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[Tikigod19]

Hi all, I was about to buy a usb external drive for video with backup when I discovered nas! I am very very new to this sort of thing but it seems the way to go but I have a few questions before I buy a dns-320L:

1. Can I use 2x 3tb drives?
2. Are the green type drives recommend?
3. Will I be able to access the files on the nas via my android phone and my laptop?
4. I have a router downstairs with a network cable running to a hub upstairs Attached to the hub is my pc aand an access point to extend my wireless signal upstairs. I plan on connecting the nas to this hub would that be ok or does it need to be connected directly to the modem?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
David

[JavaLawyer]

3TB and 4TB HDDs are supported.  Please see the most recent post on the following thread for a list of supported models: DNS-320L - Compatible HDDs

[Tikigod19]

thanks very much, any idea about question 3 and more importantly 4?

[JavaLawyer]

3. Will I be able to access the files on the nas via my android phone and my laptop?

DNS-320L - myDlink Access App

4. I have a router downstairs with a network cable running to a hub upstairs Attached to the hub is my pc aand an access point to extend my wireless signal upstairs. I plan on connecting the nas to this hub would that be ok or does it need to be connected directly to the modem?

The DNS-320L can be connected to a switch coming off the router. You will then need to register the DNS-320L with a mydlink account, enabling you to access content using an app from on your mobile device.

Alternatively, if you plan on a direct connection to the DNS-320L from outside your network, you can still connect the DNS-320L onto a switch coming off the router. You will then need to use port forwarding to expose the DNS-320L to clients outside your LAN.

[Tikigod19]

thanks Java, really appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

I think I'll only ever access the raid array from within my network (on my PC, laptop, tablets and phones) via wired internet or wifi so shouldnt need any external access.

All I was worried about was the length/type of cabling between the router downstairs and the hub upstairs slowing things down to lower than USB3.0 as if so I may as well just go for a USB drive and lose the network connectivity as the speed is most important to me as I'll be copying 200Gb or so at a time.

I can't remember exactly what cable I laid under the carpet going upstairs but I THINK it was cat6... do you know any way to confirm this? Obviously I only have access to the two ends of the cable plus about 3ft or so of exposed cable at each end.

I love the idea of getting 2x 4TB drives and using it as my master 4GB backup knowing everything is automatically duplicated onto the 2nd drive, but I'm just slightly concerned about getting it all set up and then getting a very slow transfer rate..

[Tikigod19]

also, on the 4tb drive thing, I have just read the 4 compatible models in the master list you produced but notice that you also say users use at their own risk.

I assume these are confirmed to work at the moment but I suppose there is no guarantee that a future firmware upgrade might remove this comptibility (although unlikely). Do you think it's safer to go for 3TB hard drives instead? Would I be able to access the drive any quicker if I used the slightly smaller disks?

Also is there any disadvantage of going for the powersaving 'green' caviar disks as I'd like to leave the NAS running 24/7 so this would be a consideration. I take it that it has some sort of sleep mode when inactive anyway?

[Tikigod19]

Ah.. I currently have this hub.. 10/100mbit. That will restrict my speed, right

http://www.netgear.co.uk/service-provider/products/switches/unmanaged-desktop-switches/FS108.aspx

I also can't be sure as there's no model number on it but I think I have this modem:

http://www.theproductsite.com/blog/sky-broadband-sagem-2504-router-review/

[JavaLawyer]

also, on the 4tb drive thing, I have just read the 4 compatible models in the master list you produced but notice that you also say users use at their own risk.

I assume these are confirmed to work at the moment but I suppose there is no guarantee that a future firmware upgrade might remove this comptibility (although unlikely). Do you think it's safer to go for 3TB hard drives instead? Would I be able to access the drive any quicker if I used the slightly smaller disks?

You'll notice that the list of compatible HDDs has two sections. The top section of the post has HDDS sanctioned by D-Link. The bottom of the post lists HDDs tested only by other users in this forum -- the disclaimer refers to the user-tested HDDs (not those tested by D-Link)

Primary factors impacting data access speed include the platter density, spin rate, and bus size. You can typically find those stats on the site where you are purchasing the HDD.

Also is there any disadvantage of going for the powersaving 'green' caviar disks as I'd like to leave the NAS running 24/7 so this would be a consideration. I take it that it has some sort of sleep mode when inactive anyway?

The green HDDs will consume less energy through a combination of hibernation and slower spin rate. These HDDs will typically consume less power and run quieter.

[JavaLawyer]

Ah.. I currently have this hub.. 10/100mbit. That will restrict my speed, right

http://www.netgear.co.uk/service-provider/products/switches/unmanaged-desktop-switches/FS108.aspx

I also can't be sure as there's no model number on it but I think I have this modem:

http://www.theproductsite.com/blog/sky-broadband-sagem-2504-router-review/

These days, a gigabit switch is recommended so you don't hit any throughput ceilings. You can purchase an unmanaged gigabit switch for < $30 with 5 to 8 rear ports. When you are designing your network, if you are planning on using the DNS-320L to stream high resolution video to another device in your home, you may want to place the DNS-320L and media streamer on a dedicated GB switch. This approach will confine the high bandwidth local streaming traffic to the switch, and minimize any performance impact to the rest of your LAN where other users may be accessing the Internet or performing other less intensive networking activites. 100 MB ceiling may impact throughput in your network, but should have no impact for traffic outside your network (i.e. Internet access), as your ISP will be the bottleneck.

