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Forum Discussion
ReadyNas Pro 6 vs. newer 300 Series 312
So I currently own a ReadyNas Pro 6 (RNDP6310) that has 6-1tb drives in it. (I have it connected with a gigabit ethernet cable to a 3.4GHz Intel Core i7 iMac w/16GB of ram as well as accessing it wirelessly with a Macbook Pro.)
I'd like to sell this unit because I have since gotten a Thunderbolt RAID solution that is much faster for general file access and storage but it lacks some features of my Pro I have come to like.
I'd like a new NAS to provide me with what I have come to depend on from my ReadyNas Pro, mainly having the Transmission Add-On installed so I can have a dedicated always on torrent box that I can access from multiple Apple computers in our household - initiating downloads through Transmission's web interface as well as accessing the already downloaded content wirelessly to stream for viewing.
Would the 300 Series 312 offer comparable function in this regard considering stock processor/ram of both units? What about the 100 series?
Any positives or negatives with the new NAS OS that these units come with?
I basically want the same function / performance I am familiar with when using the ReadyNas Pro in the way I have described and would be willing to pay for a better experience if it's noticeable but I do not want to have any less of an experience - would the 100 series not be an option then?
NOTE: I do not have time nor am I interested in building my own box, etc. so please don't waste your time or mine with any suggestions like that.
If there's any user friendliness /better compatibility with a mac or iOS devices with the new NAS OS that would be welcomed as well. Anyone know if mac compatibility is the same or better with either of these newer units?
So any members that can lend some opinions to a less experienced NAS user sharing any insight at interpreting performance for what I'm after would be greatly appreciated!
I'd like to sell this unit because I have since gotten a Thunderbolt RAID solution that is much faster for general file access and storage but it lacks some features of my Pro I have come to like.
I'd like a new NAS to provide me with what I have come to depend on from my ReadyNas Pro, mainly having the Transmission Add-On installed so I can have a dedicated always on torrent box that I can access from multiple Apple computers in our household - initiating downloads through Transmission's web interface as well as accessing the already downloaded content wirelessly to stream for viewing.
Would the 300 Series 312 offer comparable function in this regard considering stock processor/ram of both units? What about the 100 series?
Any positives or negatives with the new NAS OS that these units come with?
I basically want the same function / performance I am familiar with when using the ReadyNas Pro in the way I have described and would be willing to pay for a better experience if it's noticeable but I do not want to have any less of an experience - would the 100 series not be an option then?
NOTE: I do not have time nor am I interested in building my own box, etc. so please don't waste your time or mine with any suggestions like that.
If there's any user friendliness /better compatibility with a mac or iOS devices with the new NAS OS that would be welcomed as well. Anyone know if mac compatibility is the same or better with either of these newer units?
So any members that can lend some opinions to a less experienced NAS user sharing any insight at interpreting performance for what I'm after would be greatly appreciated!
3 Replies
- Don't get the 100 series. The 100 series has an ARM CPU and is not very powerful and only has 512 MB RAM. I expect you would be disappointed with this device having used the Pro 6.
If all you need is basically to run Transmission then the 312 would be a good choice. It has an Intel Atom CPU and 2GB RAM (1 GB more than your Pro 6) and a HDMI port which might come in useful in the future (e.g. if you ever need to run the memory test).
However the 312 is comparable to the Pro 2. Neither of these is as quick as the Pro 6, but considering your needs won't be quite as demanding as they were when you used the Pro 6 as your main file server the 312 should be sufficient. If you need more storage than the 312 would hold consider a unit with more drive bays e.g. 314 or 316.
The 516 is faster than the Pro 6. The 516 has an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU and comes with 4GB RAM
You should also consider what state your backup is in. It may be simplest to just keep your Pro 6, use it to backup your Thunderbolt RAID and to run Transmission.
RAID is great, but it's not a replacement for backing up your data especially if it is irreplaceable.
Welcome to the forum! - Thanks for the quick reply mdgm.
However the 312 is comparable to the Pro 2. Neither of these is as quick as the Pro 6, but considering your needs won't be quite as demanding as they were when you used the Pro 6 as your main file server the 312 should be sufficient.
Specifically why?
How are you imagining it falling short compared to what I may already know from the use of my Pro 6?
(I'm wondering how what you're claiming translates in real world use.)
And it seems I can bump the RAM up to 4gb if that would help level the playing field:http://ptarmiganlabs.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/add-more-ram-memory-to-readynas-rn312/
This exhaustive review on Amazon (of a 316, which I see you responded to) lends me some pause about the lack of instruction on getting these newer units up and running:http://www.amazon.com/review/R3D80OBWQGGIR7/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00BNI4EYG&nodeID=541966&store=pc#wasThisHelpful
It seems that other reviews I've read mention how little documentation / how much time was required with tech support to get going. Perhaps now that we are into the new year some of this has been improved?
Anyone else out there want to weigh in on the new OS and how support for Apple computers or iDevices has or hasn't improved? - The Pro 6 uses a fast Intel Pentium CPU
The Pro 2 and the 300 series use Intel Atom CPUs.
The 312, 314 and 316 all use the same CPU (a newer one than the one in the Pro 2).
Performance wise the Pro 6 would fall in between the 312 and the 516. So there would be some trade-off going to the 312 from the Pro 6 between the smaller form factor and quieter unit of the 312 and the higher performance of the Pro 6.
Unless you do things that use lots of CPU a lot you shouldn't notice too much difference between the 312 and the 516. However, if you want to say run Plex Media Server on your NAS and transcode video to play on the fly on an iPad then I would definitely go with the 516.
Unless your NAS swaps a lot you shouldn't need a RAM upgrade.
The firmware certainly has improved a lot, especially recently and NetGear is working on further improvements. For a new setup I would suggest putting a disk in, updating to the latest firmware, verifying the firmware update was successful, then power down, put all disks in and do a factory default. Following this process will get you a clean setup on the latest firmware.
ReadyNAS OS uses a newer version of Netatalk (which provides the AFP service for the ReadyNAS) and a newer version of Samba (The SMB/CIFS service, Apple is moving away from using AFP to using SMB so Samba will take on increasing importance for Mac users going forward not just for Windows users or those in mixed Windows/Mac environments). Compatibility with Macs and Windows machines has improved. I haven't checked on an iOS device recently.
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