Best no-frills NAS RAID storage

Anything and everything to do with DCP-o-matic.
KrisSP
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 8:49 am

Best no-frills NAS RAID storage

Post by KrisSP »

Sorry if this is off-topic, as it's not directly related to DCP-o-matic.

I'm looking for a NAS RAID storage where I can offload DCPs. It should have ethernet connection, but otherwise as no-frills as possible (no need for a media server, etc., I only want to store DCPs I create for ingesting later).

Does anyone have any tips? I have tried searching around, but I get a bit lost in the guides, because of features I don't need.

Cheers,
Kristian
cloud06
Posts: 52
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2016 3:02 pm

Re: Best no-frills NAS RAID storage

Post by cloud06 »

I used HP Microserver with OpenMediaVault. That combo was great. I had N40L. There are much better HP Microservers now...

Now I have Synology because I needed better web administration... Wanted something simpler with smaller footprint and power consumption.
scorpio81
Posts: 116
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 7:19 am

Re: Best no-frills NAS RAID storage

Post by scorpio81 »

Synology or QNAP are good. Even the cheapest models. All their features are either an option in OS or an additional software package.
Basically, all you have to do is to install OS, create RAID of the desired level and configure OS (setup FTP server or file access protocols for example) and cinema servers so they can access your NAS.
Carsten
Posts: 2665
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:11 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Best no-frills NAS RAID storage

Post by Carsten »

Kris - WHAT are you, and WHERE are you? Some NAS offer functions related to local aspects of exhibition/distribution. So, what you do and where you are may be important.

For a cost-sensitive friend, I recently bought a Zyxel 542. That seems to be the lowest cost 4bay NAS. It has a similar feature set as entry level Synology devices. I recently installed a Synology DS416J for another friend (no cinema/DCP use). Very similar to the Zyxel hard- and software wise. If you are looking for features and future expandability, serviceability, Synology may be worth the extra money, as they have a broader user base. The Zyxel is very user friendly as well and has a good manual. It has dual Gigabit Ethernet and multiple USB3.0 ports.

I think a 4bay NAS is a must for large storage needs like DCP, as it offers more expandability and flexibility . A 2bay is too limited, even with two large discs.

If I don't hit a wall with that Zyxel, I may buy one for myself as well. I had been looking into QNAPs, and while the seem to be okay in their basic functionality, the software occurs much more limited compared to other offerings. If you know that all you need is SMB and FTP access, a QNAP may be okay. This may occur to you as a 'no-frills' NAS, but it seems the QNAPs are also less user friendly to configure and administrate.

- Carsten