As my visitors are the best average consumer available I have some questions for you. And with your answers I will be capable of doing nice things ;-)
This is your way to express what you want or tell me what you need.
- If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
- What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
- Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
- What features are the most important part for you?
- What
1. I want a persistent service at home. In particular a low-energy server replacement serving data and other services for several computers using different OS-es.
2. Low-cost and low-energy server at home that can be active 24/7 and accessible throughout the house and external too.
3. I weight the price and features. If it doesn’t meet some bottom-line criteria in features, then its off the list. Then I would look within the remaining NAS-es for the best price performance ratio with some upper-limit in price.
4. I need an SSH service. This is to add 3rd party software, have a login possibility from home and also to push data from my laptop to home when I’m online somewhere else. Second to that is a CIFS/Samba and FTP service.
5. I want to manipulate the SSH-service properly from the administrative webpage. Adding SSH-keys for the users, allowing SFTP for certain users and others not. I also miss NAS-es with sufficient memory or horse-power to be able to fill the Gigabit port for more then 50%. This is hard as it takes a lot of memory and CPU power to get there (given an average service).
6. I’m using the NAS for multiple purposes. Primarily to store data and serve it on various services. I also tried to stream video from it or rely streams, run a mailservice, use it as a terminal service or persistent shell, I download stuff on the NAS and I tried to let it run an Asterisk service as a home-PBX (for VoIP).
7. I don’t mind to buy it online. As long as the shop is trustworthy enough for such a large sum of money. NAS-es are not cheap, although I’m interested in Sheeva plugs because of their low-cost.
1) because I have multiple devices that use the content on the NAS. The NAS is shared storage for documents, audio and photo\’s used by multiple PCs/Laptops. For films used by 2 media players. A USB disk would be a burden in moving the around again and again
2) single store of content, to be used from multiple devices
3) have 5 NAS devices. One with all features would be enough but have 3 of those. For the others price is more important.
4) shared RAID storage across all OS types is most important. Security is also important as well as speed
5) content management features:
– file delete protection but still being able to modify
– keeping older versions (say previous 5)
6) yes… see above
7) webshop (but most likely one that offers also a brick and mortar place to go just in case)
On top:
– 4 disks in stead of 2 disks without increase of price ;-)
– scheduled file based backup from PC to NAS where the specification of the backup has the features of AllWay Sync
– a virtual navigation layer that offers access to content as if all – in my case 5 – NAS devices were just 1
– the NAS should have features of a CMS (Alfresco, FileNet, Documentum, OpenText) like file subscription, versions, ACL like security
Will this give you enough challenging work to do?
Ed
Thanks! keep the comments coming!
but what about NAS when you have to advise your family not that experienced?
what could be done to have features made more understandable?
I guess you would have to take a look at Apple. My mother in law is nearly 80, has no clue how PC work but can handle an iPhone.
Basically, use wizards and simple forms. Stay away from scripting for the average user
1. If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
I like to have my data 24/7 available on my home network, and even sometimes on remote locations. I want a device which serves this data over my network but doesn’t consume to much energy. Besides that I like the fact that most NAS’es are very complete and can serve media and data different ways.
2. What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
Simplicity, it is not a computer which I have to manage and becasue it is one device it easy to return it in case of problems (RMA etc…)
3. Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
I’m not a millionaire, so price is in fact an important factor, but I like to have something that performs, so I try to seek a device which gives me enough bang for the bucks. In a nutshell, performance is the most important.
4. What features are the most important part for you?
SAMBA/CIFS, iSCSI (SPC3) for virtualization/high availability (I use this NAS as SAN…), FTP, mail notification, different RAID-levels (0,1,0+1,1+0,5,6,JBOD)
5. What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
Not really something, maybe some more statistics?
6. Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
Storage for multimedia and storage for VMWare ESX/Hyper-V
7. If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
Normal shop, I ordered my NAS in a webshop, but I picked it up myself…
1 – 24h for day
2 – My documents and files all acessible from home or from Internet
3 – Price and Linux software
4 – Samba and FTP Server (more than 2000 files from any folder)
5 – humm nothing special
6 – Samba, NFS, FTP and disk storage basically, Also download torrents and NZB files.
7 – webshop, i have one ch3snas and i think i will by on xtreamer Etrazy ( i like the possibilite to send a link from a file in the Nas and e-mail to one of my friends. )
Ow btw: I forgot to mention in my post that I do not consider a NAS that is not Unix or Linux-based. The reason for this scoping is that extra-ordinary OS-es made by NAS vendors themselves are crap. They are buggy and not well supported. When the product is end-of-life then that’s it, no more support for a perfectly good device.
Another compelling reason for a Unix based system is its file system. I trust my data more on an ext3 file system then any other. On Windows based NAS solutions I’m stuck on NTFS and that doesn’t cut it for me. I’ve lost too many files and seen to many corrupt file systems based on NTFS and they’ve lost me as a customer to that system. I would trust my data on HFS+, Geom, (c)XFS and ext4.
