There are dozens of NAS (Network-Attached Storage) enclosures on the market that you can pack with hard drives for a tidy storage boost on your home network. All of them promise to keep your data accessible, safely redundant, and available to multiple computers on your wired or wireless network. Some are expensive, others not so much, but when we asked you which NAS enclosures you thought were the best for the job, a few nominees rose to the top. Here's a look at the five best, based on those nominations.
Earlier in the week we asked you which NAS enclosures you thought were the best. We heard your nominations loud and clear, and now we're back to take a look at the top five.
The poll is closed and the votes are counted! To see which of the top five took the grand prize, head over to our hive five followup post to see and discuss the winner!
Synology DS212j ($199)
The Synology DS212j is a two drive bay model aimed squarely at home users and small groups looking to safely store large amounts of data without spending too much money on a NAS solution for their home or home office. The DS212j, in addition to working primarily as a NAS, also can function as a low-power 24/7 downloading system, automating all of your regular download duties without you having to task a computer on your network with the job, and doesn't require you dedicate a disk to its own OS—it has internal memory for that. It's also DLNA certified, which makes for easy media streaming to connected devices on your home network like smart TVs and Blu-Ray players. The DS212J supports a maximum of 8TB (2x 4TB), and sports a pair of USB 2.0 ports and 1 Gigabit Ethernet port on the back. The device comes with backup software for effortless Windows backups, is Time Machine compatible, and can be configured for remote access to your files on the go so you never roam without them. The Synology app for iOS and Android also lets you grab your files on your smartphone or tablet.
Synology DS1512+ ($799)
If your data storage and availability needs are more than Synology's purely consumer and home office products can support—or if you just have the money to spend—the DS1512 is a five bay model that supports a maximum of 20TB (5x 4TB) and sports a pair of Gigabit ethernet ports on the back, two USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports for external connectivity, and an eSATA port. If you need to extend the device's storage capabilities, it can easily be daisy chained via iSCSI or eSATA to other models just like it using a Synology DX expansion unit. As it stands though, the SD1512+ is designed for small businesses and professionals who need the space, availability, and redundancy of a large drive array without spending too much. The larger model is a little less energy efficient, but Synology touts its energy efficiency, and the device can support whatever OS you choose to throw on it thanks to its internal (and expandable) memory.
Netgear ReadyNAS Pro 2 ($450)
Netgear's ReadyNAS line of appliances offer some high-end features at lower prices than some of the competition. For example, the ReadyNAS Pro 2 is a two-drive bay model that supports a maximum of 12TB of storage including externally connected hard drives via its six SATA II channels and three USB 2.0 ports. It features dual Gigabit Ethernet on the rear, and embedded memory for its own operating system, so you don't have to task a partition or drive with its OS. In addition to operating as a file server, the ReadyNAS Pro 2 functions as a print server if you attach a USB printer to it, and is streaming compatible with Windows Media Center, PlayStation 3, XBox 360, and more. The ReadyNAS Pro 2 isn't a desktop model, so don't expect bonus backup software or anything, but it does function with Time Machine (after some configuration) and if your Windows backup client can support network drives, it'll support this.
Synology DS412+ ($669)
Synology's DS412+ is still a pro-sumer NAS model, targeted at small businesses more than individuals, but consumers and enthusiasts can enjoy its features on their home networks just as well as small groups or offices can. The DS412+ is a four drive bay model that supports up to 16TB (4x 4TB) and features dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and one eSATA port on the rear of the device. Like everyone else in the roundup, it's a diskless system, meaning it has on-board memory for its operating system so your installed drives are all for your own use. Like the other pro models, the 412+ can be daisy chained via eSATA or iSCSI to additional units for added storage, and can be configured for remote access or even to host external web sites or business applications that need to be accessible from multiple locations. Again, you get all of the same benefits of the consumer models with this one, all in a space and power-saving package.
Build It Yourself
A good number of you pointed out that you'd rather build your own NAS. Some of your said you would use a computer you have lying around and stuff it full of new, multi-terabyte drives, and others noted that you could just as easily build a computer to serve as a NAS for the price you'd pay to buy some of the better and more high-end NAS enclosures available, and then you could do whatever you wanted with it, without being limited by the enclosure itself. As usual, the choice is a matter of convenience, easy setup, and support versus having choice, expandability, and having everything exactly the way you like. If you choose to assemble your own DIY NAS, we have a few useful guides that can help. Photo by Justin Ruckman.
Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to vote for the all-out winner.
The honorable mention this week goes out to the Drobo, specifically the 2nd generation four-bay Drobo model, which many of you praised for its simple setup. Unfortunately though the Drobo isn't really a true NAS because it needs to be connected to a computer via Firewire or USB, which makes it a DAS (direct-attached storage), so it's not right for this roundup. Had you nominated the Drobo 5N, it would have qualified for the roundup.
Beyond these, we were tempted to group the nominees into models so we didn't have so many Synology models in the roundup, but we did want to find the best NAS enclosures, not who makes the best NAS. Companies like QNAP and D-Link deserve mentioning, even if their models didn't meet with the same popularity. Still, we're betting you have some alternatives to suggest, so let's hear them below.
Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Make your case for your favorite—or alternative—in the discussions below.
The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at [email protected]!
Title photo by Sinchen.Lin.