7 things you need to look for when buying a NAS

More data than ever is being generated at home and in offices and network-attached storage (NAS) has proven a reliable method of storing everything in a single location. They’re essentially high-capacity storage servers without all the technical overhead. If you’re unfamiliar with server management, a NAS enclosure can be an entry point to store lots of data without getting your hands dirty. Just about any device can connect and transfer data to the NAS, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop PCs, and other storage services. But how do you choose a NAS? Here are some handy pointers to bear in mind when shopping around.

1 Drive bays and capacity

One of the most vital specifications of any NAS is the number of drive bays. This will determine how much data can be stored on the device. One 3.5-inch drive bay can take a standard mechanical drive, which can be bought with a capacity of up to 24TB per drive. A NAS with five drive bays could take five HDDs with a maximum raw capacity of 120TB before factoring in a redundant array of independent/inexpensive disks (RAID). The more drive bays your NAS has, the more you can store on it.

Not all bays need to be populated either. You can buy a 10-bay enclosure with the plan to fill it with drives over time but start with just two HDDs installed. Even with a RAID configured, new drives can be added without breaking everything. Like a GPU where it’s recommended to spend as much as possible to avoid upgrading early, the same goes with a NAS and its drive bays. I recommend buying one that has more bays than you need to leave room for expansion. You don’t want to run out of space.

2 CPU and RAM

The processor largely dictates what can be done on the NAS. This is followed up closely by system memory (or RAM). The more powerful the chip, the more apps and services can be run on the server. If all you’re doing on the NAS is storing some files and uploading backups from various devices, a low-power ARM processor will do just fine. Intel and AMD chips are only required if you plan on running services and storing data.

Hardware transcoding and virtualization can be resource-intensive and require enough RAM and computing power to avoid system slowdown. Most NAS enclosures from brands including TerraMaster, Synology, and Asustor will include at least 1GB of RAM. This is sufficient for running the OS and allowing a few devices to connect and move data to and from the storage pool. 2GB or more is required for everything else. It’s also worth checking to see if the NAS allows for the RAM to be expanded or upgraded.

3 Price

If price is important to your decision-making, NAS enclosures will generally become more expensive the better the features and specifications. A NAS with a single 1GbE networking link, two drive bays, and an ARM processor will be considerably cheaper than an Intel-powered NAS with 4GB of upgradable RAM, four drive bays, two 2.5GbE network ports, and a few M.2 SSD slots. Again, the price of the NAS depends on what you plan to use the enclosure for. Simple file storage will allow you to save the most.

NAS enclosures don’t typically come with drives installed, so the enclosure price excludes how much additional cost will be required for storing data.

4 Networking ports

A single 1GbE network link will be sufficient for transfer rates of up to 100MB/s. A typical hard disk drive (HDD) will support speeds up to around 500MB/s and a solid-state drive (SSD) can hit 15,000MB/s, so long as the system has enough resources to facilitate such transfers. If you’ll move larger files across the network, a NAS with dual 1GbE or 2.5GbE ports may be better suited to your needs. 10GbE SFP+ ports are ideal for those with more advanced networking infrastructure.

5 Operating system

The operating system is the heart and soul of a NAS, allowing you to store files, run apps and services, and much more. If you’re looking at a NAS from Synology or some other brand, it will likely come with a proprietary OS. This is great if you want to enjoy first-party support and guaranteed performance with the enclosure. But you will risk hitting the end of life when the company offers limited security updates. An OS developed outside the company, such as Unraid or TrueNAS doesn’t have this issue.

An OS such as Unraid should work on most enclosures that support the sideloading of the OS, though your mileage may vary, especially if it’s one of the more affordable models. Some prebuilt NAS enclosures, including the LincPlus LincStation N1, come with aftermarket operating systems but most of them will work similarly. We’ve rounded up some of the best operating systems to use on a NAS, so check out that guide for some ideas.

6 Power requirements

A NAS typically draws little power when compared to a desktop system, but the NAS will (hopefully) remain online, which can eat into your electricity budget. So long as you’re using less than 50 watts, you’re in a good position. The Synology DiskStation DS923+ is a powerful AMD NAS but it’s only rated to draw 35 watts under full load. Unless you’ll hammer your storage server hard all day long, you shouldn’t notice much of an impact on your annual utility bill.

The less powerful a NAS, the smaller it will be. This is due to the lower number of drive bays, the fewer fans to keep everything running cool, and the smaller PCB. A dual-bay Synology DiskStation DS223j can be installed almost anywhere in the home, so long as there’s easy access to the LAN. The Synology DiskStation DS3622xs+ will require careful consideration with its 12 drive bays and 10kg weight. Rackmount NAS servers can be a good way to save space, but they require a server cabinet.