Help me pick a NAS.

[Corbin Dallas]

Not from what I can tell. I've tried everything under the sun, read the whole manual and used their forums to get help on the issue.

Bottom line was we could not "share" the server in the most basic sense. (EG no shared folder on the desktop)

[f33dback]

If no one has suggested it check out: http://www.synology.com/us/index.php

[audiophil2]

I like the Synology features either as a 2 HDD or 4 HDD unit.

Can anyone comment on this one from LG:

http://www.frys.com/product/6135599?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[f33dback]

I have 2 of the synology units, you should at least take a gander at the feature set in the interface, I haven't seen anything to match synology and the price point is low as well.
My DS209 is quiet and reliable.

[TWoods450]

This is super user friendly, nearly no user input required. I don't have to worry about about configuring the RAID or monitoring the health of the drives.

Best reason is that you can mix & match different size drives. Mine has 3x 750GB & 1x 500GB drives for a total of 1.8TB. I think the max is 16TB or 4x 4TB drives.

I think the unit is around $325, put keep in mind no drives are included.

http://www.drobo.com/products/drobo.php

couldn't agree more about the drobo, just remember the standard drobo is not a NAS, to make it a NAS you'll need their network adapter, if you are looking to spend around 800 you can easily do all you are looking at, 1.5tb drives are cheap as well, the drobo will allow you to start with two drives and expand over time. While its not true RAID5 it uses their own quasi-raid that is VERY reliable.

[Satex]

http://freenas.org/freenas

Freenas is very good if you've got a spare machine around.

I played around with FreeNAS. While it's a worthwhile effort I did not find it reliable, and it was VERY hardware sensitive. Kudos to the writer but I decided to do away with it.

If no one has suggested it check out: http://www.synology.com/us/index.php

I like the Synology features either as a 2 HDD or 4 HDD unit.

Synology is absolutely phenomenal! I have the DS209 and absolutely love it. A few highlights of their products:
1) They actually use the same firmware code base for all and update them on a regular basis, unlike most other companies.
2) The UI is phenomenal. Very well designed.
3) The box is quite and low power.
4) Well priced.

[dchang0]

Netgear readynas, I have a couple of them, lots of features(more than you'll ever need for basic home use) decent warranty also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822122047

+10000

I love the ReadyNAS units and have installed many of them at various customers. They are feature-packed for the price and play well with both Windows and Macs.

The only feature you mentioned that they don't support is the backup to Blu-Ray, though you CAN back them up to direct-attached external USB hard drives.

If you're a Debian LINUX hacker, you can make the ReadyNAS do just about anything, though you'll void your warranty if you get too crazy.

Recently, Fry's had the ReadyNAS NVX on sale for $449 with two 1TB drives.