Recommended NAS devices

Network Attached Storage has grown from the stupid memory subsystem to the small server. The devices can be operated via smart interfaces in the browser almost like a Windows server.


NAS backs up NAS


NAS storage provides quota management, mail server, automatic backup as source and destination, as well as much more. The former large capacity loss due to RAID configurations, the manufacturers have by their own file systems - all based on Linux and thus not proprietary - now greatly mitigated. A full server replacement is not the NAS through the weak CPUs, but much more economical: Only about 30 watts takes a good NAS with four hard disks when accessing.


When selecting the right storage box, it is important to consider the number of possible hard disks. A device with eight slots can be worthwhile if the amount of company data is expected to increase rapidly. You start with four drives, one of which can fail without loss of data, and gradually deposits hard disks. Hot spares can be used to replace defective drives without physical intervention.


For devices with multiple network interfaces, these can also be used as a replacement, but for some manufacturers, such as Synology, but without managed switches, they can also be interconnected for double the total throughput. The hard disks also set a limit - currently in practice at approx. 150 MB / s. Even faster is only with SSDs, which cost however in proportion to the capacity much more. Many NASs are expandable in capacity through external boxes without CPUs or USB hard disks.


Likewise, there are still the servers provided for servers - but fortunately there are cheaper alternatives with NAS drives. This should be done in any case, if one's own data are dear. Cheap PC hard disks wear faster in a NAS, among other things, because their vibrations influence each other. In addition, there is a longer warranty on the hardware for NAS Drives.


Generally, however, hard disks, even in a NAS, are wear parts. Therefore, a backup of the NAS is essential, best with a second NAS automatically overnight. This device can then also be made smaller, for example by lower redundancy in the hard disks. A backup is useful on its own because the recovery of the data of a defective 4-TByte disk during an operating NAS can take several days depending on the device. During this time the failure of another disk of the box can be fatal.