My first venture into the great world of NAS

[Gforce083]

I've been searching for over 7 months, trying to find the perfect NAS that would fit my needs and fit within my limited budget. I flirted with buying a Buffalo CloudStor, LG N1B1D, LG NA2ADD2, and an iOMEGA unit. However, I could never pull the trigger. I came real close and even tried pulling the trigger on the LG N1B1D, but my efforts to find a new unit for sale (around suggested retail) left me high and dry. Even speaking with LG direct did me little to no good. I was sold on that LG unit and when I realized it wasn't in production anymore, I was crushed.

I kept digging, started looking into Synology units which seemed to get some good reviews. However, one of the main features I was looking for was a respectable Android application for the device. Synology didn't get good remarks in that area. That, along with hearing many complain about poor build quality, quickly turned me away. I was about to accept the fact that there just wasn't anything on the market that fit my needs.

I needed something with a solid Android App, DLNA and/or UPnP streaming, ability to create private folders that could be accessed by only those I choose to share it with, ability to send clients direct links to download their files straight from my NAS (I want to get away from limited services like DropBox, Gobbler, and Box), all with the ability to have my NAS also be my home/remote media hub. I started calling online tech retailers, sadly, their customer service reps provided me little help in terms of advice. Discouragement set it (cue soap opera dramatic music). Then out of know where, I came across QNAP. Some how, in 7 months I hadn't come across their products or simply over looked them. The more I read about them, the more excited I got. It seemed to do everything I wanted and more stuff I didn't even need (but may in the future). However, as there usually is, there was a catch, QNAP units ship without hard drives. I had settled on the TP-219P II and at $299 I was already over the amount I planned to spend. Then again, I this was the first unit I found that had mostly good reviews and also claimed to do all I needed it to. I bit the bullet, did some explaining to the wife and bought it, along with two 2TB drives.

I finally got the system up and running (for the most part) last night. From what I've seen so far, this is going to be great. Only issue now is, figuring out how to set everything up like I need it to be. It's not at all as straight forward as I thought, or the web makes it seem. I partially feel like I need an IT degree to make some of this stuff work. I'm hoping this forum will get me going in the right direction. Looking forward to my time here and enjoying my QNAP NAS.

[Don]

Welcome to the forum and the world of QNAP.

One piece of advice. If it is not too late return the WD green drives. They are not recommended for NAS systems and in fact cause issues. Search the forum for issues related to these drives. WD just release some red drives that were designed for NAS systems or check out the compatibility list for drives.

[Gforce083]

What?! They advertise on they're site that they are great for NAS devices :/ Can I really return the drives after I've installed them into the QNAP, formated an begun loading files onto them?

[Don]

Like I said check out the posts in the forum for people's experiences with them.

[pwilson]

What?! They advertise on they're site that they are great for NAS devices :/ Can I really return the drives after I've installed them into the QNAP, formated an begun loading files onto them?

Welcome to the Community, but please heed Don's advice. See: Search "WD Green"

It makes for an interesting read. WD not warrant Green Drives for use in RAID. Exchange them for drives that appear on the 3.5" HDD Compatibility List. If you are a WDC Fan, then their RED drives are probably your best bet, as they are cost effective, and compatible with the NAS, according to both WDC and QNAP.

Patrick.

[Gforce083]

Wish I had known of this list before I bought the drives yesterday. Now I'm not trying to be a stubborn or stupid but I did so a search on the green drives on these forums, found some interesting stuff. However, looking over QNAP's compatibility list, the exact model of the Caviar Green drives I bought are not there? They are WDBAAY0020HNC-NRSN

I am willing to listen to the advice given here, that's why I'm here in the first place. I don't know of any local place that sells the Red drives yet. I'm also not married to WD drives either. Looking for something cost effective, at least 2TB, and will be a quality product. From the reviews I saw online (except here) the WD Green seemed like what I needed. I was between these and the Seagate Barracuda's which got some awful reviews online. Do you have any other suggestions besides the WD Red that's around the same price?

To anyone's knowledge, even though I've broken the box seals, installed, formatted and have put data on these drives, I can return them?

[pwilson]

To anyone's knowledge, even though I've broken the box seals, installed, formatted and have put data on these drives, I can return them?

Don't ask us, ask your vendor. The drives sold are not compatible with the machine you put them in, so I would expect a refund(credit), perhaps less a restocking charge. Drives sold, are not suitable, and incompatible with storage device purchased for. Consumer Rights vary, so check with vendor.

They are unlikely to "refund", but may apply credit to account so you can order correct drives from same supplier. WD Reds are supposed to be close to same price as Green models. Greens are still useful in Non-RAID applications, just not your NAS when used in RAID configuration.

Patrick.

[P3R]

Do you have any other suggestions besides the WD Red that's around the same price?

Hitachi HDS5C3020ALA632, HDS723020BLA642 (note that the retail package may differ from the bare disk model name, as it did with your WD Greens) or Seagate ST2000DL004 (on the Qnap disk compatibility list under it's former name Samsung HD204UI).

[Gforce083]

To anyone's knowledge, even though I've broken the box seals, installed, formatted and have put data on these drives, I can return them?

Don't ask us, ask your vendor. The drives sold are not compatible with the machine you put them in, so I would expect a refund(credit), perhaps less a restocking charge. Drives sold, are not suitable, and incompatible with storage device purchased for. Consumer Rights vary, so check with vendor.

They are unlikely to "refund", but may apply credit to account so you can order correct drives from same supplier. WD Reds are supposed to be close to same price as Green models. Greens are still useful in Non-RAID applications, just not your NAS when used in RAID configuration.

Patrick.

Best Buy was the retailer... they don't carry WD Red yet, that I've seen. I'll give them a call today about returning the drives. However, in my initial setup I am running the drives as two single disk units, not RAID 1 or 0 at this time. I have considered RAID 1 in case of drive failure but then again, anything I'll be putting on my NAS will already be stored elsewhere. Trust me, I work in the music biz, backing up my clients files is half my job!

I do see in your sig that you use the Barracuda drives, can you attest that they are solid performers? Most reviews I've seen have not been good, but I've yet to talk to anyone actually using them.

[AnthonyBrown]

Hi all,

I'm new to this awesome forum, NAS. I'm glad to join in this forum. I'll share all my views and ideas with forum participants.

Best Regards,
Anthony Brown