Top & Best NAS Review 2022 – How to Select Ultimate Buyer’s Guide
Top & NAS: How to choose the best in 2022?
Welcome to mypricesaving.com! Do you need to optimize your company’s or home data storage? Are there many important files that cannot be lost at all? What you need is a NAS!
The NAS is an increasingly popular device. It initially found its place only in the business sector, but it has also been transformed into a residential solution. There are models for all needs.
Do you want to learn more about this device? Understand its benefits, advantages, disadvantages and specifications? Know the differences between the main models and which one best fits your needs? So, it is in this article that you will find what you need!
First, the most important
- NAS is a very efficient way to store files for computer networks. It should be used in large companies and places that have connected devices that need to access the same information.
- There is no point in trying to use a NAS with common hard drives: performance will not be the same. Try to purchase hard drives designed directly for the device.
- Nowadays, there is always the alternative of storing files in the cloud. It is ideal that you consider what your needs are to choose between a NAS or the form of remote storage.
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The most recommended NAS models
With the rise in popularity, there are also more and more NAS options on the market. Good computer product manufacturers have invested in the device. To help your choice, we have selected great NAS models that can certainly help you and an HD for these devices.
- NAS Asustor Seagate AS3104T 8TB
- NAS WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra
- HD for NAS IronWolf Seagate 4 TB
Buying Guide
It’s time to get to know better what the NAS is, its functions, why to buy one for your home or business and much more. Let’s answer the main questions you may have about this device, which is fundamental in many computer environments!
What is a NAS and what is it for?
NAS is an acronym for Network Attached Storage . It is a device that serves to store files and documents that need to be accessed by many people or computers, making them not need to be on all devices.
The NAS device is composed like an ordinary computer: it has hard drives, motherboard, processor, RAM memory and more. Only it is not used for computational tasks (there is no input for keyboard and mouse, for example), but as a unit of storage and facilitating access to files.
It must connect to all computers on a network, requiring an extra device such as a router, a switch or even cables. From this connection, it is possible to make multiple accesses and simultaneous editions.
NAS is very important for large companies that deal with a high number of files or documents that need to be accessed by many people, but recently it has also started to appear in the home environment.
Did you know? The history of data storage is very old: it dates back to the 18th century. At that time, punched cards were used. It was an evolution of what was already happening in the textile industries for the operation of the looms.Until about 1950, perforated cards were the main form of storage for digital data. It was replaced by the Williams Tube, an invention of the University of Manchester.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a NAS?
As it is a device that has the specific function of storage, the NAS takes that responsibility away from other computers. Thus, the performance and overall speed of all devices tend to grow satisfactorily.
Likewise, centralizing data makes access much easier. People come to know how to find them, without having to search for various computers. The organization and the file network is much bigger.
The NAS can be active for a long time, without having to turn it off. It usually has advanced security technologies.
The main disadvantage of this device is the very high cost. For the acquisition to be worthwhile, you really need a good network of interconnected computers that need shared storage.
But we can also point out that the data can only be accessed locally, unlike what would happen with a cloud share, and that many simultaneous accesses can cause instability in the system.
We explain these advantages and disadvantages in the table below:
How does storage on a NAS work?
The NAS device usually has the capacity for multiple hard drives. It depends on the number of bays, which are often four, but it reaches much more than that. In each of these bays, an HD will work storing files.
The hard drives used on a NAS need to be special for this. At least, they have a more robust configuration and high security systems. Operation will not be the same with a normal hard drive designed for use on a computer.
Since the discs are interconnected, the NAS uses a technology called RAID ( Redundant Array of Independent Discs ), which serves to keep the system running even if one or more discs stop working.
With RAID, files can be divided into parts on each disk in the system, written to more than one disk or even a mixture of these technologies. It is very good protection and a form of internal backup that works.
Because it is a complete device, with everything a computer has, the NAS’s performance and speed are guaranteed and far superior to what it would be in a DAS, concurrent form of storage.
File sharing is done through ports, usually via the Ethernet or Switch system. These connections can be cabled or not. From there, all computers on the network can access the files on the NAS.
In the following video from the Simplifying IT channel, we understand better the functioning of the NAS and other forms of storage, DAS and SAN:
NAS or Cloud?
In more recent times, a very good alternative for data storage is the cloud system, which does not use anything physical. How does it compare to NAS?
There are advantages and disadvantages of the NAS: it is safer and guarantees constant performance that does not depend on extra factors, such as the quality of the internet connection and the situation of the computer being used.
On the other hand, it allows access to the data only locally, with connection to the device, and it has restrictions in relation to the amount of stored data that are linked to the limitations of the hardware itself.
We made a table that better explains the differences:
How much does a NAS cost?
The value of a NAS depends on the security, the technology involved, the presence or absence of hard drives and the number of bays. Therefore, the variation can be very large.
The simplest and cheapest models start to appear at around R $ 1,200. The more complex they are, they can reach close to five digits, with many being between R $ 6,000 and R $ 8,000.
If you need to buy special NAS hard drives as well , you can find variations between R $ 300 and R $ 1,500.
Where to buy a NAS?
It is possible that you can find NAS devices in computer stores, but this should happen only in the largest and most complete. The ideal is to look for companies specialized in installing and selling IT equipment.
A great option is to buy online, and for that there is no better place than Amazon. It is also a good idea to look at Amazon’s and specialized IT sites.
Purchasing criteria: What to consider when purchasing a NAS
Now that you have a better understanding of how a NAS works and why to buy one, let’s talk about some criteria that you need to consider before deciding which model to purchase.
- Number of bays for HD
- Processor
- Energy consumption
- Noise level
Below, we explain a little about each of the categories!
Number of bays for HD
How many files do you need to store? If you need to install a NAS in a large company, hospital or school, it is certainly huge. And if it is a network with few computers, it can be much smaller.
It is important to analyze this amount to find out which storage network you need. The larger, the more HD bays you need on your NAS. Even if some are initially empty, in the future they may be necessary.
Processor
The NAS processor needs to be more powerful according to both the amount of information to be stored, linking with the previous item, and the number of people who will access the files simultaneously.
One of the main advantages of the NAS, as we have already said, is the constant performance it offers to everyone who uses the network. But, for that, the configurations must be correct and the processor must support the demand of work that will exist.
Energy consumption
A NAS’s power consumption isn’t very high, but you need to think that it will be on 24 hours a day. Considering this, it is good to look at whether there are technical specifications on the subject.
You certainly do not want the electric bill to grow exponentially because of the presence of the device. So, look closely. The better the model, the less likely it is to consume.
Noise level
Again, it is important to remember that the NAS is a device that will stay on 24 hours a day. Even if it produces a low noise level, this constant existence can become annoying at some point.
The noise level of the device is also usually specified in the model’s technical information. Pay attention to choose one that does not cause discomfort and can be used without problems for those who will always be in your presence.
