Which NAS drive should i get?

I'm new to NAS drives, and as far as i know they are supposed to be Harddrives that i can connect to wirelessly (without having to attach em to anythin) right?

I`m looking for 1 to use at home, i have a windows PC, but my sis uses a mac, so i need 1 that will work for both.

Which 1s are good? and how much would a 1TB NAS Drive cost?

Edit:

Are there any routers that i connect all my harddrives to (through usb)& make them wirlessly accessible? (without having to connect em to any PC)

 

No, you need to connect them to your network (router).

Also you will need to have the drive run in fat because of the limiting factor (the mac) on your network. This will limit how large of files you can place on the drive.

Also to take into consideration, most 1tb nas are 2x500gb in a raid 0. Which means you have 2x the chance of losing your data from drive failure. You might want to get a 2tb nas and run it in raid 1 (1tb effective) so that if a drive dies you will not lose all data.

 

There are a few, such as this one:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=LINKSYS+WRT350N&oe=UTF-8&cid=17624515178531388103#ps-sellers

As I presume that you already have a wireless router, I would strongly suggest buying a basic (cheap) NAS that you would hard-wire to your router; I've had good luck with Buffalo:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=linkstation+live&hl=en&show=dd&cid=411962439012211963#ps-sellers

Even though it's "only" 500GB, you can connect two additional USB harddrives (or only one and a printer), and, if you are feeling adventurous, replace the stock 500GB with one of the many ridiculously cheap 1+ TB drives out there.


Edited to add:
You do NOT need to format a NAS drive in FAT for them to work on Macs. The formatting of a NAS is irrelevant to the computers connecting to the NAS; most NAS devices are formatted in XFS or EXT3/2/1 (Linux filesystems.)

 

How likely is it that there will be a drive failure? (ill use the drive to store music/video/movies/games ...etc (notin important).

So if i buy this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148357

i can connect it to this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...twork+-+Wireless+Routers-_-Linksys-_-33124081

then i`ll be able to access the drive from any notebook/device connected through the wireless network and i won`t have to wire-connect anything to a PC right?

 

Correct, or you can use your existing router and get a real nas that uses an ethernet connection.

 

+1, that'll work. If you have ~1TB of data that needs storing, though, be advised to expect transfer speeds like:

Wireless-G: ~1TB copy - 2 days or so.
Wireless-N/Wired 100: ~1TB copy - 1 day or so.
Wired 1000: ~ 1TB copy: 8hrs or so.

(These numbers are far from being scientifically exact, but should give you a decent idea of what to expect.)

 

What do you mean?

This is the router that i have..

http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/RangeMaxWirelessGRoutersandGateways/WPN824.aspx

i have 0 data.. i will get the stuff from a friend after i get the 1tb harddrive.

if i stream videos/music/movies/HD movies, they will play without any lag right?

 

An NAS is, as the acronym goes, anything that provides Network- Attached Storage - essentially, that can be anything from a drive on another computer that's got a shared folder, to a USB external drive plugged into a router (with a USB port - those are few and far between), to an external drive with an ethernet connection, to an external enclosure with a wireless NIC, to a desktop that's been stripped down and is running a NAS-specific OS and to which hard drives are attached for the purpose of providing remote storage, all the way up to the massive enterprise storage solutions used by Fortune 500 companies.

For example, if you have an old desktop with an ethernet NIC sitting around that's not doing much, you could download NASLite for free, install that as the OS on the desktop, strip it down and add in some nice big hdds, and *boom* you've got your own dedicated NAS system/file server.

You could also go with the options suggested above.

You could also go with something like the Belkin Network Hub, which connects to a router via ethernet and allows you to connect up to 4 external USB drives to the hub - those drives then become accessible over your network.

You could also go with something like the D-Link DSM-G600, which is a dedicated NAS external enclosure with its own wireless adapter, so all you do is put some hdds into it, and introduce it to your wireless network, and *boom* wireless network-attached storage.

It all depends on what you've already got on hand, how your network is set up, and how much money you want to spend.

Myself, I bought an old _Dell GX270 off eBay (the computer itself had just come of an enterprise lease) for about $75, which included mouse, kybd, and a valid, working copy of XP Pro, slapped a big drive in there, stuck it behind the couch and plugged it into the wired end of my network. For simple stuff, my wife and I just use the shared folder/shared drive mechanism (which I set up so my wife sees it as just another drive icon on her computer - so she doesn't have to do any network "thinking" which she hates); for more complicated stuff, I've run (i) MS Remote Desktop Connection (useful, but slow, very slow, for big transfers), (ii) several of the freebie FTP servers out there, and (iii) an apache-based web/file server.

 

the only thing i have is a router..

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Rout...ys/WPN824.aspx

Can you give me a link to somethin that looks good & is as simple as possible. (not an old pc, an actual NAS hardrive that works well).

I do not want to have anything connected to my PC. Is it possible to have everything connected to each other through the modem/or router?

 

Absolutely; I've streamed uncompressed DVD's from my NAS via wireless-g with no issues at all. As a media server it'll work great, I just didn't want you thinking you'd get anywhere close to USB-speeds out of the drive.

Again, though, (and as Shyster1 alluded to) in the long run you'll be better off with a NAS enclosure (such as the Buffalo in my previous post) than with a USB HD and new router. Not only because a NAS will almost certainly be much more upgradeable and cheaper in the long run (theoretically 4.5TB from the one I linked, 6TB when 2TB drives come out) but because multifunction devices are inherently less reliable.

