NAS Buyers Guide – Get It Right First Time

Last updated on 26 Oct 2022 📧 Subscribe
Contents hide
1 NAS Brands in 2022 – Get it Right, FIRST TIME!
2 Is a NAS and a Server the Same Thing?
3 What is NAS Drive?
4 Choosing between Synology, QNAP, WD, Drobo, Netgear, Thecus and Asustor NAS
5 Why Not Use Cloud Services like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox instead of a NAS?
6 Why Choose Synology NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
7 Why Choose QNAP NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
8 Why Choose Asustor NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
9 Why Choose WD NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
10 Why Choose TerraMaster NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
11 Why Choose Buffalo NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
12 Why Choose Netgear NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages
13 Should you buy Budget NAS brands like D-Link or Zyxel?
14 Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

UPDATE– I have updated this article to the 2022 Version of the NAS Buyers Guide, in order to keep things up to date and ensure you have the most current picture on NAS/NAS-brands right now.

NAS Brands in 2022 – Get it Right, FIRST TIME!

If you have been looking to purchase your first NAS drive, or are looking at upgrading the system that you have been using in your home/office for the last few years, then it is understandable that it is ALOT of get to grips with. Network Attached Storage has evolved incredibly over the last few years and has gone from a rather niche area of the I.T industry into something that pretty much all users can benefit from in their daily lives. With the monthly/annual subscription costs of cloud storage providers (such as Google Cloud, AWS, DropBox and Microsoft OneDrive) getting higher, as well as the size of our daily data skyrocketing, making the switch from rented 3rd party cloud space to your very own NAS server in-house makes ALOT of sense. It becomes even more compelling when you add in the full range of software, services and features that modern NAS includes (Plex, AI Photo Recognition, Surveillance, VMs, Hybrid backup-n-sync and more), but like any area of technology – NAS can become a complicated and confusing subject. Every year for the last 5 years I have produced a guide on modern NAS brands, the best solutions you can get right now, who the brands have improved/declined and ultimately created an idiots guide to choosing the right NAS solution for your needs right FIRST TIME. In this, the 2022/2023 edition, we have seen a huge increase in 2.5GbE network solutions, improvements in M.2 NVMe technology and all of the popular NAS brands introducing improvements in their server software. So, what are you waiting for? Here is my guide to Network Attached Storage in 2022. Use the chapters below to skip ahead and I hope this helps you choose the right solution for your needs.

Is a NAS and a Server the Same Thing?

You will often hear people use the word NAS and the word Server differently. Both are exceedingly similar and often interchanged, but there are some teeny tiny historical differences between them. The word server can sometimes bring out a cold sweat in the less technically minded or IT experienced, but in reality, it is a pretty harmless term. A server is a piece of hardware (like a computer) or software (so a program that runs on a computer) that manages, shares and controls data (pictures, videos, word documents, PDFs etc) to a number of people who wish to access them (these are called ‘clients’). That is it. Sure, there are much more complex and expensive servers that are designed to communicate with other servers or computers without human intervention – but in essence, they are all the same thing. Now where a regular server will give access to your users/clients via your internal network (router or switch) a NAS Server is the same, but it opens up a whole area of accessing it over the internet too. Different NAS servers provide different results and speeds and typically are designed with individual purposes in mind (i.e some are designed with media playing in mind, some with faster backing up and others with Surveillance recordings with CCTV IP Cameras). So first and foremost you have to make sure that the NAS you buy is designed for the tasks you have in mind. A fork and a Spoon are both cutlery, but you wouldn’t eat soup with a fork (maybe a spork). Traditional bare-metal servers have the option of remote internet access, but nowhere near as intuitively and with a focus on user-friendliness that NAS systems provide.

What is NAS Drive?

Network Attached Storage, with the exception of casual 3rd party cloud use, is currently the most popular means to store, access, share and distribute data across your home, your city and the rest of the world. It provides you with the means to:

  • Access your Multimedia on Network devices over DLNA
  • Backup all your devices easily and at a time of your choosing, wire-free
  • Stream Media over the internet, anywhere in the world
  • Share files securely and with full control of how and when they are accessible
  • Centralize the storage of your data in one location
  • Create Bespoke tiered backup solutions that fit your own needs

Choosing between Synology, QNAP, WD, Drobo, Netgear, Thecus and Asustor NAS

Let’s get our hands dirty and start working out what is the best NAS for you. All the brands have a different target audience in mind and each has its own Pros and Cons. However, all of them support a number of similar abilities, software and network basic functionality. So before we talk about what is better or worse about each NAS brand, let’s look at what they all have in common:

Applicable to all

  • All are compatible with Mac, Windows, Android and Linux
  • All arrive with a selection of included applications and services for tailored data access
  • All can be purchased Worldwide and feature regular security updates and firmware improvements regularly
  • All can be accessed via Mobile apps available via Google Play and iTunes, though there are more on some other brands than others
  • All can be accessed via your web browser – like Chrome, Opera, Safari, and…sigh… Windows Explorer
  • All use SATA HDD and SSD, with some having SAS enterprise options too
  • All work via the network and can be accessed worldwide over the internet
  • 3rd Party applications like PLEX, KODI and APPLE TIME MACHINE are supported
  • All arrive DLNA certified, so they will be accessed by your PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Smart TV or Sonos system to play media
  • All are either WiFi-enabled or can have a WiFi dongle attached – though your speeds will suffer
  • All when purchased NEW arrive with a warranty of at least 2 years and in many cases more

Why Not Use Cloud Services like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox instead of a NAS?

Do not think that 3rd party cloud services are bad, they really aren’t! In fact, you should always consider adding a 2nd or 3rd tier into your backup strategy at home/work, and synchronization of files/folders on your NAS with the cloud is a good means to ensure you have another backup in place. Additionally, most NAS feature a variety of 256bit encryption options, password protection, 2 step verification and more to allow secure access is ensured to the NAS and the content, even via the cloud. Additionally, bg NAS brands like Synology and QNAP have been supporting Hybrid Cloud services that not only allow cloud storage to be bolted onto your NAS storage for shared usage and access, but also both brand support backup and synchronization with cloud collaborate services, such as Google’s G Suite and Microsoft’s Office 365. So there is DEFINITELY still a valid and useful place for 3rd party cloud services in 2022, however, I rarely advocate the use of these cloud services as a PRIMARY storage location. They ARE convenient and you can get a limited amount of space included for free, but I generally have three core reasons that I do not recommend cloud as a first-tier storage.

COST – The cost of most 2 year subscriptions costs about the same as if you just purchased even a small scale NAS on day 1. It might seem like just 5 or 10 bucks a month, but over 2 or 3 years, it all adds up and moreover, after that time you either need to keep on paying every month or still buy a NAS or DAS system for the data to live on. Might as well buy the NAS sooner rather than later as it will be inevitable eventually.

ACCESS – NAS provides more apps, file-level tailored use and can be better adapted into popular 3rd Party applications like PLEX, KODI, APPLE TIME MACHINE and DLNA supported devices. A cloud provider severely limits the kind of access you have on a regular basis.

PRIVACY – NAS provides full individual user control and access, as well as admin controls. Plus the NAS can be fully disconnected from the Internet/Network at your discretion. A cloud provider has a relative pre-set safety protocol that, when cracked on one or two occasions, opens up mass hacking

This is not to say that data on your NAS is completely inaccessible. Any NAS brand can only really stay 1 step ahead of the hackers, patching exploits as they are found (no different than any online service really), but a NAS is a means to create a secure, customizable and ultimately bespoke data storage solution.

