NAS or DAS?

[Enquiries]

Currently have a bunch of drives (SSD and m.2.) hooked to my Mac Studio with SATA-USB convertors. Looks messy and it's really hard to tell what is where.

My needs are quite simple,

- 4 bays minimum
- house my current drives in (3 x SSD ja 2 x M.2) as they are, or some of them. OR 2 old + 2 (or more) new drives
- having m.2 is not mandatory, I can keep them as external drives
- cost effective (cheap), silent, energy efficient
- fast enough to read / write directly, similar to any external hard drive I currently use
- can be attached directly to my Mac studio (if needed for speed) or to my Huawei rooter (b525s-65a)
- going to use it locally / local network would be cool, but not necessary. Using it outside home / accessible from internet, not necessary at all
- Having PLEX could be fun but not mandatory
- I don't need virtualization or similar, surveillance etc

[ed]

If you're looking for a solution to organize your drives and achieve fast data transfer speeds, you might consider a TerraMaster Thunderbolt Direct Attached Storage (DAS). This would help maintain the USB 3.0 speeds you're currently accustomed to. Typically, NAS devices come with 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports, limiting transfer speeds to around 100MB/s, which may not meet your requirements. However, if budget is a concern, it's worth noting that models like the QNAP 72XT series offer Thunderbolt and 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, delivering faster speeds, although at a higher cost. Alternatively, you could opt for an OWC or TerraMaster DAS solution, allowing you to consolidate your SSDs and maintain the speed you desire. While NAS options provide additional features like Plex, local network accessibility, and remote access, these may not be necessary for your specific needs. Thus, a Thunderbolt DAS could be a cost-effective, efficient, and silent option for organizing and accessing your drives.