[JavaLawyer]

thanks Java, really appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

I think I'll only ever access the raid array from within my network (on my PC, laptop, tablets and phones) via wired internet or wifi so shouldnt need any external access.

All I was worried about was the length/type of cabling between the router downstairs and the hub upstairs slowing things down to lower than USB3.0 as if so I may as well just go for a USB drive and lose the network connectivity as the speed is most important to me as I'll be copying 200Gb or so at a time.

I can't remember exactly what cable I laid under the carpet going upstairs but I THINK it was cat6... do you know any way to confirm this? Obviously I only have access to the two ends of the cable plus about 3ft or so of exposed cable at each end.

I love the idea of getting 2x 4TB drives and using it as my master 4GB backup knowing everything is automatically duplicated onto the 2nd drive, but I'm just slightly concerned about getting it all set up and then getting a very slow transfer rate..

Another forum member will have to weigh-in on your cabling question. If you don't hear from anyone, you can repost the cabling question as a new thread on this board.

Please CAREFULLY read the following two posts before you decide to configure your DNS-320L in a RAID configuration:

• ShareCenter - RAID-1 is NOT a Backup
  
• DNS-320L - Data Backup vs. Redundancy
  

[Tikigod19]

Thanks very much again.

Ok.. 2x 3tb green drives it is, but I think I'll ditch raid1 after reading that the and go for raid0...

[JavaLawyer]

Thanks very much again.

Ok.. 2x 3tb green drives it is, but I think I'll ditch raid1 after reading that the and go for raid0...

RAID-0 is very dangerous if you do not have a backup of your data.  If one HDD in a RAID-0 array goes bad, 100% of your data will be lost on both HDDs.

[Tikigod19]

yeah I'm aware of that. To be honest I will still have 2 other backups however I'd still like the DNS-320L to be as reliable as possible. What would be the best way to arrange the drives?

Can I set it so they are recognised as 2 separate drives? I'd imagine that would be safest?

Also on your idea of putting the NAS on it's own gigabit switch, I take it this means I'd need to buy a gigabit switch and connect it directly to the modem/router and then ONLY connect the NAS to this, is that right?

The only issue with that is it'd mean having the DNS-320L (which I have now officially purchased!) in my living room where the modem is (and has to stay as it's my only phone socket)

I take it I couldn't buy a gigabit hub and just connect it to the 10/100 hub? I'd be bottlenecking it right from the start by doing that, right?

[JavaLawyer]

yeah I'm aware of that. To be honest I will still have 2 other backups however I'd still like the DNS-320L to be as reliable as possible. What would be the best way to arrange the drives?

Can I set it so they are recognised as 2 separate drives? I'd imagine that would be safest?

ShareCenter - RAID Comparison Chart

Since your data is already backed up, the configuration you choose is based on how the unit will be used. Let's assume you install two 3TB HDDS:

• RAID-0 will provide one large 6TB volume and offers the best performance because data is striped across both HDDs, but if one HDD goes bad, you lose everything and have to restore from a backup. This approach also provides the convenience of one large volume.
• JBOD also provides one large volume, but has the same performance as a standard configuration -- individual files are stored contiguously on one HDD and do not cross between HDDs as in RAID-0. If one HDD goes bad, you lose the data on the bad HDD, but could restore the other working HDD under certain circumstances.
• Standard Configuration will provide two 3TB volumes, resulting in some inconvenience of having to work with two volumes.  Performance is the same as JBOD.  If one HDD goes bad, data is only potentially lost on the impacted HDD. This is the simplest configuration and is therefore the easiest to recover from if something goes wrong.

The configuration you choose is based on your needs, for example, if you need one large volume and high performance, then RAID-0 may be the way to go.

Also on your idea of putting the NAS on it's own gigabit switch, I take it this means I'd need to buy a gigabit switch and connect it directly to the modem/router and then ONLY connect the NAS to this, is that right?

The only issue with that is it'd mean having the DNS-320L (which I have now officially purchased!) in my living room where the modem is (and has to stay as it's my only phone socket)

I take it I couldn't buy a gigabit hub and just connect it to the 10/100 hub? I'd be bottlenecking it right from the start by doing that, right?

If you buy an 8 port switch, you can connect all of your wired devices to the switch and all devices on the switch will have a full GB pipe available to transfer data between each other. You will only hit the 100 MB ceiling if a device connected to the switch (GB) connects to another device connected directly to the modem (100 MB). If your modem is also a wireless router, you shouldn't be concerned about wireless devices as you are unlikely to ever hit 100+ MB speeds via wireless.

You can look at the GB switch as a private high speed highway where cars can travel at breakneck speeds between destinations on each of the 8 ports.  But, if a car travels from the GB switch to the modem, speeds will be throttled down to a maximum throughput of 100 MB.

[Tikigod19]

Thank you so much again (have I said thanks enough..?)

Performance on the drives is not a huge concern as I'll just be using it for backup. I'm a little confused between the difference in likelihood of data retrieval on disc A if disc B goes down between JBOD and standard configuration. For convenience just showingaas one drive would be simpler but you say there is more chance of losing data on both discs if one goes down? Is this rare or a common occurrence if a drive fails?

Ok I've bought a gbit hub. So it sounds like if i connect modem to new hub and then everything into hub I'll get gbit speeds between nas and pc which is the important link speed wise. The only disadvantage of this is network speed reduction when lots of users access the nas, is that correct? Internet speed will never be affected, right?