Why Choose Synology NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

synology-all-black-logo-for-banner

Likely one of the two NAS brands you have heard of, Synology NAS is the company that invests HEAVILY in its software – and it shows. It may seem one of the most expensive, but with it, you get some genuine boundary-breaking software with your purchase.  You still get a great level of hardware in the majority of Synology NAS solutions, but the real draw of Synology is that software. Not only does it support your own hardware environment of PCs, Macs, entertainment devices and mobiles in their own respective software, but DSM also includes MANY applications designed around keeping all your data IN-HOUSE. So, replace Skype/Whatsapp with Synology Chat, Replace Google Docs and Office365 with Synology Office. Use Synology Drive to make your storage visible and accessible the way YOU want it, and export your entire cloud/data network over to a Synology NAS and remove all the external access as and when you need! They aren’t the cheapest and they want you to do it ‘there way’, but it’s a pretty decent way. Additionally, their recent DSM 7.0 software has left many users impressed, with enhanced support of those 3rd party cloud storage and business services, AI photo recognition, their surveillance platform continuing to win awards and even an in-house cloud service in Synology C2. Stylizing themselves very much as the ‘Apple’ of this industry, they really do focus on keeping things straightforward and intuitive.

PROS of Synology NAS

  • Easily the most intuitive and Usage browser-based GUI (award-winning DSM 6.2/7.0/7.1) – FULL Review HERE
  • One of the best Surveillance NAS software solutions
  • Most popular vendor for Mac users for it’s UI
  • Incredibly feature-rich NVR software included, in Surveillance Station
  • Includes Active Backup Suite – Enterprise level and fully featured Backup Co-ordination software
  • Lowest Power Consumption vs other brands
  • A large # of their systems arrive with m.2 NVMe SSD caching upgrade bays
  • Quiet chassis compared with other brands
  • Task specialised Ranges like ‘PLAY’, ‘PLUS’ and ‘J’ make buying easier
  • The best range of first-party software, with Synology Office, Chat, Mail, Drive and more
  • SHR and SHR-2 – also BTRFS available in most solutions
  • Cloud Services available in Synology C2
  • Desktop and Rack-mount options are available
  • Best software for Home and SMB

CONS of Synology NAS

  • Often the most expensive
  • Recent Enterprise NAS Hardware has changed Compatibility in favour of Synology HDDs and SSDs
  • Generally, Synology NAS has the lowest hardware power in their systems
  • NVMe SSD Bays are for caching ONLY, they cannot be used for super-fast storage pools
  • More technically minded folk will need to dig a little to get to the nitty-gritty
  • SHR is not available on Enterprise NAS Systems
  • Network ONLY – no HDMI, Audio in/out, Thunderbolt, etc

Synology DS220J NAS – $180

4-Core ARM 64bit CPU – 512MB Memory – 1GbE – 2-Bay

RECOMMENDED – Synology DS920+ – $535

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 4/8GB Memory – 1GbE – 4-Bay –  NVMe

Synology DS1621XS+ NAS – $1899

4-Core Intel Xeon 64bit CPU – 8/16GB Memory – 10GbE – 6-Bay –  NVMe

Best Budget NAS

Check Amazon Below for Current Prices/Stock

Best Mid-Range Solution

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Best Business Solution

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Why Choose QNAP NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

QNAP_logo1_hnlgpk_ptkfgi

Often considered the choice for the more hardware-aware buyer, if you are looking for a much more traditionally computer associated hardware – QNAP NAS is certainly the one that springs to mind. Generally considered the ‘innovators’ of the NAS industry, they have the largest range of solutions available Notwithstanding the fact that their hardware is by FAR the most evolved platform in NAS (thunderbolt 3, multiple HDMI, 10Gbe standard solutions, Silent NAS, AI solutions and advanced SSD caching), the platform is fantastically diverse, providing great NAS options alongside network switches, network adapters and generally reshaping your hardware environment for the better. The software has also evolved dramatically into its own beast, moving away from trying to imitate and carving its own path. It is a little more technically (and I really do mean a little) but it is far more rewarding for it. They do not feature some popular items on their portfolio, such as BTRFS or a fluid RAID system like SHR/BeyondRAID, but make up for this with their own range of alternatives and in most cases succeed. Get your reading glasses on though, as their range is quite vast and might overwhelm you a tad. In recent years the brand has shifted focus a great deal more towards software in efforts to meet the gap with their rival Synology to pretty good success. This is often achieved by releasing software that does the previously impossible before anyone else, but lacking a little of the polish of their biggest rival. Recent achievements with HybridMount, vJBOD, HyperVisor Protector, QuMagie and Multimedia Console have been received remarkably well, arriving onto the scene 1-2 years before anyone else. Alongside this, QNAP still has easily the best virtual machine and backup software for home and SMB in Virtualization Station and Hybrid Backup Sync.

PROS of QNAP NAS

  • Best Solutions for Plex Media Server in NAS
  • Enterprise/Business Solutions feature ZFS
  • 2.5Gbe, 5Gbe and 10Gbe Options
  • Best Virtual Machine and Container Solutions in NAS
  • NVMe SSD Bays can be used for Caching, Storage Pools or Tiered Storage Configurations
  • Almost all range is metal in design, or a plastic but unique chassis
  • HDMI and remote control included in most Media NAS devices
  • Thunderbolt NAS options covering TB2, TB3 and even TB4 (TS-464)
  • Two Surveillance Solutions (with 4/8 Camera Licenses included)
  • The Best Backup/Synchronization solution in ‘Hybrid Backup Sync 3’
  • Technical information far more readily available
  • Lower price compared with Synology in terms of hardware
  • Regularly updated software and Detailed GUI/APPs – FULL Review HERE
  • Desktop and Rackmount options are available
  • Much better business options and definitely the best for virtual machines

CONS of QNAP NAS

  • A more android feel towards apps and stability means some users will be put off
  • Lacking the BTRFS and SHR support of Synology
  • Higher typical Power consumption
  • Often a fraction noisier due to chiefly metal chassis
  • Much larger range of devices can lead to confusion
  • Most units arrive with 2-3 Years warranty, but longer will cost you more
  • Have been targetted by Ransomware attacks in the last 2 years

QNAP TS-233 NAS – $205

4-Core ARM 64bit CPU – 2GB Memory – 1GbE – 2-Bay

RECOMMENDED – QNAP TS-464 – $599

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 4/16GB Memory – 1GbE – 4-Bay

QNAP TVS-872XT NAS – $2200

4/6-Core Intel Core 64bit CPU – 8/64GB Memory – 10GbE – 8-Bay

Best Budget NAS

Check Amazon Below for Current Prices/Stock

Best Mid-Range Solution

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Best Business Solution

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Why Choose Asustor NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

asustor logo

Another brand that was once a little on the fringe until around 2018, Asustor NAS has really upped their game in recent years, arriving with some impressively affordable 10Gbe solutions with the AS40 series, followed with the very well received Nimbustor 2 & 4 devices, and is now absolutely killing it with the Lockstor series. Certainly, a brand that wants to carve its place in the industry, the ASUS connected brand currently offers software features and functionality of Synology (BTRFS and Realtek integrated Processors) along with QNAP challenging hardware in HDMI 2.0a and 2.5Gbe default network ports (which they introduced first). This combined with a much cleaner and significantly improved software GUI in ADM, they have moved much beyond the slightly scrappy outsider vibe they had years ago. Recent additions to the range, such as the LockerStor have even included NVMe SSD bays and Xeon powered hardware, so the evolution clearly continues. The software does feel like a good middle ground between Synology and QNAP, even if missing the killer apps and hardware that gave them their market share (Thunderbolt3, SHR, Collaboration Suite, etc) and with a number of their newer releases arriving at a good chunk of $£ lower in price than comparative NAS from others (often more than 10-15% lower in fact).

