NAS Buyers Guide

What is a NAS?

A NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a standalone external storage device. The name refers to the way that this type of storage sits on a network, rather than being directly attached to the computer via, say, USB. In this guide we’ll look at how NAS differs from storage in PCs or workstations and why you would want to use it, how to choose the right one for your purposes and the types of HDD and SSD you should use in a NAS box.

NAS boxes are ideally suited to a home or small office environment as they are simple to configure and operate so require no dedicated resource to support them - that said, as you’ll see later in this guide, they still have the capability to scale to large capacities and have advanced feature sets for larger organisations too. NAS boxes are low cost too, allowing you to start small and add capacity as required while maintaining data integrity using the built-in data security feature called RAID that ensures data is protected in the event of a drive failure.

The Benefits of NAS

Shared Data Storage

The most obvious benefit of a NAS box is that it offers a shared storage platform. This means that multiple devices and users can access the NAS over a network to save and retrieve their files and data. Within the home this can be a useful feature to keep family media centralised, storing photos and videos in one place to keep the internal storage of phones and laptops uncluttered, but allowing access to all.

In an office environment, a NAS box is particularly useful when several people are working on the same files, so a single version can be maintained rather than multiple different versions scattered across devices. As the NAS box sits on the network it can be accessed externally by remote workers via the router too. We’ll come back to remote access later on in more detail.

Shared data storage also allows for shared back-up of devices - this can be set on each device to automatically schedule a back-up to the NAS, and furthermore the NAS itself can be backed-up to another device if required. This too can be set automatically to happen.

Scalability

As we’ve mentioned a NAS box is essentially a drive enclosure, but with intelligence. Although they start from just two drive bays they scale much larger, and so it is common for users to grow into the space they have available. This can be done in two ways - firstly you can replace drives with larger capacity ones. For example a four bay NAS containing 2TB drives can be upgraded to 4TB drives thus doubling the capacity without replacing the enclosure.

Secondly, you can start with a larger enclosure, but leave some of the bays empty. There is no issue in doing this, as the enclosure will know they are empty and ignore them. You can then simply add drives as you go in order to increase the capacity.

It is worth mentioning that both these types of capacity scaling require the use of RAID settings, to ensure no data is lost when swapping out or adding drives, but we’ll come onto that shortly.

Data Security

When considering HDD or SSD purchases for a NAS, it is vital to understand about how best to protect the data on your drives. This can be achieved in a number of ways using RAID technology. RAID stands for redundant array of independent disks and it is essentially spreading the data over multiple drives to remove the chance of a single point of failure.

It works by blocks of data, referred to as ‘parity’ blocks, being distributed across the multiple drives so that in the event of failure of any one drive the parity blocks can be used to retrieve the lost data and rebuild the array. RAID levels are categorised by number and their attributes vary with each type.

RAID 0

RAID 0 is the fastest RAID mode since it stripes data across all of the array’s drives and as the capacities of each drive are added together it results in the highest capacity of any RAID type. However, RAID 0 lacks a very important feature - data protection. If one drive fails, all data becomes inaccessible, so while RAID 0 configuration may be ideal for gaming where performance matters but data is not critical, it is not recommended for storing critical data.

RAID 1

RAID 1 works across a maximum of two drives and provides data security since all data is written to both drives in the array. If a single drive fails, data remains available on the other drive, however, due to the time it takes to write data multiple times, performance is reduced. Additionally, RAID 1 reduces disk capacity by 50% since each bit of data is stored on both disks in the array. RAID 1 configurations are most commonly seen when mirroring drives that contain the operating system (OS) in enterprise servers, providing a back-up copy.

