i5-3570K system with 16GB RAM and 8 SATA ports is quite capable, and you can definitely set it up with Unraid or TrueNAS for your storage needs. This approach offers:

Flexibility: Both Unraid and TrueNAS are powerful and versatile, allowing you to configure your storage array according to your needs. You can set up RAID5 on the drives and use the system as a shared network drive.
Cost Savings: Repurposing your existing hardware can be more economical compared to buying a new NAS. It also allows you to use the drives you’ve purchased without additional expense.
However, there are also some considerations:

Setup and Maintenance: Using your spare computer will require some setup and ongoing maintenance. Unraid and TrueNAS have steeper learning curves compared to a NAS device’s user-friendly interface.
Performance: With a 1GB LAN connection, transferring large amounts of data might be slower compared to modern NAS devices that offer faster network speeds. This could be a factor if you plan to frequently access or move large files.