We need a NAS. I asked my Ops Mgr to look into this with support from our group IT team. They have recommended a Dell X3230 with Windows Server 2016 and 4 x 2TB disks – total cost is coming to about $5,700.
My issue is not the cost. I just want to know if we are making the best choice. (I am still finicky about any windows based server solutions).
Our operation has 8 users, but we are part of a multi-company, multi-country group. Most of our computers are Windows based, but we may introduce one or two Macs in the future. Our servers are all xNIX.
Our group IT is in the process of migrating the entire group onto a single, multi-country Active Directory with roaming profiles etc.
Can you suggest any alternatives?
Sometimes Windows based server is better solution if you have dedicated IT team maintaining it. There are alternatives from Synology and Qnap offering active directory functions. But if you need uniques configuration which is very advanced then I would recomend Windows server.
Here are few Synology AD functions:
Account and Access Control
Manage accounts and access privileges of all members with an intuitive interface.
Auto-install Application
Deploy specific applications to any computer in the office without needing to leave the seat.
Windows RSAT Support
With Windows Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), IT administrators can establish group policies to manage user accounts easily.
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/dsm/feature/active_directory
Here are some recomendations with very similar performance if not better:
product/Synology-RackStation-NAS-RS3618xs-12-Bay-no-RAIL-KIT-~63534/spanstor=59101&q=4
product/Synology-RackStation-NAS-RS3617RPxs-12-Bay-2x-PSU-no-RAIL-KIT-~59142/spanstor=59101&q=4
product/Qnap-19-Rack-Enterprise-NAS-TES-1885U-D1521-8GR-18-Bay-2U-12x-12Gb-SAS-SATA-HD-+-6x-SATA-SSD-8GB-ECC-RAM-Xeon-4-core-+-10GbE~67828/spanstor=59101&q=4
These NAS models have very similar CPU benchmark – performance. But there is a big difference in RAID level options to keep your system stable and safe. Also more LAN ports or even 10GbE port for higher IOPS – data access times. As well as SSD caching and tiered storage options for also increased IOPS.