A network storage device, or NAS, is a small, always-on computer. Usually it is used to backup and transfer files to devices on the local network. It can combine many services and store data for a long time.
A home NAS includes one, two (or more) hard drive bays, a Linux-based operating system optimized for network storage, a processor, and RAM to do everything you need with much less power than you need to complete these operations on the computer.
Unlike a USB drive or external hard drive, a unit with two or more drives can provide data redundancy by automatically copying the contents of one drive to another.
Storage definition
A home NAS can be a backup storage, a place to store music or photo libraries and share them on a local network, a device to connect to a security camera, or to automatically download files from BitTorrent. The device also replaces the server for storing and transmitting information.
Some home NAS manufacturers also have iOS apps that allow you to stream music and videos stored on your iPhone or iPad. And many of them work as a server for DLNA adapters connected to a TV or Hi-Fi system.
What equipment to buy
Most home NASs need to be connected to the router via an Ethernet cable. Although units connected to Wi-Fi are available, they are much less common than wired ones, and for good reason. Today, most broadband modems come with routers, and connecting your NAS using an Ethernet cable provides a faster and more stable connection.
If you need to add more memory, you should look for a NAS with a USB port. If you need to copy files directly from an SD card, then you should purchase a unit with an SD card slot.
How many drive bays are needed
Another important decision when creating a home-made NAS server with your own hands is how many drive bays you may need. Base models come with one socket. For use at home or in a small office, they are perfect.
Drives with two or more compartments are selected for one of two reasons:
- You can stream and duplicate all data from one drive to another with the RAID 1 setting.
- You can optimize the performance of drives by sharing them in a RAID configuration.
If neither duplication nor quick access is important, you can select one bay and insert the largest drive into it.
With or without a disc
The last decision when assembling a home-made NAS server with your own hands is whether to buy the unit and disks separately or purchase a device with drives already installed. Both approaches have their advantages. The first allows you to choose a hard drive and is likely to be cheaper, and the second is easier, because the user does not need to install disks on their own.
However, it should be noted that the units are designed to provide easy access to the drive bays, so their self-installation is very simple.
How to set up storage
When you turn your home router into a NAS, the first step is to install the drives, if they are not already installed. Having done this, you can connect the drive to the router and turn it on. The router will assign it an IP address so that it can be found on the network.
Additionally, when you turn your home router into a NAS, you need to set up your network and access. As soon as it turns on and completes the cycle of diagnostic checks, users should see it on the pop-up notification in the sidebar in the Finder window, in the "Sharing" section.
System settings
Do-it-yourself home NAS will not be difficult to assemble. However, it is the settings of the created storage that can cause difficulties for the owners. You will need to access his control panel and configure at least one user with administrator rights so that network participants can see him. Most NAS units operate under their own operating system.
For example, Synology has an OS called DSM. To access it, you must either open a web browser and enter the address specified in the NAS documentation, or install the software on a PC. The software will either be provided on disk or, more likely, available for download from the manufacturer’s website.
A web application or program typically automatically detects a NAS block and allows you to configure it. If this is not the case, you should make sure that the home NAS after assembly is connected to the router, turned on and does not display any warning signals.
Network setup
To do this, go to the router’s administrator’s web page by typing its IP address in a browser or using the basic utility. In response to the request, a list of connected devices appears. If you can determine your home NAS network, you need to record the IP address and enter it into the browser.
The first step in setting up the block is to edit users and shared points (shared folders). Most NAS boxes come with folders already created for music and video, and you can specify which users can access them from the control panel. Some also come with a backup folder.
For example, Western Digital’s My Cloud NAS units have a TimeMachineBackup folder for use with Time Machine OS X (Apple's operating system). On other home NAS storages, you need to create a folder and specify it as the destination for backup in the backup software of the owner’s PC.
Entering Configurations
On the configuration web page or in the main section of the operating system, you need to find the “Control Panel” parameter or similar. Inside it will be an option that adds new users and provides privileges. You must create at least one administrator account that allows you to access everything and modify the contents of the repository. When choosing a home NAS, you will need to make such changes.
After setting up the users you want to add, you can create shared folders, including from the control panel. However, it is important to note that if you want the unit to correctly identify and index photos, music and video files and make them available for streaming, then they must be stored in folders already created for each type of multimedia. The OS for home NAS is mainly used on the free version of Linux.
After setting up users, shared folders, and privileges, you can start adding other features, such as FTP upload, download manager, and even install CMS, such as Wordpress or Drupal, to host your blog. This is usually done by downloading packages or applications to the drive and configuring them.
Benefits of Using Storage
A NAS home cloud is great if you have a large media library, because you can store your files in one place and transfer them locally to computers, phones, tablets, speakers or media centers throughout the house (or even beyond). The same goes for photographers who store photos, music producers who archive music files, designers who store huge Photoshop files, and anyone who needs access to large amounts of data from multiple computers.
Most people don’t need to store thousands of raw photo files, terabytes of raw video, gigabytes of lossless digital music or backups of their Blu-ray collection, but the NAS - a media server for your home network - is a useful tool for users who do this.
It is worth buying a unit if there is more than one computer at home, since you can save all the data on the NAS, rather than connecting an external backup drive to each PC. With the right selection of home NAS components, it will also be useful if the user has too much data to store in Dropbox or Google Drive, or he does not trust his data to cloud storage providers. When the system connects to the network at any time, the client will get access to the necessary files.
