Have a Hidden Drive & Open Drive ??

[joe_wht]

I use my MacBook ethernet wired 99% of the time ( 1TB SSD + second 1TB SSD)

I use my Windows Desktop PC(3TB 2nd HD)  1% of the time

OLD OLD External HD ( 2x 500gb) for archive.

Every few months I copy (duplicate) all my Docs (100gb), Pics (10gb), Apps, Ton of Movies (250gb)

to my PC 3tb, Ext HD, WD MyBook 3tb, while I also have Time Machine running on my macbook)

.. I'm wanting to do the following::

(1) move the 3TB in a NEW External & just have programs on my PC

(2) have a way for the exteral to duplicate my info

(3) have access to the info from my PC & Mac

*** (4) Have -1- Private Drive or folder docs , personal spreadsheet data, ect

......... while having it  Quickly & Easily accessed by me.

(5) maybe have the current 3TB  + 500GB + 500GB + maybe a new 3TB

Are these possible ?

Should i drop the two 500's to save $$ ?

I'm thinking I'm overkilling this.

[joe_wht]

I see the NETGEAR ReadyNAS 316   is  $599

and the    NETGEAR ReadyNAS 214    is  $486

.. What is the difference ??

.

I can only find specs for the 200 model.

what makes the 300's  $110 more ?

the Ram seems to be the same.

[Kardano]

316 is 6 bay (6 HDD, CPU is x86, 5 years warranty, and if i'm correct there is lifetime chat support) model for business,

RN316 specs

214 is 4 bay (4 HDD, CPU is ARM, 3 years warranty) model for home.

[StephenB]

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@Kardano wrote:

316 is 6 bay (6 HDD, CPU is x86, 5 years warranty, and if i'm correct there is lifetime chat support) model for business,

RN316 specs

214 is 4 bay (4 HDD, CPU is ARM, 3 years warranty) model for home.

---

Correct.  As far as support goes, the RN214 only has 90 day free installation support - anything beyond that is paid.

There is one feature inversion - the lower-end RN214's ARM supports real-time 1080p transcoding with plex, but the RN316 does not.

The older RN20x is dual-core (compared to the quad-core RN214), and does not support real-time transcoding.

RN214 specs are here: http://www.netgear.com/home/products/connected-storage/RN214.aspx

[joe_wht]

Thank you guys !!

I just ordered the 214.

I went ahead and got the 4bay 

I'm gonna move my ( never use) Desktop 3TB to the 214,  I ordered a 2nd 3TB (for a Rsync clone-- I think)

I WAS thinking about just trashing the Two 300gb & only getting the 212- 2bay, but decided to fill the 2 extra slots

and use it for ~Something~..

 Any idea on how I can keep  a  Hidden Drive or Folder for my financial docs ?

I want it hidden but easy access for myself.

But I want everything else available for family.

Years & Years ago in windows (i'm now a mac person)  I could hide a drive (never shown in expolorer nor network)

and symply type the drive letter in the address bar and it would appear.

But of course they changed in Windows.. and I've never been able to do that in Mac.

[StephenB]

The second drive allows the NAS to create a RAID array (it has nothing to do with rsync).  RAID will allow you to replace a disk (or expand the capacity of the volume) while keeping the data available/on-line.  It is not a substitute for backup - so you should sort out a backup plan for the NAS.  USB backup is popular and inexpensive.  I also suggest getting a UPS at some point.  Unexpected power loss can create problems (including file system corruption), so it is good to avoid it.

On drives...

Some drives are not well suited for NAS (or RAID).  There is a hardware compatibility list here: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20641/~/readynas-hard-disk-compatibility-list  You can also search this forum on the particular models you want to use.

Netgear will usually deny support if you use a drive that is not on their HCL. Also, I don't recommend Seagate DM drives or green drives for your NAS.  I do recommend NAS-purposed drives (WDC "Red", "Red Pro"; Seagate VN).  These have better warranties than desktop drives, are designed for NAS use, and are about the same price as desktop drives.  Enterprise drives of course can also be used (but are more expensive).

On hidden folders...

On the NAS, you'll have one volume (which you can think of as a virtual disk).  You then create "shares" on that volume which you access from your Mac with finder.

There is an option in the NAS web ui to make a share hidden.  "hidden" is not the same as "inaccessible" - but you can also limit access using the Web UI if you wish.