Which NAS to buy! I'm so confused!

[Enquiries]

So many NAS devices!!!

I'm leaving Drobo and moving to,....who knows!

Here is what I am looking for:

- 50-70TB of space on one volume
- Plex, Plex, Plex! Gotta have Plex for movies
- Remote access of files
- Data Storage for the family at home (like a shared network drive

I'm looking to spend around $1,000.00

I have a bunch of mix and match hard drives, of different brands, and sizes I would still like to use. From 4TB to 12TB. Terrified that Synology will just stop working one day because you are not using their "certified" drives.

How I wish I could find a Drobo like setup/interface where when a new bigger drive is installed or an old one dies, I just pop in a new one and it takes it from there!

Thoughts?

By the way,...love all of your videos! I have learned tons and tons.

[ed]

Based on your requirements and budget, I would recommend the QNAP TS-453D as a good option for you. It is a 4-bay NAS that supports up to 64TB of storage (with 16TB drives), and it also has an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core 2.0 GHz processor and 4GB DDR4 memory (expandable up to 8GB). This should be enough to handle your Plex media streaming needs and remote access.

The QNAP TS-453D also supports RAID configurations (including RAID 5) and allows you to mix and match hard drives of different brands and sizes, giving you flexibility in terms of storage.

In terms of interface, the QNAP QTS operating system is user-friendly and has a similar feel to Drobo's interface. It also has an app store with a variety of apps including Plex Media Server, allowing you to easily set up your media streaming needs.

Additionally, the QNAP TS-453D has two 2.5GbE ports, which can provide faster network connectivity.

Overall, the QNAP TS-453D should meet your requirements for storage, Plex media streaming, remote access, and data storage for the family, all within your budget.

With Synology they seem to leave older models alone. If you get ds420+ or similar you might get away with their drive restrictions in future DSM releases.