5. One feature I haven’t seen yet in a NAS is a little basic mailserver => I like to be able to read all of my mails on all my computers (desktops, laptop)…
It would be nice to have that although I doubt if it’s possible :-)
1. If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
– Because NAS gives a possibility to share files for all computers in the network and consumes less electricity than a PC running all time.
2. What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
-Because:
— I need to backup a data and have access to it from >1 PC.
— I need to have a file storage for my mediaplayer and I also watch these movies from my PC’s and laptop.
3. Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
– Both. I have a max price (well, I typically I slightly increase it during the search, but anyhow I have it :) and look for the best device for this.
4. What features are the most important part for you?
– Speed, capacity, reliability, easiness to use.
5. What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
– NTFS system with the possibility just remove a HDD from the NAS and put it to a PC for backup etc. (if no RAID is installed).
– Better energy saving options (wake-up on LAN for example).
6. Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
– Yes, I use CH3SNAS as a backup server, fileserver, mediaserver.
7. If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
– doesn’t matter but I prefer to buy in Internet but pick-up at a store (4launch, Zercom etc.).
PS. Dennis, could You please have a look into my issue with CH2SNAS? – http://www.aroundmyroom.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=548
Thanks.
1. I need a FTP server with different accounts and account folder structure. Second, I also need a HTTP server to serve certain files w/o having a PC on.
2. Now that I know what intelligent NASes are capable, I prefer them instead of simple USB storages.
3. Not really. I know quality costs but I won’t pay ridiculous high prices. I need some working devices, not bricks of gold.
4. Media server, HTTP server w/ PHP & MySQL, FTP server with account management(these are the ones I use currently).
5. Hmm .. hard question. A more user-friendly configuration, maybe graphic-based. Configuration via telnet works, but the text screen has its limits. For example, I would rather use a checkbox than a “…=TRUE”.
6. I have a CH3SNAS (currently flashed to DNS-323) and use it mainly for file transfer and EQDKP testing purposes. Sometimes I use it for downloading.
Maybe I would use it as mail relay if I could figure out the configuration (see Point 5).
7. Retail store because I can “touch” it before buy.
If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
Because i can access a Nas from inside and outside my network.a usb disk is just something to take fast backups.
What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
To access it from outside my network and because of the low power consumption
Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
depends,the ch3snas was low in price,but high in features,i expect this also from my new nas.
What features are the most important part for you?
Newsserver
ftp,telnet,ssh,openvpn.
What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
Advanced features,like hellavcr,nzbgetter.
the feature’s that make our live easy.
Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
Main purpose is as mediastreamer.
usenetclient is important,but unpacking of big files must go fast.currently on ch3snas,this is very slow.
If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
if the shop accepts normal payments,wired payment(bankoverschrijving),paypal and not just creditcard,this is fine by me.
What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
Forget to mention this,support for cardreaders and softcams,to put a server on a nas.
this could be a great feature.
support for : newcs,cccam,oscam.
1. If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
Obviously: share files to all home appliances.
2. What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
Centrally maintained and securely accessible storage. Wife Acceptance Factor – it must be pretty ;-)
3. Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
Price and features should be proportionate. I’m happy to pay more when it provides me with a lot of additional features.
4. What features are the most important part for you?
SMB, NFS, FTP, SSH, RAID (mirror), uPnP/DNLA, USB connections for printers/HD etc, open source firmware – or at least “tweakable” to run third party software, HTTP/PHP server, SQLite, > 50MB/s on gigabit network, “IPKG”, compile own programs. Oh, and it MUST run Linux :).
Features to organize photos (online photo-album).
5. What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
Uhm… it would be very nice to have FTDI Serial>USB kernel support. For a smargo smartreader or infinity USB. So that I could run a cardserver on it (such as newcs or CCcam). Currently, the NSLU2 is the only NAS capable of this.
6. Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
I have 4 NAS appliances and one Debian server. It would be extremely nice to have all of the features of 4 and 5 merged into one new appliance..
7. If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
Depends on the price and servicelevel. If service is guaranteed and there is great online support/community, I do not mind online ordering. If I cannot find any support/forums on the internet, I would buy it in a retail shop. However, in the last case I would probably not buy it :)
1.) If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
Because I want a server replacement instead of storage capacity only.
2.) What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
Central features like print server, network storage, torrent downloads, internet accessibility of files and media, etc.
3.) Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
Mostly features.
4.) What features are the most important part for you?
See above
5.) What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
I think you’ll like this additional feature: i’d like media player possibilities: so a NAS with HDMI capable of playing all media files. Pro’s are low energy consumption, same look & feel between streaming media player on NAS and local media player, less configuration, etc.
6.) Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
See above
7.) If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
Because of the price I prefer a web shop.
1. If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
Connections throughout the network, so global accessibility vs dragging the USB disk to other devices. Also the extra options (intelligence) a modern NAS can have instead of a dumb USB disk.
2. What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
Centralised storage and server replacement (more power efficient).
3. Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
Price, performance and features need to be balanced. main price based on performance (which should be higher than 40MB/s R/W IMHO). Next the features start to count.
4. What features are the most important part for you?
a – High performance (if that is a feature).
b – usenet downloader
c – teamspeak server (so basically an Intel CPU is necessary I believe for this to work)
d – webserver
e – security cam (IP based security cam support)
f – everything else that Synology or QNAP also have
5. What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
Teamspeak server (well, some QNAPs are able to run it).
6. Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
Media storage, Backup, light server duties (when possible).
7. If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
No preference really. If no or not enough reviews I do not tend to buy anything at all. When enough reviews the price and trustworthiness of a supplier (web or store) are what I look at. It helps if the supplier is local to me in case of repairs/returns/RMA.
Good luck making the almost perfect NAS! ;)
Oh damn. Cannot believe I forgot to mention usenet downloading, for example with nzbget or sabnzb.
1 If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
A number of reasons:
a) RAID5 security (due to previousluy failing USB harddisks)
b) single point of large data collection
c) easily accessible from multiple points (mediasplayer, laptop, computer(windows&linux))
d) easy upgrade path (1 TB -> 2 TB disks) (hot swappable)
e) bittorrent client
f) use as a simple webserver
2 What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
See above. Had a number of failing USB harddisks. The most import
stuff is nog triple stored but films etc are not important enough to
warrent double storage.
3 Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
Not, it is a combination of price, speed and features. No speed is
a nono, but e premium price for premium speed also.
4 What features are the most important part for you?
Speed, storage capactity, hot swappable, bittorrent
5 What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
Simple firewall (MAC adress filterering, )
6 Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
zie question 1
– If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
Webshop, if it has a contact address and is renowned.
1. Ik wil graag een centraal voor iedereen bereikbaar opslagpunt voor met name mediabestanden. Deze moet onzichtbaar aanwezig zijn en daarom in de meterkast worden geplaatst. Harddiskswappen biedt tevens een vangnet ter bescherming van je files. Een NAS kan tevens worden getweaked voor meer functionaliteit. Een NAS is voor mij een simpele, goedkope en complete keuze. Ben geen echte wizzkid namelijk. Een USB disk is mij te beperkt.
2. Zie 1.
3. Beide. Ik heb om de functionaliteit de Conceptronic CH3SNAS aangeschaft. Dat hij relatief goedkoop was, hielp natuurlijk mee.
4. Usenet, torrentdownloading en backuppen.
5. Geen. Ik mis niks op dit moment.
6. Zie 1.
7. Webshop.
1. If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
Pretty self evident, RAID capable, connects straight to the network, multiple (server)uses, etc..
2. What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
Centralized storage, replacing the old “workstation/server”, power efficient, using it for standard tasks (usenet/torrent/media server/remote access to files) so not to run my workstation 24h/day, backup
3. Is price the most important part in your decision or also the features?
Features, without it becoming overpriced ofcourse!
4. What features are the most important part for you?
RAID, Webserver, FTP, Usenet, Torrent, Media server, printer server, etc… (and ofcourse SSH)
5. What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
more hdu’s, second nwk connection, VPN gateway, mediaplayer, domotica
6. Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
NZbget/usenet. ftp/webserver, NFS/mediaserver, backup, etc etc.
7. If you buy a NAS will that be in a webshop or do you go to a normal retailstore?
Webshop
For using /recommending it to less “techy” users (family etc) it should be easy to use, easy configuration (so work with the most used configuration straight out of the box) etc.
But selling it to non technical users would be a hard sell, a more expensive NAS without them seeing a reason for it….
1. If you would buy a NAS, why would you buy a NAS and not a USB DISK?
For storage reliability, network-access and internet-access. It can function as a standalone file-server and web- or ftp-server.
2. What is the main reason why you want to buy a NAS?
Low-power using mini-server/client, large network-accessable storage (at least) in RAID-1 with 2 disks.
3. Is price the most important part in your descision or also the features?
Price is not that important, as long as it’s a fair price for the materials used. Less for older hardware-specs and plastic, more for metals and newer chipsets etc.
4. What features are the most important part for you?
Fast network-speed (good NIC chipset) is a must,
lowest noise possible (no cheap fans),
lowest possible power-usage,
RAID-1 reliability, preferably hot-swappable (X-RAID2?)
5. What kind of features do you want but do not see in NAS devices available in the market?
– decent light-weight TotalCommander-like web-GUI for use with:
– fast access to external USB-drives and cameras and therefore:
– more than 2 USB-ports.
6. Are you using a NAS for multiple purposes and what purposes?
– aquarium and security IP-cam image storage archive server
– bittorrent seedbox/downloadbox (
ik heb een NAS, een ds1010+. En dit om al de hierboven beschreven vereisten. Wel duur. En, enkel linux. DWZ, ik had graag ook ASP (of in Linux MONO) willen programmeren, maar dit wordt op geen enkele manier ondersteund.