 

ok, then (if you have time) can you give me a link to the best NAS drive that,

1.Will stream HD Movies/Videos/Music. (PCs, & Macs).

2.Not Noisy

3.Looks good. (Black or white would be nice).

4.(not necessary, but i would be awesome) Can connect to my TV, (through usb).


thx..

 

What tv has a usb port that is not a management port?

 

what do you mean?

the TV has lots of ports & i don`t know what they`re for, so i figured one of em must be to connect a harddrive.

 

1.Will stream HD Movies/Videos/Music. (PCs, & Macs).

-Any NAS can "stream" content; once setup correctly they simply appear to be another harddrive (albeit a relatively slow one) on your computer.

2.Not Noisy

-How noisy is "not noisy"? NAS devices are essentially miniature computers, and so almost all come with cooling fans. In general terms, the more "consumer" oriented ones will be quiter, but will be slower and not as full featured as the "business" oriented ones.

3.Looks good. (Black or white would be nice).

-Totally subjective. Most people tend to put them in out of the way places (closets, basements, etc.), so looks and noise don't really come into it.

4.(not necessary, but i would be awesome) Can connect to my TV, (through usb).

Coupled with your last post, are you sure that you want a NAS and not a HTPC?

 

If they can stream HD Movies without any lag then in which way are they slow?

How can i connect it to my router if i put it in a closet? (do i connect it using wires or wireless?

Yeah, im not looking for a HTPC. (im just a noob when it comes to NAS drives).

And finally is there any specific NAS drive that you think i should get?

& thx

 

Buffalo Linkstation

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/network-storage/linkstation/linkstation-mini/

If you have a gigabit Ethernet router then HD streaming wont be a problem. If your using wireless then it might not be able to stream HD content.

 

Some of the slower NAS's would struggle to stream fully HD content, yes. The NAS *should* be connected via ethernet cable to your router (ethernet cables can be very, very long); I can't imagine that there's nowhere you could hide one if necessary.

In theory, you *could* connect the NAS wirelessly to your router with some additional hardware, but you'd be losing a lot of speed and adding a lot of headaches getting it setup.

Again, I really recommend getting the Buffalo from my first post. I had one of their earlier, smaller capacity models; it was reasonably quiet, reliable, and definitely fast enough for your needs.

The NAS flipfire recommended is from the same company, so I imagine it is good as well - although it will be silent, it'll only take 2.5" (laptop) harddrives, so you will be trading noise for price and capacity.

 

I use SMB NAS's (see sig), these are not cheap at all. As far as your MAC. Most of the NAS's uses a unix file system (ufs), which is native to OSX. I would take a look at smallnetbuilder.com NAS's table and read the reviews before you buy.

 

I personally don't like storage devices like that.

I have a 8TB server running in raid 1 that has all my media on it. In reality its pretty cheap nowadays to do something like that, the computer doesn't have to be THAT strong.

I think that's the better solution for him but that's just my opinion.

 

Agreed. A dedicated file server (by whatever name called) isn't doing a lot of high-powered computing, so it doesn't need the latest and greatest CPU (the Pentium 4 in the headless _Dell I use is quite sufficient); what it really needs is as much RAM as you can get into it so that it can handle files without having to go back and forth to the hdd (e.g., for paging), fast drives, and a really good, uncongested connection to your subnetwork. A system like that can be had for a pretty reasonable price (e.g., take a look on eBay at all the used enterprise desktops that have come off lease and are being sold - many with valid, working installations of XP Pro, which by itself may very well be worth the price - if that's not your cup of tea, then a desktop with no OS and/or no hdd can be had for even cheaper, and your only real expense then would be new drives - which you probably would have gotten in any event - additional RAM, and the time to get a linux variant installed and running).

 

works great, you have to actually get some decent components if you're looking into doing a HTPC with frontend/backend setup though. Great if you have a projector and a nice audio/video unit. Days of burning cds are long gone.

Now if i can only find a cheap way to get wwan to access my vpn from my car, i wouldnt need to burn cds or have an mp3 player ever again!

 

Across cell-phone broadband, perhaps?

 

its not fast enough to stream

 

Ahh, well. Perhaps you could get licensed as a broadcaster and set up a private wireless, perhaps by leasing time directly off a satellite?

 

haha i wish!

 

BUMP.

I still haven't gotten a NAS drive, but i need to get 1 in a week or two.

My needs have changed (it's not for me anymore, i'm gonna set it up at my parents place).

So basically what i need is,

1.NAS drive that can be connected to the main PC through Ethernet & can also be accessed wirelessly (using the wireless connection, as in without the need of internet access).

2.At least 3TB of storage. (with raid 1 or whichever raid is needed to be able to back up the contents of the drives within the NAS).

3.Can be used by both PCs & Macs.

I'm willing to spend upto 450$. I don't want to be buying a new 1 every other year, i need something reliable.

i probably won't be able to set up one of those, but if there is any tutorials on how to setup one then i might try doing that.

Also do they sell similar setups on ebay? or anywhere else?

 

Look at the Buffalo linkstation quad, it should support RAID 0,1,5,10 and JBOD (just a bunch of disks)

Server SAS arrays probably will not cater for your needs. You will need another separate computer running. Instead of a NAS, it will be a SAN

 

I just checked the specs for the Buffalo quad, and it says that it uses ATA drives, which aren't as good as SATA right?

Edit:

Never mind, it turns out it's actually SATA.

Which is better, this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822110036 or the Buffalo Quad?