Popular question before buying a NAS

So currently I am looking to use my NAS that is used as accessing data and stream the data from my windows computer/ Android phones and ps4, having authentication so that no one else can access my NAS/ I would like to stream movies and read document such as pdf and doc document over my phone, laptop, etc. I am living in a shared apartment where my room is not close with the router, so is it possible to configure my NAS as a wireless access point to access my data? if yes what do I need? can every NAS do this? if not, what kind of NAS do I need for this? I am looking for 4 bay NAS specifically and my budget is around $500 USD but feel free to suggest anything above the price range.

Every NAS connected to a WiFi capable router will become accessible either over the LAN or WiFi (Computers and mobiles devices). If your NAS is far away from the router, you can get a LAN cable up to 100Metres and connect to it. If you don’t, you can get a USB wifi dongle, but your transfer speeds will be very slow. Alternatively, you can use a powerline adapter to use your electric cables for networking.

 What happens if the NAS itself fail how to get the data from my hard drive? How to know if a NAS starts to fail/ the best way to keep the longevity of NAS?

If NAS fails itself, you can take the drives out and slide them into a new NAS and you can carry on using them without losing the data.

I need to move like 3TB of data from my hard drive to NAS, how easy it is to do so? Can I use NAS as plug and play like external hard drive to my laptop and transfer it there?( I read that some brand like QNAP TS453 B has this feature, but the Be version does not and my budget fall into the Be version, so would like to know if there are other brand with this feature? if not what is the easiest way to do this with QNAP TS453Be version? Is there any cheaper NAS that can do this?

You can connect your network drive along with any other external or local drives. Then simply execute copy/ paste function. Getting a NAS with Direct connection over USB is not a great choice, because it will not work faster than you LAN connection. You are not gaining speed by choosing one of these USB port NASes.

Can I setup login authentication with password so that only I can access my NAS? ( im highly certain I can)

Yes, you can. You can also encrypt folders or entire drives.

I am on a tight budget atm, so just wondering let say I’ll just buy 1 6TB hard drive to store my data, can I add another 6TB later to use it as a raid 1? if yes do I need the same brand and speed of HDD?

Yes, you can start with a single drive and add more drives later. You can start with a RAID1 protection and then move to a RAID5 later without losing your data.

from my research I understand that NAS comes with different size of RAM, how do I choose the right size of ram for my need and what are the 8 gb option for? what is the need of that?

The size of the RAM depends on what you want this NAS to do. If you want to run 5 or more different application servers inside you will need more RAM. If you want to set up virtual machines, web server then also you will need more RAM. It is a math game. You can also add more RAM later if you still don’t know how many of NAS apps you will use.

Can I use NAS to move data from my PC to NAS over the internet?if yes how do i do this?

Yes, you can connect your NAS drives a internet drive, which will appear along with your other drives. Or you can set it up as DropBox and synchronize certain folders. Or you can simply log into a web-based management console and do file transfers via there.

lest say I have 6TB NAS, can I replace both hard drive with 10TB in the future? can I migrate my data to 10TB one?

Yes, you can upgrade your existing drives to a bigger one without a need to reformat your system or losing your data. If you choose Synology, you can mix different capacity drives without a need of replacing them.

I am planning to move my NAS to my home country maybe end of this year, what is the best way to transport my NAS? will this be an issue in the airport if i bring my NAS with me to the plane?

The best way to transport it would be removing the drives and packing them separately. Then you can check them in in your large luggage or even take them on the plain.

what would be the NAS that would serve my need? and what size of ram do i need to choose?

You will need TS-453Be or DS918. You might need to use virtual machines for apps like MegaSync if you prefer them. These will also perform best with Plex. And these are a perfect choice for remote media streaming over the internet.

with QNAP ts 453be if I install usb 3.1 10gbps card, can I use this port to make it has external hard drive function just like QNAP ts453B quick access usb port?

No, installing USB card will not let you connect your computer directly. It can be used only for connecting external drives for backup purpose.

 I am planning to download around 2TB of data from my MEGA to NAS, as I dont want to pay for anymore subscription dn would rather have private cloud, Can I setup MEGAsync in my NAS and have them download immediately to my NAS? (https://mega.nz/sync)

Synology Drive and Qnap Qsync will do a much better job and offer more functionality then MegaSync and Drobbox combined. If you still want to use MegaSync, you can install windows or Linux virtual machines and then install this app on it.

I read from my research that I need Plex if I want to stream movie and such from my NAS to my andorid,pc and ps4, do I have any other option than Plex?

You don’t need Plex or any app at all. DLNA function will make your public data visible in your local network. So other devices connected to the same network will see and be able to access this media. Qnap and Synology will also have free Video station app for streaming content localy and also over the internet.

 

 

 

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What can I connect to a NAS?

Wireless Speaker Sonos

The great thing about Sonos is that you don't need to pay for music subscription service. With the cheapest NAS at home like DS115j or any other, you can have your backups done for all of your devices and still use your network drive as a Sonos music library. Sonos will connect to your NAS via your network and let access your provided music library. If you have little more of IT knowledge, you can even set up your Alexa or Sonos with Alexa built in to play music on your voice commands ("Alexa! Ask DS Audio to Play Music!").

Casting devices

Nowadays it is so cheap to upgrade your old TV and make it smart. All you need is Google Chrome or EZcast alternative plugged into your HDMI port at the back of your TV. Now you have great functionality added to your TV to send a video file directly from your NAS to a TV. No need for wires and chargers and other mess. You can use your phone as a remote to go to your movies or family videos and cast that content on your TV during family or friend gatherings.

 

Apple TV

Amazon Fire TV

You may not have a smartphone, or you just simply prefer to control your content with a remote in that case Amazon Fire TV will be a great addon to get to your TV. It also plugs into your HDMI port and will play content from your NAS to a TV. No wires no mess.

nVidia Shield TV

It gets even better! If you want some more entertainment and all previously mentioned functions - nVidia TV is a great thing to get. You can use it for playing games and watching movies from your NAS. The greatest thing is - shield TV does video transcoding. So even if you have a cheap NAS with a weak CPU, in a combination of shield TV you can now automatically on the fly change video file size and format for a destination device. It is a great way to reduce network load and let older devices to play video content which normally was not supported on the device.