4 bay vs 2 bay

[Enquiries]

hello
i want to enter the nas world
today i am stucked with google drive and external hard drives
i am a youtuber and make a lot of content now i have 4 tb full storage and i make every year 2-3 tb storage so in 3 years i will have about 9 tb
need your help for choosing the best nas
and thank you for the great youtube channel

[TribalHound]

On the basis you're likely to create 9TB in 3 years - then most definitely you need to go 4+ bay NAS.

I'd argue that 6 would probably better suited to your requirements, as most people keep theirs for 5-8 years (you really don't want the faff of having to setup a new one too often (although they are a lot easier to do once you understand the basics). 6 allows for you to get busy creating media and grow that hobby without having to replace your NAS too soon.
It doesn't really matter how many bays you have - setting one up is almost the same.
NASCompares has some great videos about doing this (stick with Synology for more user friendly and QNAP for more customizable configurations)

The burning questions are not so much storage, but if you want to plug it in via HDMI to a monitor, or turn your NAS into a virtual PC (Linux Ubutntu or Windows - kind of your choice) plus if you want to do any editing on the NAS itself.

For basic storage any intel celeron 6 bay will be OK with 4 to 8 GB of RAM (max expandable capability).. Add video editing or running QvPC (for example) and you want that 8GB to be a minimum.

You don't have to get all your drives at one. Suggest start with 2 in Raid 1 (bays 1+2) with SSD of 1TB+ for your 'system' and file editing... Add 2 5TB+ Nas drives in bays 3+4 Raid 1 for your data. When your data starts to fill up, get some 8TB +(by then prices will fall). Use them to expand your Raid 1 storage (one at a time), when your new bigger RAID1 is in place, use the 'old drives' in bays 5&6 as a new RAID1 backup / expansion.

Each time you need more storage, expand the bay 3+4 Raid 1 with bigger drives, move the old ones to bays 5+6 - bin / find another use for the one's that move on. (HINT - additional Backups not managed by the NAS)

Keeping it this way keeps your system parted from your data and allows proper compartmentalization of your data - and you own flexible 'lifecycle' of disk & expenditure. No need to keep redesigning your perfect setup / change your backup / file copy routines, just let it grow. You should get the most out of your system with minimal effort. By the time you're ready to move to the next NAS, you'll be fully aware of the capabilities, will have a bunch of discs to use. Don't forget to keep 10% free for snap shots / version control and make sure your crucial data has another copy, away from the NAS.

Something like the Synology DS1621+ or QNAP TS-673 will last you quite a while, or the TVS-675 for that media editing and HDMI interface. I'm pretty sure Robbie has reviewed all of these, and even made comparisons. But whatever NAS / Drives you chose he will definitely have a refer link to some great priced options, be sure to drop him a line once you've decided and before you buy. He'll also likely be scanning black friday deals - that's not far away now.

Hope this helps.