RAID 5

RAID 5 writes data across all drives in the array and to a parity block for each data block. If one drive fails, the data from the failed drive can be rebuilt onto a replacement drive. A minimum of three drives is required to create a RAID 5 array, and the capacity of a single drive is lost from useable storage due to the parity blocks. For example, if four 2TB drives were employed in a RAID 5 array, the useable capacity would be 3x 2TB = 6TB. Although some capacity is lost, the performance is almost as good as RAID 0, so RAID 5 is often seen as the sweet spot for many workstation and NAS uses.

RAID 6

RAID 6 writes data across all drives in the array, like RAID 5, but two parity blocks are used for each data block. This means that two drives can fail in the array without loss of data, as it can be rebuilt onto replacement drives. A minimum of four drives is required to create a RAID 6 array, although due to the dual parity block, two drives capacities are lost - for example if you had five 2TB drives in an array, the usable capacity would be 3x 2TB = 6TB. Typically due to this security versus capacity trade-off, RAID 6 would usually only be employed in NAS appliances and servers where data critical.

RAID 10

RAID 10 is referred to as a nested RAID configuration as it combines the protection of RAID 1 with the performance of RAID 0. Using four drives as an example, RAID 10 creates two RAID 1 arrays, and then combines them into a RAID 0 array. Such configurations offer exceptional data protection, allowing for two drives to fail across two RAID 1 segments. Additionally, due to the RAID 0 stripe, it provides users high performance when managing greater amounts of smaller files, so is often seen in database servers.

RAID 50

RAID 50 is referred to as a nested RAID configuration as it combines the parity protection of RAID 5 with the performance of RAID 0. Due to the speed of RAID 0 striping, RAID 50 improves upon RAID 5 performance, especially during writes, and also offers more protection than a single RAID level. RAID 50 is often employed in larger servers when you need improved fault tolerance, high capacity and fast write speeds. A minimum of six drives is required for a RAID 50 array, although the more drives in the array the longer it will take to initialise and rebuild data due to the large storage capacity.

RAID 60

RAID 60 is referred to as a nested RAID configuration as it combines the double parity protection of RAID 6 with the performance of RAID 0. Due to the speed of RAID 0 striping, RAID 60 improves upon RAID 6 performance, especially during writes, and also offers more protection than a single RAID level. RAID 60 is often employed in larger server deployments when you need exceptional fault tolerance, high capacity and fast write speeds. A minimum of eight drives is required for a RAID 60 array, although the more drives in the array the longer it will take to initialise and rebuild data due to the large storage capacity.

What to look out for when choosing a NAS box

There are a few factors that determine the best type of NAS box to choose - these are to do with the physical shape and size as well as specific components, as detailed in the tabs below.

Form Factors

There are two common form factors of NAS box - desktop and rackmount. As the name suggests desktop NAS boxes simply sits on a desk or table top and have a cable connecting them to the network. The rackmount type is designed to fit a standard 19in wide computer rack cabinet in a server, coms room or datacentre. As you may expect the rackmount type are usually higher specification devices as they are intended for much larger organisations. They will typically scale to larger capacities and have more software features. Desktop NAS boxes usually top out at 12 drives bays while rackmount NAX boxes models offer up to 24 bays.

It is worth mentioning here that both types can be expanded beyond the physical limits of the single chassis by adding an expansion chassis to the desktop NAS or an extra disk shelf to the rackmount NAS. We’ll cover this more later but clearly if larger expansion is likely in your scenario even a small rack cabinet setup may be advisable.

NAS Processors

The CPU is the brain of the NAS, controlling how data is written to the drives and the speed at which it can be retrieved. Normally if you are buying a PC for home or work, you are buying it based on its ability to do tasks as quickly as possible. However, a NAS will often be on for days, weeks or months at a time, unlike your desktop PC. Plus, most of the tasks it performs are passive or require much less CPU power. The result is that the CPU found in most NAS appears to be rather modest when compared to the desktop computer alternatives, as the CPU needs to be more efficient about power consumption and heat. Because of these differences from PCs the CPUs seen in entry-level and mid-range NAS boxes are often Arm based such as Marvell, Annapurna or Realtek - alternatively they may be the less powerful Intel x86 models such as Intel Atom or Celeron. These are all perfectly adequate to perform basic NAS features, although if you intend heavier usage of applications then consider a NAX box with a quad-core CPU rather than a dual-core CPU. Although it is difficult to guarantee a performance level due to factors such as the number of users and network speed the following pointers offer some insight as to how to best choose a NAS depending on it’s CPU.

