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What is the best alternative to Western Digital My Cloud EX2 Ultra?
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QNAP TS-451+-2G
All
6
Experiences
Pros
5
Specs
Top
Pro
Great for surveillance systems
This unit comes with two free surveillance camera licenses that can be used with special surveillance software. If you want to use more than two cameras, you can scale up your surveillance network by purchasing additional camera licenses. Up to 40 IP surveillance cameras can simultaneously stream data to this unit. It supports more than 3000 different kinds of camera.
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Pro
Excellent for home entertainment
This NAS unit performs brilliantly in terms of multimedia transcoding. It can stream Full HD videos to multiple client devices simultaneously without any lag.
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Pro
Saves power when not in use
This unit has a scheduled power management system. Rather than always staying on standby, when the NAS isn’t being used, it will switch to a system sleep mode which only consumes 0.57 W.
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Pro
Easy to configure by using it as a standalone station
You can hook up a mouse, a keyboard and a display to this unit and use it as a standalone station to setup and configure it. This is possible because it has four USB ports and a HDMI port.
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Pro
Expandable storage
You can expand the storage potential of this unit up to a 96TB with an eight-bay extension unit. A cheaper five-bay extension unit is also available. You can also expand the RAM from 2GB to 8GB of DDR3 RAM.
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Specs
RAM:
2GiB DDR3 (max 8GiB)
CPU:
Quad-core Intel® Celeron® 2.0GHz ( burst up to 2.42GHz )
SSD support:
2.5" SATA
Data redundancy possibilities:
RAID 0/1/5/6/10
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$624.23
24
0
Synology DS216+II
All
13
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
5
Specs
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Pro
Single-button press backup functionality (ports and button on the front)
This function is called USBCopy. You just need to attach your media to the front, press the Copy button (labeled C on this version) and wait untill it's done (no need to have it attached to any PC and no need to login to the NAS as well). By default, the backups get compressed to a single archive per backup and are named after their device name and timestamp attached (changeable within the settings). Older/other versions also had an SD-Card reader, this one doesn't (but it seems to have an eSATA port) so you might search for an alternative if you need the SD-Card reader.
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Con
Too many variants, pricing is not always logical
With, without an SD-Card reader; with, without a copy button and front ports. Model numbers also don't seem to follow any logic so you have to be careful when buying here. Also with some, you can switch the RAM model yourself while on many others it's soldered to the mainboard. You don't need the latest model. Be careful selecting one to fit your needs and pocket when buying (they're pretty good even when they're used - just use new HDDs and you're fine).
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Pro
DiskStation Manager OS is rock solid
DiskStation Manager OS is by far the best commercial NAS-OS out there when it comes to expandability, usability, and stability. No other system comes close, unless you build one yourself and use an Open-Source NAS-OS that you fine-tune to your needs.
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Con
Not made for 4K streaming addicts (PLEX)
Yet so are typical other NAS from other manufacturers unless they are tailored for the purpose. Synology calls these NAS boxes "play" e. g. DS216play. They often have other drawbacks. You have to spend more to get hardware level support for proper media-streaming. This is, however, not the usual task for a NAS and is only interesting if you need to stream 4K files (most often other bottlenecks are in-place like a slow network connection anyway). For streaming 1080p this NAS should be fine. If you need serious streaming look elsewhere.
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Pro
Synology has by far the best LTS of any comparable manufacturer
Even 10-year-old NAS storages still get updates for their OS (called DSM). The only thing that limits you is the hardware.
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Con
Requires a bit of work if you want to get the most out of it
It's clearly not made for people that want to buy a device and just use it but those that take some time to set it up. Once you're done, it runs, and runs, and runs (till you want to do more, which you can since it has Package-Management built in that enables you to download new packages and extend the functionality of your simple NAS).
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Pro
Full flegged x86 CPU
See this for tech-spec.
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Con
Expensive
While the cost is not as high as some, there are similar storage size options for cheaper prices. This price tag, like most, is for branding and the high quality product you get from Synology.
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Top
Pro
AES-NI hardware encryption engine
Encryption performance at over 113.01 MB/s reading, 111.66 MB/s writing.
