Top NAS options for Squeezeboxes

[mherger]

> of a lot faster than the other NAS' and takes up to 5 drives, so aside

Which makes it complete overkill for many users. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Michael

[egd]

> of a lot faster than the other NAS' and takes up to 5 drives, so aside

Which makes it complete overkill for many users. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Michael

...and takes up to 5 drives, so aside from the fact it may well be overkill for most collections, it is a good choice.

My point exactly :P

[Gus]

Yeah, am thinking 1) Thecus is likely to be overkill and relatively too expensive for my needs and 2) the NAS option also unlikely to be as good an option for my needs as the TranquilPC route.
That said I do have the ability to wait and see, at least till June-ish, so will take advantage of that.
Thanks for all the info.

[egd]

Yeah, am thinking 1) Thecus is likely to be overkill and relatively too expensive for my needs and 2) the NAS option also unlikely to be as good an option for my needs as the TranquilPC route.
That said I do have the ability to wait and see, at least till June-ish, so will take advantage of that.
Thanks for all the info.

if your collection isn't lkely to exceed 1gb, have a look at http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=46279 and http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...277#post295277

[Shadowtester]

If your up to building your own computer there is a good thread in the DIY forum on building and setting up your own m-itx slimserver using clarkconnect it should match or exceed the performance of the thecus depending on exact components that are used. I know the m-itx setup I created for my NAS/BitTorrent/SlimServer cost close to the same as the Thecus and has 1.5TB of storage current with 2 drive slots still open. Its a MSI Fuzzy GM965 m-itx motherboard with a mobile intel Core2 duo running 2.2ghz with 4gig ram. I am sure it would smoke the thecus in performance. And it was very easy and fun to build

[TheLastMan]

Most of the solutions suggested in this thread are way, way overkill just to run SlimCenter.

If the OP simply wants a NAS to run SC then "enough" is all he needs. Providing the NAS is quick enough to stream data to his receiver(s)without the sound skipping or pausing then there will be no difference in sound. The only benefit of "speed" would be a slightly quicker web management interface.

As a duet user, he (like me) is most likely to be using just the controller to choose his music.

Provided he has a backup solution, he only needs a NAS with a single drive. Slot a 1TB drive in and he will have enough space for over 1,600 albums in FLAC format. If he has that many, it is going to take him loooong time to rip them all anyway!

I have the Synology DS107+. It is plenty fast enough to stream data to my receiver. What is more it is tiny, almost silent, uses only about 20w of electricity (the tranquilPC uses 80w) and costs a lot less than most PCs. Loading SC and SSODS was a doddle and worked first time. I synchronise it on a weekly basis with a hard drive in my main PC for backup.

The main limitation is far more likely to be the quality of his network connection particularly if wireless. Better to buy a cheaper NAS server and spend the extra on running some ethernet cable, or a homeplug setup.

If he wants to do other stuff with his server, then a multi-drive NAS or mini-PC might be a good idea. But for simply running SC it is pointless over engineering.

[edit - just noticed he also uses it for backup and wants RAID. The only RAID flavours worth having are 1 and 5. You don't need them for backup, only for keeping a "mission critical" live system running in the event of a disk failure. With a backup you already have another copy anyway and most of us can live without our music for the day or two it would take to get a replacement drive.

My strategy is to keep a syncrhonised copy of my music on an internal drive in my PC. That way, if I really need my music after the NAS fails, I simply have to load SC onto my PC and point it at the duplicated music library on the PC while I wait for the replacement drive to arrive.]

[Ian_F]

I love these sort of threads. You get so many different opinions thrown into the mix, it really gives you so much food for thought

Gus,
I know you said you only want a device to serve your SB and to back up your computers. But is that all you'll ever want to do with it, ever?

I was in a similar boat to you a while back and bought a NAS purely for slimserver and backup duties (a QNAP). Since then I've discovered the joys of video streaming and have now embarked on a mission to rip all my DVDs to disk. It didn't take me long to fill up a couple of 1TB drives and I'm not even a quarter of the way through my collection! And this is only SD stuff. Just wait til HD is more mainstream

What I'm saying is make sure you think about future requirements too before you buy something that will only do what you want it to do today.

[Tim-Ann]

Hi there,

Gus no issue with streaming music, no periodic hiccups and I’ve had mine for two weeks.

I do agree with the comments re what are you going to use it for if only for music and backups fine but if you think you’ll end up using it to store DVD’s etc then it may be worth considering a larger NAS with more hard drive slots than the standard two the TranquilPC has.

The Last Man where do you get that the TranquilPC uses 80W mine T2-WHS-A3 use 28W as per Ripcasters spec.


Tim.

[Gus]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

Shadowtester and egd - I'm not really keen to break out a soldering iron (I used to do that kind of thing, but with the renovation, the job, and a small child, I'm afraid building anything, even pretty basic, isn't likely to happen).

Ian and Matt, as to what I'll use this for, I'm quite sure it will be limited to streaming audio, backing up PCs and possibly slideshows of family photos. I'd given some thought to video like DVDs, but just don't think that'll enter into it.

Part of the plan for the reno is to run CAT5 through to the main rooms, so, yes, I do plan to hook up with wires. The house is 3.5 floors and all brick, so wires makes sense.

Anyone know of a PC firm similar to TranquilPC who operate internationally? Would love know of them, if so! What I like about Tranquil is the low power, low noise, Windows OS with decent storage options. What I'm less keen on is that they don't have an Aussie distributor, so run the risk that if there are any servicing issues, I'd have to ship the box half way round the planet!

[Shadowtester]

To put together a m-itx computer there is no soldering iron work needed if you can use a screw driver and maybe a wrench for tools at most and if you can plug some connectors together you can build a computer its very very easy. If you can assemble a home theater system ie put all the components into a home theater cabinet and plug the cables together that is about all the same skills that are required. Its harder to install a OS or hack a NAS to add additional features than to put the computer together