PROS of Asustor NAS

  • Great Price vs Hardware – Often one of the lowest Prices Hardware solutions available
  • Recent Lockerstor Gen 2 Releases are Incredible Value for the Hardware
  • BTRFS Support
  • First Brand to Adopt 2.5Gbe Commercially
  • Nice software and still supports Kodi (unofficially), something slowly being pulled from other NAS Software stores – FULL REVIEW HERE
  • Good selection of Home and Business NAS devices
  • Early Adopter of HDMI 2.0a – so 4K at 60FPS and have their own HDMI GUI in Asustor Portal
  • VM deployment and Container Support not dissimilar from QNAP, only not quite as flash
  • Noise is pretty low on most home devices like the Nimbustor 2/4
  • More Apps are available on the NAS app store, more than QNAP and Synology
  • Product Naming is easier to follow than most brands

CONS of Asustor NAS

  • Mobile Apps are very functional but appear a little sparse
  • Many HDMI apps seem to be simplified web portals, rather than standalone applications
  • Browser-based GUI does not feel quite as smooth as Synology DSM, but on par with others
  • The Surveillance Center application feels very dated and less intuitive than most
  • Have been targetted by Ransomware attacks in the last 2 years

Asustor Drivestor 2 NAS – $165

4-Core ARM 64bit CPU – 1GB Memory – 2.5GbE – 2-Bay

RECOMMENDED – Asustor LockerStor4 G.2 – $550

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 4/16GB Memory – 2.5GbE – NVMe – 4-Bay

Asustor LockerStor 10 Pro NAS – $1299

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 8/32GB Memory – 10G+2.5G – NVMe -10-Bay

Best Budget NAS

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Best Mid-Range Solution

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Best Business Solution

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Why Choose WD NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

wdfulllogo

Although they have been a little quiet in terms of their hardware output recently, WD NAS is a brand that has been around for years (though most know them as a hard drive brand) and Western Digital NAS drives are a firm favourite among students and low-level storage solutions. They have a number of solutions in their WD My Cloud range that supports lite home users all the way to industry-level business users who want robust storage. The software may seem a little sparse and a far cry from Synology and QNAP, but they provide straight forward and clear setup. They WILL seem limited to anyone familiar with Synology/QNAP, but they certainly have a place in the industry. With user-friendly support of Apple Time Machine, Plex and DLNA – They are a great starter NAS with pre-populated options to make them extra affordable.

PROS of WD NAS

  • Popular HDD Vendor too, with expertise on their side
  • Often pre-populated so all warranty is covering Drives+NAS
  • Pre-populated NAS options result in better price for storage overall
  • Very fast set-up and can be deployed to deploy within 30 mins
  • Small+compact – featuring some of the lowest noise and power consumption of all
  • 3-year warranty on most units
  • Some units have 2 x PSU ports for Redundancy

CONS of WD NAS

  • EXT4 only
  • Have been VERY Quiet in NAS hardware in the last 12-18 Months
  • barely any mobile apps and relies on 3rd party mobile apps to connect over IP/Network settings
  • Smaller App selection in-app store
  • Limited User Interface
  • No HDMI, 10GBe, only USB 3.0 and 1GBe RJ45
  • Often much lower specs than Synology and QNAP
  • VERY small range
  • Desktop Only – No rackmount or Larger options

WD MyCloud EX2 NAS – $159

2-Core ARM 32bit CPU – 512MB Memory – 1GbE – 2-Bay – Inc Drives

RECOMMENDED – WD MyCloud Pro – $450

4-Core Pentium CPU – 4/8GB Memory – 1GbE – 4-Bay – Inc Drives

WD MyCloud EX4100 NAS – $349

4-Core ARM 32bit CPU – 2GB Memory – 1GbE – 4-Bay – Inc Drives

Best Budget NAS

Check Amazon Below for Current Prices/Stock

Best Mid-Range Solution

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Best Business Solution

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Why Choose TerraMaster NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

One brand that I have always had a personal love for is TerraMaster. This is purely subjective and should be taken with a pinch of salt, but for a brand that no one really knows about, they give ALOT of the key features that other bigger brand advertise alot. BTRFS support is available on pretty much ALL the Intel-based devices, they feature one of the ONLY 4 LAN 2-Bay NAS’, along with an Intel N5105 based 10Gbe 2, 4 5 and 8-Bay solution and a particularly unique 2 HDD 10GbE system. Arriving with a thunderbolt DAS range too, Terramaster is a NAS brand that has evolved comparatively quickly and although for the most part, they are only available via Amazon, this has still allowed them to be a recognizable brand. Typically in a like for like hardware comparison with them and companies like Synology/QNAP, you will find them better value for money, and the software (though less diverse or slick than those two big brands) is still pretty smooth and intuative. The chassis design is a little underwhelming, but even that has improved in recent revisions. All in all, they are the best budget NAS solution out there in 2022 and a good entry point into NAS.

PROS of TerraMaster NAS

  • Great Price vs Hardware
  • VERY Fast Brand Evolution
  • TOS 5 Software introducing Surveillance, FluidRAID, AI-Powered photo Recognition and Isolation Mode
  • Added a LARGE 2.5GbE selection of NAS in their portfolio
  • Hugely Improved GUI and Client apps
  • BTRFS available as file system choice
  • Desktop and Rackmount options
  • Similar Hardware to QNAP and Asustor, but at a Lower Price
  • Straight forward range and classification
  • Very Straight Fordwared Setup

CONS of TerraMaster NAS

  • Very Few Mobile Apps
  • Not quite as polished or fully featured as Synology/QNAP
  • Despite Business targeting, very poor support of 10GBe till recently in the F2-423
  • A little dated design
  • Arrives with Warranty, but the turnaround is slower than many
  • Have been targetted by Ransomware attacks in the last 2 years

Terramaster F2-423 NAS – $289

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 4/32GB Memory – 2.5GbE – 2-Bay

RECOMMENDED – Terramaster F5-422 – $599

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 4/16GB Memory – 10GbE – 5-Bay

Terramaster T12-423 12-Bay NAS – $1399

4-Core Intel 64bit CPU – 4/32GB Memory – 2.5GbE – NVMe – 12-Bay

Best Budget NAS

Check Amazon Below for Current Prices/Stock

Best Mid-Range Solution

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Best Business Solution

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Why Choose Buffalo NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

One brand that has danced with the home NAS industry, but pretty much now exclusively business in Buffalo. This brand is one that provides a number of key elements that businesses love. Robust and Rugged hardware design, Empty or Pre-Populated NAS solutions, Customizable Warranty options, Windows Server Pre-Installed Solutions, 10Gbe at an affordable Price and just generally being an enterprise/Business solution through and through. They lack the sexy/indie vibe of other brands, but that is not their target demographic – they want the user who wants storage that is simple, reliable and ‘setup and forget’. This means that on the face of it, they will seem quite pricey, but that is because you have to factor in the inclusion of hard drives, the service+support and the industrial level construction.

