NAS - Network Attached Storage

Become acquainted with NAS!

The Problem
Increasingly computer users are reaching the limits of the usable space one their internal hard disks and are concerned to to find a realistic way to accommodate the ever swelling quantity of data they need to store.

In most cases these Mac users own an iMac or Macbook computer, bought in the last five years, which was supplied with either a 250Gb, 320Gb or 500Gb internal HDD. At the time of purchase a 500Gb disk might have seemed to be a generous amount of space however it only takes a couple of years before we begin to realise it simply isn't large enough.

As I see it, our general use of computers has expanded to include ever more adventurous processes, for example movie editing which automatically means working with very large files. A couple of years ago we might have considered tasks such as these to be only within the realm of expert professionals. The fact is, high quality digital photography and video has been placed easily within the grasp of us all. Companies like Panasonic and Canon produce great and affordable cameras while Apple iMovie software is so simple to use it is even available on the iPad. We have been shopping, bought the gadgets and we are using them but where will we store the burgeoning content we create?

The Solution
If a Mac user does the very least to back up his or her data, they should already have an external hard-disk connected by USB cable to their computer. If their internal disk is filling up, then of course the external will be too, more so if they use Time Machine to do incremental backups.

Despite the fact that an iMac has four USB ports, using them to attach more external hard disks is a clumsy solution. Excessive clutter around the desk doesn't make for an easier life and for those of us who are already accustomed to using wireless keyboards and mice, well we would hate to see a return to the mess. Adding a string of disks, where each requires a plug for power and has trailing cables, inevitably tangled as they cascade over the back of the desk, is a limiting and retrograde step. Consider, if you own several computers you would need to have many individual hard disks attached separately to each computer making it difficult to share data between devices. Clearly a more robust, "future proof" system will be required.

The elegant choice is a multi featured NAS drive. NAS stands for 'Network Attached Storage', and usually takes the form of a specialised computer in which most general purpose functionality has been removed. It has no keyboard, no mouse and cannot connect to a monitor. The box contains only a main circuit board and a rack of hard disks. A scaled down operating system, often based on Linux, includes only the necessary components for file storage and serving. Modern NAS challenges the need for a more complicated traditional server, it's simplicity makes it hugely more energy efficient, quiet and small.

A Word About Apple Time Capsule
Arguably Apple's own "Time Capsule" can be classed as a NAS drive, as it too is distinguished by the fact that it sits upon the network and is accessible to all users of the network. Generally I only recommend Time Capsule for users with lightweight demands, as it is restricted to only one hard disk (albeit Apple has increased the capacity to 3Tb) and it is specifically designed to use with Apple's "Time Machine" software. It should also be understood that Apple's Time Capsule is also a network router, so before buying one should ask oneself whether such a feature is required. After all, most of us already have a perfectly usable router, frequently provided for free by our Internet supplier, such as BT. Roughly compared, you can set yourself up with a 4Tb Mirror RAID NAS with all the functionality of a Time Capsule and more, for around the same price or less.

The Alternative Choice
There are several companies who manufacture NAS drives, although I have rarely seen any of them on the shelves of stores such as PC World and never at my local Apple shop in Kingston's Bentall Centre. Generally these devices need to be ordered from specialist suppliers via the Internet. Brands I recommend are Synology, Qnap and Netgear. Technology innovators, Synology and Qnap are both based in Taiwan, with factories possibly located within sight of each other in Taipei City. They compete head to head to take the accolade of top dog in the NAS world, each boasting ever more feature filled units every year. Configuration of their devices is done through a web browser from any other machine on the network. Once hooked into the the NAS network interface, the array of possibilities can be bewildering at first glance. As already mentioned, state of the art NAS includes Apple's Time Machine backup feature, so they are definitely useful to the Mac community but it's only the start. Modern NAS will also function as an iTunes server, a file server, a torrent server, a photo server, a movie server, an audio server, a security surveillance server, an FTP server, a mail server, a web server and let's not forget it provides backup services to both Windows and Linux as well as Mac. Frankly the list goes on and on.

Something that tickles me is that I can sit in bed and watch stored movies on my NAS, streamed directly to my iPhone or iPad using custom Synology and Qnap software, downloadable for free via the iTunes Appstore. Effectively everything stored on the NAS can be streamed or downloaded directly to your iPhone from anywhere in the world. It's like having a massive hard disk attached to your iPhone - your very own "cloud".

RAID disk formatting
RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, and is the formatting method used in a NAS box, whereby a number of disks are grouped so they work as and appear as one disk. The term RAID covers a variety of formats which this short article cannot cover in detail. You can learn more about RAID by checking out Wikipedia for the lowdown. There can be some downsides but for our requirements there's mostly upsides. With a group of say 4 x 2Tb disks formatted using 'RAID 5', the user gets 6Tb of storage space while the remaining 2Tb are employed as a sort of safety net, used only in the event when one disk in the array should suffer a hardware failure. This is a very safe system and not surprisingly it is popular despite it being a little slower than some other RAID configurations. 'RAID 0' is used on smaller NAS boxes with pairs of disks, so if one disk goes down the data is still safe on its "mirror" image. In a NAS box you can format multiple disks in a variety of ways but I recommend choosing the safest system rather than the one which simply optimises for speed. One notable safety feature in Synology and Qnap NAS is that it will contact you by email to let you know if something has gone wrong. This way you can hurry back to the office and sort the problem out ASAP. Desktop NAS boxes are built to house between 1 and 12 disks so bear in mind the bigger units should be positioned somewhere out of sight. It is also worth checking with the manufacturers as to whether they can handle the larger 3Tb and 4Tb disks that are coming on to the market at the moment (Oct 2011). Rest assured manufacturers like the big two from Taiwan will improve software and hardware to accommodate the latest technology as soon as is humanly possible.

NAS technology is not a new thing, it's been used in business for many years. The difference between older editions of NAS and the new breed is the variety of features on offer today. Not every manufacturer offers all the features I have described here, some merely offer a storage space with FTP access, so beware. If you are a technically minded person who enjoys tinkering with hardware you might like to try building your own NAS box from an old PC. There is a great open source project called "Free NAS 8" you can learn about by visiting www.freenas.org.

If you would like to know more about NAS, I would be happy for you to call me on: 07955 895679

Synology Web Site
QNAP Web Site

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