Advantages of low-cost CPUs:

• Low cost of CPU means that the overall cost of NAS is lower
• Low spec CPUs consume less power helping to reduce running cost
• Low cost CPUs are still powerful enough to handle DLNA Media streaming, typical file level exchanges and backups
• Can support surveillance based NAS use and multiple IP cameras but will see limitations as numbers increase

Disadvantages of low-cost CPUs:

• Will struggle if many users are connecting concurrently
• Cannot handle transcoding, large-scale rendering or 4K media
• Higher-end software features will not be able to run on low-cost CPUs

It is worth mentioning that there are high-end NAS boxes with AMD Ryzen, Intel Core and even Intel Xeon CPUs which are squarely aimed at the business and enterprise markets where large data sizes are the norm and fast connectivity is required.

Memory

The amount of memory (or RAM) required in a NAS will largely depend on the applications and number of users accessing the NAS at any given time. It is generally a rule of thumb that if your NAS is going to be used by more than five people and for backups and multimedia, then you should have at least 2GB of memory to ensure completely fluid activity. It is recommended to go for at least 4GB if you are using RAID. If, however, you are going to use a NAS for business, large-scale surveillance with multiple IP cameras for CCTV, or to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) for users to have their own bespoke virtual desktop, then you will need to start with at least 8GB of memory. It is worth bearing in mind that large rackmount NAS devices are essentially storage servers so they scale in RAM as a server - up to 512GB.

In many cases, it is possible to expand the memory in NAS device, just like a PC or workstation, so you should look out for this ability if you intend for your NAS use to scale. All NAS manufacturers will provide a compatibility matrix to ensure you choose the correct RAM if deciding to upgrade - either by purchasing the branded memory or a compatible alternative.

Drive Bays

Although we’ve addressed CPU and RAM first, it is fair to say that the more drive bays a NAS box has then the specifications of the system will also increase in anticipation of heavier workloads, more users and more intensive applications. NAS boxes with at least two bays still offering basic RAID options to afford some data protection, and those scaling to 24 bays in a single rackmount chassis offering much greater RAID flexibility. The drive bays themselves are not that different regardless of which model you choose. Most will be covered with a banking plate when no drive is present, and when drives are in place they can be removed by flipping a small lever or clip at the front. The vast majority of NAS drive bays are hot-swappable - a feature that allows you to take out the drive and replace it with a new one (either after failure or for upgrade), without the need to power down the NAS. Although RAID settings are required to effectively use this feature, it does make maintaining your data very simple. If you want these features then avoid the entry-level NAS as they usually have fixed drives that you cannot access from the front of the box.

The majority of drive bays are 3.5in slots featuring SATA III connectors that will take either 3.5in or 2.5in HDDs or SSDs. Some NAS boxes also feature dedicated 2.5in drive bays aimed specifically at SSDs for advanced high speed caching. A more recent development is the inclusion of multiple M.2 SSD slots internally to enable tiered storage support in a single device being used for fast access and archive purposes.

Connectivity

NAS boxes include a variety of connections as standard, although the number and type will vary on whether it is an entry-level or a high-end model. The very minimum every NAS device will have is an RJ45 Ethernet network connection. This will usually be 1GbE. Ethernet is by far the most common network connectivity standard around and Gigabit speed connections are common on most desktop PC or workstations today. Some mid-range and high-end NAS boxes feature 10GbE offering 10x the performance when used with a 10GbE network throughout – useful if you are working with larger multimedia files rather than simple documents.

