Should I get a NAS box?

I have zero experience with NAS boxes, so I can't help you with that directly. However, I want to address this:

And I guess a NAS box is more secure and probably cheaper than a subscription to a cloud storage service.

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More secure? Maybe, maybe not. That depends on the person(s) in charge of it vs the person(s) in charge of the cloud storage site. Cheaper? Probably. BUT, there are other considerations!

Off-site storage is something I've practiced since the 1980s. While I'm totally and utterly opposed to this whole current 'do everything in the cloud!' fad, I definitely see the value of backing up important files off-site. So while a NAS box will provide the storage and access you need, what happens if you lose those files for some reason (fire, theft, crash, etc.)?

I'd encourage you to think in terms of storing valuable files in at least one additional location. That doesn't have to be some cloud storage site. It can be a computer at another location, an external portable drive, a USB drive, whatever. Just SOMETHING as plan B in case plan A fails.

I picked up an Iomega StorCenter (sic) in a sale a while back.... 2x 1TB drives that I use in RAID1 to store music, video, and backups. It seemed like an extravagance when I got it but now I wouldn't be without NAS.

I use a Seagate 2TB internal drive. (After having gone through everything from a Shugart 801 8" floppy to a disk pack to every brand of consumer hard drive, I'd sooner buy a Seagate than take any other brand [with the possible exception of Hitachi] for free. Western Digital is no longer the high quality drive it used to be.) The most expensive drive is cheap compared to the value of the data I put on it.

NAS boxes are pretty much commodities. Buffalo makes really good ones, for not much more than the junk you get for a little less.

The problem is connecting a box to the internet securely. For in-house use, there's no problem. The router pretty much keeps anyone outside from getting into the box, and any cheap old useless desktop running Linux will do the rest. FreeNAS is the easiest way to go, and if you've ever gotten wifi to work on a Linux box you should have no problem getting FreeNAS working.

Giving access to the world, but only to those you want to allow in, is another matter. ANY computer connected to the internet is a security risk. Even Google has been hit more than once, and they have full staffs doing nothing but security. I'd seriously think 3 times about putting even something like your bank account number on a world-available NAS,

But for in-house access for any device in the house, a 2TB drive (or a few of them if you're a real data junkie) and a NAS box is cheap, easy to set up and handy. Mine's always on (it's on one of my UPS boxes), and every desktop, laptop, netbook and phone has access to it. (My TV will too, as soon as I get the new smart TV.)

In my home network I use a Netgear ReadyNAS Duo with two Seagate HDs, they are RAID mirrored and they can be changed while running. And they run since 5 years nonstop. Two Seagate HDs are stored on my book shelf in case changing would be necessary, in this case the NAS would send me an email

On my phones and on my tablet I use ES File Explorer and FolderSync for to access the NAS via WiFi access point. My PCs access the NAS via wirered network, as well as the TV and a media player.

NAS boxes (Network attached Storage) let you access your data WITHIN your own network (or via a VPN connection to it. They're great for backing up multiple devices on your network and providing access to data for every device on your network. But remember, you still need a robust backup policy in place so if the NAS box fails (Hard Disks DO fail sometimes) you don't lose anyhting important.

Mehta23 said:

My understanding of it so far is basically a hard drive whose contents can be accessed from anywhere - basically like my own personal cloud storage?

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Depending on configuration, yes.
I run two servers (one simply mirrors the first for backup) but only permit access outside the home network over VPN.

Mehta23 said:

I understand you normally have to add your own hard drives, but is it necessary/better/recommended to get those drives which are made for NAS boxes (rather than the 2TB Seagate I have now)?

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Having had problems with desktop class drives in the past I now use the WD Red drives - slightly more expensive but they run cooler and are designed to be on 24/7.



As far as budget goes, the better kit can be more expensive but pays off in the long term. I've been digitising my media for some years and have gone from a single USB drive via NAS equipment from Thecus designed for small business use to an HP Microserver running Windows Home Server 2011.
If you choose to go down the NAS route, plan ahead - think about what capacity you will need in 3 years rather than in 6 months. Synology is a solid brand as is QNAP.

I have a Synology NAS and am quite pleased with it. Having all my movies in a place with enough space, preview and warning free, is quite nice. It has a wide variety of applications that more or less Just Work, and are pretty useful.

Plex is one of them. It is a PITA to follow its naming convention, but the streaming web interface is pretty good, automatically adjusts itself based on the capabilities (including connection speed and decoding power) of the connecting device, and allows you to watch your movies anywhere[1] if you buy their $5 app on Play.

Photostation is another one. I have around 20GB (4 DVD's worth) of photos from my wedding. This is partially because wedding photographers have been conditioned by brides to get everything, and so they capture (sometimes with multiple photos) meaningless crap like the cigar mazo and flask we had lying around in the guys' suite[2]. Anyway, I had been keeping the photos on my computer, which made them relatively inaccessible to my wife (computer runs Linux, she's not a computer person). I moved them to the NAS, and now there's an easy web page to go to browse the photos. And with thumbnails, it's easy to skip the meaningless crap photos. Plus, RAID adds a level of redundancy so that a single failure won't wipe out the album.

[1]Unless you use Sprint, which uses a combination of a proxy and terrible speeds to block video from nonstandard places. In related news, I no longer have Sprint.

[2]Seriously, I could never make it as a celeb. When I realized that my tux was missing the black studs used for buttons I was freaking out and trying to tell my in-laws, and the photographers would not get out of my face. I was ready to punch them in the face to get them out of my way.

I have Synology also, but have my crashplan backup to my NAS and to their cloud storage. So 3 copies of everything.

/paranoid digital packrat