Synology Nas Or Das For Mac
Hey folks, I hope I do not miss any specific forum guidelines by starting the topic right here. Please notify me if I am missing something.
I checked out a couple of reviews on storagereview.com and on other places on the internet as well as friends related to the IT sector. You're already sad with the Drobo performance, trust me, it's not any better now, so I'd mark that off the list promptly. In terms of NAS vs DAS though, how many people or devices will need to access the storage? Do you see any benefit from the NAS features like remote file access, etc or do you really want the performance DAS offers by comparison? Both the LaCie and G-Tech products are very nice incidentally. There are also other options form the likes of Caldigit and others who have quality products as well.
Could you explain the purpose of the Mac Mini server a bit more? What is its role in all of this? The file sharing aspects (media serving, etc) can be handled easily by a common NAS platform such as the Synology model you outlined.
It seems redundant to add that in especially when budget is a concern. On the performance aspects, do you need those files to be network accessibly from both systems you use, or just editable through one? What are the size of the files you are generally editing? If its primarily photos and not video, gigabit ethernet might not be a problem if you saturate it at 100MB/s. The Mac Mini I was suggesting would be hooked up to an HDTV serving as a media consumption device for watching movies I have stored in an iTunes library, are coming from ripped bluray/dvd's I have or from tv recording using Elgato EyeTV. Furthermore, I am going to do implement a paperless workflow utilizing a Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 and will be storing documents of any kind in pdf form on a central storage point. My thought was that a Mac Mini running at all times would also be a good solution and the ScanSnap what be hooked up to that computer than.
This is however not mandatory at this stage to be used on a separate Mac Mini. The MacBook would server the same features, however in the case of a DAS the Mac Mini would be my option of choice then and be running at all times as a server/ htpc. As for the question of how many devices will simultaneously access the data, my guess would be that most of the times only one or two users/devices will access the drives at a time. Most of the times I will use the data as a single person from the MacBook Pro Retina, and at times which will be automated the backups will run to the device from all the Macs on the network. As I see it, the advantages of NAS features will be the same as if I have a Mac Mini server providing those services with DAS attached.
The big difference might be performance and power consumption? The data on the storage device, either NAS or DAS, will just be HD video from tv recording or ripped discs stored on the device and streamed to a viewing display or backup of data. All editing of video and raw images will happen using the fast internal SSD drive or a thunderbolt SSD drive.
I think the DS1813+ is already overkill for my needs in terms of simultaneous users but I like to have the amount of raw capacity. Using G-Tech drives, which one would you suggest? From what I heard Lacie is not as reliable Using a couple of G-Tech 8TB thunderbolt drives and have redundant exact copies of a drive will add up to a lot of external drives. A NAS would look a lot cleaner I guess. My concern is having the performance of the 100MB/s using the single gigabit connection from the Synology to a Mac OS X Mavericks computer - using something like a Netgear GS116 or similar (suggestions on other Gigabit Ethernet Switches welcomed!) For long term, I would love to have secure offsite connections using a VPN or similar to connect to my local files.
Both a Synology NAS or a Mac Mini Server+DAS would allow me to do this I think. The only problem I see with the DS1813+ is that I do not know how it will perform in my Mac network environment. I am afraid that there is some conflict with the AFP/SMB file protocol between the NAS and the Mac which will result in bad performance. Also, I read that there is an issue with file naming depending on if the filename is written in caps or not. I haven't noticed the file naming issues you are referring to, although I'll admit that my primary usage with the Synology units is from Windows/Linux PCs. I do use a MacBook Air at home to one though which I've never encountered any issues with. I can use a thunderbolt to LAN adapter to see what the file transfer speeds would be like back and forth.
The DAS storage options for the Mac Mini are somewhat limiting. The Drobo units are painfully slow, and the Lacie/WD/etc units that attach over thunderbolt while incredibly fast are limited to RAID0/1/JBOD through software RAID in the OS on your mac. I'd prefer going with RAID6 to capture more usable capacity and protection for such a large dataset, which is something the NAS will provide. Are you using the new DSM 5.0 OS on the Synology NAS? I would very much appreciate some real life data on your MacBook Air to NAS connection performance.
The Thunderbolt to Gigabit LAN adapter would also be my choice of how the main machine, the MacBook Pro would connect. I am leaning towards the DS1813+ solution. Using one Gigabit Ethernet connection from the NAS to the network and then access most of the times via Gigabit Ethernet from the MacBook. What hard drives are running in your Synology? I am willing to pay a bit more for a good drive, if it 'pays of' in better long term performance.
