Why a home NAS should be for everyone

Network-attached storage, also known as NAS, is a great storage option for homes or small offices. Traditional direct-attached storage (DAS) is inflexible, while a storage-area network (SAN) is often too expensive and complex for use at home or in small businesses. Some households and companies rely on cloud services for storage, which do offer a degree of utility and flexibility, but often result in paying more in the long term for a service that depends on constant Internet access for availability. A NAS is easy to set up and can be economical to run.

How does a NAS work?

A NAS is a central storage system of one or more drives connected to your local network by Ethernet wire or, more commonly, by Wi-Fi. As part of a home or company network, the NAS can be accessed by multiple devices, such as laptops, phones, tablets, smart TVs and even games consoles.

Types of NAS

There are three main varieties of NAS: private cloud storage, pre-built NAS and DIY NAS.

• Private cloud storage: These devices are at the lower end, in terms of specs. Some use built-in hard drives, while others have built-in SSDs. They have the advantage of being easy to use, many being managed through a mobile app, and are marketed towards light users such as families and small businesses. When using a wired connection, they can offer transfer speeds roughly equal to a gigabit Ethernet connection, meaning that they are as high performing as a pre-built NAS. Most private cloud storage devices only have one drive, meaning they lack data redundancy. Users with these systems will need to prioritise backups to protect their data.
• Pre-built NAS: These types of systems commonly offer more access to effective arrays and file systems, with more robust document rights management. They come with their own operating systems and apps tend to be more sophisticated than the beginner-accessible private cloud storage options, offering more specialised features. Many have multiple drive bays and come without drives, allowing you to add new drives as your storage requirements increase. They can be set up in a redundant RAID or JBOD (just a bunch of disks).
• DIY NAS: Since the definition of a NAS is just a computer that shares its storage with other devices via a network, any computer that installs a NAS operating system can be a NAS device. Operating systems commonly used for this purpose are TrueNAS, unRAID and OMV 3. Users should shop around and consider which meets their needs, since different OSes use different file systems.

Reasons to adopt a NAS

• Easy to set up: To install a NAS, simply fill it with storage drives to your desired quantity, plug it in and connect to the network via Ethernet or wirelessly if supported. NAS units have internal processors and memory, like a PC, though they are usually accessed via a browser on your PC or mobile device.
• Easy to back up data: Files kept on the NAS are safe if your PC storage drive or operating system fails. A modest RAID 1 setup with two drives means that if one fails the mirror can be used to restore the system while the failed drive is replaced.
• Easier file sharing: A NAS can easily serve as a hub for media in a domestic setup. You can access files from your games console, your home office computer or any other computer in the house. Small businesses benefit too. Multiple people can manage, store, back up and version files from a single location. Project management is far easier when multiple files are stored in a single location instead of across half a dozen computers.
• Not affected by Internet speeds: A NAS has the advantage over a cloud service of being local. For large file transfers, it is possible to connect directly to the NAS, which will be much faster than Internet or even internal network Wi-Fi data transfer rates.
• Organisation: Operating a NAS isn’t only for tech enthusiasts. Many NAS systems come with their own operating system, which is used to manage the storage, make setup easier, and connect and sync to the home or company network.
  Economy: A NAS has an initial cost that likely exceeds the monthly fee for an equivalent amount of cloud storage, but in time it can save you money. Beyond the initial outlay, the cost of running a NAS is much lower than the ongoing cost of a cloud storage service.

Benefits of a NAS in your home

A smart TV can use a home-friendly NAS as a media server for music, photo galleries, movies and more. The need for shelves and shelves of DVDs or Blu-rays is removed, as is reliance on the ever-changing libraries of streaming services. Many NAS systems come with apps to make playing media user friendly for the less tech-savvy members of your family. You can even use a NAS to host gaming servers if you have multiple gamers in your household.

How to choose a NAS

Choosing the right NAS for you means assessing your needs. How much data do you want to store? What kind of system do you have space for? Choosing the right product and configuration of drives will depend on these practical concerns. The more drive bays your system has, the more storage capacity you’ll have, and more redundancy, protecting against issues like disk failure. If your NAS comes without drives, you will need to source your own or repurpose drives that you’re already using.

You should also consider what network connection speed you need, and what will be compatible with your existing network. Most client devices can wirelessly connect to your NAS when they are connected to the same network, but a direct, cabled connection to the router usually results in higher performance and greater reliability. Even a basic NAS product typically supports Gigabit Ethernet, resulting in faster file backup and transfer, and supports multiple network protocols (e.g. NFS, SMB/CIFS, AFP and FTP). An Ethernet port with a higher number offers faster throughput.

The specific function of your NAS should be chosen to fit your needs. Those seeking a NAS for backup and data restoration can prioritise a system that supports recovery and backup. If you want improved file and folder sharing, there’s a NAS for that. Different NAS operating systems have different strengths as well. When you are thinking about the function of your NAS, you should also consider how it is going to age with the rest of your network. Will the processor be up to task in two years? Four years? Does the NAS have additional memory slots for RAM upgrades? Are there surplus drive bays so that as your storage needs grow, your NAS can grow with them?

Lastly, this should go without saying, but it pays to research the specific products you’re considering. What do previous customers say about their experience in reviews? Do the brands have reputations for thorough QA? How is their after-sales service support? You may find that you pay a premium for a well-known brand. Bear in mind that a deal from a relatively unknown supplier can seem to save you money but cost you more in the long run because of low quality. If you value your data, don’t cut corners on the system that protects it.

SSD vs HDD for NAS

One aspect of using a NAS that can’t be overlooked is whether the storage drives you put in the drive bays are solid state drives (SSDs) or hard disk drives (HDDs).

Your choice of drive may depend on your intended purpose for the NAS. In terms of value for money, users may be tempted to go with HDDs, since they do offer a lower up-front cost in terms of storage: a 1TB HDD is typically cheaper than a 1TB SSD. However, there is a trade-off. HDDs operate with mechanical parts. That means they are more vulnerable to failure, especially if exposed to shock. SSDs do not require mechanical parts, meaning that they are more resilient and operate more quietly. This can be a significant factor when you have multiple drive bays operating simultaneously.

One factor that must be considered is the difference in wake speed between SSDs and HDDs in a NAS. A hard drive will often take much longer to wake to access data on the NAS. Enthusiasts and those depending on productivity, such as small businesses, could easily benefit from the improvement in performance. For those users, Kingston’s DC600M SSD could be highly beneficial. Available in capacities of up to 7.68TB and built to offer protection against issues like power failures, it offers great reliability for those who need it from their NAS.