NAS Basics (Data Protection, Performance, Configuration and more)

Ian_S

Any figures for how some of these NAS boxes perform whilst a disk is being rebuilt? Especially the RAID-5/6 capable ones? How long do the rebuilds take and does streaming suffer whilst they are in progress?

Good thread.

Zarch

I'm trying to revisit this Sticky as the original post is over 2 years old now.  But thankfully in the main part, the information is still valid.

If you have any suggestions for updated content or changes, then please let me know.

t72bogie

yeah, I have a readynas in RAID5...well actually its their proprietary XRAID5 - its proper redundancy - I can have a media stream running, 5 people accessing it, downloading stuff etc, and pull out a drive and there is no effect whatsoever, put a new drive back in, it rebuilds in the background ...seamlessly, in a couple of hours ...just how it should be

Zarch

Tidied a few bits up and added a "FileSystem" section.

Gaditano

Thanks. It's a very helpful guide to clarify concepts. It's a must read before doing anything.

starcat

I don't consider a Qnap 509 to be high-end, it is a sub 1000 ukp devices, has excellent software and pushes 85MB/s over single of its dual GigE ports.

Zarch

In my eyes, a unit at over £600 with no drives is classed as "higher end".

From the queries in the forum, most people on here want consumer based units around the £150-£300 mark to stream a few movies, which I pitched this FAQ at.

I can't imagine the majority of Joe Public want to spend £850-£900 on a 5 bay unit with 5 drives to stream an iTunes collection.

Maybe we just have a differing of opinion regarding what constitutes "high-end"?

Granted, technology moves on apace as I've had to change this FAQ on numerous occasions since the original post in 2007.  But I think the latest revisions are quite relevant to todays models.

HMHB

It might be worth pointing out that a NAS with a RAID system still needs to have a backup done. Don't just rely on RAID for your backup as you could end up losing stuff.

Zarch

Completely agree John, don't why I'd not added that earlier.

Done!

Mr Lazy

Bit of a typo there mate.

Great guide BTW, helped when I was choosing my NAS.