From your reviews I guess the suggestion would be the WD RED? Wondering if a WD SE would have any advantage instead, besides having a higher power consumption, shorter MTBF and being a tick louder. //Edit: Researching on the internet, I found a good video tutorial for how to setup a Cisco SG300-10 with an DS1813+ for LACP. My guess is that if I am doing all this, I should do it right in the first place. As the SG300-10 is not that pricey, I might go with this in the first place. Is there a necessity I do not know to get a specific type of network cable other than the standard ones you can buy of the shelf? Also, would you suggest to go with SHR-2 or a standard RAID6?
I must admit I have not done a manual RAID configuration before Edited March 14, 2014 by robertzech. On the Mac Mini server you were planning, was it purely for serving files to a media player, or was it itself the media player connected to the TV (HDMI out)? On the drives, really depends on the workload. What is your current budget available? I've been very impressed with the Seagate NAS drives in sequential workloads, although for all intends and purposes the Reds are pretty much going to do the same thing unless you are LAG'ing multiple NICs and constantly hammering the NAS In terms of Red vs Se.
The Se is going to offer a bit more responsive action and is more of an enterprise nearline SATA drive whereas the Red is more of a consumer NAS product. On overall durability the Se is going to lead in that regard. If you went with the 1813+ which sells for about 1,000 right now, what do you have left for budget on those HDDs? You have 8 bays to work with, although if you fill them all right now future expansion would be limited. If you can spring for a couple of 4TB HDDs now and just add on later that might be your best route. On the RAID type, I prefer sticking to the standards (RAID10, RAID6, etc).
The Hybrid stuff is just handy when you start mixing odd capacity drives which you shouldnt really do anyways. I have a current quote on a DS1813+ (4GB RAM) with 9 of the WD RED 4TB (8 for instant use, 1 as a fast backup of a drive fails) for about 2132 Euro (2965 USD).
I am considering to buy the Cisco switch for LACP support, but am not sure yet if the 8-port version will be satisfying in the future - might need more ports later on. Upgrading from the RED configuration to the WD SE configuration would lay in another 430 Euro (600 USD). Not sure if I will really notice the difference in responsiveness in real life or if it is just a test result If it will effect the real life situation, I might consider them. I want to do it right the first time, at least this time I thought long term might be better of with the RED as they have a higher MTBF - however, also no knowledge from my side here. In terms of starting out with less bays and adding up in the future, my guess was that it would be easier to just set it up in the beginning and don't worry about expansion afterwards.
Synology Nas Or Das For Mac Photos
If space really runs out in the future, Synology sells these eSATA expansion units I have checked out. They could take another 20TB each, thats more than enough The MacMini is more a nice-to-have feature in my network. It would server for several media services as using it to do TV recordings and show them via HDMI on the TV, online video streams on the TV and some geeky stuff to play with. It's not mandatory at the moment. It would just have been my option of choice if I'd go with the DAS solution. For the level of RAID, from what I have read is that RAID 6 would give me both optimal RAID security and usable space.
Would you suggest to go with RAID 10 instead? Finally, on the budget I am not really decided yet. I am checking out right now how much everything together will cost. And if it is too much for the moment I just have to wait for a few weeks more but finally will invest that amount in the future of my data.
Considering the cost of my photography gear, computer and travel I did, having a good storage solution is essential in my opinion. So the HGST 4TB Deskstar NAS it is. Thank you for your help! Only thing left I would be interested is what your are acutally getting as transfer rates to your MacBook Air.
As I see it, everything else is sorted out so far and as soon as I move to my new apartment I will place the orders. One last thing that came to my mind is, if it is wise to have UPS connected to the NAS, which will trigger a safe shutdown if there is no power. We do not have this often in Germany, but if there is the case and the data will be corrupted afterwards, you'd be better of with one. I think the UPS should then be connected via USB to trigger a shutdown?
There is no doubt that a UPS should be a part of this equation. Quite universal circuit simulator qucs-help qucs 0.0.8 for mac download. Safe shutdown and safe data go hand in hand.
You don't want to worry about data corruption on your stronghold Look for the smallest APC model you can get your hands on. I use a 350VA model at home with my NAS that gives like 20-30 minutes of uptime with its low power usage. It leaves enough left over to keep your router and cable/dsl modem online too. I like APC with Synology units since their software protocols are the most common and practically guaranteed to work with it. I have just received a notification from my reseller, where I had requested some prices. I have requested both options, the Hitachi and the WD RED including the DS1813+ with 4GB RAM and a spare hard drive:. Synology DS1813+/4GB RAM incl.
