Which NAS

[Pab]

I'm looking for some advice on a NAS solution...

I'm looking to get a NAS box, non-rack and ideally with a good RAID level, to sit aside our office SBS server and always be on. The purpose is two-fold... to automatically copy files from the server to the NAS whenever something is added/changed, meaning we always have everything on both the server and the NAS at all times, and also as storage for when we want to move and archive old files and folders off the server to free up space.

There seems to be so many NAS boxes available, I'm at a loss for which to choose. Also, I'm looking to spend £400-£600, if that's enough.

[vmShop]

After eventually flinging a Drobo out of the window for being slightly slower than a dead slug.. I got a Lacie 5big ( in my case the 5x 1TB version ) for my home storage and media network.

Works a treat and it looks a bit like HAL! : )

Allthough if you did want to go down the rack mount route, then that's a whole different kettle of fish.

Sync wise, plenty of free and paid software out there. From a simple batch file and total copy, to rSync..

[leemason]

Have a look at the Thecus N5500. Supports up to 5x2TB disks and up to RAID 6. They also come with a 3 year warranty at the moment. Performance is always very good and supports RAID expansion and migration so you could start off with 2x2TB disks in a RAID1 set and then add an additional disk and migrate to a RAID5 set without loosing your data. Then this RAID5 set could be expanded to 4 or 5 disks in future as storage needs grown again without loosing your data. Have a look here: ​http://thecus.expertsinstorage.com/business/thecus-n5500-1/thecus-n5500.html.

If that's a bit too much have a look at the N4200. Basically very similar but with 4 disks instead of 5.

[mcol]

We have a couple of Buffalo - very nice kit and just worked out of the box.