I have two readynas units, which until last evening were backups for each other. An older NV+ and a newer Ultra Plus 6.
Last night, the NV+ died (probably the notorious PSU, which I can't seem to find a replacement for), so I'm using the Ultra Plus 6, with data backup to an external USB-2 drive. I formatted the backup drive as ext-4 since in the past I've had trouble with using NTFS drives for backing up a Readynas, but this means if I ever need the backup, I'll have to do a bit of work.
So, I'm thinking about replacing the NV+ with a new system. I have to decide between one of the new readynas units, or a different brand.
A few questions:
Do the new units have any of the same expansion limits as the existing Ultra line (the 8TB/16TB limits)? The spec sheets suggest not, but then the published spec sheets and marketing blurbs for the Ultra Plus 6 didn't mention these limits either
Is expansion as versatile as some other NAS brands, which seem to let you expand with mixed disk sizes?
Can the new units backup to/from the Ultra Plus line pretty seamlessly using rsync?
Is Tivo archiving available? The spec sheets say it is, is this really true?
Finally, thoughts on the 316 versus 516? I think the 316 would meet my present and future needs, is a 516 worth the extra bucks?
Do the new units have any of the same expansion limits as the existing Ultra line (the 8TB/16TB limits)?
No. A new filesystem BTRFS is used. There are no known limits for expansion that you would hit at this time.
alexofindy wrote:
Is expansion as versatile as some other NAS brands, which seem to let you expand with mixed disk sizes?
Disks added must have at least the same capacity as existing ones. For vertical expansion (replace existing disks with higher capacity) you need to add at least two disks.
alexofindy wrote:
Can the new units backup to/from the Ultra Plus line pretty seamlessly using rsync?
Yes.
alexofindy wrote:
Is Tivo archiving available? The spec sheets say it is, is this really true?
Yes. Yes.
alexofindy wrote:
Finally, thoughts on the 316 versus 516? I think the 316 would meet my present and future needs, is a 516 worth the extra bucks?
If you need to do CPU intensive stuff like convert 1080p videos on the fly to say watch on an iPad, for example then go for the 516. Otherwise the 316 is a good choice.
...Can the new units backup to/from the Ultra Plus line pretty seamlessly using rsync?
One clarification on mdgm's reply.
When you use the new products as a destination with rsync, the file timestamps have 1 second granularity. The rsync options in the new products are set properly to still allow incremental backups.
So if you are backing up your ultra plus to a new RNxxx, you want the backup job to be configured on the new unit ("pulling" the data).
You should be able to install e.g. VirtualBox (a free alternative to VMWare) via SSH. There's a long thread on how it was done on 4.2.x. If it can be installed on that older OS I can't see why it wouldn't work on a newer OS such as ReadyNAS OS. Although the process to install it would likely be a little different.
Can someone point me to a product map so I better understand which new readyNAS models match up to (have replaced) the old readyNAS models? Ex...what is the replacement for the duo and the pro 2,4,6 lines ?