PROS of Buffalo NAS

  • Great Price vs Hardware for Business Users
  • Fantastically Rugged Construction
  • Lowest Priced 10Gbe Solutions
  • Can be purchased pre-populated, so warranties are all covering
  • Desktop and Rackmount options
  • Similar Hardware to Netgear, but at a Lower Price
  • Straight forward range and classification
  • EXCELLENT Windows Storage Server NAS devices, with inbuilt Windows Server 2016 for FAST deployment
  • Better Standard Warranty Length and more bespoke Recovery/Destroy options available
  • Easier and more customizable Warranty Extension options

CONS of Buffalo NAS

  • Very Few Mobile Apps
  • Availability outside of U.S and Japan is low
  • More focused on Business Users
  • Poor power consumption and dated design
  • Weak CPU choices on the whole
  • Lacks some more modern NAS innovations introduced by QNAP, Synology and more

Why Choose Netgear NAS? Advantages and Disadvantages

NETGEAR_Logo

One brand that has probably the longest history in network solutions is Netgear – pretty much ANYONE has heard of them, whether it was because your first switch/router came from them, or because they have such a squeaky clean reputation. The NAS solutions, much like Buffalo, are very industry-focused, but arriving with a few more features in the GUI department than them. Also arriving with pre-populated options and a diverse warranty structure, they do give alot to business users. They may seem a little ‘blah’, but what they lack in sizzle, they make up for in sausage.

PROS of Netgear NAS

  • Huge Mac and Windows Support
  • Fantastic Network configuration options
  • rugged and sturdy metal design
  • Often longer warranties than other brands like-for-like
  • Can be purchased pre-populated, so warranties are all covering
  • Supports usual RAID levels, as well as X-RAID and X-RAID 2 – Expandable RAID volumes not unlike SHR
  • Desktop and Rackmount options

CONS of Netgear NAS

  • High price Tag
  • Releases are very few and far between
  • Despite Business targeting, very poor support of 10GBe
  • Small App selection
  • Limited User Interface
  • REALLY confusing range
  • Not designed for a newbie – and larger units may need a dedicated IT guy
  • High power consumption and not the quietest

Should you buy Budget NAS brands like D-Link or Zyxel?

It should be highlighted that there are more NAS brands available than the ones discussed today. with each passing year more and more brands release their own NAS server for home and business use. However, in many cases, they are either too unreliable, too low on support and features, too technical for anyone with below-bill-gates depth of knowledge and most importantly most all, arrive from a brand without an established reputation. When it comes to buying the right network-attached storage device, you need to know what your buying works, as well as knowing that the manufacturer will be there in the event of a problem. likewise, you are trusting you’re are most likely trusting this brand with your most precious data (some photos and videos are irreplaceable) and from data loss to data theft, choosing the right NAS brand is essential.

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      188 thoughts on “NAS Buyers Guide – Get It Right First Time”

      2. I got 123 TB of stuff over 15 WD my book like the other one … How much does it cost to hold like 100 TB or 200 TB so I dont have a book shelf and wires all over the freaking place galore from each hard drive or is this the wrong this or do I stick with 20 My Book Hard external drives the mess it causes visually and yeah it;s been working with a couple of drives that died and had to bring in to luckily bring them back to life because I surely don’t have the patience to back up that many drives and etc etc etc … Some of the drives like one of them have 6 drives in them from the early days when they were from 1 to 3 TB so there stuffed by hard drive although I could of had like a 12 TB drive filled with 6 small drives and combine them all together but to go through that what drive me bonkers… Anyone following me …
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      9. I’m thinking about picking one of these up just for backing up my photos and being able to edit off my PC or my surface when I need to, I’m a wedding photographer, this would replace my super old drobo 4 bay das units, do you think this is a good choice?
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      10. Buffalo is made by Japan vendor, thus should be much more secure than made in China and even made in Taiwan ones. Many Chinese in Taiwan are more loyal to China than to Taiwan.
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      17. Thank you for the awesome video. I too have the WD My Cloud PR4100 with a raid 5 configuration. One morning, it just decided not to fully bootup. I get a flashing blue power light and the fan blasting. It has been over a day now and still going. I can’t access the dashboard or anything as it seems like it is in system recovery mode. I’m so nervous that I will lose all my data and I’m pretty confident there’s nothing wrong with the drive, and it might be the NAS unit itself. Is there anyway I could upgrade or migrate to another NAS (maybe the same unit or a Synology, since I hear a lot of great things about it) by hot swapping the drives from my old NAS to the new? Thanks in advance.
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      18. Thank you for the awesome video. I too have the WD My Cloud PR4100 with a raid 5 configuration. One morning, it just decided not to fully bootup. I get a flashing blue power light and the fan blasting. It has been over a day now and still going. I can’t access the dashboard or anything as it seems like it is in system recovery mode. I’m so nervous that I will lose all my data and I’m pretty confident there’s nothing wrong with the drive, and it might be the NAS unit itself. Is there anyway I could upgrade or migrate to another NAS (maybe the same unit or a Synology, since I hear a lot of great things about it) by hot swapping the drives from my old NAS to the new? Thanks in advance.
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      19. I’m trying to buy a NAS and the main focus is to replace goggle photos , can you please tell me if this NAS has an app for Android that can make a backup after a photo is taken and then have like a terramaster photo app
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      20. It’s funny how the market changes. When I stepped up from a WD a couple of years ago, I hadn’t seen this video. From what I could ascertain, the NAS to go for – as I did – was the Asustor Nimbus 4. At that time, it was a relative newcomer and had the name Asus(tor). They looked as though they were going to be a big player and they had plenty of grunt for the money so I could run Plex (or so 8 thought). Two years down the track, the Asustor has been great but if I were in the same position again, I’d buy Qnap. I don’t really have any regrets but Asustor simply don’t have the market presence in Australia that I expected they would eventually attain. In fact, they have declined. But the Asustor isn’t suddenly a bad NAS but the software hasn’t been as highly developed as Qnap, much less Synology. At the time, there were not that many Qnaps on the Australian market and Synology were more expensive so Asustor seemed to tick at least most of the boxes that mattered.

        But I look at Qnap today and think that’s where I’ll probably look in a few years time.
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      21. It’s funny how the market changes. When I stepped up from a WD a couple of years ago, I hadn’t seen this video. From what I could ascertain, the NAS to go for – as I did – was the Asustor Nimbus 4. At that time, it was a relative newcomer and had the name Asus(tor). They looked as though they were going to be a big player and they had plenty of grunt for the money so I could run Plex (or so 8 thought). Two years down the track, the Asustor has been great but if I were in the same position again, I’d buy Qnap. I don’t really have any regrets but Asustor simply don’t have the market presence in Australia that I expected they would eventually attain. In fact, they have declined. But the Asustor isn’t suddenly a bad NAS but the software hasn’t been as highly developed as Qnap, much less Synology. At the time, there were not that many Qnaps on the Australian market and Synology were more expensive so Asustor seemed to tick at least most of the boxes that mattered.

        But I look at Qnap today and think that’s where I’ll probably look in a few years time.
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      23. I owe you an apology. When I first found this channel, I thought it was quite heavily focused on Synology but I didn’t realise just how much you were actually doing and the support you provide to people like me who have Asustor. I’m sorry for my remarks.

