Help deciding NAS expansion

[JoshK]

Hi guys, I figured this might be the best place to ask some opinions on my situation. I have a QNAP TS-569L, which is a few years older than the current models. It has 5 3TB drives in RAID 5, but it is too full for me to even put the last dozen CDs I've ripped on it (because I have concert videos ripped as well, both DVD and Blu-rays).

 

I hate spending lots of time configuring computer hardware/software since I use a computer all day at work. The QNAP took me some time to figure it out, so on one hand I might just get another QNAP or get their 8 disk expansion server (8 disks, but not too much cheaper than dedicated). The other option is a Synology (likely 1815+), but then I might have to learn another interface, however I heard it is simpler.

 

I just don't know what I think is the best solution. Another QNAP might mean I know all the basics already (haven't setup the cloud or anything else fancy yet). The expansion UX-800 will be a more seamless expansion supposedly (although it technically isn't supported for my NAS but some confirms it works anyway). What would you do?

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Hi guys, I figured this might be the best place to ask some opinions on my situation. I have a QNAP TS-569L, which is a few years older than the current models. It has 5 3TB drives in RAID 5, but it is too full for me to even put the last dozen CDs I've ripped on it (because I have concert videos ripped as well, both DVD and Blu-rays).

 

I hate spending lots of time configuring computer hardware/software since I use a computer all day at work. The QNAP took me some time to figure it out, so on one hand I might just get another QNAP or get their 8 disk expansion server (8 disks, but not too much cheaper than dedicated). The other option is a Synology (likely 1815+), but then I might have to learn another interface, however I heard it is simpler.

 

I just don't know what I think is the best solution. Another QNAP might mean I know all the basics already (haven't setup the cloud or anything else fancy yet). The expansion UX-800 will be a more seamless expansion supposedly (although it technically isn't supported for my NAS but some confirms it works anyway). What would you do?

 

I do not know Qnap, but Synology is pretty easy, especially if you already understand NAS, Raid, etc. I recommended Synology to 3 friends, and they are all very happy. I did not need to spend a lot of time holding their hands. That's 4 geezers in their 60's and 70's. All have Synology 1813s. All have subsequently added 5 drive expansion units with no issues. Two bought second 1813s for their large BD movie collections. It has been a few years now. It is all going great. No problems at all, knock knock.

[tboooe]

Dumb, question...why not expand your capacity by getting bigger hard drives? I am going through expansion right now and I was deciding between a 6 bay NAS or just getting bigger drives. I chose the latter even though my NAS is old and junky because it was far less painful expanding my RAID than setting up a new NAS.

[jtwrace]

Whatever you choose to do make sure you BACKUP the data. The NAS is NOT a backup!!!

[JoshK]

Dumb, question...why not expand your capacity by getting bigger hard drives? I am going through expansion right now and I was deciding between a 6 bay NAS or just getting bigger drives. I chose the latter even though my NAS is old and junky because it was far less painful expanding my RAID than setting up a new NAS.

 

Consider me dumb but I am not sure how exactly to upgrade the drives in my current NAS while keeping the data that is on them. I have another copy on a 4 drive External drive system with 5TB disks, so I guess I could just copy from there again after upgrading, seemed a hassle.

 

Oh I know that a NAS is not a backup too. I have those external drives but also a copy of all the flacs on my vortexbox, which I still own.

 

I think I decided on getting a Synology so that I don't regret it later.

[master]

Considering you are reaching those data figures, IMHO a 2nd NAS is a better way to go. Split the videos and audio into 2 separate NASes... or whatever meets your requirement.

 

And yes unless you are running RAID, NAS is not a backup. I use RAID, but I still have 2 external local backups and 1 online cloud backup.

 

Expansion Unit will also make sense, that was a consideration in my mind when going for my current Synology NAS.

 

BTW, I'm all sold on Synology. Have not used QNAP, but Synology is excellent. Everything from radio streaming, to photos, to out of home sharing/streaming and transcoding on the fly with the likes of Plex and MinimServer works with it. The interface/OS is also easy to decipher.

[tboooe]

Consider me dumb but I am not sure how exactly to upgrade the drives in my current NAS while keeping the data that is on them. I have another copy on a 4 drive External drive system with 5TB disks, so I guess I could just copy from there again after upgrading, seemed a hassle.

