NAS buying advice

Hi guys!

I am looking to buy a storage solution for my home and since it is the first time I need some advice.

What I need:
- simple/easy solution for sharing files (90% movies) to my Dune Player.
- not interested in enterprise features (mail server, AD, Itunes etc.)
- it needs to have an FTP Client so I can download content from some FTP on the internet
- no important files will be stored so no backup is really needed but welcomed.

Should I go for a Synology (DS114) or would a WD My Cloud be enough?

The most important is the FTP Client which I should be able to access from anywhere over the NAS interface.
The main idea is I want to download from an external FTP Server files without my PC being involved (Basically I want to remove my PC as a go-between between my seedbox and my NAS.)

As far as I know Synology doesn't really have a proper FTP client (which is ridiculous for a NAS).

Thanks!

 

What do you mean by a proper FTP client? Most NASes have some sort of a download client - the one in mine (ZYXEL) works as FTP, HTTP, Torrent and Magnet links downloader.

While I don't own a Synology NAS, I'm pretty sure that you can get pretty much anything for Synology or QNAP NASes.

To answer the other part of your question - go for a proper NAS (not a WD My Cloud thing) and preferably a two disk one (even if you don't need it at the moment).

I would encourage you to take a look at ZyXEL NSA325 v2 (see here). This is a very interesting NAS as far as value for money goes.

BTW I don't own this particular NAS - I own two NSA310 units.

 

Thanks for your suggestion.
I need to download files/folders from my seedbox without using my PC.
Just the NAS's interface.
As far as I know the Synology has a downloadstation but to get stuff from an FTP you will have to enter the exact link (including username/password) everyime. Plus it does not get Folders.
I could try over HTTP but the speeds might be lower...

 

I've had the synology DS212j for a few years and I can't say enough good things about it. It's extremely easy to administer, and there is a very rich selection of features available via their free app store in the OS. I'd opt for a 2 bay model such as the new DS215j that just came out - or save a few bucks and get ds213j from last year. They aren't substantially different. The reason for a 2 bay model is that 1) it avoid a single point of failure in your HDD and 2) in case you want to increase drive size later all you have to do is pop one drive out, put in a new drive of larger size, and let it get rebuilt, then repeat the process with the other drive.

In the short term of course you'd be looking at about an extra $100 outlay for the fancier model + 2nd HDD.

 

It sounds like your not really interested in a backup solution. I'm thinking a NAS might be more costly when all your looking for is a file server.
Have you looked into using something like a Raspberry-pi as a file server with an external drive connected for storage? With this, you have options for FTP, torrent, etc..

Another option is to use one of the newer wireless routers that have USB ports for use as storage drives. I just got a Asus RT-N66U and it has the option of connecting a external usb drive that can be accessed via Asus' cloud app, or FTP. I don't think it has any native FTP scheduling software. It just acts as a small ftp server.

 

Well, i have a router to which I can connect the hdd but this is not an option.
I need something with an interface. Thats why I thought about Synology

 

I have experimented with an AMAHI server, which I found a little difficult to work with, and ended up going with a homebrew FreeNAS, well, NAS. Quite easy to setup, can be run with various hardware configurations, and you likely have everything you need already in some closet or drawer in your home. And, it has FTP access. Here is a little primer on setting it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wySXaTMMLoA

I have, however, only herard good things about Synology. I believe there is an open source version of Synology ( XPEnology NAS • Index page)

Good luck.

 

Cool, I'll have a look. I might go for a Synology this month but still look at other options.