        And thanks.
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      25. I think the Terramaster enclosures look pretty good. They go with Mac Minis & Mac Studios well. Also reminds me of the old silver ti-99/4a expansion box from the early 80’s 🙂
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      26. I don’t know what I am doing wrong but my book live 3tb, my cloud 6tb, my cloud ex2 ultra 12 tb. So far both the my cloud 6tb and my cloud ex2 ultra 12tb have “drive failure” warnings almost exactly 6 months after warranty period(3 years) passes, and every time it is after a firmware update. I am done with western digital for good. I am going to buy anything else.
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      33. Hey there, I love your content, thanks so much for it. Please, would you consider making a tutorial on how to set up a postgresql DB fot Davinci resolve project sever? i have been trying and haven´t been able. please.
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      36. Looking at a Qnap TL-D8000S for around 700€ with free shipping. Should i buy one of these units?I’m planning to use it as a “file dumpster” for video clips and game file backups, photos and some other nonsense.
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      37. I’m an unsatisfied WD MyClodEXT4 user, and now that the NAS ad died, I’m planning to move to a different brand….
        I’ve 4 WD Red disks filled with some 25 TB of stuffs (not in RAID), and although everything is backed up, it would be a pain to tranfer that all….is there any chance to plug the drives in a new NAS, and go…?!
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      40. What you say (2:30) about QNAP bringing to market features that aren’t fully supported is an understatement. I have 3 stories to demonstrate my point. The most recent is qts5’s purported support of TCG Emterprise drives. I purchased such a drive. qnap refuses to enable SED on it even though it recognizes it as an SED. Turns out, they tested their new feature with exactly one drive brand. Did they intentionally cripple their software? Did they decide not to try drives by Seagate or Toshiba? Who knows.

        Another example is Qtiering. It’s a wonderful concept, dynamically storing files or blocks on faster or slower hardware depending on usage. The problem begins with requiring all such drives being in the same chassis. Have an expansion bay? No tiering across it! what good is it when USB outperforms SATA but they block expansions from using tiering.

        I have a few more examples.
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      41. All of the things that customers care about are not supported by WD. The WD nas is junk. One critera for quality is that it has to be repairable. Also there needs to be a long term commitment to suppot the NAS. And if you do your homework, you’ll find out that they dropped the EX2 series for updating to the OS5. In the process of dropping OS3 support you lose the capability to access the nas remotely. WD does not support repair of the NAS even if its as simple as a fan. Don’t waste your time, money , and especially your data on WD products.
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      42. A year later, WD STILL has done nothing to improve their NAS lineup. In fact it’s gotten worse with the new OS. My CPU is constantly maxed out only using Plex. Plex has really taken a turn for the worse too. I don’t know what to do. I probably have $3000 in my NAS and well over $50,000 in movies.
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      50. The the thing about Terramaster is that the lack of 3rd party RAM is so stupid. You’re a budget unknown brand, you think i’m gonna spend twice as much for your unknown brand’s RAM?
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      55. 8:41 Personally I think that is the strength of a NAS. The N is for Network. Note that I use the word ‘data’, which can be any file: audio, video, photo’s…
        – Good for when multiple people work on the same data
        – Good for if you want to acces – and work with your data from any location in the world
        Not for ‘backing up’. There are plenty of 16+ Tb external drives to back your files up locally. Some with Mirror Raid if you want redundancy.
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      57. Worker with a reliable hacker is what I think is all over the world and I recommend a hacker parfait who works with good heart and sincerity Dee_hack11 is in Seoul☝️☝️☝️.
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      58. Is there an Office 365 backup app for Asustor (especially the Lockerstor 2 series)? I know you have this in Qnap and Synology (and at least the Synology app allows for backing up multiple tenants), but it doesn’t seem that Asustor has an O365 backup (other than just a OneDrive backup).
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      59. 68 seconds into the video and just rambling. So much circumventing and talking and talking and could you just made the video in 90 seconds. This was not concise nor direct.
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      63. I actually like the Asustor AS4004T and thankfully had limited experience with other brands. So i had no expectations about software therefore couldn’t be disappointed. Ive since considered upgrading which cant really be done with this device, no memory upgrade and no 10gbe upgrade – I do have a couple dual port Intel 10gbe pcie cards I’ve been trying to find a use for, thinking about 10gbe link aggregation.
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      64. This is too consumer for me. Accessing it in your clunky browser makes it clunk is it’s just a consumer grade interface. Not a lot of confidence that my files are securely copied there is no verification or anything and when you’re backing up thousands of files who wants to leave it up to “eh I dunno” just bad
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      65. sorry I bought Synology and it was a piece of SHT !!! just ordered the WD PR4100..lets see, by the way Synology is a Chinese company so you may want to triple check your decisions before putting personal data on it.
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      67. Great video. What is a good NAS to use mainly for users (clients) to log-in from remotely and upload/download files. I am looking for something where the interface is professional business looking.
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      69. Just started looking into purchasing something like this for my massive music collection. I have several terabytes of music that I’ve been wanting to have all of it in 1 central location instead of multiple hard drives. Which one would you suggest ????
        I have well over 15 tb spread throughout multiple external HDs. And just wanting to be able to have access to everything at once, so I can minimize some of the duplicates & clutter that I have, digitally.
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      71. Asustor NAS devices are susceptible to 0 day attacks. They are NOT well maintained or protected. You are better of buying a simple Nas with basic functionality or keep your Asustor of the net
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      73. Wow. This is some great inside info. I have a wd myhome that is going end of life. It worked great but was a bit finicky connecting. Good to know on the next step and that the old myhome will be a good backup.
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      74. While I liie the QNAP NAS and it has been dead reliable, I also like the BROBO from two aspects
        1, the ability to plug in a drive without the need of a cassette, 2. the use os mSATA as a memory buffer. I feel QNAP could easily add these features and if done correctly could actually save in their cost to produce. The addition of the fifth drive adds to the drive pool, and the mSATA with is easily accessible adds to the ability to add additional memory where it can be utilized in buffering. The Down Side to me of the DROBO is the lack of updates to keep the NAS up to date.
        This has been a hallmark of the QNAP as it is kept up to date. How ever I am disappointed in that QNAP has removed the USENET features and applications from their applications..
        Construction wise the QNAP is a much cheaper system, as it appears to use an off the shelf board and adapted the board to use as a NAS rather than a purpose built board (TS451+) access to the second Memory board is a total disassemble, however once you have access running 16GB of RAM is a no brainer. QNAP seems to be more approachable but no more responsive than other NAS producers like DROBO and SYNEROLOGY As the local resident IDIOT I appreciate your Guides and wish I had found your articles prior to my purchase.
        I still have some difficulty setting up the email notification as it drops the SMTP server.
        However we have managed to share our PLEX library with one friend which is good as he has the identical QNAP NAS
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      76. I bought three TS1635’s on the company dime. Bought for special projects of bringing a whole bunch of data, where the amount was ” about ..” x tens of terabytes each. For the purpose, the units worked well. None failed. We utilized them to move that data across thousands of miles overnight. The machines were officially retired, but still running. Those were purchased in early 2018. The devices were selected because it was 10 gigabit capable, had sufficient capacity for the intended quantity of data to be moved, could be encrypted, and shipped in a relatively small box, and it was raid 6, in case a drive failed in the course of shipping. The alternative was to buy another EMC SAN, put it in location A, copy the data over, and then ship the entire SAN to the final destination. Uh, we’ll try the QNAP.. 😉
        Being in IT, the only quibble I had- wasn’t with the NAS, but our company’s inability to provide an effective way to back them up; that’s the real reason the machines weren’t used elsewhere.
        In any corporate environment, if it can’t be backed up, it does not belong in the environment. That’s VERY IMPORTANT.
        Sadly, I still think that the devices were often faster than the 135 disk SAN we had; and definitely faster than the 48 disk Compellent and these devices, albeit only 36 raw TB, well, the machines did fairly well. But then, I didn’t have 150 virtual machines running on the QNAPs either. Each, with 16 disks, were about $3500; In the datacenter, we also had a $50,000+ Dell Compellent and a $600,000 EMC SAN.
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      77. Question, with a QNAP TS-453D-4G using 4 10Tb WD reds in RAID 5 so 30Tb usable, when it is full how can I add more space?, is there an external HDD cabinet or something that can plug into and add on unit to the NAS? or do I have to set up an entirely new second NAS and drives?
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      83. I cannot beleive that there is NO WAY to sync any folder and file type from android device to synology nas… that drives me nuts… it’s either super complicated third party app to configure or the only syncing possible is with ds file that does ONLY pictures or synology photo crap app… I just want to sync ANY folder and their files in it (like download, ringtones and so on)… why the hell can’t synology do such thing ??? ds cloud does NOT permit to sync android folder to nas, it only sync the cloud that is on the nas to the android device, I want the other way around, there is no way to sync android ANY type of android files to nas.. urgh…
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      84. Ok, color me interested. However, my first contact with QNAP was not positive. Sent a request to their Sales channel to discuss their product line and support 2+ weeks ago. Other than an automated response, I have yet to hear back. As stale as the WD product line is, they do have human beings at the other end of the support request and when I reached out to them in early 2021 to do the OS 5 upgrade, they at least responded. I’ve had the the 4100 for 4+ years now and it’s still chugging along after I upgraded the drive array from 4 TB to 10 TB drives, so I’m good for now, but in 2 to 3 years, I’m going have to upgrade to something else and I’m not sure if it will be WD or something else, but QNAP is not in the running at this point
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      86. My synology is messing up my local network and I can’t figure out why. Internet drops for a few seconds every few min on all connected network devices. If I disconnect the NAS from the network, it seems to work just fine.
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      87. I have the F5-221, I tried to open it to add ram when I bought it. It wouldn’t open right away so I put the screw back in and just started using it. I need to open it up though, that little ram is kind of annoying
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      88. I’ve had 2 WD storage devices and they both sucked to use! They were confusing with not user friendly software. Very slow as well because everything went through the cloud.
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      89. please do your research and DONT BUY QNAP, they have ransomware attacking their system continuously, and their security is useless, but not as useless as their customer support!!!
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      93. Login Speed – seemed easier with entering user name and password on the same dialogue to only hit enter once, especially when credentials are stored in the browser. Perhaps they changed it for increased security, prefer the old way.
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      95. Thanks for this video. I have two 4TB MyCloudEX2’s, and I am in he process of moving my data to external drives before attempting to update the OS. From the feedback I’ve already read from other people about updating from OS3 to OS5, I am really not expecting my own upgrades to be a total success, and have already decided it’s time to up my game, and go for either a QNAS or a Synology. You, Sir, have me heading in the right direction as to which one to go for.
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      97. HI.. Sorry this may be off subject but I have a WD EX4100 and Im thinking about getting a second Synology 920+ to replace the WD EX4100. If I take my drives from the WD and put them into the Synology, will I lose all the data on them? What happens? Im a photographer and that WD is Slow AF on retrieving files (the total drive space is 23TB) (4 8TB drives) (Raid5). Please help before I purchase another 920 and new drives…
        Doug
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      99. Thanks for all your great videos – I am looking to upgrade my NAS and have settled on a Qnap TS-673A it will be my “home” NAS should I use QTS Hero ZFS or QTS 5 as my OP? Which is best? One of the main things I want to use is MyCloudLink (which I presume I can use on both OP)
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      100. I moved from Drobo to synology. I am not an IT guy. But we had a rogue IT guy that turned out to be awful. He replaced our storage with Drobo. Then it went horribly wrong. He got fired before doing a lot of harm and I moved to synology. I am so glad I did. I did at one point have a problem with one of the synology NAS. They were so great. Drobo, not interested unless you pay more to fix their shit hardware. Bearing in mind, I sent one back to be repaired, they sent it back, with no changes at all. They are the utter lowlife of the NAS world. Synology were awesome. They dialed in, were talking to me, from the US, and helped me, big time. Drobo? Couldn’t give a damn. Just wanted more money.
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      103. went from a WD MYCloud 4tb to a Synology DS720+ 10tb SHR, and the new unit is superior in every way. the software suite is excellent. however streaming media is subpar. i am currently messing with settings, and buying RAM in hopes of bringing the Synology up to par.
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      105. A “review” does not mean explaining at length (8 minutes of a 10 minuter review) that the third party apps suck.
        We know that, its the case everywhere, only insane people would install 3rd party apps on a NAS…
        WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING ABOUT IT 5 mins LATER – LIKE IT IS NEWS TO YOU or something?
        Why arent you testing the performance – which as a small 10GbE NAS is the main reason people would buy it?
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      106. Can you, or someone, please explain why we are being totally ripped off by these NAS companies? These are small plastic, mostly empty, boxes with tiny boards inside, mostly using free OS’s, so WHY are they so SO expensive?? These things shoud be, at least, 25% of what they actually are. A 2-bay NAS enclosure should be under £100. I can so absolutely no reason whatsoever for the expense of these tiny boxes with very little inside them! This is the biggest rip off in the whole PC indusrtry IMO. One can buy a whole, complete running PC for LESS than these tiny empty boxes!