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Con
Slow support
Technical support is not the go to option for a solution, with long wait times, and open cases taking up to weeks to resolve (that is with persistent follow up).
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Pro
Company-level advanced BTRFS file system with built-in data integrity check
See further details on Synology's page
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Pro
Usability (WebOS)
Product and software work seamlessly with any operating system (since it's a WebOS running in the browser). Product software has easy to follow icons and GUI that allow users to use it as a VPN, time machine, media server, etc.
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Specs
Weight:
2.8 lbs.
Dimensions:
6.5 x 4.25 x 9.18 in.
RAM:
1 or 2GiB DDR3
CPU:
Intel Celeron N3060 2.48 GHz (2M Cache) with AES-NI hardware encryption engine
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Experiences
$289.00
26
0
Netgear ReadyNAS RN212
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Good connectivity for fast data transfer
The Netgear ReadyNAS 212 has three USB 3.0 ports and an eSATA port, useful for attaching extra peripheral storage to the device. While USB 3.0 ports are common on NAS units, eSATA ports are somewhat less common. This is an advantage because eSATA based storage devices are both very popular and powerful (eSATA provides faster data transfer speeds than USB 3.0).
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Con
Transcoding capabilities are limited
Although it can flawlessly transcode a single Full HD video stream, it cannot do the same with Ultra HD/4K video files. It also cannot transcode to multiple client devices at once.
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Pro
Affordably priced quad-core option
This is one of the most affordable quad-core NAS units available. Virtually all other quad-core options are slightly more expensive while only offering little advantage. When compared to Netgear’s corresponding dual-core model, the 212’s media transcoding performance is twice as fast.
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Pro
Great as a media server
It can stream Full HD multimedia files to your computer, smartphone, tablet or smart TV with ease. It can handle video transcoding as well, unlike less powerful NAS units. The large storage volume (16TB) also ensures that you will have more than enough space for your movie and music collection.
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Specs
RAM:
2GiB DDR3
CPU:
ARM Cortex A15 1.4GHz Quad Core
Data redundancy possibilities:
RAID 0/1
SSD support:
2.5" SATA
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$199.99
19
1
QNAP TS-128
All
10
Experiences
Pros
8
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Good value for money
This is one of the cheapest dual core, 1GB (RAM) single-bay NAS units you can get.
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Con
Lost data can’t be recovered
When buying a single bay NAS unit, keep in mind that a drive failure will result in total and permanent data loss. To avoid this, consider investing in a DAS (direct-attached storage) as well. The DAS can be attached to the QNAP TS-128 via USB. It has built-in software to allow you to actually set up automatic NAS backups to DAS (such as once a week). This ensures your data remains safe, though it also entails extra costs.
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Pro
Intuitive, easy set-up process
This unit doesn't come with hard disks preinstalled. To get it set up, you just have to insert the hard disks, plug in the unit, connect it to your router and switch it on. After that, just log on to myQNAPcloud and you’ll have full access to the NAS through the web interface. The interface is extremely intuitive and user friendly. Even a beginner will enjoy it.
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Pro
Performance is enough for casual home use
This unit comes with a 1.1GHz dual core ARM processor and 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Its specs are enough for casual home use, like web browsing or movie watching. On the other hand, more demanding tasks, like media transcoding, would require something beefier in terms of performance.
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Pro
Integrates with cloud services
This NAS can integrate with popular cloud services, like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Yandex Disk, and others, making data transfers very quick and hassle-free.
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Pro
Can be turned into a media server
Plex media server software is available for this NAS and can effectively turn it into a media server. Though note that the NAS won't be performant enough to transcode media on the fly.
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Pro
Can be used for surveillance
The TS-128 comes with two free surveillance camera licenses and can store data from up to eight surveillance cameras.
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Pro
Impressive third-party application support
The amount of available third-party applications is quite impressive. There's a varied selection, including media applications, cloud storage apps, as well as mobile and desktop companion apps.
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Pro
Low power consumption
Running this unit 24/7 doesn't cost much: it idles at 5.03 Watts and operates at approximately 8.96 Watts. Even in operational mode, this unit would consume approximately 78.5 KWh total in one year.
