Use the boxes below to work out the amount of STORAGE you will need, the number of BAYS you want your ideal NAS to have, the amount of REDUNDANCY (i.e. drive failure protection) and your BUDGET (not including storage drives). This will allow the calculator to ensure your system will be exactly to your scale and physical needs.
USE/Purpose
Tick One or more boxes below to let us know what you need this NAS drive to do. It is recommended to select at least THREE, as it will allow the NAS configurator to better narrow down the hundreds of options possible.
Users at Once
How many active connections do you think you will need this NAS drive to support at any time?
Connections (SPEED)
Which connection do you intend to use when connecting with your NAS? If unsure, leave it blank. Which connection do you intend to use when connecting with your NAS? If unsure, leave it blank.
Future Proofing
These are options you might want to ensure are included to ensure your system can be upgraded, improved upon, or generally scalable as time goes on. This list will increase over time. If unsure, leave it blank.
Hi,
I would like to buy a NAS for 4k plex streaming (only require 1 single stream at the same time) but the main issue is that it needs to be a SILENT one.
The NAS would be stay on the living and I don’t want the fans making noise while I’m not using it. I assume I would need a ssd only NAS and I have seen some options from your reviews like the NAS Asustor Flashstor, the TERRAMASTER F8 SSD or the QNAP HS-264 NAS
Do you know if there’s another good ones that I should look into and are you aware of any Black friday deals that might arive?
Best regards
For a silent NAS ideal for 4K Plex streaming, the ASUSTOR Flashstor series or QNAP HS-264 are excellent choices, as both are SSD-only and designed for minimal noise. The QNAP HS-264 stands out with better software and hardware for streaming, while the Flashstor is more budget-friendly—keep an eye out for Black Friday discounts on these models!
Hi,
we have videos (4K) and Images all together of 100 TB. Currently we are storing them in Individual HDD’s and kept in place. But now we are worried regarding the safety of those HDD’s and data as well. We need a solution where are store this data and also use them for time to time for editing purpose, but we don’t want to fall this data in wrong hands and manipulate or morph the data. Going forward there can be increase in data as well 3 to 5 TB per month. Please suggest a best solution. Where we can archive, secure and do day to day work with this data.
For your needs, I recommend considering a high-performance, Ryzen-based NAS that supports both scalability and speed for editing, while also ensuring your data is securely stored and protected from unauthorized access or manipulation.
1. High-Performance NAS Options:
Given that you have 100TB of data, with an additional 3-5TB growth per month, you’ll need a NAS that can handle both large storage volumes and fast access for editing.
Here are some excellent Ryzen-based options with the capability to expand and handle 10GbE networking:
QNAP TS-873A: This 8-bay NAS comes with a Ryzen V1500B processor and supports installing a GPU if you need hardware transcoding or sharing videos remotely with clients. It also supports 10GbE connectivity, making it a future-proof option for handling 4K video editing and streaming.
QNAP TS-1673AU-RP: For more bays, this 16-bay NAS offers the same Ryzen V1500B processor and 10GbE support, with an option to install a GPU for heavy workloads or video transcoding.
For Synology options:
Synology DS1821+: This 8-bay NAS, powered by a Ryzen CPU, provides excellent balance between performance and scalability, with support for 10GbE through an upgrade card, making it a great option for editing over the network.
Synology RS3618xs: For a rackmount solution, the RS3618xs is a high-end NAS that offers enterprise-grade features, including 10GbE support and scalable storage, with expansion units for future growth.
2. RAID and Storage Configuration:
RAID Setup: Use RAID 6 or RAID 10 for redundancy, protecting your data against multiple drive failures while ensuring good performance for real-time editing.
Enterprise-Grade Drives: Equip your NAS with reliable, high-capacity drives like Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Pro to ensure durability and longevity, starting with 10TB or 16TB drives.
SSD Caching: Consider adding SSDs for caching to boost read/write speeds, especially for 4K video editing.
3. Data Security & Access Control:
To ensure your data is protected from unauthorized access or manipulation:
Encryption: Look for NAS models that support AES 256-bit encryption to protect your data at rest.
User Access Control: Configure strict user permissions to restrict access, ensuring that only trusted individuals can modify or view the data.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA to further secure access to your NAS.
Off-Site Backup: Implement an off-site backup strategy using cloud services like Synology C2, Backblaze B2, or Wasabi, or set up a second NAS in a remote location for additional redundancy.
4. 10GbE Networking for Editing:
Since you’re working with large 4K video files, 10GbE networking is crucial for fast data transfer speeds. Most of these NAS options support 10GbE via upgrade cards, allowing your workstations to connect and edit directly from the NAS without delays.
5. Remote Video Sharing:
If you need to share videos remotely with clients, QNAP models like the TS-873A or TS-1673AU-RP allow for the installation of a GPU, which enables hardware transcoding and better video performance for remote streaming. You can also purchase a license for H.265 encoding to ensure smooth playback when sharing videos with clients.
6. Future Growth and Archiving:
As your data grows, these NAS systems can be expanded with additional drives or expansion units. For archival purposes, you could consider setting up a secondary, lower-cost NAS for cold storage or using LTO tape for long-term archival.
This setup should provide you with the scalability, performance, and security you need to handle large amounts of data while ensuring fast editing and safe storage, all within a future-proof framework.
We are indeed looking for things to improve. You are welcome to share your wishes and productive feedback.
Hey Guys, I haven’t seen one, but would love to see a video comparing the ecosystem provided by the main commercial NAS vendors. By ecosystem I mean support for VMs/containers, apps available for things like backup, integration with OneDrive, or other clouds, etc. I know you’ve done some comparisons e.g. between QNAP and Synology, but would like to see a broader one including Synology, QNAP, Asustor, Terramaster, Ugreen and any others you feel appropriate.