 

Oh I know that a NAS is not a backup too. I have those external drives but also a copy of all the flacs on my vortexbox, which I still own.

 

I think I decided on getting a Synology so that I don't regret it later.

 

Super easy. Just replace one disk at a time with a larger one. Let the NAS auto rebuid the RAID. Remember, a RAID 5 type set.up will only be as big as its smallest drive. So in order to expand the volume.you need to replace all the drives. Once you are done replacing each one, you can go into settings and expand the volume. Your total capacity will then be increased.

[tboooe]

Super easy. Just replace one disk at a time with a larger one. Let the NAS auto rebuid the RAID. Remember, a RAID 5 type set.up will only be as big as its smallest drive. So in order to expand the volume.you need to replace all the drives. Once you are done replacing each one, you can go into settings and expand the volume. Your total capacity will then be increased.

I forgot to add that when you add disks 1 at a time and allow the RAID to rebuild you will not lose any data. The downside is that this process can take a while. With my old piece of junk Thecus N4100Pro NAS, expanding from 4 3TB drives to 4 4TB drives took about 4 days (1 day each hdd). Then I had to expand the volume to take advantage of the added capacity, that took another day so all in it took me 5 days. It would most likely be much faster to replace all the drives at one time then copy your data back onto the NAS from your back up source.

[Paul R]

And do make sure you are not depending upon the NAS for backups. What, with all the darn Ransomware floating about, you need to keep good, multi version backups, and keep them on a drive that is not constantly connected!

 

-Paul

[JoshK]

Thanks guys for all the advice. I will probably upgrade the drives on my old NAS someday as well. Maybe then I can keep that one in a firesafe as another backup. I still have all my CDs, DVDs and BRs but it took ages and ages to rip and I don't want to start over.

[master]

Thanks guys for all the advice. I will probably upgrade the drives on my old NAS someday as well. Maybe then I can keep that one in a firesafe as another backup. I still have all my CDs, DVDs and BRs but it took ages and ages to rip and I don't want to start over.

 

Oh yes I had that happen. Had to re-rip nearly 3TB worth of Blu-rays and CDs. The ripping was one thing, but the tagging (especially the FLAC rips) was another story.

 

Lesson learned... now I've 2 local copies always.

[JoshK]

Just an update in case anyone reads this thread for advice.

 

I got my Synology up and running. Currently creating a SHR2 volume (essentially RAID6). I prefer to use a bit more caution with drives as I have even lost a RAID5 once years back.

 

I chose the DS1815+ as I think having more drive bays is a very good thing. I used WD Red 5TB drives as I already had 4 of them, so I ordered 6 more with the diskstation as I think it is good to have two spares ready to go if needed. I came across a youtube video showing the exact type of memory you can use to upgrade to 16gb (cheap upgrade compared the everything else). I followed suite and it was easy to do except the inside one is a pain in the ass to seat if you have fat fingers like mine.

 

So far I found the setup and software fairly straight forward. I think the Synology software feels more like made for the average consumer whereas the QNAP software was written for nerds and IT people.

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Just an update in case anyone reads this thread for advice.

 

I got my Synology up and running. Currently creating a SHR2 volume (essentially RAID6). I prefer to use a bit more caution with drives as I have even lost a RAID5 once years back.

 

I chose the DS1815+ as I think having more drive bays is a very good thing. I used WD Red 5TB drives as I already had 4 of them, so I ordered 6 more with the diskstation as I think it is good to have two spares ready to go if needed. I came across a youtube video showing the exact type of memory you can use to upgrade to 16gb (cheap upgrade compared the everything else). I followed suite and it was easy to do except the inside one is a pain in the ass to seat if you have fat fingers like mine.

 

So far I found the setup and software fairly straight forward. I think the Synology software feels more like made for the average consumer whereas the QNAP software was written for nerds and IT people.

 

 

Sounds good. I have had an 1813+ for a number of years with good, reliable results.

 

I would not think the memory expansion would be worth the effort, though, unless you are in a high traffic network with a lot of users.

[JoshK]

You are probably right on the memory, but it is one of those things where it was easy, cost ~40 iirc and overkill never hurt anyone in memory. I plan to run a couple different servers in parallel even if I don't use them all at the same time. I have squeezeboxes in 3 rooms in my house and I have a Sonore Sig Rendu in the main system plus my movies serving up to my HT. I also want to experiment with interfaces.