It is also common as NAS boxes increase in price and performance that multiple RJ45 Ethernet ports will be present, sometimes in mixed configurations such as 2x 1GbE and 2x 10GbE. This is designed to give options for connectivity and to provide link aggregations features, where two or more ports can be combined to give a greater throughput speed - 2x 10GbE = 20GbE. Alternatively, the different ports can be used for failover - redundancy in case one connection should fail. You may also see the following ports on a NAS box.

USB

A single or several USB ports may be provided. Any front mounted USB ports are usually for the direct upload of data from an external drive onto the NAS box, whereas any rear mounted ports are intended for connection to an external storage drive to back up the NAS.

eSATA

Some NAS boxes include an eSATA port so you can easily expand the total drive capacity.

Expansion Ports

We mentioned earlier that some NAS boxes can be expanded, but rather than using a third-party connection such as USB or eSATA, they come ready with one or more expansion ports in order to connect a second expansion chassis - usually almost identical to the original NAS unit but with no inbuilt intelligence. We’ll come back to these later.

Software

As we’ve touched on previously the basic functions of a NAS box are to store and share data, act as a backup and protect data. However, leading NAS brands such as Synology and QNAP have taken the feature set several steps further and enabled a whole host of additional functions. We’ll take a look at some of these but it’s always worth remembering the OS on most NAS devices will be the same, but some functions may be limited by the CPU and RAM available. If you know you want advanced functionality then purchasing a high-end NAS is the way to go. It’s also worth mentioning that the OSes are regularly updated, enabling you to take advantage of new features without the need to change hardware.

Management

Configure, maintain, and monitor every facet of your NAS - no IT professional required.

File Syncing

Sync your files securely between multiple computers, servers, and public clouds.

Data Backup

Protect personal data on VMware, Windows endpoints, and SaaS applications.

NAS Protection

Protect data on NAS against unexpected hardware failure, natural disasters, and accidental deletion.

Virtualisation

Provide a complete vitualization solution with Virtual Machine Manager.

Productivity

Boost productivity with Office and Drive, streamline projects with Chat, set up a private mail solution, and so much more.

Multimedia

Enjoy photos, videos, and music through an intuative web and mobile interface.

Data Security

Industry-leading security solutions defend your NAS from sophisticated threats.

Additional Software

As the points touch on above mid to high-end NAS devices are essentially small office servers and they can be used in this way providing email and productivity applications. To this end some NAS models are equipped with the ability to support most virtualisation solutions to enhance work efficiency whilst keeping an easy management interface.

Check for compatibility if you're looking to use your NAS in this way.

NAS Storage Drives

We’ve already mentioned that the 2.5in and 3.5in drive bays in a NAS box can support both HDDs and SSDs. While it is true that you can install any compatible HDD in a NAS, it isn’t recommended as most regular drives are designed for occasional use rather than 24/7 use that is usually the case in a NAS. Performance will suffer and the life span of the drives will shorten - you may save money but you may lose data and the very least will spend significant time rebuilding the drive array as the failure rate will be high. It’s also worth mentioning here that you can purchase NAS boxes with drives already pre-populated inside.

As alluded to, the leasing HDD manufacturers, WD and Seagate, have developed NAS-optimised HDDs - specifically designed and tested to be operated for longer times or continuously - a longer warranty period is standard on these drives too in line with these features.

NAS Optimised HDDs

Seagate IronWolf Family

These Seagate NAS specific drive ranges come in two versions - IronWolf is aimed at Home, SOHO and small business NAS drives with up to 8 drive bays. IronWolf Pro, on the other hand is for businesses and digital artists who need extremely high performance from their NAS servers.

