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Custom built NAS or Synology (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Looking to get a NAS but don't want to spend too much starting out. I have the opportunity to buy a used custom built NAS with much better specs than what I would probably be able to get from something like a synology NAS. It seems like a really good deal but I'm not sure how difficult/time-consuming it will be to configure for my use case or if it will be better to stick to synology software. Also, is the software to use the NAS after configuration not user friendly or well supported?

My use case is to store photos and videos and device backups from time machine for my mac. I'd also like to be able to remotely access the data over the internet.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (9 children)

Synology and other brand NAS's are great, very simple to setup and maintain. They come with great support, power efficiency and decent build quality.

If you were to get a custom built one, it can end up costing you less, a Synology 2 bay (without drives) goes for £150 cheapest I saw brand new, plus you get very minimal specs, only usable as a NAS and nothing more if you're planning on running more stuff like game servers or many containers in the future.

Depending on the OS you use for the custom NAS, it can be incredibly versatile and offer great functionality and expandability, you can 100% achieve the same things you would with a Synology.

Although it's rarely ever "plug & play" like an OEM NAS is, configuring and troubleshooting can take a while especially without basic understanding of the OS.

It's fun and interesting to work on but if all you need is a working, reliable machine that you can plug in, put some drives into and have it work, I'd suggest spending the extra bit on a Synology or another brands NAS.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (8 children)

Thanks for the super helpful reply! I guess my main debate is since the custom NAS is built with a decent cpu and includes 16gb RAM, SSD and storage drives its much more value. I've worked a little with linux before so I'm not against setting it up myself. But would it be as easy to use as an actual branded NAS for family members backing stuff up that aren't great with tech?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

yes and off-the-shelf unit is great for the family who aren't that tech literate - it can just sit on the shelf and do it's thing but you will still need to monitor and update it.

That CPU in the custom nas could also be more powerful than what you get in the off-the-shelf providing you with more flexibility.

It could start off as a nas today and tomorrow you to turn it into a virtualised server with the NAS software running as virtual machine.

Or you could find that you're shifting very large files around and need 10GBe ethernet and high performace which could start to choke a Synology or QNAP NAS with an ARM processor.

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