        C’mon Synology/QNAP et al – give us the reasons for ripping us off so convincingly – just because you can, is not good enough. Why aren’t more people on board with this? Has no-one else noticed this legalised stealing?
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      107. 8:40 – I wish we could find the person responsible for using a Funnel for the filter icon and make them walk the plank. Funnels are not filters.
        But its too late now. The damage is done. People associate the funnel image with the filter action in software just like they associate the piece of paper with a folded corner for “new file”.
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      108. I have a question. I accidentally put my hard drive in the wrong order. Instead of 123 of my nas bay , it’s 312, my setup is SHR. If I powered down my nas and place it back in the correct order will this crash my nas?
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      109. Latest QTS 5 firmware update lost every user’s “home” folder when connecting via AFP in a finder window, only shared folders are shown. Even disabling and enabling home folders in users don’t take any effect. Only In browser UI the home folder is working properly.
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      111. I have TS253be and update to QTS 5.0 but NAS force me to initialize NAS (Reset NAS set up)
        My raid was gone (Raid 1) while I Initialized NAS to start 5.0 and I try to back up my data to external hdd
        but my 2nd disk was gone while back up I can recovery data 70% (Lost forever 30%) T.T
        Do you have problem to upgrade like me?
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      113. I had to roll back.
        5.0.0. gave me two weird issues.
        1. The fans went to 100% and stuck there, regardless of any setting or actual system temp.
        2. (And this one is really weird) IR remote button pushes would be registered twice, but only around 25-33% of the time.

