NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
WD Compatibility
Two questions: 1. I have two WD Elements and one WD My Book. I did a brief search for compatibile drives with the 104 and only came up with about three for WD. Is that right or was I looking i...
LDG wrote:
My primary concern then shifts to potentially having more data than my NAS can hold... Are these concerns plausible?
Yes. If you have a lot of data, a 4-bay NAS might not enough.
A 4-bay unit right now is limited to 32 TB raw capacity with 4x8 TB drives. XRAID would be limited to 24 TB. The file system generally shouldn't be filled above ~80%, which you'd reach with 19 TB of data.
To see if this is a significant concern for you, you'd need look at how much USB storage you are using right now, and also gauge how quickly it is growing.
LDG wrote:
I was so used to my cheap bookshelf ways! Bought a usb hub and everything!
It might still be your best approach. The drawbacks I see are
(a) keeping track of what files are where can become a problem as you get more drives
(b) over time you might find that the files aren't readable (e.g, drives fail).
You could resolve (b) with cloud storage (unlimited Amazon cloud storage for $60/year is a pretty good deal).
You could of course combine them - saving your favorites on the NAS to keep them available, but keeping the rest on USB only.
If I'm not limited in one place, I'm limited in another! My reasoning for a NAS in the first place is to reduce clutter. At least two NAS's would be less of a mess than 4 external HDs (I'd still save outlets and USB ports). I also didn't want to be reliant on one particular computer being on to access drives. It just doesn't seem healthy for the drives to be consistently plugged into a computer that's always on (save for a daily restart at about 4am). I don't have a problem with the bookshelf set up. Whenever I have to expand to a new drive, I typically buy a second that can be used for back up anyway. So far, I have a good recollection of which drive things are on, plus I have things alphabetized (which is why Plex doesn't play well with me).
NETGEAR Academy
Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!
