Hello all,
I'm new to FreeNAS (expert in linux and windows environments) and I'm new to NAS boxes in general (although, I always have a data redundant RAID solution on any machine that I build). I would like your help for choosing the best option for my needs. There is great diversity in opinions and needs for NAS boxes. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the money for my use cases.
Design requirements: quiet, low power. This machine will be strictly a repository for data. No ripping. No bit torrent. No media capabilities for this device. Only data access over wifi.
Use case #1: Editing photos over wireless via Macbook Air (very large files from DSLR) with Adobe lightroom. She will also be editing HD video filmed with the DSLR. My wife uses external USB hard drives right now. I recently bought a TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 (to replace my aging WRT54G router). Is editing large photos over wireless practical? Or will it be inconveniently, excruciatingly, prohibitively slow to save/load in comparison to her current external HD solution? If the answer depends on the hardware of the NAS, then please see build below.
Use case #2: Editing .WAV files with Audacity. Is it practical to edit .WAV files (mixing/mastering tracks) over wireless internet? Basically, same question as use case #1 but with (sometimes huge) .WAVs instead of huge image files.
Use case #3: Playing MP3s and Movies (avi, etc.) using a remote PC.
Basically, I'm interested in a redundant array which is accessible from Windows, linux, and Mac: a centralized location for all of my data and my wife's data. The NAS machine will be expected to do essentially no heavy duty processing. Do my use cases even require a custom NAS? That is, do I really need to spend ~500-800 (before HDs) to have a centralized location for large photo and large audio files to be remotely accessed and manipulated? Or...
Right now, Amazon has 3TB external WD hard drives for $92. So, I could buy two of those (have one be a mirror only). That's a WAY cheaper solution. How can I (or even should I) convince my wife (and myself) that the $92 external hard drive should be replaced with a $,$$$ NAS? We use CrashPlan for offsite backups, so if the two $92 externals died, we could recover our data--albeit painstakingly slow. I could even go with a simple and cheap WD My Cloud (but I hear some people complain about some things [even iTunes] taking a long time to load). If I spend $500 and my wife cannot simply edit photos at the same speed/rate as she did with her external hard drive, then I'll be in some serious trouble... ;)
Given that the box is only for data storage and access (nothing CPU intensive). How does the setup below sound? Is it completely ridiculous overkill for my use cases? Should I just slap two 3-4TB external hard drives into the two USB ports on my router and call it a day?
Lian Li PC-Q25B $119
ASRock E3C224D2I $193.99
Intel Pentium G3220 $56.99
8GB Kingston KVR16LE11/8KF 2x$68.99
Flashstick (for FreeNAS OS)
High efficiency power supply (have not decided which one yet--typically, I prefer Antec)
Aftermarket quiet cooler for Pentium G3220?
Some combination of WD and HGST Hard drives (probably start with 3-4 3TB drives). Here are my options:
3TB WD, Red, NAS, $118.99 Amazon (2TB = $95, 4TB = $159, 5TB = $209.99, 6TB = $266.77)
3TB WD, Green, Lowpower, $97.94 Amazon (4TB = $135, 5TB = 189.99, 6TB = 229.99)
3TB WD, Purple, Intellipower, $118.99 Amazon (2TB = $88.99, 4TB $173.99, 6TB = $262.99)
3TB HGST, NAS, $124 Amazon (4TB=$184, 5TB = $219, 6TB = $300)
4TB HGST, $167.15 Amazon
4TB HGST, NAS, $162.99
Thanks!
tl;dr version--for my use cases, is a NAS worth it? Or should I just plug two external hard drives (one a mirror of the other) into my router for $184 and count on crash plan as the backup for those two drives?
-JJ.
I'm new to FreeNAS (expert in linux and windows environments) and I'm new to NAS boxes in general (although, I always have a data redundant RAID solution on any machine that I build). I would like your help for choosing the best option for my needs. There is great diversity in opinions and needs for NAS boxes. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the money for my use cases.
Design requirements: quiet, low power. This machine will be strictly a repository for data. No ripping. No bit torrent. No media capabilities for this device. Only data access over wifi.
Use case #1: Editing photos over wireless via Macbook Air (very large files from DSLR) with Adobe lightroom. She will also be editing HD video filmed with the DSLR. My wife uses external USB hard drives right now. I recently bought a TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 (to replace my aging WRT54G router). Is editing large photos over wireless practical? Or will it be inconveniently, excruciatingly, prohibitively slow to save/load in comparison to her current external HD solution? If the answer depends on the hardware of the NAS, then please see build below.
Use case #2: Editing .WAV files with Audacity. Is it practical to edit .WAV files (mixing/mastering tracks) over wireless internet? Basically, same question as use case #1 but with (sometimes huge) .WAVs instead of huge image files.
Use case #3: Playing MP3s and Movies (avi, etc.) using a remote PC.
Basically, I'm interested in a redundant array which is accessible from Windows, linux, and Mac: a centralized location for all of my data and my wife's data. The NAS machine will be expected to do essentially no heavy duty processing. Do my use cases even require a custom NAS? That is, do I really need to spend ~500-800 (before HDs) to have a centralized location for large photo and large audio files to be remotely accessed and manipulated? Or...
Right now, Amazon has 3TB external WD hard drives for $92. So, I could buy two of those (have one be a mirror only). That's a WAY cheaper solution. How can I (or even should I) convince my wife (and myself) that the $92 external hard drive should be replaced with a $,$$$ NAS? We use CrashPlan for offsite backups, so if the two $92 externals died, we could recover our data--albeit painstakingly slow. I could even go with a simple and cheap WD My Cloud (but I hear some people complain about some things [even iTunes] taking a long time to load). If I spend $500 and my wife cannot simply edit photos at the same speed/rate as she did with her external hard drive, then I'll be in some serious trouble... ;)
Given that the box is only for data storage and access (nothing CPU intensive). How does the setup below sound? Is it completely ridiculous overkill for my use cases? Should I just slap two 3-4TB external hard drives into the two USB ports on my router and call it a day?
Lian Li PC-Q25B $119
ASRock E3C224D2I $193.99
Intel Pentium G3220 $56.99
8GB Kingston KVR16LE11/8KF 2x$68.99
Flashstick (for FreeNAS OS)
High efficiency power supply (have not decided which one yet--typically, I prefer Antec)
Aftermarket quiet cooler for Pentium G3220?
Some combination of WD and HGST Hard drives (probably start with 3-4 3TB drives). Here are my options:
3TB WD, Red, NAS, $118.99 Amazon (2TB = $95, 4TB = $159, 5TB = $209.99, 6TB = $266.77)
3TB WD, Green, Lowpower, $97.94 Amazon (4TB = $135, 5TB = 189.99, 6TB = 229.99)
3TB WD, Purple, Intellipower, $118.99 Amazon (2TB = $88.99, 4TB $173.99, 6TB = $262.99)
3TB HGST, NAS, $124 Amazon (4TB=$184, 5TB = $219, 6TB = $300)
4TB HGST, $167.15 Amazon
4TB HGST, NAS, $162.99
Thanks!
tl;dr version--for my use cases, is a NAS worth it? Or should I just plug two external hard drives (one a mirror of the other) into my router for $184 and count on crash plan as the backup for those two drives?
-JJ.
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