Dreadhead Posted August 29, 2015 Report Posted August 29, 2015 We have a original Drobo DAS that I picked up from Dan a long time ago and is still going but it's gotten a bit flaky with windows 10 sleep for some reason and Drobo stopped doing software updates 5 years ago I think. Anyway I'm thinking of replacing it and I'm wondering what the current state of the art is? I'm thinking of just getting the new Drobo USB 3.0 but I was wondering if anyone else knows of something better.Right now I'm still thinking DAS because I want to keep the Backblaze backup going etc. Maybe it makes more sense to move one drive local to the machine use that for the data and backup and then go to a dedicated NAS for the backup and slimserver?
Sherwood Posted August 29, 2015 Report Posted August 29, 2015 Also interested in this topic, though I have little to add. I'd been looking at this unit, though largely because I'll be using mine as a Plex server, hooked up to a Mac Mini. IIRC, your ecosystem is erroneously devoid of macs, so the Thunderbolt is not a big draw.
morphsci Posted August 30, 2015 Report Posted August 30, 2015 I am really happy with my Synology NAS, a 1512+ so it is a few years old. The Synology software, DSM is very easy to use and has been rock solid for me since it has been set-up. Initial set-up can take a while depending upon how much data you have to transfer but it has been plenty fast for my needs in everyday use.
grawk Posted August 30, 2015 Report Posted August 30, 2015 I got a drobo 3 so that I could move my drives over. That was handy. The power supply died on it 3 months later, and dealing with their tech support was super annoying. but it did get worked out. It's still not the fastest, but it is convenient.If I were doing it over, I dunno what I'd do.
Dreadhead Posted August 31, 2015 Author Report Posted August 31, 2015 Thanks for the feedback all.I think I'm leaning towards the NAS as local backup/slimserver option because that gives me full time access to the files and then I can just have a internal drive in the desktop PC with the data that is backed up offsite. In my current setup I need to use Wake on Lan to wake the machine all the time when playing music or when I want a file. I would be nice not to do that.
Sherwood Posted August 31, 2015 Report Posted August 31, 2015 I think I'm leaning towards the NAS as local backup/slimserver option.That opens up your options. Smallnetbuilder does a good "Best NAS" chart that's easily refined corresponding to your preferences.
Dreadhead Posted August 31, 2015 Author Report Posted August 31, 2015 I will need to take a look.I need to make sure whatever I get supports Slimserver. Unfortunately that's usually a 4 drive NAS box as a 2 drive RAID would work fine in this arrangement because of the offsite BackBlaze backup.
luvdunhill Posted August 31, 2015 Report Posted August 31, 2015 Then won't you need native Backblaze that runs on the NAS itself?
Dreadhead Posted August 31, 2015 Author Report Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) Backblaze will run with a non-redundant large hard drive that's in the PC which will hold a copy of everything on the NAS. Edited August 31, 2015 by Dreadhead
Sherwood Posted August 31, 2015 Report Posted August 31, 2015 You know your business better than I, but it seems like frequently sending a WOL packet is less trouble than periodically backing up your entire NAS to a non-redundant drive for the sake of backblaze. 2
Dreadhead Posted September 1, 2015 Author Report Posted September 1, 2015 It would be the other way around. The non redundant drive would be the working drive which would automatically backup to the NAS and backblaze. That said your point is a good one. If I get the current arrangement stable then it is easy enough and other than a 30 second delay when starting a slim device and having to manually sleep the PC sometimes.
HeadphoneAddict Posted September 2, 2015 Report Posted September 2, 2015 I've been quite happy with my Drobo 5N NAS with 12TB useable storage, with data protection if one drive goes out. It's quick whether accessing via 802.11ac WiFi on my Macbook Pro 15" or via wired ethernet from the iMac. I have approx 4.5TB iTunes library on it, and the Macbook and iMac run Timemachine backups to it as well, and Plex and Mediatomb seems to run well on it, although I get crashes with Firefly music server if I try to share my whole library.
falkon Posted September 4, 2015 Report Posted September 4, 2015 (edited) I'm running FreeNAS because I need a lot of flexibility running SABNZBD w/ Headphones, CP, Mylar, and Sickrage, Plex, Kodi, Murmur, owncloud, security camera, home automation, 16TB, etc etc but I'd not suggest it if you are new to Linux/Unix. I almost pulled my hair out getting all of that to work because jails and permissions are a bitch to work out.That being said, Synology is essentially the same without all of the hassle (albeit much more $$) and without hardware options (no Xeon etc). I would recommend that if you don't need anything really complex but still want some basic features like Plex (don't expect 1080p transcoding on Synology) or Kodi, Synology would be fine.If you don't need any advanced features then I don't think it matters what you get. Drobo should be fine. Edited September 5, 2015 by falkon
Dreadhead Posted September 5, 2015 Author Report Posted September 5, 2015 I am leaning towards just getting the WD My Cloud EX2 which will be easy and act as my slimserver etc. Nothing advanced here as we just buy/rent our movies from Amazon.
n_maher Posted September 5, 2015 Report Posted September 5, 2015 Seems like a good option. I think I've been waffling about this type of decision for years now..
falkon Posted September 5, 2015 Report Posted September 5, 2015 No Sonarr?Sickrage is running fine and I'm too lazy to switch. You running Sonarr?
Dreadhead Posted September 7, 2015 Author Report Posted September 7, 2015 I am leaning towards just getting the WD My Cloud EX2 which will be easy and act as my slimserver etc. Nothing advanced here as we just buy/rent our movies from Amazon. I just ordered this. Fingers crossed. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
n_maher Posted September 7, 2015 Report Posted September 7, 2015 Discless or did you opt for one of the Red setups?
Dreadhead Posted September 7, 2015 Author Report Posted September 7, 2015 4tb setup (but I will only get 2tb because I will run raid) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
Sherwood Posted September 7, 2015 Report Posted September 7, 2015 You running Sonarr?I definitely am. Tried it on a whim when I was away from my server for a few months and needed to set up a mobile workflow on a laptop. When I got back to my server it replaced my running Sickbeard installation. It handles unexpected things (nuked episodes, "Out of your server's retention"? problems, etc.) and has a very full-featured renaming and organization system. Plus I enjoy Calendar view, showing me what's upcoming and missed very intuitively.
falkon Posted September 11, 2015 Report Posted September 11, 2015 I'll switch it over once I move to the new house. Too lazy to do it now. Thanks for the firsthand experience.
Dreadhead Posted September 12, 2015 Author Report Posted September 12, 2015 Discless or did you opt for one of the Red setups?The EX2 came already setup as RAID 1 and the Slimserver works great. Turns out that I had mirroring software that has auto-synchronization which I've setup to keep the computer and NAS synced. Very pleased, though I'd admit that the Drobo is much more stable since I removed the 1.5TB drive. Trying to decide if I just keep it for offline backups.
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