me23 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I starting to outgrow my WHS v1 server in terms of space (2TB limit on drives). I plan on keeping it and backup the computers of the house, which it does a good job of that and also for dvr surveillance.So now Im starting to think about a dedicated video/media server. Any suggestions? I know some people here use synology, which is fine, but I also am curious about unraid and maybe even whs2011. Another possiblity is windows 8 using its new storage spaces, which is basically like a raid 0.Dont know if I'm up to learning unraid or not. Seems daunting at first glance.So what do some of you guys use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 ReadyNAS here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSDave Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 FreeNAS over here. I love that i can re-purpose an old PC and make good use out of it. Plus the feature set is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWater84 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm very happy with my unraid box. There really isn't much to learn about it and the install is very easy. I like the fact that they have a large user base so I am usually able to find answers to my questions quickly on the forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 ReadyNAS or QNAP but probably switching personally to James@Diamond Design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
well_armed Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Synology :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 You guys will really be impressed with the boxes. Just FYI, my first quote on the NAS OS software alone was $25,000. I paid less than that but just an example of whats going on under the hood. For me23, a big question is do you need backup ability or only storage. Backing up requires more than a nas (like your whsv1 had) whereas if you are using a desktop to backup, a NAS alone is sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoskiguy Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I use a ZFS NAS based on Solaris. I'm not a UNIX/Solaris guy, but wanted it based on a ZFS file system for all it's features. I didn't pull the trigger until I found napp-it. It's basically a web interface to setup the NAS aspect. It's not a no brainer to setup, but not bad either. Think I logged into the Solaris console 2 times in 3 years. It's been rock solid. http://www.napp-it.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvlboy Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I have 4 NAS, intel ss4200, dlink dns323, dns325, and synology.I maximized the cpu and ram on the ss4200 and run headless server 2003.dns323 runs transmissiondns325 locally backup both Synology Raid0, and dns323.Synology is an active movie/photo/music server both LAN and WAN.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me23 Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 You guys will really be impressed with the boxes. Just FYI, my first quote on the NAS OS software alone was $25,000. I paid less than that but just an example of whats going on under the hood. For me23, a big question is do you need backup ability or only storage. Backing up requires more than a nas (like your whsv1 had) whereas if you are using a desktop to backup, a NAS alone is sufficient.Yeah my current WHS will suffice for computer backups. Need large media server. Out of curiosity, can you email me some quotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceOfSpades Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I starting to outgrow my WHS v1 server in terms of space (2TB limit on drives). I plan on keeping it and backup the computers of the house, which it does a good job of that and also for dvr surveillance.So now Im starting to think about a dedicated video/media server. Any suggestions? I know some people here use synology, which is fine, but I also am curious about unraid and maybe even whs2011. Another possiblity is windows 8 using its new storage spaces, which is basically like a raid 0.Dont know if I'm up to learning unraid or not. Seems daunting at first glance.So what do some of you guys use?+1 but with WHS 2011 b/c of MyMovies integration. 12TB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me23 Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm very happy with my unraid box. There really isn't much to learn about it and the install is very easy. I like the fact that they have a large user base so I am usually able to find answers to my questions quickly on the forums.I have been reading some of the unraid forums. Have you had any issue cleanly shutting down the array and adding new drives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWater84 Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I'm very happy with my unraid box. There really isn't much to learn about it and the install is very easy. I like the fact that they have a large user base so I am usually able to find answers to my questions quickly on the forums.I have been reading some of the unraid forums. Have you had any issue cleanly shutting down the array and adding new drives?I've never had any issue with mine. I've been surprised how easy it has been to upgrade both the hardware and software side of things. I'm up to 12 1TB drives now and still have plenty of room to expand (can have up to 21 drives with a pro license) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Maybe an outlier but I've been using a Thecus NAS (N4100pro) for several years. Its now older technology but its been reliably streaming uncompressed DVD, HD-DVD and blu-ray to my popcorn hour. Importantly I have never tried it with more than one stream and doubt it could handle two HD streams. I will also need to upgrade soon and appreciate the other recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 OK guys I got everything up on the site except 1 youttube video. There is a new category at the left called dd Smart NAS and one called dd Smart Server. Tons of info, pictures, a video, a in-depth users guide/manual, etc. A special note, on the dd NAS product pages, you can click the medium size images of the operating system screen caputure to blow those up to even larger sizes so you can see more detail. As requested, I've created two introductory c4forums coupons. The coupon code "c4forumsNAS" will yield $250 Off Any dd Smart NAS this month. The coupon code "c4forumsSERVER" will yield $500 Off any dd Smart Server this month. Drives, redundancy, etc. is all covered on the detail pages. As is always with our site, it is best viewed in internet explorer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSDave Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 OK guys I got everything up on the site except 