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Specs
RAM:
1GiB DDR3
CPU:
ARM V7 1.1GHz Dual Core
Data redundancy possibilities:
No
SSD support:
No
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Experiences
$139
13
0
Apple AirPort Time Capsule 2TB
All
6
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
An Apple a day...
This is the perfect solution if you are a heavy Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV user. Store movies, music, backups, and more using Time Machine. Access all of that information just as simply, using the built in software for Mac. It really is a calming feeling when all of your tech just talks to each other without you having to go through extra effort.
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Con
Combining multiple needs increases impact during a failure
With both router and backup / NAS in one device, if either part fails you risk losing both services. I had one and had the hard drive fail, which would have meant losing my wireless service while it was out to be repaired, so in the end I lost my backup / central network share capability.
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Pro
Its a time capsule
The software is set up to integrate more transparently with Apple's Time Capsule features of MacOS and iOS, reducing some of the setup needed for a non-Apple brand NAS.
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Con
Cross compatibility issues with PCs
Apple is notorious for not allowing easy cross compatibility with PC's. That doesn't stop you from connecting your PC to it, you just have to go through some extra steps.
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Con
Lack of storage
Not much a way of upgrade options. Unless you are savvy and willing to forgo a manufacturers warranty, then the sky is the limit.
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Specs
Platforms:
Mac; iOS Devices; PCs
Weight:
3.26 lbs.
Size:
2TB/3TB
Dimensions:
3.85 x 3.85 x 6.6 inches
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$299.99
1
1
WD 2TB My Cloud Personal NAS
All
7
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Con
Software lacks depth
The WD software is simple, and rudimentary enough to get the job done. The software specifically lacks functionality in security settings, OSX compatibility, idle control and power/sleep settings. Keep an eye out for updates from WD, there is a decent bit of room for improvement here.
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Top
Pro
Supports syncing
Any updates that are done to files are automatically updated on the device, allowing for up to date access from all devices.
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Con
Entry level
This is really an entry level product for those looking to get started with large personal storage and security. There are many other options as far as security and storage. If you are looking to get started and see how this kind of hardware can work for you? Then by all means, make sure you have the two day free shipping!
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Pro
Good bang for your buck
At roughly $120, the 2TB My Cloud is a great start to building an at home storage that is both reliable and easy to interact with.
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Pro
Reliability
Easy to setup, user friendly, reliable tech support, and overall a simple experience. Great for people just getting started with large personal storage at home or in a small business.
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Pro
Companion App
The MyCloud app allows you to wirelessly transfer your videos, pictures, and files onto your device while connected to any internet.
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Specs
Platforms:
PC; MAC
Weight:
2.1 lbs.
Size:
2 TB (upgradeable to 6 TB)
Dimensions:
5.5 x 1.9 x 6.7 in.
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Experiences
$119.00
3
1
Western Digital 4TB My Cloud
All
8
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
Offers excellent value for money
This NAS unit comes with a 4TB Western Digital Red Hard Disk pre-installed. Considering that a similar 4TB HDD would cost $150 by itself, this $160 NAS offers great value.
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Con
Slow GUI
GUI is almost unusable due to lag. Moving files around and organizing files already on the drive is a headache.
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Pro
Easy access via browser control panel
It has a user-friendly control panel that can be easily accessed with a standard web browser.
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Con
Available with Western Digital hard disks only
Buying this NAS pre-installed with non-Western Digital hard disks is not possible.
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Pro
USB connectivity
If you hook up a USB storage device, you can access its stored files as a regular NAS storage volume.
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Con
No data protection features
As with most single-bay NAS units, you risk losing all of your stored data in the event of a disk failure. You can still use an external USB drive to manually backup your files every once in a while, though.
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Con
Official documentation leaves much to be desired
The documentation lacks important technical parameters such as CPU, RAM size and type, power consumption and even read/write speed. The Western Digital web resource also doesn’t include a list of compatible applications.
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Specs
RAM:
256MiB DDR3
CPU:
Cortex-A9 ARM 650MHz Dual Core
Maximum total storage volume:
4TiB
Data redundancy possibilities:
No
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Experiences
$158.85
3
1
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4.7 star rating
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