Ironwolf Ironwolf Pro
Capacity 1TB - 12TB 4TB - 22TB
Form Factor 3.5in 3.5in
Interface SATA 6Gb/s SATA 6Gb/s
Recommended Drive Bays 2-8 8-24
Spindle Speed 5900rpm 7200rpm
Cache 64MB 128MB
Warranty 3yrs 3yrs

NAS Optimised HDDs

Seagate SkyHawk

The Seagate SkyHawk range is aimed at surveillance-specialised storage. SkyHawk is designed and purpose-built for surveillance applications featuring ImagePerfect firmware that is designed to ensure seamless video footage capture in 24/7 surveillance workloads scaling to concurrent video capture from up to 64 HD cameras. The AI version feature ImagePerfect AI technology that enables an additional 32 streams for deep learning analytics within the system.

SkyHawk SkyHawk AI
Capacity 1TB - 8TB 8TB - 20TB
Form Factor 3.5in 3.5in
Interface SATA 6Gb/s SATA 6Gb/s
Recommended Drive Bays 2-8 8-24
Spindle Speed 7200rpm 7200rpm
Cache 64MB 256MB
Warranty 3yrs 3yrs

NAS Optimised HDDs

Seagate Exos

Designed to handle the most rigorous workloads with capacities up to 16TB, the Seagate Exos enterprise class drives are perfect high-reliability solutions for servers, storage systems, and business-centric NAS systems.

Exos X Exos E
Capacity 10TB - 20TB 300GB - 10TB
Form Factor 3.5in 3.5in
Interface SATA 6Gb/s SATA 6Gb/s / SAS 12Gb/s
Recommended Drive Bays 8-24 8-24
Spindle Speed 7200rpm 7200 / 10000 / 15000rpm
Cache 256MB 256MB
Warranty 5yrs 5yrs

NAS Optimised HDDs

WD Red Family

With drives up to 14TB, the WD Red series offers a wide array of solutions for customers looking to build a high performing NAS storage solution. WD Red and Red Plus drives are built for up to 8-bay NAS systems, and pack the power to store your precious data in one powerhouse unit. Increase the efficiency and productivity of your business with WD Red Pro drives, available for up to 24-bay NAS systems. Engineered to run cool and quiet and specifically designed for RAID environments, they feature noise and vibration protection to prevent excessive wear and tear from spinning constantly within a NAS array.

WD Red WD Red Plus WD Red Pro
Capacity 2TB - 6TB 1TB - 14TB 2TB - 22TB
Form Factor 3.5in 2.5in & 3.5in 3.5in
Interface SATA 6Gb/s SATA 6Gb/s SATA 6Gb/s
Recommended Drive Bays 2-8 2-8 8-24
Spindle Speed 5400rpm 5400rpm 7200rpm
Cache 256MB 256 - 512MB 256 - 512MB
Warranty 3yrs 3yrs 5yrs

NAS Optimised HDDs

WD Purple

WD Purple surveillance HDDs are engineered specifically for surveillance security systems and tuned for write-intensive, low bit-rate, high stream-count applications typical to most surveillance applications. They include AllFrame technology, which improves video streaming, helping to reduce errors, pixelation, and other video interruptions that could happen in a video recording system. WD Purple drives have an enhanced workload rating that supports systems designed for 24x7 video recording with up to 64 cameras. The 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, and 14TB capacities feature AllFrame AI technology that enables an additional 32 streams for deep learning analytics within the system.

WD Purple WD Purple AI
Capacity 1TB - 14TB 8TB - 22TB
Form Factor 3.5in 3.5in
Interface SATA 6Gb/s SATA 6Gb/s
Recommended Drive Bays 2-8 8-24
Spindle Speed 5400rpm 7200rpm
Cache 64MB 256 - 512MB
Warranty 3yrs 3yrs

NAS Optimised SSDs

Installing SSDs in your NAS can mean better performance when it come to demanding applications such as 4K video or editing large file sizes where fast caching will be beneficial. They are also very much suited to the units we’ve mentioned where dedicated 2.5 inor M.2 slots are provided to deliver enhanced caching. It is worth pointing out though, that although SSDs may provide benefits for local users (those within the same network as the NAS device), external users’ experience will more likely be governed by their network access speed rather than the internal drive capabilities.