9x4TB - Western Digital WD40EFRX: 2168,00 Euro. Synology DS1813+/4GB RAM incl.
9x4TB - HGST WD40EFRX: 2127,00 If understand your review of the HGST correctly, it outperforms the WD RED and at the same time it is a bit cheaper. So my suggestion would be to go with the HGST?
My love affair with my continues to get more serious every week. It's a great NAS but I also really like the iOS apps. I figured it might be a nice to highlight what's so nice about them, starting with. DS File DS File is like a file navigator on my phone. I can browse all of the content on my Synology from anywhere. I can access the files and add new files right from my phone.
But it's not a low budget app either. The file browser can play video, view photos, text and PDF files as well as play audio. Heck, it even supports viewing animated GIFs in the app.
DS File is also a file manager for the Synology with options for moving, deleting and renaming files on the NAS, right from the iOS app without needing to use any data over cellular. There are also some convenient sharing options in the app too. I can create a share link for a file or an entire folder and include automatic expiration for the links when I do it. The links allow anyone with the URL to access the files for viewing but not editing and the files are accessed directly from my Synology in my closet, not a cloud service. Archiving creates a Zip (or 7z) file of the selection and it's all done server-side on the NAS.
The latest update adds support for sharing between apps on iOS 8, which means I can select a file in one app and put it right on my network storage at home. Alternatively, I can store it locally in the DS File app on my phone and upload it to my NAS (or move it to another app) later. Let me put this into perspective. I have access to 9 TBs of files stored in a closet of my house from my phone while I'm at the airport.
That's amazingly ridiculous. How is this better than Dropbox? Everyone has their own value system.
I like a couple things about the Synology DSFile service. The data is only ever on devices I own. It doesn't take up space on my computers I really don't think you need to be paranoid to appreciate the value in not depending on a third party service. The only time my Synology is unavailable, is when my Internet service is unavailable. That's a different kind of wish.
I'm comforted by knowing how my system works. I still use Dropbox plenty and pay a monthly premium for it. I already paid for my Synology to be a NAS.
This is all gravy. Because the files go to my NAS and not my Mac, I can store all kinds of stuff without wasting space on my Mac. How is this worse than Dropbox? There's no integration with other apps, like.
The DS File app feels slower and is much uglier than Dropbox. Automatic photo uploading is available in a separate (free) Synology app called Photo Station. I'd rather have it as an option in DS File. DS Cloud Station While DS File is a remote file manager, DS Cloud Station is more like a personal Dropbox.
It's made for syncing content between computers using the Synology as the syncing source. The Cloud Station app for iOS is a nice supplement. The Synology supports multiple Cloud Sync folders and the iOS app can sync with one or more of the configured destinations. Cloud Sync for iOS really is all about syncing data and not just messing with files. There are granular controls to customize what files get synced onto iOS as well as some great options for syncing over LAN and setting up geofencing for automatic background syncing. Syncing with Cloud Station to my Mac is almost as quick as Dropbox when I'm on my own LAN.
It's delayed by just a couple seconds but the download is feels much faster than Dropbox. On the Synology server, there are some minor but important customizations to be made for the Cloud Station. For example, limiting by file size and extension. Working with files in Cloud Station feels much less clunky than DS File, because all of the files are right on the device. There's no delay with refreshing and caching like there is with DS File. Accessing options with the Cloud Station app is also a lot easier. How is this better than Dropbox?
Same as above, the files are only on my own devices. Syncing on LAN is also faster.
I have access to the files from other computers on my network without having to sync the files to them, because the files are stored on my NAS. How is this worse than Dropbox? Just like DS File, no other apps integrate with the Cloud Station to store and retrieve files. If Editorial could manage this, I'd probably abandon Dropbox all together. There's also no pack-rat versioning of files like Dropbox offers. I can turn on archiving with the Synology so that deleted files are held in the 'Trash' on the NAS but I don't use the NAS that way.
Conclusion With very little effort, I've been able to extend my Synology NAS to become my own private Dropbox. When I compare the price, it's actually not a bad option. I get 9 TB for about $1000 (total).
It would cost about that much for 9 TB of Dropbox storage for just one year. Sure, they're not totally comparable, but they are in the ways I really care about. My days with a Dropbox Pro account and counting down. Universal iOS Free Universal iOS Free Amazon $1000.