        I rolled back AND forward three times to check and double check these issues. I’m staying with 4.5.x until I know 5.x.x has the bugs ironed out.
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      114. i have found the file permission are better but….. in my case the everyone group has no rights assigned to it when checking on qnap.not denied not ro or rw. when you create a user via qnap and assign rights via windows. somewhere along the line everyone has now changed to denied access…..simply just remove anyone from the resource…but not the right way?
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      115. FULL Written Review of QNAP QTS 5 – https://nascompares.com/2021/10/08/qnap-qts-5-0-nas-software-review-worth-your-data/
        01:50 – Disclaimers & Review Considerations
        05:25 – Start – QTS Change of Focus
        07:00 – QTS 5 vs QTS 4.5 GUI, Design, The Good, the Bad & the Awkward
        10:13 – Responsiveness
        10:44 – Things That Have Not Changed
        11:30 – Security, Notifications & Control
        14:25 – Control Panel
        15:39 – Storage Manager
        17:25 – Remote Mounting & Cloud Gateways
        18:40 – File Management
        20:30 – Multimedia Control & Sharing
        27:00 – Storage Continued – Health & Checks
        29:00 – Synchronization & Backup Tools
        36:35 – Virtual Machines, Containers & Ubuntu VMs
        41:05 – VMware, Hyper-V and SaaS Backups
        43:14 – HDMI Services & HD Station
        45:00 – Surveillance Tools & Services
        49:00 – Licenses, Good & Bad
        51:00 – QSirch, QFile, Teamviewer, Hybrid Mount and the Conclusion
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      119. awesome, perfect video as always; you’re the best source for nas – especially on qnap, i would say. Possessor of the – NOWADAYS pretty old – ts231+P and i still use it as my daily driver; with the new qts 5 now, seems even more faster
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      126. The missing “For you” from moments sorely missed – it was a great AI system for finding potential duplicate (or near duplicate) photos that just doesn’t work as well as the storage manager reports that only really find exact duplicate pictures.
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      128. I have a 6604T. Hardware specs are great, but the software is *CRAP*. Much of it either doesn’t work at all, doesn’t work properly, or is crippled through fundamentally bad design.
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      129. NAS可以应该可以分存储式的和应用式的.还可以在此基础上分大.中小型的.家用和公用.用法太多了,您只能选合适您的,最好自己DIY(技能很重要)
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      131. 1.Log center cant be modified or set to exclude users or certain things you dont want logged.

        2.It is not compatible with DScloud anymore so you cant sync to mobile like you can do on DSM6 with the DSCloud app from Synology but you can use the Synology Package Center to download Resilio Sync or Good Sync but you have to pay a monthly/yearly fee for every user.

        Unlike Qnap when you buy your hardware, you arent forced to pay for syncing from and to your own hardware.

        With that said there is still a solution using Webdav to-way Nas-pc with Raidrive but you have to pay for software for Pro features.

        Mobile sync: Use Foldersync to-way Mobile-Nas, but you have to pay for software for Pro features.

        So far as i am aware of limitations using Synology DSM7 when it comes to syncing —> If you want Pro features or you want to use your Nas without reaching out to third-part software without paying extra fees it is recommended to switch to other Nas brands for me i feel Qnap has been working using 30 users for Laptop/Pc/Mac/Android/Iphone all Apps/Software working perfect Pro features without paying extra fee´s or forced to use third-part tools total control for Log center, File-Folder, Photo, Video, Virtualization, Web-sites and so much more.

        Other annoying difference i had with Synology i had was this—> i had to make a ticket to find out i cant use Synology Mobile App DS Cloud or that one cant choose what Synology Package-Log Center loggs, it wont let you choose to include, exclude or to delete certain logg if you press Clear button on the loggs that are in “Files downloaded” it deletes all, if you clear “user logins” it deletes all that and you cant revert the deletion.
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      132. 1.Log center cant be modified or set to exclude users or certain things you dont want logged.

        2.It is not compatible with DScloud anymore so you cant sync to mobile like you can do on DSM6 with the DSCloud app from Synology but you can use the Synology Package Center to download Resilio Sync or Good Sync but you have to pay a monthly/yearly fee for every user.

        Unlike Qnap when you buy your hardware, you arent forced to pay for syncing from and to your own hardware.

        With that said there is still a solution using Webdav to-way Nas-pc with Raidrive but you have to pay for software for Pro features.

        Mobile sync: Use Foldersync to-way Mobile-Nas, but you have to pay for software for Pro features.

        So far as i am aware of limitations using Synology DSM7 when it comes to syncing —> If you want Pro features or you want to use your Nas without reaching out to third-part software without paying extra fees it is recommended to switch to other Nas brands for me i feel Qnap has been working using 30 users for Laptop/Pc/Mac/Android/Iphone all Apps/Software working perfect Pro features without paying extra fee´s or forced to use third-part tools total control for Log center, File-Folder, Photo, Video, Virtualization, Web-sites and so much more.

        Other annoying difference i had with Synology i had was this—> i had to make a ticket to find out i cant use Synology Mobile App DS Cloud or that one cant choose what Synology Package-Log Center loggs, it wont let you choose to include, exclude or to delete certain logg if you press Clear button on the loggs that are in “Files downloaded” it deletes all, if you clear “user logins” it deletes all that and you cant revert the deletion.
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      133. Upgraded my DS718+ from DSM6 to DSM7 and Rack servers on the company, now we cant have a good Two-way sync option, Mobile<-->Laptop/pc<-->Synology nas, support has been dropped for the DS Cloud Mobile app wich our IT engineer realized after upgrade.

        I can not downgrade DSM version back to DSM6, for private and company usage looked into the solutions
        available at DSM7—> Resilio Sync also Good Sync and my conclusion besides for paying for your synology hardware + network and changing your hdd 2-4 years you also have to pay a monthly/yearly cost per user for using Resilio, Good sync for syncing to or from Mobile devices.

        Ive contacted Synology support.
        Synology Support says: i recommend other brands for your Mobile syncing part of nas usage we have dropped DSCloud app support for DSM7, cant help with a downgrade.
        So now its Qnap Quts Hero we use for home and at company for everything…

        The synology hardware at home and at company is used as a playground/testing, will be given away at a company contest next year.
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      135. Totally agree with your view on Photo Station. I’m glad you covered this as your feedback might get recognised. I don’t want to upgrade until Photos is comparable to what Photo Station had/has to offer.
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      136. almost perfection?
        Audio Station is totally broken, playback is being cut off,
        Media indexing fails to scan more than 50% files,
        translations in DSM are not complete, some even have nonsense,
        I have no idea what Synology have been doing all the time releasing such buggy software
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      139. To anyone I’am thinking of buying a nas system to make things easier I stream movies and tv shows I have need something powerfull enough to run 2 4k movies at the sametime I have pc with planty of power with debian but its a pain to setup what should I do? can someone give their thoughts. Thanks
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      140. Recently decided to implement a NAS on my home network so have been researching vendors, key features and trends. No surprise, Synology emerges as offering some of the best solutions. Hardware is good and software seems the best. I doubt that I will buy one. WHAT???

        It is Synology’s business mentality which I feel is not user friendly, on full display with the recent “J” Series / BTRFS debacle and the strategy of moving towards a closed proprietary platform. All because Synology wants to control it user base so that it can extract and extort, no matter how trivial the issue.
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      141. Useful but a bit of a ramble with Robby. My time notes:

