Synology DS1512+ 5 Bay Diskless System High Performance NAS Server $749.99 with Free shipping

I currently run a FreeNAS box, built one for me and an identical one for my friend back in 2010. It's a simple case, PSU, micro-ATX mobo, i3, and 2GB of RAM (not ECC RAM either).


I started with FreeNAS V7 and now am on V8 (which is entirely more stable and user friendly these days, in my opinion).

We both have (6) 2TB hard-drives in there, most are WD Green drives with the idle timer maxed out, but some are other random drives. We run them in ZFS RAID-Z 1 (1 drive can fail without losing data). I "scrub" the volume monthly (or sometimes I forget and wait 3 months or so). Anytime a drive fails, I've never lost data, thanks to this setup. It runs 24/7.

So I spent about 700 bucks (that includes drives) back in 2010 for each rig. Definate monetary savings. I can't count how many hours I've devoted to this rig though. Probably way more than I have liked, but then again, I like to build my own things and have control/etc...

What the other guys said is right: You CAN do it cheaper, but it depends how much you value your time. If you do it yourself, you'll spent a lot of time on it making it work, running around forums, and the like....

unraid anyone
?

Thank you, I value my time and have 2 small children. I'd rather have a plug and play solution with a great support base.

........

Huh? You can share some or even ALL of your files on your Windows machine within 10 minutes of reading these words. Just install Skydrive and enable Remote Access. http://www.pcworld.com/article/25...drive.html You can then basically log into that machine using your phone, laptop, or another PC and have access to all files that you had enabled to be remotely accessible. So if you want a quick and dirty semi-cloud, you can enable hardware or software RAID on a Windows machine, cram it full of drives, and Skydrive Remote Access into it. Voila, free self-hosted cloud. You can also install other software like OwnCloud if you want more cloudiness.

Yes. NAS4Free, FreeNAS, Nexenta, OpenSolaris/Indiana, etc. for ZFS (which can do mirroring, striping, software RAID) protects data better than any of these Synology/Qnap/etc. boxes which rely on outdated file systems and lack ECC RAM.

ZFS's block level checksums fix a lot of things, ranging from bit-rot to resolving conflicts among disks if there is ambiguity as to which disk has correct information. Software RAID is better than hardware RAID these days for that reason alone. Other reasons: if your hardware RAID controller fails, you will have to find another compatible one, probably for big $$$ (like buying another Synology unit of the same model). With software RAID you can move it to another cheapo system.

That said, Synology and its ilk have some nice user interfaces. You get convenience and commercial tech support instead of having to pore over documentation and forum posts. You lose some data integrity and lose big time on price, though. Any SDer worth his or her salt who has any technical ability at all should be able to set up NAS4Free system within an hour.

However, do not attempt to use ZFS without ECC memory. Any cheap AMD ASUS mobo supports unbuffered ECC RAM, as do a few other mobos. For Intel you should go SuperMicro or similar... it costs WAY more money up front to go Intel thanks to the ECC mobo costs (and Intel CPUs that support ECC aren't cheap, either). But even an Intel NAS4Free box will cost less than these Synology boxes.

If you don't think you need the extra data integrity that ZFS gives you, you could also simply use an old Windows box and toss disks into there and use it with regular Windows (use network file sharing), or Windows Home Server 2011 if you want to get fancy. WHS 2011 costs ~$50 (less when on sale), and a cheap Windows box is effectively free for a lot of people with an old computer laying around. Going down this road, you don't get some of the slick iOS apps and stuff like you get with Synology, and you have to download LAMP stacks and the like yourself if you want to webhost, etc. but it would cost far, far less than $700. Hell, you can also use the Windows box as an HTPC and DVR and work on Office docs, etc. because it is a full-fledged computer with a full-fledged OS.

Edit to address the ridiculous assertion that you can't roll your own cloud any other way than by buying a Synology box: YES YOU CAN. One of many examples: http://owncloud.org/ and the Remote Access function of Skydrive: http://www.pcworld.com/article/25...drive.html

Synology and others are basically running Linux with straitjackets on them to protect newbie users from themselves. You must go through their apps etc. for the most part. To analogize, Synology boxes are like locked Android phones, whereas Linux boxes are like rooted Android phones that allow you to break free from artificial constraints. Linux can do everything a Synology box can do--and more. Windows same thing. For instance you can run http://owncloud.org/ and build your own cloud that way without resorting to a $700+ Syno box. And you can game on the Windows box to boot.

Synology (and other pre-built NASes) are great for those who need their hands held every step of the way and who want commercial tech support, or for those who can't be bothered to so much as set up FreeNAS or even to use an old Windows box as a file server. (If you want to Cloudify it, you can do several things including installing SkyDrive on all of your PCs and then enabling Remote Access (see http://www.pcworld.com/article/25...drive.html for more info); or install OwnCloud or similar software). However a large Synology also costs a small fortune and lacks the additional data protection offered by ECC/ZFS.

You can also go the cheapo Windows box route as I suggested above. Use it as a part-time HTPC or gaming box, if you want. It's all in Windows so you should be pretty comfortable with the user interface. If you use lower-powered hardware, there won't be as much of a difference between a Syno box and the Windows box in electricity. And if you basically have a "free" Windows box then it's hundreds of dollars less than a Syno box... it'd take years or even decades for a Syno box to pay for itself via lower electricity bills. Just something to think about.

Other popular DIY alternatives aren't that hard to set up... a FreeNAS/Napp-It/NAS4Free box can be set up by a relative novice using nothing more than the FAQ and forum questions, and once you set it up it's not that hard to use.

The hardest stuff to set up is probably a Linux server, which I do not recommend to novices used to Mac/MSWindows.

this is a serious question.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just build your own low power computer and install software on it to make it function like a NAS?

You'll never get a computer that runs on less than 50.6W (Access); 22W (HDD Hibernation).

Isn't the Mac mini 11w I kid, I kid, the Mac mini can't store 5 drives like this baby!