NAS set up - QNAP TS-431mini vs TS251+ vs Synology DS216plus

tommmy.star

tommmy.star

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I want to set up a NAS at home and can't really decide which units I should go for.
Speed is my main concern and Link Aggregation feature of Qnap is quite appealing as is the fact that I can upgrade RAM.
Any thought on this would be much appreciated. Which of these three would you go for? QNAP TS-431mini, QNAP TS251+ or Synology DS216plus


Thanks.
 
I guess there is another factor involved, price? The TS431 only did 45Mb/s in tests. For example on my Synology 713, I'm getting the full 125Mb/s to saturate the gigabit connection, on a single cat6 cable, the other is going to a different network.

As such if speed is truly the main concern then there are much faster NAS devices about.
 
dejongj said:
I guess there is another factor involved, price? The TS431 only did 45Mb/s in tests. For example on my Synology 713, I'm getting the full 125Mb/s to saturate the gigabit connection, on a single cat6 cable, the other is going to a different network.

As such if speed is truly the main concern then there are much faster NAS devices about.
Click to expand...

Thank for you input. Yes, speed is quite an important factor here. After some more reading I am now swayed towards Synology DS716 plus. If I go for it I will have to fork out about £360 (diskless) so I suppose that's my budget now:)

Anything better at that price point?
 
That ok, you may not thank me when you lost several hours today reading all the interesting reviews :)

Enjoy, I learned a lot there.
 
Another vote for Synology here, got a DS414 in link-aggregation and more than happy with the throughput. Recently been looking at the DS1515+ but not sure I actually need it rather than want it lol
 
Neilc28 said:
Another vote for Synology here, got a DS414 in link-aggregation and more than happy with the throughput. Recently been looking at the DS1515+ but not sure I actually need it rather than want it lol
Click to expand...

Hi Neil,

I am all new to the whole business of Link Aggregation tbh.
I have read that it only works when multiple clients try to read/write a file.
Do you mind sharing what is your setup?

Edit: I have pulled the trigger and got myself DS716+ (setting it up as we speak)
 
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tommmy.star said:
I have read that it only works when multiple clients try to read/write a file.
Do you mind sharing what is your setup?
Click to expand...

True Link Aggregation requires a switch or router capable of supporting LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol), what is does is essentially binds 2 physical interfaces together in a team to double, triple, quadruple the potential throughput. I doesn't just work with multiple clients, it can also benefit a single client in the following circumstances:-

  • The client has an interface that supports throughput higher than a single network interface on the NAS. Such as a client PC that has multiple network interfaces that are also using Link Aggregation.
With regards to the multi-user benefits then a simple scenario would be 2 clients trying to copy a file from the NAS, both clients have 1Gbps interfaces but the NAS can only serve requests from it's single 1Gbps interface and as such the bandwidth is shared, by using Link-Aggregation the NAS could potentially have a 2,3, or 4Gbps trunk to the network, resulting in faster throughput for all clients.

My setup is a Synology DS414 NAS with both interfaces in a Link-Aggregation set-up connected to a Cisco Meraki MS220 Switch with a HP Workstation with a quad-port Network Interface Card. I've also got a DS214Play connected to the network, although I am likely to sell both and get a DS1515 or it's successor so I can have a RAID 5 (3 Disks) + RAID 1 (2 Disks) array set-up, using different disks for different purposes, or just RAID 5 the whole lot.
 
I'm using mine to split the network. My switch has two vlans, one is for the cctv cameras and the other bridges with my main network. Works a dream.
 
Personally I wouldn't worry with link aggregation on a small network with low user count. You ideally need a compatible switch (as mentioned) and chances are you'd not notice a difference on individual access.
 
Thank you guys for your advice.

I have been copying some movies onto my DS716+ ( in total about 130GB worth of avi and xvid files) and I can see speeds of 25 to 26 MB/s . This is both wireless and wired. Is that good or bad?
 
tommmy.star said:
Thank you guys for your advice.

I have been copying some movies onto my DS716+ ( in total about 130GB worth of avi and xvid files) and I can see speeds of 25 to 26 MB/s . This is both wireless and wired. Is that good or bad?
Click to expand...
Wireless is ok'ish I would say. Wired doesn't seems bad. Is that with wireless switched off? Are you using Cat 5E or 6 cabling? Is it connected to a Gigabit switch? What disks did you put in the enclosure?