SSDs may also be preferable in an environment where noise and/or heat could cause an issue, as they operate much quieter with minimal heat due to no moving parts.

Seagate IronWolf SSDs

Seagate IronWolf SSDs are built specifically for NAS use and offer capacities ranging from 240GB to 4TB. Each drive includes AgileArray firmware to keep your NAS enclosure maximised for demanding 24/7 and multi-user environments, and can be used in an all-flash array or in a NAS capable of tiered caching.

Ironwolf SSD Ironwolf M.2
Capacity 240GB - 4TB 240GB - 2TB
Form Factor 2.5in M.2 2280
Interface SATA 6Gb/s NVMe
Recommended Drive Bays 2-24 N/A
Warranty 5yrs 5yrs

NAS Optimised SSDs

Installing SSDs in your NAS can mean better performance when it come to demanding applications such as 4K video or editing large file sizes where fast caching will be beneficial. They are also very much suited to the units we’ve mentioned where dedicated 2.5 inor M.2 slots are provided to deliver enhanced caching. It is worth pointing out though, that although SSDs may provide benefits for local users (those within the same network as the NAS device), external users’ experience will more likely be governed by their network access speed rather than the internal drive capabilities.

SSDs may also be preferable in an environment where noise and/or heat could cause an issue, as they operate much quieter with minimal heat due to no moving parts.

WD Red SSDs

Unlike standard SSDs, WD Red NAS SATA SSDs are specifically designed and tested for 24/7 usage. This durability together with efficient caching of big files make these drives ideal for databases, multi-user environments, photo rendering, 4K and 8K video editing and other demanding applications. With 2.5in and M.2 form factors and capacities from 500GB up to 4TB the WD Red SSD range lets you optimise your existing or next NAS system for superior performance and endurance.

WD Red SSD WD Red SSD M.2
Capacity 500GB - 4TB 500GB - 2TB
Form Factor 2.5in M.2 2280
Interface SATA 6Gb/s NVMe
Recommended Drive Bays 2-24 N/A
Warranty 5yrs 5yrs

We’ve covered the drive families specific to NAS use in this guide, but to understand more about whether HDDs or SSDs are the right choice for your NAS, please read our Internal Storage Buyers Guide .

NAS Drive Capacity

Whilst drive capacity and overall capacity will be down to your individual scenario, and be dependent on your need for storage now plus future expansion requirements, it is worth remembering that as drive capacities increase, so does rebuild time for an array should one (or more) fail. If you need access to mission critical data then a larger NAS array with smaller individual drives may be the better option.

4x 8TB = 32TB
Less RAID flexibility with 4 drives
Long rebuild times

8x 4TB = 32GB
More RAID flexibility with 8 drives
Shorter rebuild times

NAS Accessories

Expansion Chassis

As we touched upon in the connectivity section, both desktop and rackmount NAS can be directly expanded using additional chassis if eSATA or expansion ports are featured on the back of the unit. Essentially the expansion unit is a second chassis or additional rack shelf full of drives connected to and controlled by the original NAS device so the whole drive pool capacity is seen as a single entity.

Add-in Cards

Add-in cards for a NAS are just like those for a PC or server, in that the use a PCIe slot on the NAS motherboard to provide additional functionality, capacity or connectivity. Once again it is usually the mid-range to high-end range of NAS devices that will support slots for add-in cards. Some of the options available include:

M.2 SSD / 10GbE Combo Card

M.2 NVMe SSD Card

M.2 SATA SSD Card

2x 10GbE Card

2x SFP+ 10GbE Card

SAS Expansion Card

Ready to buy?

Alternatively, if you have any further questions you’d like answering about NAS, don’t hesitate to call one of our friendly advisors on 01204 474747.