NAS Storage

Buying a NAS device

NAS devices usually have a built-in processor, operating system, web interface, and multiple hard drives. When it comes time to choose a NAS device, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration.

Capacity

The first is capacity – how much storage space do you need? Some NAS devices come with drives preinstalled offering up to several TB of capacity while others are supplied as chassis only and you have to choose and buy the drives separately. Consider also the number of storage bays available in the NAS device. Whilst you can buy single bay NAS devices, we generally don’t recommend single disk NAS units since they offer no redundancy if the drive fails and your data isn’t backed up elsewhere. For this reason, we’d recommend looking at two bay NAS devices as a minimum.

Connectivity

Next, consider your connection speed – some NAS models come with built-in Gigabit Ethernet connections which will offer faster speeds than traditional Ethernet connections. Additionally, consider what type of RAID setup you’d like; many models support different levels of RAID such as 0/1/5/6/10/50/60 configurations.

Software features

Lastly, look at the software features offered by each model as this will help determine what types of applications can be used on the device and how they will function when accessed over the network. Base the specs of the NAS device on the type of applications you plan to run. For example, if you want to stream HD footage to multiple devices or you’re storing huge media collections, pick a NAS device that has a large amount of RAM and a powerful processor.