And of course, what else is happening?
 
dejongj said:
Wireless is ok'ish I would say. Wired doesn't seems bad. Is that with wireless switched off? Are you using Cat 5E or 6 cabling? Is it connected to a Gigabit switch? What disks did you put in the enclosure?

And of course, what else is happening?
Click to expand...


Cat5e from Netgear D7000 to PC and cat6 from Netgear to NAS. 2x 4TB WD red in raid1. I had wireless on when transferring the files (BT900 dongle) Nothing happening except for the file transfer.
 
I'm not familiar with the netgear modem router wireless access point and switch. That is a lot of functions in one device. I run a dedicated managed switch.

First thing I would do is switch off wireless. There is no need for it when you are connected via wired gigabit and it could significantly slowing it down.

Secondly what protocol are you using to access the NAS for sharing? Is it apple afp, smb, nfs, or ftp to name a few.

I think switching off wireless will make the biggest different. I do that myself when I think it is slower and it instantly improves.
 
Off to short Xmas break but will do some more testing when I come back. Once again many thanks for your help.
 
OK, so I have done some more testing. Copied a folder with 7.3GB worth of movies onto my NAS with wireless off and brand new cat6 cables from my router to PC and DS716+. Transfer speeds between 110 and 105MB/s. Quite happy with that.
Next on the list is setting up port forwarding for fast file access outside home and maybe a VPN. Any tips greatly appreciated especially with port forwarding. I have tried doing it through EZ Internet but I think I have failed miserably :) :(
 
Hi Tommy,

What access are you looking to provide from outside, WebDAV?

Assuming a standard deployment then the following will be applicable:-

TCP 80, 443, 5000-5001 for the web-based and mobile applications.
TCP 1723 will be required for PPTP VPN (Ensure your router has any VPN capability disabled or VPN Passthrough Enabled)
TCP 9900-9901 for Surveillance Station
TCP 5005-5006 for WebDAV

Full list of ports can be found here
 
tommmy.star said:
OK, so I have done some more testing. Copied a folder with 7.3GB worth of movies onto my NAS with wireless off and brand new cat6 cables from my router to PC and DS716+. Transfer speeds between 110 and 105MB/s. Quite happy with that.
Next on the list is setting up port forwarding for fast file access outside home and maybe a VPN. Any tips greatly appreciated especially with port forwarding. I have tried doing it through EZ Internet but I think I have failed miserably :) :(
Click to expand...
Amazing the difference not using wifi makes doesn't it ;)
 
Neil do bear with me:) My networking knowledge is very limited, actually more than I thought it would be.I really need someone to lay it out for me step by step.

Neilc28 said:
What access are you looking to provide from outside, WebDAV?
Click to expand...

What's best Neil? The main reason behind purchasing my synology was to create a private cloud where I will store images and video files. I wanted to access them from whenever over the Internet and I wanted it to be fast.
Where do I set it up? When I click on the File Station I can set up Remote Connection. My choices then are: FTP, SFTP, WebDAV. Am I in the right place?
The thing is I have not got a clue what to put in all the boxes once I click on the Web DAV (Hostname or IP, Port 80, Path, account name and password are already there, etc)

Also, any help with port forwarding inside my router would be much appreciated.

1.
Port F.JPG

2.
RemoteC.JPG

3.
Remote C2.JPG
 
Sorry for the late reply, I would imagine either the inbuilt Cloudstation or WebDAV options would be the better options, however it's best to note that any form of remote connectivity is going to be heavily dependant on your connection speed, what upload speed do you have on your internet connection?

With regards to the remotely accessing videos and photos, is that for viewing? as you may find the Photo Station and Video Station applications suit your needs perfectly, certainly worth a look...
 
Neilc28 said:
Sorry for the late reply, I would imagine either the inbuilt Cloudstation or WebDAV options would be the better options, however it's best to note that any form of remote connectivity is going to be heavily dependant on your connection speed, what upload speed do you have on your internet connection?

With regards to the remotely accessing videos and photos, is that for viewing? as you may find the Photo Station and Video Station applications suit your needs perfectly, certainly worth a look...
Click to expand...

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your reply.

upload speeds vary between 8 to 10 Mbps.

Yes, viewing only. I am using PhotoStation and Video Station now. When I try to connect via 3G/4G to watch videos a message comes up saying that I am connecting using Quick Connect and it would be faster if I did the port forwarding thingummy:)
 
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