# Have you used these NAS products? [comment or suggest]



## newconroer (Sep 15, 2014)

Never used a purpose built NAS drive before.
Looking to start with some used, previous generations products to act as a media vault.

Would any one be able to comment about the following and/or suggest similar alternatives?
My main concern with some of the older models is read/write speeds.
Beyond that, I believe they all support gigabit networking and raid configurations for the dual bay models:


Zyxel 201
Zyxel 202
Synology DS207
Netgear MS2000
Buffalo Linkstation LS-WSGL/R1 mini


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## Jhelms (Sep 15, 2014)

I long since have skipped a dedicated NAS setup. The ability to have storage via a router for home use is the way to go. No need for a full raid setup or anything like that if you have a second backup. 

My current monster is a WRT1900AC. The access speed on both read / write kicks the crap out of older nas setups. At best, she runs has been closer to 100, worst has been in the 60's.

Just a thought.


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## newconroer (Sep 15, 2014)

I had considered that and tested it with my current router which has a USB port for storage devices. Unfortunately the transfer speed is just over 1mb/s.
Trying to watch large sized film files becomes a bit frustrating with longer load times and occasional stuttering.

Additionally, I'd need a USB docking station and/or a external USB drive to use full time. By the time I've spent the money one of those, I could get a used NAS for less.

EDIT: Another concern is how do I get the storage plugged into the router hub, to go into a standby mode?


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## OneMoar (Sep 16, 2014)

newconroer said:


> I had considered that and tested it with my current router which has a USB port for storage devices. Unfortunately the transfer speed is just over 1mb/s.
> Trying to watch large sized film files becomes a bit frustrating with longer load times and occasional stuttering.
> 
> Additionally, I'd need a USB docking station and/or a external USB drive to use full time. By the time I've spent the money one of those, I could get a used NAS for less.
> ...


what router do you have
if its DD-WRT/tomato capable then thats the way to go


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## newconroer (Sep 16, 2014)

Home Hub 5 from BT. I am not finding anything about DD-WRT on the data pages. I suspect you mean to get a DD-WRT router and use it in place of?
I'm really just looking for a simple network box - I am happy with the Home Hub 5 for the moment.


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## OneMoar (Sep 16, 2014)

newconroer said:


> Home Hub 5 from BT. I am not finding anything about DD-WRT on the data pages. I suspect you mean to get a DD-WRT router and use it in place of?
> I'm really just looking for a simple network box - I am happy with the Home Hub 5 for the moment.


DD-WRT is a firmware package for routers


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## Athlon2K15 (Sep 16, 2014)

newconroer said:


> Home Hub 5 from BT. I am not finding anything about DD-WRT on the data pages. I suspect you mean to get a DD-WRT router and use it in place of?
> I'm really just looking for a simple network box - I am happy with the Home Hub 5 for the moment.



Do you already have drives?


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## erixx (Sep 16, 2014)

Another standing question - that I share - is energy management. Do USB external harddrives turn off (and on) by the OS or by themselves, or not at all?
I see no huge points in favour of networked drives (NAS or not, attached to router or switches) for the average user. We can just share any drive in or on our main PC.
I have one "WD Cloud" network drive and it is provided with nice software, but just a fast USB3 drive would make me just as happy (or happier: a lot less management).


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## Frick (Sep 16, 2014)

erixx said:


> I see no huge points in favour of networked drives (NAS or not, attached to router or switches) for the average user. We can just share any drive in or on our main PC.
> I have one "WD Cloud" network drive and it is provided with nice software, but just a fast USB3 drive would make me just as happy (or happier: a lot less management).



The PC would have to be turned on at all times, and people don't have huge workstations with huge desks and sprawling chairs anymore. Laptops and tablets.


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## Jhelms (Sep 16, 2014)

My external USB 3.0 backup drives go into standby or sleep - whichever it is. I can still see them as active but when I select them, they wake up - spool up (obviously not on as you can hear them / takes several seconds to come online). When connected to USB of a router, they just go into the standby or sleep mode when not in use.


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## OneMoar (Sep 16, 2014)

DD-WRT/tomato can selectively spool drives up or down


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## erixx (Sep 16, 2014)

Listen up, newest X99 mobos, come with 10 rear USB3 ports!!! Are we allowed to use them, right? It is super easy  to connect drives. My PC stays on (suspended) most nights... and when not, I am not watching movies!


Then , if using networked drives, that also takes space and cables and wakeup issues (particulary my WD My Cloud is slow, sleepy and .. slow to wake up).
I also can connect from my tablets to any drive inside my PC...
I have already used all 4 ethernet ports on my router. If I add stuff I need another "gadget" called switch... Not inclined.
Thunderbold chain linking sounds really cool to me. But are there DIY boxes, to run them without any manufacturer software?


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## newconroer (Sep 16, 2014)

AthlonX2 said:


> Do you already have drives?



