NAS are nothing more than systems that connect directly to the router for storage. These systems allow you to save any type of file and access them, whether you are at home or away. Thus, we have all the time access to the data and its management.
These solutions already have smartphone apps, similar to Apple iCloud and Google Drive. These applications are really complete and very easy to use for any user. They also allow you to make backup copies of photos when we connect to WiFi, for example.
Economic solution: Zyxel NAS326
We must know that NAS are not cheap solutions, since in the end, they are computers for a specific function. The cheapest solution on the market is the Zyxel NAS326 which costs 100 euros (-47%). It is a brand with a long history in this market and very reliable, without a doubt.
This Zyxel unit offers us space for two 3.5-inch storage drives. Each of these bays supports HDDs up to 16TB, therefore the maximum capacity is 32TB. A maximum capacity more than enough for the average user. It has two USB 3.0 ports and a Gigabit Ethernet port.
The good thing about this system is that it allows you to easily back up files. This is possible thanks to an easy and intuitive mobile application to automatically copy the photos and videos that we take. In addition, we can access the stored files from anywhere in the world.
This unit allows you to create RAID 0, 1 and JBOD configurations, which are the most typical at home. The best is RAID 1, since all the stored data is copied to both drives and thus we have a backup of the backup itself.
A great option that we can complement with the WD Red 4 TB for 100 euros. They are specialized hard drives for this type of high-quality and highly durable systems. Designed to be subjected to constant and demanding workloads.
more powerful solutions
The first of the alternatives is this Qnap TS-233 that costs 199 euros (-21%). It is a somewhat more powerful and complete solution from the considered best brand of this type of solution. In addition, it has a more careful and elegant design.
It is characterized by having a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor working at 2 GHz. It also integrates a total of 2 GB of RAM for management. It has two bays for hard drives, either 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch. It integrates two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen1 and an Ethernet port.
Maybe it falls a bit short, that’s why we bring you the Qnap TS-431K unit that counts 289 euros (-20%). This is a higher capacity solution, as it has four bays for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch hard drives. It allows you to create a system with greater capacity and a little more flexibility, since we can create RAID 5 and 6 configurations.
It uses a quad-core Annapurna Labs processor with a frequency of 1.7 GHz. In addition, it has 1 GB of DDR3 RAM and also 512 GB of internal memory. It has two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports and two Gigabit Ethernet ports.
