NAS - what to consider - does it matter if pc is xp or windows 7

14 years ago

So I am so unclear about what I need to ask that I couldn't really figure out what to say for the posting. But here's what I'm struggling with:

We have probably 4-6TB of digital media - spread among different computers and Tivo's (which have been upgraded to 2TB and 500GB hard drives). I want to get all this digital media stored on one Network Attached Storage device - so that we can access our pictures, videos and music from the various devices on our home network (different televisions, ipad, laptop, etc). Although it's the ever mushrooming collection of digital media that has spurred this, I realize it would also be great to have a central place to back-up our data. Although our other data files are fairly small in size (tax returns, word documents, etc), they should be backed up in a more careful way. (I think these NAS's can be set up to automatically back up to them - but learning how is for later - right now I need to figure out what to buy and how to configure it). So I believe an NAS - with multiple bays - is what we need to store this media and have it accessible over our home network.

The NAS I am leaning towards is the Synology DS 1511:

http://www.amazon.com/Synology-DiskStation-Diskless-Scalable-DS1511/dp/B004GKLT4G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332000983&sr=8-1

The reason I like this is that it has 5 bays - and can have an expander just added on as our storage needs expand. I tried asking for guidance on the Tivo forums (where I first saw people mentioning that they liked this NAS) - but the answers I got were way over my head - and despite several attempts to get it simplified, I was left with a recommendation to build my own.

So here are my early questions:

- is this synology a good one to pick?

- how to I determine what kind of RAID to set up (and I am still confused about RAID despite my efforts to read up about it)?

- once I understand what kind of RAID array to set up, is this a do it yourself set up that the synology software makes easy to do - or should I hire a professional (always a struggle for me here in DC - as even the highly recommended folks are often not very skilled - or so difficult and uncommunicative to deal with that even with skills it's hard to get what I want done.

- does it matter if my main PC has XP or Windows 7 on it? my current pc has XP, 500 GB hard drive, computer has 3GB Ram (I have RAM to upgrade to 4 - just haven't installed yet), quad core processor, 2.3 (or 2.8 ghz processor)and a second hard drive that hasn't been installed yet black caviar - 7200rpm - 64MB cache. I know Windows 7 has some easier media server software than XP - but I don't know if that's irrelevant if the NAS has it's own.

- I will be upgrading my PC some time in the near future. Could be now - or another year +. Does it make sense to upgrade now - while I'm setting up an NAS? would it make it easier to back up my data files from this PC? One reason I will want to upgrade at some point, is that I'd like to get a PC with a tv tuner and just record directly from my PC. Right now I'm recording on Tivo's - transferring them to my pc (those that don't have copyright restrictions) - editing out commercials, and storing the video. Seems I could make this much easier if I had a PC with a tv tuner. Another change I'd like if I upgrade my PC is to get an Solid State drive as the main drive. Editing video and having multiple programs running is getting kind of slow. If I try to transfer a show to my pc, while I'm editing a show to remove commercials, - and surfing the web with multiple open tabs while the edited show is being saved - it starts to go pretty slow.

- in general, would a Windows 7 computer do some of what I want? or am I right to think I need an NAS?

There were more questions - but I don't want to make this post too cumbersome to read through. And I think the initial responses I get might answer some of those questions - or help me word them more simply.

Thanks for bearing with me as I struggle to articulate my questions.

Lynn.

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Comments (4)

PKponder TX Z7B
14 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I just emailed my son in law to see if he has time to look into this setup for you. From the brief bit of reading into NAS technology that I just did, I know that it's not something I would take on and I am an experienced tech.He does a lot more remote work than I do...might be an option if you can't get good local help.
PKponder TX Z7B
14 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
And to answer your topic question...Windows version shouldn't matter, you choose the NAS OS based on the network...the tricky part will likely be the iPad and possibly the TVs. What file format will the televisions play? A simple file server will work for the Windows devices. A RAID is just a number of hard drives in a single file server. You would need a network operating system to 'serve' the correct file and know which disk it's stored on.
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lynnalexandra
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Pkponder - thank you for asking your son-in-law on my behalf. It may come to that.

Glad to know the Windows version of my main desktop doesn't matter in terms of the NAS. I am going to use a Tivo to retrieve digital data for playing on the television. At this point, I think Tivo's can play Tivo format (which is how I record and store my video) and mpegs. I believe the Tivo is DNLA compliant device. I barely know what that is, but I think it means it can transfer different file formats. I know that I can view my digital pictures, videos and music on my television by retrieving them with my Tivo. I can also play the videos on my laptop.

I have Tivo desktop software plus which can transcode any of the tivo videos to a format that can played on Ipads and ipods. Of course, I would have to change the format first. Maybe an NAS can do some of that on the fly - I have no idea. I don't think on the fly video transfer to Ipad and Ipod is that important. If my daughter is home, she has plenty of alternatives for viewing video. And if she wants to load her apple devices for travel, then we have time to get them to the right format.

I think the Synology comes with it's own network operating system (which I think is some type of linux distribution).

My question on the Raid will be what type. I'll have to learn the difference between Raid 0,1,5 and whatever else there is, so I can choose the appropriate type for me.

Thanks.
Lynn.
mike_kaiser_gw
14 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
RAID was designed to create performance and in at some levels, increase fault tolerance but no implementation is perfect and you have to consider you goals and budget. While RAID 0 provides good performance it no fault tolerance; if one drive fails you loose everything. RAID 1 provides excellent fault tolerance because it creates "mirror" images of the drives but because you're working with pairs of identical drives, you may face storage size limitations. RAID 5 tries to achieve a balance of performance and fault tolerance. It's also the most popular and allows for "hot swapping" of drives should it become necessary. It's probably the way to go.

NAS - what to consider - does it matter if pc is xp or windows 7

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