I have drives I can use, but I may consider new ones.  If as Garage says, modern external drives over USB, will go into a sleep/inactive mode without any software requirement, then it is an option. I will have to factor in the cost of a NAS box + new drives versus a good USB disk. Ideally I'd like to transfer the content over the network, and using the external drive as the media source, but at the speeds I mentioned above, I'll just have to hotplug it back and forth when I want to add new media.


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## Jhelms (Sep 16, 2014)

How many gigs are you working with - storing in total?


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## newconroer (Sep 16, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> How many gigs are you working with - storing in total?



Ideally this would be a 1-2TB operation, but at the moment it's around 250


Just read this on the BT forums :
_
Hi all, I spent ages searching for this and couldn't get clear info_

_Ext3 file system IS supported_

_1TB HDD plugged into Homehub 5

Formatted to NTFS gave 1Meg Upload/Download Speed
Formatted to Fat32 gave 2Meg Upload/Download Speed
Formatted to Ext3 gives 4 Meg Upload/Download Speed

I'm led to believe that this is because Ext3 requires less CPU power, it also allows larger files than Fat32. Downside is you lose the plug and play of NTFS/Fat32
_
EDIT: Actually my speed throughput both ways to the external drive when plugged into the router via USB, is 1-4mbps.


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## OneMoar (Sep 16, 2014)

it has more todo with the fact that your router is a pile of crap
I get a consistent 50MB/s write and 70MB/s read from my RTN-66U with my el cheap 2.5inch sata enclosure
 that being said 4MB's absolutely horrible if your drive dock is usb-powered then that is most likely the source of the issue


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## Jhelms (Sep 16, 2014)

Agreed... the cheap router is the speed killer here. Even my Adata 3.0 flash drive on the wrt1900ac runs in the 50's. Anything below 20 and I start to get irritated (take your pills garage... YOUR PILLS)


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## newconroer (Sep 16, 2014)

I don't doubt that. The USB connection is a bonus and convenience, but I figured it was at least capable of 7mb/s.


Because the home hub 5 is gigabit on all four ports, the original plan was to setup a dedicated media storage, instead of using a secondary computer and in doing so, maybe increase the network transfer speeds around the house.

A) Purchase the new Zyxel true 1gb backbone Powerline adapters(I have Fast Ethernet PLAs currently).
B) Purchase a simple NAS, plugged directly into the router via RJ45.
C) Optional : For any files that required faster speeds than the network throughput, I could transfer via external USB drive, into the NAS box - on the rare occasion that 30mb/s wasn't quick enough.

My concern is that a lot of the older generation NAS box might have a worse LAN throughput and make the gigabit connection redundant.


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## OneMoar (Sep 16, 2014)

newconroer said:


> I don't doubt that. The USB connection is a bonus and convenience, but I figured it was at least capable of 7mb/s.
> 
> 
> Because the home hub 5 is gigabit on all four ports, the original plan was to setup a dedicated media storage, instead of using a secondary computer and in doing so, maybe increase the network transfer speeds around the house.
> ...


the gigabit point is moot unless you have a 10K RPM/SCSI or A SSD you are never gonna see more then 100MB/s PERIOD does't matter if its wifi power-line or whatever unless the NAS has a active ram cache you are gonna be limited by the drive and most consumer grade mechanical hard drives don't exceed 100MB/s EVER


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## Jhelms (Sep 16, 2014)

The last NAS I had was not on your list... it was a NAS200 . At best I saw 10MB/s. And while that is lightyears beyond your 1MB/s, it still sucked and that was 6-7 years ago 

The above mentioned Asus router by OneMoar is only $100 and would get you where you wanna be speed wise / nas wise and overall is simply a great router. No powerline or dedicated hardware needed. Simplify man!


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## newconroer (Sep 16, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> the gigabit point is moot unless you have a 10K RPM/SCSI or A SSD you are never gonna see more then 100MB/s PERIOD does't matter if its wifi power-line or whatever unless the NAS has a active ram cache you are gonna be limited by the drive and most consumer grade mechanical hard drives don't exceed 100MB/s EVER


My goals were :

Network 30-40mb/s
USB drive 40-70mb/s



Garage1217 said:


> The last NAS I had was not on your list... it was a NAS200 . At best I saw 10MB/s. And while that is lightyears beyond your 1MB/s, it still sucked and that was 6-7 years ago
> 
> The above mentioned Asus router by OneMoar is only $100 and would get you where you wanna be speed wise / nas wise and overall is simply a great router. No powerline or dedicated hardware needed. Simplify man!



Did you mean to say the Asus router plus an external USB drive(S)?


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## OneMoar (Sep 16, 2014)

my current NAS config consists as follows
1. ASUS RTN-66U running DD-WRT firmware
2. WD black 2.5inch 512GB hard drive
3. Rosewill USB 2.5 Inch Powered drive enclosure


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## sneekypeet (Sep 16, 2014)

My 2 pennies on this matter. Answer @AthlonX2 , as he would likely cut you a smoking deal on a NAS, and then you can throw some drives in and poof, you are in business. Hell, I even got this Thecus N2310 I was planning to donate, but it never powered off for me, so its sort of out of your requests.