1 youttube video. There is a new category at the left called dd Smart NAS and one called dd Smart Server. Tons of info, pictures, a video, a in-depth users guide/manual, etc. A special note, on the dd NAS product pages, you can click the medium size images of the operating system screen caputure to blow those up to even larger sizes so you can see more detail. As requested, I've created two introductory c4forums coupons. The coupon code "c4forumsNAS" will yield $250 Off Any dd Smart NAS this month. The coupon code "c4forumsSERVER" will yield $500 Off any dd Smart Server this month. Drives, redundancy, etc. is all covered on the detail pages. As is always with our site, it is best viewed in internet explorer.Im just curious to the benefits of this over other NAS solutions?Please forgive my ignorance.David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 The server's do a ton more but if you are referring to the NAS as it describes, they are cheaper than their target competitors (readynas, etc.) and aren't an attempt to capture every nas market (offices, security dvr, homes, media servers, corporate backup, etc.). They are focused on 1 or 2 continuous file requests (large files) vs. being balanced to 10, 20, 30 little file requests (like an office trying to pull pdf documents, etc.) or continuous writes of DVRs, etc. Other than that they are plug and play with C4 (with built in C4 user accounts) with CIFS (aka SMB) pre-configured (which is what C4 runs with as well as Dunes, PCH and most media players). Also (this only matters for dealers) there is margin in them vs. next to nothing margins for dealers on netgear, etc. Finally the products can sync with themselves but you wouldn't want to put movies in multiple locations, etc. due to copyright restrictions.With the server its night and day so I assume thats not what you were referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wappinghigh Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Totally Awesome James. Fantastic stuff. You've done it again!! I'm all over this like a rash . Where is the link to the NAS manuals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Well you can see its about 50% here:http://www.diamondhomedesign.com/store/download/ddNASSetupInstructions.pdfThe problem is it takes a while to make it pretty. Its early stages (still mostly server stuff I'm changing content to NAS stuff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsanf3 Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I use a ZFS NAS based on Solaris. I'm not a UNIX/Solaris guy, but wanted it based on a ZFS file system for all it's features. I didn't pull the trigger until I found napp-it. It's basically a web interface to setup the NAS aspect. It's not a no brainer to setup, but not bad either. Think I logged into the Solaris console 2 times in 3 years. It's been rock solid. http://www.napp-it.org/Thanks chicagoskiguy, I'm a Solaris guy, I'll have to check out napp-it.I'm using ReadyNAS and testing FreeNAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c44me Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 James it looks awfully expensive? can you explain the pricing a bit and why they are so much? maybe I am missing something? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Sure, 1. There is an extra amount (hence the discount coupon code referenced on the other thread for users here) in there in case I go through Control4 for distribution with their new store for dealers. Its not much but thats why I provided the code to offset for now. If you want to get the best I can do email me the model and I'll see what I can do. For now we aren't doing distribution so I can play with this amount a bit.2. My hard drive prices have skyrocketed. What used to be $105 is now $186 and $289 (2tb and 3tb). So with 6 disks I have either nearly 1200 or 1750 in disks. As those get back down (and they are starting to drop) as the flood issues subside, I'll try to adjust. However, the flood was long ago and they are still "milking" us.3. My target is the fast pre-made solutions as this is. A 12TB readynas is $4700 (provantage), 18TB is $,5089 (bh here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/820028-REG/Netgear_RNDP6630_200NAS_ReadyNAS_Pro_6_18TB.html although some seller is doing them on amazon for $4620 here http://www.amazon.com/Readynas-Pro-18TB-Unified-Na/dp/B00548QIS6 The qnap pros are going for just under 4000 with 18tb. Some prices are a little lower but these people are putting in crappy seagates if you read closely on some of these as well. So at $2500-2750 or $3000 - 3250 ours are nicely below the targets. Additionally, I know that Readynas uses half of the ram we do (I haven't played with qnap or synology in person). So after hard drives (not consumer seagates) we have about 1400 to play with before chasis, power supply, motherboard/processor (and we use a very expensive motherboard with dual gigabit intel nics), 8gb ram and recoupment of our cost in developing the software that was configured to be more suited for our purposes than those other 3 target competitors. I want dealers to have a little bit of room in there too. Eventually, not much makes it to the account after I take into account the original software expense. Hope this helps a bit.FYI, Back when we were only using 4gb of ram in the test models, I put some speed tests up with screen capture results and we were outrunning the Readynas Pro already (nicely I might say on the read speed). There is a thread on here with it (again we doubled ram since then too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceOfSpades Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 WHS 2011 on the South side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaltrader Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I use a WHS 2011 and Synology, but I bought these prior to the DiamondDesign product availability. If I was looking now, I would definitely go with one of the DiamondDesign products as James makes things "just work". Its worth any small premium that might exist to just have things work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pstuart Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I've been talking with James a bit this week. I have to say, the guy knows his stuff.I highly suggest anyone looking to add media storage to go with James solution. He is the ONLY one to optimize a product specifically for large media files. All other NAS's don't do this. This is huge.Just make sure you have a good backup plan regardless of what NAS you go with. RAID5 is not a backup solution. I would really like to see someone come up with a good media backup / offline backup strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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