But they are charging a premium for the same hardware. Sounds like the pc versus mac argument just to get the OS.
Even though I don't have the funds to upgrade I have been looking around for quite some time at the solutions I think they're (drobo, Tera, and etc). way over priced for what they are. Given I already have a machine on a 12 bay case, when I do build a new workstation I think simply loading freenas on this old workstation would be a great solution. On Oct 25, 2011 6:13 AM, "Naushad Zulfiqar" <[email protected]> wrote: > For me, I wanted hot swappable because at the rate of data I am collecting, > I have to add a new hard drive every few months, or upgrade one to a larger > capacity. > > I bought my synology 1 year ago. > > I started off with 3 1TB drives > Added 2 more 1TB's > > Ran out of space. > > Replaced 2 of the 1 TB's with 1.5 TB's (Got a great deal on them) > > Ran out of space > > Replaced 2 of the 1TB's with 2 TB's > > Ran out of space > > Replaced the last 1 TB with a 3TB. > > Now I have 1 3TB, 2 2TB's and 2 1.5TB's. > > All this was in 1 year. Hotswapping just meant pop the drive out while the > unit is on, plug the new one in and a few hours later the hard drive is > setup and the volume expanded. I didn't even have to do anything (except 1 > click on the menu to initiate formatting of the drive). > > I actually saved up for a year to get this unit, so I can justify it, but I > totally understand that this is overkill for 99% of folks out there. > > Now if you get one of those backplane cases, you can hotswap. Again, price > vs functionality. If you don't mind your NAS going down, then go for it. > > I have 3 TV's in my house and several computers. If there was a > disconnection on the NAS, the kids would freak out first (they watch their > kids shows), then the wife, then me :) > > hehe! > > On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 4:06 PM, Anthony Q. Martin <[email protected] > >wrote: > > > BTW, why do you need hot swappable drive racks for my usage? And what is > a > > "backplane"? I just need a case with plenty of drive bays, a mobo/cpu > with > > several sata ports and built-in video and a few PCI-e 1x slots/lanes, a > > blu-ray reader, a PSU, and I'm good. > > > > On 10/25/2011 8:44 AM, Naushad, Zulfiqar wrote: > > > >> I have a Synology DS1511. > >> > >> Yes, its 800 bucks, yes it's expensive, but in my opinion it just works. > >> > >> I could build a PC, but then I would have to worry about things like OS, > >> updating the OS etc. Plus if you buy one with a backplane and > >> hotswappable drive racks, the price adds up real quick. To top it all > >> off, even the smallest 5 drive PC build would be big. > >> > >> The Synology is small, and does everything I could ever want from a NAS. > >> > >> I do my torrents on it, I unzip/unrar split torrents, I even do file > >> management on it (i.e. moving files from a folder to another). It just > >> works and I love it. > >> > >> A PC would do much more in terms of raw functionality, but hey, I don't > >> want to "maintain" the PC. The synology sits in my tv cabinet, makes > >> little noise and uses even less power. > >> > >> In the end it all comes down to a price/ease of use ratio. I wanted > >> something that was really plug and forget, and this does the job well. > >> I tell you one thing. I've had several forms of NAS'es over several > >> years. I started of with a home-made PC, then upgraded to one of those > >> Buffalo Terastations, then to a HP HomeServer (Windows Home Server) and > >> finally the Synology. > >> > >> The Synology by far was the best, in terms of performance as well as > >> functionality for me. It fits so well in my digital lifestyle I really > >> don't think I could live without it anymore. > >> > >> If this unit somehow dies, I'll get another Synology. > >> > >> > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: hardware-bounces@lists.**hardwaregroup.com< > [email protected]> > >> [mailto:hardware-bounces@**lists.hardwaregroup.com< > [email protected]>] > >> On Behalf Of Anthony > >> Q. Martin > >> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 2:50 PM > >> To: [email protected].**com < > [email protected]> > >> Subject: [H] NAS Box Vs PC for more movie storage > >> > >> Thinking ahead a bit...assuming hard drive prices return to normal after > >> the flood waters recede and the country has time to stabilize.... > >> > >> I'm trying to understand what the advantages of a formal NAS box (like a > >> Snyology 5-bay diskstation) is over a low-end PC for movie serving? The > >> discless version of this thing is $800+ and the 5TB (a mere 5TB?) is > >> $1400+. What's up with that? > >> > >> I don't consider movies backed up to hard drive to be critical, so I > >> personally don't see the need for raid etc. to recover lost drives, > >> which is why I'm just using Win7 homegroup without any kind of > >> sophistication. But I see a lot of people talking about using a NAS box > >> like this for the same purposes I'm after (movie/music serving) in my > >> house. I'm sure I can build up a cheap PC for way less. > >> > >> While on the topic...my movie server only has slots for two more HDs > >> (one is coming). I'd rather not add a second PC...it would be nice to > >> have a box that holds an array of drives and serves them up as > >> individual drives, something of like this thing: > >> > >> http://www.amazon.com/**Mediasonic-HF2-SU3S23-** > >> External-Drive-Enclosure/dp/< > http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HF2-SU3S23-External-Drive-Enclosure/dp/> > >> B003X26VV4/ref=sr_1_2?s=**electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=**1319542826&sr=1-2 > >> > >> which works over usb 3.0, so in theory I could add two of these over usb > >> 3.0, to get another 8*3=24TB. Problem is, these are noisy (at least at > >> ear level) and sometimes the drives drop out (I own one already). But > >> two of these is cheaper than a cheap PC. > >> > >> I think Greg said is has about 60TB of space....what kind of box is that > >> in? > >> > >> Has anyone built a DIY box for HD storage over a usb 3.0 connection? > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > -- > Best Regards, > > > Zulfiqar Naushad >