Most Windows home NASs can also act as email servers, databases, and virtual private network (VPN) servers. You can use them for BitTorrent, hosting CMS, CRM and e-commerce software, or as DVRs for network security cameras. NAS is a computer, so it can do almost anything. Each storage has its own version of Linux from a specific manufacturer.
If you need to exchange data and store it on your own network, the user may not need a NAS. Many routers have a USB port for connecting an external drive, but due to the fact that routers have slower processors than complex storages, and since their software is not intended for file sharing, this setting will be slow. The configuration of the routers is suitable only for the simplest files and backups.
A home NAS server on Windows will also be free of data redundancy, since only one disk is backed up. All operating systems also have built-in file sharing features that make it easier to use your computer as a file server. But this approach takes up disk space on the computer. It is harder to use for secure management, and the PC must be constantly on. A running equipment consumes more power than a drive and can make data inaccessible when the computer goes into sleep mode.
How to choose a ready-made storage
When buying, it is better to consider options with two compartments from well-known manufacturers. Banana home NAS is one of the popular options. However, every year this series has many worthy competitors. Trusting little-known brands with a lower price is not worth it, since the device may fail after a short operation.
The most popular are repositories from the following manufacturers:
- Asustor.
- Drobo.
- Netgear
- Noontec.
- QNAP
- Seagate
- Synology
- Thecus.
- Wd.
- Zyxel.
When deciding which models are best to consider, you should pay attention to a number of key functions that most home users need:
- Two drive bays. Hundreds of NAS devices are available; you can find models with one, two, four, eight or more drive bays. For most home users, a dual-drive NAS is just what you need to protect your data by mirroring the contents of one drive to another (a configuration known as RAID 1 or a mirrored array). This setting gives half the actual storage for the files. For example, a NAS with two 8 TB drives in RAID 1 still has 8 TB of total available space (equivalent to approximately 300 Blu-ray), rather than 16 TB. As a result, data remains safe and accessible even in the event of a disk failure. Single drive NAS devices do not provide this data protection, and NAS units with a large number of bays offer more complex RAID configurations, such as RAID 5, RAID 6.
- Price. Home users will have to pay from 10 to 20 thousand rubles for a NAS with two bays (not including the cost of hard drives). For business and professional tasks, the cost of the drive can grow up to 50 thousand rubles.
- The processor and RAM. You should choose a fairly powerful dual-core Intel Celeron processor, but do not exclude ARM-based configurations if their processing speed is the same. Most NAS devices released during the past year have at least 2 GB of RAM, so keep that minimum.
- Hardware encryption acceleration. It is useful to use file encryption even if the user accesses his NAS exclusively inside his home network, since the storage protects the data. Equipment can also protect sensitive data on a drive located in a larger network. Some NAS units can also encrypt data before backing it up to the service. This provides an additional level of protection in case the cloud service is broken. The block, which includes hardware acceleration of encryption, has a higher read and write speed than a model based solely on software encryption.
- Easy to use software. Each storage manufacturer has its own operating system. NAS software typically uses a shared system access approach, which often leads to confusion, but some operating systems, such as QNAP and Synology, are better than others.
- Extensive backup support. The unit must support computer backup using file history or system imaging tools on Windows, Time Machine for Mac, and rsync for Linux. It should also make it easy to back up to a cloud storage service like Amazon Glacier or Backblaze. The unit should offer Dropbox-like file synchronization service so that users can synchronize files between computers.
- Multimedia streaming capabilities. Most NAS media servers for the home network can stream video and music to various devices in the home. You can do this using software from the manufacturer or third-party programs such as Plex. Music streaming should work through DLNA and iTunes without a complicated installation process.
- Disk failure notifications. The NAS should at least notify the user with beeps and status indicators in the event of a disk failure. It is better if the device can also send an email or text message.
- At least two USB ports. Between backups, keys and other accessories, it is advisable to have at least two USB ports on the NAS. The client must have two copies of each backup information. If you plan to do it yourself, and not using a cloud service, you will need a USB port on the unit so that you can save all the data to an external drive. It’s nice to have a USB port on the front of the NAS with a quick copy function so that clients can copy the contents of the USB drive from the NAS without worrying about software.
- Support for third-party applications. If you need to add functions or services to the repository, you need to do this using third-party software, so the support of this software is a key factor. This includes media center, web server, analytics, and more.
- Hot-swap drive bays. Compartments will allow you to not turn off the NAS to replace a failed drive or increase capacity.
- Warranty and support. Lack of customer support is one of the most common complaints about NAS devices. Most models have a two year warranty. Some manufacturers also offer some form of technical support, mainly through online knowledge bases and forums. Additionally, there is support by e-mail and by phone, and some suppliers also provide detailed, accessible tutorials and videos on their sites.
It is also worth considering the following functions that will increase system performance and expand drive functionality:
- Wi-fi support. You should connect the NAS to the router using an Ethernet cable if you need the best speed. In case this is not possible, you will need to install a USB Wi-Fi adapter or a PCIe expansion card.
- Support DVR with IP camera. If you have a home video surveillance system, you need to store all the recorded videos somewhere. The NAS is convenient for this purpose, but for an average person, the setup and management can be quite complicated, not to mention the intricate licensing schemes (such as Synology) that determine the number of cameras supported by the NAS. The store will not work with popular home security cameras such as Nest Cam Outdoor or Netgear Arlo, as these models store footage in the cloud service.
- Supports Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) via USB. This is necessary so as not to lose all data if the power turns off. Support UPS will inform the NAS of the need to properly shut down before losing power, which should help protect stored information.
- VPN services. VPN-, Wi-Fi.
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