        https://youtu.be/xZrjPF4nmRc?t=674

        11:14 User Interface
        12:00 Help Center
        12:35 Control Panel
        14:03 Security
        15:27 Collaboration Suite
        15:45 Synology Drive
        17:18 Multimedia Apps
        18:47 Plex and 3rd party app issues
        19:47 DSM 7 background package integration improvements
        20:25 HyperBackup, USB copy
        21:24 Cloud Synchronization
        22:27 Business Applications
        23:30 Storage Manager
        25:15 Fast Raid Repair
        26:35 RAID 6 speedup
        27:19 Bench testing, storage performance, UI improvements
        29:00 Surveillance Station
        30:04 Virtual Machine Manager
        32:40 USB changes on DSM7
        34:08 Security and UI
        34:40 Resource Monitor and UI
        35:00 Storage Analyzer
        36:55 Recommendations
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      142. I’ve installed it as a VM on my DS1821+ and I’m completely disappointed with the new photos app. Maybe I’m old fashioned idk but the way timeline view is implemented it doesn’t allow you to look at a timeline on an album level anymore like you could do in photostation. You have to choose between album view or timeline view. I like to look at my photos different ways and this makes the app kind of unusable for me. Additionally I would like them to shows tags on the timeline view when you’re inside an album that has multiple albums underneath it but no photos in it directly. I’ve reached out to them but very little hope of it getting done in my opinion. I’m not upgrading until photos is useable as photostation is no longer supported on dsm7. Additionally I had a lot of indexing / conversion issues on my VM with my photos directory. Not sure if that’s just a VM issue or not
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      147. Hi. Is it safe and or good for my Synology 920+ to be shut down during the night and sometimes for 30 days at a time while away? Many thanks for your great videos.
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      148. I upgraded both my DS 218J and my brand new DS920+ to DSM 7.0 and liking it a lot! No real problems. Moments with my Photos lost its tags during the transition to Synology Photos. I have to redo them but that’s ok. Everything else is great. I agree with this review.
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      149. so is there any reason for me to wait for the DSM update to come through automatically on my DS1520+ or should I just manually update now? Is it likely that more changes will be made to it before the automatic update comes through?
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      152. Does DSM 7 introduce any issues with access via the NFS protocol? I use my DS420j strictly as a file server in a Linux environment and do not really care about photo station, music station, etc. Quick, reliable access via NFS is my main concern. Thank you for your fine videos.
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      153. Photos all seemed to work once I requested a re-indexing. However, photo sharing is completely broken. Even if you request that anyone can view with a URL, Synology NAS still requests a username and password. Sigh…………………
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      154. I notice the absence of Amazon S3 on the cloud service for HyperBackup… Is it still possible to backup to Amazon S3 Glacier storage in DSM7? Or they removed it not to compete with their own C2 solution?
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      155. Thanks for your valuable videos. I missed the loss of DS Cloud, so syncing became a problem. I started using Syncthing after upgrading to DSM7. I also have a problem with Synology Drive from my laptop on a company network, while using Express VPN. It keeps trying to connect to the server. When I switch off the VPN it works fine. Maybe I will switch to Syncthing on this Windows machine as well. For me this is a key function for a NAS so I didn’t expect it to work less good. But all and all it’s a big improvement.
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      158. No mention of the issues with third party packages that worked fine in 6.2.4 but no longer work in DSM 7, it might be almost perfect IF you only use Synology apps.
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      160. Hello, I am sure that it will surely be for reasons of not extending the video too much, but your way of showing and explaining the news and characteristics of this new DSN are not very clear, at least for me you are going too fast and a bit messy. I’m not saying it in a bad way but I think you could do it in a more calm and neat way. Thank you very much anyway.
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      162. I use a KDLinks media stream box to watch movies and videos I store on my Synology NAS DS918+. Does DSM 7.0 support the ability for the stream box to sign into the NAS and stream the files?
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      165. 20:53 I ran into the exact issue you have 2 days ago on DSM6.2.4. I opened a support ticket that is still open, however I suspect it’s a browser based issue. Try opening in a different browser and see if you can view all of the back up options in that. It’s a Munster to me how this happened as I even cleared my browser cache and it persisted in Firefox. When I opened in safari it was “fixed}
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      168. Show idea, upgrading synology hardware. Example, use a ds213 case and change the motherboard to a newer model including modifying the case for USB ports if needed.
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      169. Your shows are good, however, can you please make them shorter/succinct. Perhaps add text boxes on the screen so we can see that as you move on. Again, you do a fantastic job ???? thanks for your hard work.
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      171. One thing I’d love is for larger NAS to support mounting volume from older smaller NAS.
        For instance, I had an old DS411j that failed on me, one of the drive failed but the NAS was full, so now I can’t even start it up. I just wish I could buy some of the 12 slots new NAS and then mount my 4 old drive into the new system and then just transfer data and format the old drives to add them to the new volume. I asked Synology if we can do that, their answer: nope, unless you build a Linux computer and mount drives on Linux and transfer your data. If I need to build a Linux computer, I’d better off just to use FreeNAS and never have to deal with Synology DSM…
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      172. Microsoft Edge is base on Chromium, so any issues you have with Chrome will most likely happen in Edge as well. You need to test on browses like Firefox that are not base on Chromium.

        I use Firefox and only have one M.2 slot filled and the 4 HDDs bays are full. Testing what I could zooming out made the empty M.2 disappear. It did not make the icon show under the other one as shown by you..
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      175. Recently, I began considering investing / implementing in a NAS for home use and discovered your postings on YouTube while researching. First, I need to say a proper “Thank You” first for the effort you put into making informative videos. It has been very helpful for a newbie, providing a baseline of what are the important features and industry trends to consider when contemplating a significant change and investment such as this.

        With that out of the way, this video strikes me as being highly unusual and wonder what was the impetus behind doing it. Although everything you have said may be true, it seems odd that you would go thru the effort to create a video whose sole purpose seems to be to disparage and emphasize a vendor’s negatives. A more appropriate title should have been, “Five Reasons Not to Buy a Terra Master NAS”.

        It seems doubly odd because I had never noticed or seriously considered Terra Master until watching a couple of your videos (particularly the F5-221) where you consistently gave better than a measured recommendation. Yes, you pointed out areas where compromises may have been made but generally put it into context and concluded that the Terra Master was a viable well thought out NAS, though perhaps Spartan, that offered a lot of value for the SoHo market.

        Instead, this video comes off as a deliberate hit piece. What’s going on?
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      178. i have a test DS119j and upgraded it to DSM 7 and it’s very slow. Tested 4gb of photo’s and the database is going on for days.
        Going to upgrade my DS1821+ now. Hope 10GB will still work.
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      179. For the past week, Universal Search has been HOARDING CPU and RAM!
        Indexing just goes on and on and on, non stop!

        I can’t find a workaround!
        Disabling Universal Search in DSM 7, disables Synology Drive and Synology Office
        Instructions for this problem, found on forums, are all for DSM 6 and DON’T work on DSM 7
        This is pathetic!
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      180. For me it doesn’t matter as much if the new apps arent quite as good as the old ones yet as long as they have been written on a newer platform that easier to add missing and new features later rather than an app that was based on ds 4. Apple’s old website went down before a launch not to increase excitement but because it was old and rubbish and had to be .
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      183. Still I have hibernation issue and I opened a ticket with Synology support. After analyzing the debug logs, they came back with SMB and VMM are the cause of periodic waking up of HDD’s. But still I couldn’t find an answer from support that why this periodic waking up which exactly happens each hour related to VMM and SMB, assuming no laptops connected to NAS in the test period and no VM was running. Will update in case support answers me.
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      185. Good review, thank you. Would like to see the resources utilized WITHOUT the surveillance BETA software running. Many users likely use their NAS for surveillance duties, but in my home/office environment, we have our own security and the NAS is dedicated to media and storage. After watching this review, I am uncertain if there are sufficient memory resources for an environment that does not include surveillance.
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      186. Been watching a ton of your videos since I subbed about a week or so ago. Settled on getting a DS1520+. Saw some talk about the DSM 7.0 software. But I’d really like to see some in depth coverage of what’s actually in the software and the different things it can do for the user or home user. If the great software is a focal point of Synology NAS then it be great to know some the big things it can do.
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      188. I’m so glad you compare the various brands’ features and performance, because I don’t want to take chances with my precious archive of “I Love Lucy” episodes.
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