[Comp] Newegg.ca Shellshocker - Synology Diskstation DS413j - $349.99

[rui]

What kind of drives are you guys getting for NAS? I have seen Western Digital is selling the RED line of drives specifically built for usage in NAS, but they are kind of expensive? What else works good ?

4TB would be better but pricy,seagate 3TB external one for $99 would be good as you can take the hd out of enclosure and it's 7200RPM,but review not that good,so use raid 5 just in case.

[BinaryJay]

I think it's still too expensive for the hardware, their software is top notch apparently though. You are paying a lot for the turn-key solution, but you can get a lot more bang for your buck building a matx system from scratch and setting it up yourself I think.

For me, they are too turtle slow for a 2013 product that costs ~$400 after taxes coupled with the fact HDD prices are still making a recovery back to normal competitive normals. I think I'm going to reevaluate the nas situation next year.

[Civuck]

For me, they are too turtle slow

I'm not sure what your idea of "turtle slow" is, but for a home/family application these things are quite fast - check out the Synology performance page here.

50MB/s (400Mb/s) upload and 100MB/s (800Mb/s) download should be plenty fast for even 2 or 3 concurrent connections.

[Civuck]

Just quick question,DS413j only has 2 usb 2.0 ports,I have DS213+ at work with usb 3.0 and esata port,what these ports used for?if they are only used for backup from external HD or hook up printer,then I'm ok with DS413j,need more detail,BTW send PM request to ncix,let's see.

In addition to more external storage and backups, the USB ports can also be used for connecting USB audio speakers. Sound can be output directly from the Synology built-in audio server to these USB speakers and controlled via the free iOS app, free Android app or browser on a PC.

Further for the audiophiles out there, I've tested the USB port on my Synology 413j NAS with the FIIO portable USB DAC with success.

So in theory, with the right cables, you could connect the Synology directly to your home stereo system through the FIIO.

More info regarding audio connections to the Synology is here on their website.

[Civuck]

I'm thinking you could build or possibly buy an i3 system with 380. Is there an advantage to getting this? save power, quicker to setup? It also wouldn't look this bad for those who are vain on such things hehe

There are big advantages to purpose-built devices like the Synology - generally they "just work". If you are a techie and enjoy the "thrill of the build" and lots of tinkering, than yes - maybe a homebrew solution might be for you. However, it's unlikely you will be able to build something with the same combination of features, storage capacity and energy efficiency as the Synology and its ARM processor. For a 24x7 device, that might be a big consideration for some.

[williamsauga]

it's either this $350 or 3 x 3TB usb external + $50 change......hmmm difficult decision

[wlee]

it's either this $350 or 3 x 3TB usb external + $50 change......hmmm difficult decision

$350 with 0TB

[orangeteam]

Bought. Been waiting. Op thanked.
Got 2 of those 3 TB Reds from dell doing nothing.

[JayRoc]

Gah, so tempted to get this. Need to replace my aging Windows Home Server. Decision, decisions.

This seems to be out of stock in a few places - anybody know if a newer model has been announced or something?

[austery]

It is a great product. Mine is 411j which was bought 2 years ago from Canada computer for 329+tax.

[rui]

Gah, so tempted to get this. Need to replace my aging Windows Home Server. Decision, decisions.

This seems to be out of stock in a few places - anybody know if a newer model has been announced or something?

I'm in the same boat,using acer H341 with 7TB installed,what should I do,tempting but need to save some money.

[BinaryJay]

In addition to more external storage and backups, the USB ports can also be used for connecting USB audio speakers. Sound can be output directly from the Synology built-in audio server to these USB speakers and controlled via the free iOS app, free Android app or browser on a PC.

Further for the audiophiles out there, I've tested the USB port on my Synology 413j NAS with the FIIO portable USB DAC with success.

So in theory, with the right cables, you could connect the Synology directly to your home stereo system through the FIIO.

More info regarding audio connections to the Synology is here on their website.

I did all of this with my less than $50 pogoplugs and USB sound cards running the excellent MPD server. I even had it so I had a usb IR dongle attached that let me control it with my harmony remote but ultimately just using one of the many free MPD clients for just about every device out there was more convenient.

My pogoplug solution though is obviously not RAID and completely not fail safed and is also about half the speed for transfers as the synology because of the USB2 limitation. Can't really beat the price and flexibility though plus uses like 5 watts.

[neo1973]

$350 with 0TB

Yeah it's quite a premium to pay but I guess it's a really good turn-key solution.

[junkyjunky]

seagate 3TB external one for $99

Where did you find it for $99? $120 at Amazon.ca was the best I could find with FS http://www.amazon.ca/Seagate-Expansi...8973190&sr=8-3

EDIT: NM, found it: repost: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/td-wd...w-mir-1291654/, but you have to deal with a MIR

[coolspot]

What I like about the HP is being able to pick and choice what I want to duplicate, not being familiar with RAID could I do the same with this unit.

No, you cannot pick and choose what to duplicate... also RAID has limitations on expanding and resizing the array.

Synology does have a Hybrid RAID system, but even that has a limit (you can only expand by the smallest drive in the unit - i.e. if you install a 4TB drive, you can only expand by 4TB units).

RAID has an overhead - for RAID 1 (duplication) 50% of your capacity will be taken by backups. RAID 5 will only use 1 drive for backup (i.e. 4 x 4TB - you will have 12 TB of usable space, 4TB will be for your parity backups).

In anycase, Synology is very good - their new firmware (4.2) will increase Apple File Sharing speeds significantly... great if you have a Mac.

Otherwise Synology works great - lots of apps you can install, very happy with my DS411.






I also moved over from WHS... the only "drawback" so far is that Synology doesn't have an automated backup system like WHS. I can't find anything free that works as well as WHS for Windows... I guess the closest will be Acronis but you'll have to pay for a license. Time Machine for Mac is supported by Synology and works great.