Guide to NAS Purchase for Small Business to Improve operations
Certainly! Let's dive into the world of **Network Attached Storage (NAS)**. Whether you're a seasoned tech enthusiast or a newcomer, understanding NAS can be both enlightening and practical. Here's a concise guide to get you started:
## What Is a NAS?
**NAS** stands for **Network Attached Storage**. It's essentially a specialized device that connects to your home or office network, providing centralized storage accessible to multiple devices. Think of it as your personal cloud server, but within your premises.
### What Can You Do with a NAS?
1. **Centralize Your Data**: Store all your files on a single platform, making it easy to access and share them with friends and family.
2. **Stream Your Media**: Create a multimedia hub to stream audio and video collections to various platforms and devices.
3. **Organize Your Photos**: Preserve memories by creating albums and securely sharing them with passwords and access permissions.
4. **Protect What Matters**: Back up data from Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile devices, ensuring easy restoration in case of accidental deletion or loss.
5. **Guard Your Premises**: Use intelligent camera surveillance tools supported by flexible storage infrastructure, even while on the go.
## Seven Key Components of NAS
1. **Hardware**: The physical NAS device itself, which includes drive bays, processors, memory, and connectivity options.
2. **Software**: The operating system and applications that run on the NAS.
3. **RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)**: A data storage technology that combines drives for efficiency and security.
- Different RAID types offer varying levels of redundancy, storage availability, and speed.
- Common RAID types include **RAID 1**, **RAID 5**, and **RAID 6**.
4. **Estimate Storage Requirements**:
- Consider how much data you'll produce over the next 2 to 3 years.
- Calculate your current storage consumption across PCs, mobile devices, and cloud accounts.
- Multiply this by the average annual data growth rate (usually around 1.2).
5. **Select the Number of Bays**:
- Use the RAID Calculator to determine the minimum number of drive bays needed based on your storage requirements.
- Each NAS model specifies the maximum number of drives it supports.
6. **Choose the Right NAS Model**:
- Synology offers various series and models to suit different needs:
- **J Series**: Ideal for first-time NAS owners, providing a compact private cloud for daily file management, backup, and sharing.
- **Value Series**: Perfect for film enthusiasts with large multimedia collections, supporting 4K streaming to various devices.
- **Plus Series**: Balances performance and features for versatile use cases.
Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all NAS. Consider your specific requirements and explore the available options to find the NAS that best fits your needs¹.
Source: Conversation with Bing, 2024-02-27
(1) NAS 101: Buyer's Guide - Synology. https://event.synology.com/en-me/NASbuyingguide/All.
(2) The Best NAS (Network Attached Storage) Devices for 2024. https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-nas-network-attached-storage-devices.
(3) Best NAS: Network-Attached Storage Drives for Backups, Media and More .... https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-nas-devices.
(4) NAS Buyers Guide 2022: How Do I Choose The Right NAS For Me?. https://theaxo.com/2022/nas-buyers-guide-2022/.
(5) 12 Things to Know about NAS- https://www.pcmag.com/news/12-things-business-owners-should-know-before-buying-nas-devices