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## Jhelms (Sep 16, 2014)

newconroer said:


> My goals were :
> 
> Network 30-40mb/s
> USB drive 40-70mb/s
> ...



Correct, you said you already have drives or purchase new to fit your needs.

*Similar to OneMoar... My NAS setup..*
- WRT1900AC Router
- WD My Passport 1TB USB 3.0

Both my wrt1900ac and the Asus RT-N66U both feature dual USB ports so you can technically have two drives. One faster on 3.0 and one dedicated file backup / slower 2.0 speed.

I am quite sure - but not confirmed that if done properly...  you can add a hub and multiple drives on the 3.0 line for an expanded NAS setup. Need to try that out.


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## newconroer (Sep 16, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> my current NAS config consists as follows
> 1. ASUS RTN-66U running DD-WRT firmware
> 2. WD black 2.5inch 512GB hard drive
> 3. Rosewill USB 2.5 Inch Powered drive enclosure



I appreciate the information and that's a nice setup. While not of the same quality, I do have two thirds of that equation all ready and it's for that reason that I leaned towards starting out with either a NAS box or a simple external network storage enclosure. Throw my existing drives in, plug it into my existing network and voila, I no longer have to use a computer to host the media.

I understand that the list I gave may not be models people have actually used, so other than reviews, it may be guess work, but I gather that I won't be seeing speeds much better than I have now.

I'll have to think on this some more ..



sneekypeet said:


> My 2 pennies on this matter. Answer @AthlonX2 , as he would likely cut you a smoking deal on a NAS, and then you can throw some drives in and poof, you are in business. Hell, I even got this Thecus N2310 I was planning to donate, but it never powered off for me, so its sort of out of your requests.


Hi Sneeky, that's something to consider. You say the Thecus doesn't power down?


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## sneekypeet (Sep 16, 2014)

Nope, ran WD greens in it and it was cool and cozy, but there was always the 20W or so of power being drawn with mine. Just swapped out for a Seagate model to see if that one works correctly.


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## newconroer (Sep 17, 2014)

First thing I am going to do is purchase a stand alone FTTC modem, as the popular Asus N66U and Draytek 2850 series routers are not full VDSL compatible. Once that's in, I'll think about replacing the home hub with a better router.


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## newconroer (Sep 19, 2014)

Now deciding between 
http://www.asus.com/uk/Networking/DSLN66U/
http://www.asus.com/uk/Networking/RTN66U/

The first one is easier for me to get, can cost less and I think is effectively the same router as the RT series, but with a full VDSL/ADSL support. Effectively I have the option to use it as an all-in-one.

If anyone thinks the DSL model is a bad choice, please let me know.


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## newconroer (Oct 2, 2014)

Thanks again all for pointing my in relevant directions.

For anyone in a similar situation I ended up on :


A used Netgear ReadyNas Duo V2(please note that a lot of the later produced V1 models had a sticker on the bottom saying 'V2' Therefore on sales, people would be V2. There are simple signs on how to tell the difference. Just make sure you buy the right one!)
You can find these for not much more than the products I listed on the front page, and it's well worth that little extra. These newer generation network storage devices have fast enough CPUs to give you the network throughput that only jumbo frames was able to achieve on older hardware. 
My speeds for normal sized files on default settings and latest firmware are 50mb/s writing to the NAS, and 80mb/s writing to another device. 
It's GUI includes many hardware and application options. Of particular interest was the Transmission P2P web interface and the Transmission Remote GUI. With either of these tools I am able to que downloads and also schedule them to run when required. Other applications exist, including an automated Usenet and NZB scanner to search and snatch any media that might interest you. 


A used Asus RT-N56U
This router is called the Black Diamond and was a predecessor to the popular Dark Knight RT-N66U. I got it for half the cost of what the N66U goes for now. Other than some different firmware options and faster wireless, the N56U is the essentially same product. It's been extremely easy to use, has plenty of standard options and all ready has made a significant difference to my internal network by giving more stability and throughput. 

One of the reasons I went after this line of Asus routers was for the Download Master. Please let me use this as an opportunity to warn any potential buyers three important things about the router(s) and in particular using the Download Master.
A) Any of the applications/tools/utilities that can be run on the router itself, have to be installed and access via an externally connected USB device.
B) Due to the above, the Download Master can only select the external USB device as the storage destination.
C) The Download Master is an ok utility, however lacks important P2P options such as queing, bandwidth limitation, ordering, traffic priority etc.

When I started looking at these products, I had been instructed that the router would allow me to choose any attached network device as a destination, and sadly that wasn't the case.
Therefore in this scenario it's very fortunate that I got the ReadyNas with Transmission.


A used ECI Open Reach modem
Since I have had this connected, my line has not dropped. Combined with the Asus router it's a great relief to not have to worry about waking up and finding that the connection reset(after several days, eventually putting me back on interleaved /banded profile).



The Duo now acts as my media vault and my overall networking and internet experience is much better.


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