Best NAS

[rchawla80]

Hi all -

I need advice on a good NAS under $400. I need this NAS to be able to have an Itunes server (so that it could SERVE Itunes music) and also go to all my computers and copy to a library and back it all up and share it in Itunes. Further, I want it compatible so that I could use it as a network storage device to connect to C4 Digital Audio (with or without scanning - kind of like the Ipod dock) so that I can use C4 with it.

Anything out there like this? I hate the idea of C4 scanning everything for media art for over 50-60gb of music. Its not accurate and it sucks!

Any help?

Thanks

[dgbrown]

Hi all -

I need advice on a good NAS under $400. I need this NAS to be able to have an Itunes server (so that it could SERVE Itunes music) and also go to all my computers and copy to a library and back it all up and share it in Itunes. Further, I want it compatible so that I could use it as a network storage device to connect to C4 Digital Audio (with or without scanning - kind of like the Ipod dock) so that I can use C4 with it.

Anything out there like this? I hate the idea of C4 scanning everything for media art for over 50-60gb of music. Its not accurate and it sucks!

Any help?

Thanks

Checkout the readynas duo or the readynas nv (larger capacity) at newegg. I believe they had the former on special for $349 plus a $100 rebate for 1tb (you can add a second drive for redundancy). It supports all the major protocols and has a number of plugins (like itunes server, slimserver, upnp, etc.) that run right on the nas box. Support good and there's an active dev community.

[bog]

@rchawla:

The whole point of a NAS is to be a file server. Any NAS you find will support file sharing using Windows file sharing protocol (SMB). One of the next most popular features will be an iTunes server so music you store on the NAS will appear as a shared music library when you launch iTunes on another computer.

Many factors affect price such as number of drive bays and what drives are included or not. I started with a Dlink DNS-323 (2-bay, drives old separately) to see how these devices work before I invested serious money. I use 2 drives in a mirrored configuration for redundancy. I've outgrown the 2 drives so I'm now looking at a 4-bay unit from QNAP.

QNAP, Netgear, Buffalo, Synology and Drobo (though Drobo by itself is not a NAS and even with the Drobo Share it's limited by USB throughput)

Check out reviews on cnet for some suggestions:

http://reviews.cnet.com/1770-3382_7-0.html?tag=mncol%3Bsort&query=network+storage&searchtype=products&rpp=10&sort=editorsStarRatingAndReviewDate+desc

[rchawla80]

Is there any NAS that actually streams the Itunes music directly without needing a third party Mac/PC Itunes? That's what I want. Something I can control with an Iphone Remote application without a Apple TV or something running Itunes.

Thanks

[henniae]

Is there any NAS that actually streams the Itunes music directly without needing a third party Mac/PC Itunes? That's what I want. Something I can control with an Iphone Remote application without a Apple TV or something running Itunes.

Thanks

I think the Apple DRM would prevent this.

[bog]

The NAS includes an iTunes server. When you launch itunes on your PC or Mac it will automatically detect this shared library and display it in iTunes. You need to use an iTunes client if you want to stream music from an iTunes server. This is the nature of ANY client/server communication.

There are network music players like Roku's Soundbridge that can also play music from the iTunes server. The soundbridge is essentially an iTunes client. HC300 can play music from a Windows file share without requiring iTunes.

[Matt]

The following features are highly desirable in a NAS drive (especially when considering doing video streaming):

-Gigabit NIC

-7200 RPM SATA drive

-A journal file system (i.e. ext3 or xfs)

-RAID support - RAID 1, 5, or 6 not 0. Raid 1 is highly recommended due to increased read speed and data redundancy. (raid 0 is not a control4 limitation more of a reliability issue when streaming)

Here are the ones which I recommend:

· Netgear ReadyNAS Duo

· Zatabit

· Buffalo Terastation

· Buffalo LinkStation

· LaCie

· Apple TimeCapsule

[CFUG]

Any newer recommendations? BTW, LaCie is not one I'd be pushing.

[ILoveC4]

I really like my Netgear ReadyNAS NV+. It is a 4 bay NAS, and mine came installed with two 1TB drives, and was $329 on clearance at Fry's.

[Matt]

Any newer recommendations? BTW, LaCie is not one I'd be pushing.

I like my Lacie Drive.. But I also have a Buffalo, Netgear, and TimeCapsule.

What issues are you seeing with Lacie?

[ILoveC4]

Any newer recommendations? BTW' date=' LaCie is not one I'd be pushing.[/quote']

I like my Lacie Drive.. But I also have a Buffalo, Netgear, and TimeCapsule.

What issues are you seeing with Lacie?

I'm curious after reading your post above...do you push ONLY the ReadyNAS DUO, or the entire ReadyNAS line (the 4 and 6 bay units)?

[CFUG]

Any newer recommendations? BTW' date=' LaCie is not one I'd be pushing.[/quote']

I like my Lacie Drive.. But I also have a Buffalo, Netgear, and TimeCapsule.

What issues are you seeing with Lacie?

Drive failures- they don't install the best drives. Also, have you seen the perfromance tests of any of their NASs? Not pretty.

[dans]

Any newer recommendations? BTW, LaCie is not one I'd be pushing.

I'm running a QNAP TS-509Pro (and i've also used Thecus previously). From my experience the QNAP is very well supported and has some of the highest throughput capability.

Their new firmware (free upgrade) includes Itunes server, Twonkymedia server, Timemachine server, and a bunch more.