I recently discovered this forum and am hoping for advice on updating my current NAS setup. I'm computer literate but generally muddle my way through network issues. I have a ZyXel NSA-220 configured in RAID 1 with two 640GB Seagate hard drives. I've used it for a few years with no issues and am happy with it. I primarily used it to rip my many CD's to FLAC and transcoded them to Apple Lossless and MP4 for use on a Sony MP3 player. My trusty IBM T40P laptop died after 9 1/2 years of faithful service and I bought a MacBook Pro (never thought I'd say this but I love it!). I'd like to also use my NAS for Time Machine and normal backups, preferably over Wi-Fi in the background. The NSA-220 isn't Time Machine compatible so I've been looking for an alternative. I'm retired so bang for buck is important but I want quality hardware. I prefer supplying my own disk drives.
Would a two bay NAS with removable drives set up as independent volumes be the way to go? It seems I could then duplicate the drive and remove one to store in my safe. If this is the way to go, what would be a cost-effective recommendation? Although really more than I'd like to spend, I like the specs of the QNAP TS-219P II and the new TS-221. Alternatively, to maybe save some money what do you think about a single drive NAS backed up to an external USB drive? What about the ZyXel NSA-325 backed up to an external USB drive? I do prefer a low maintenance solution.
I'd like to continue using my Seagate 640GB drives for a while. I'm guessing the RAID 1 drives would have to be reformatted to be used as separate volumes and I don't know how I would do that. Would the drives just drop in another ZyXel NAS and work without having to be reformatted? Would the drives drop into a QNAP NAS and continue working? I have nowhere to back up that much data so I could reconfigure the drives.
Any advice and recommendations are welcome. The more I look the more confused I become. . .
Would a two bay NAS with removable drives set up as independent volumes be the way to go? It seems I could then duplicate the drive and remove one to store in my safe. If this is the way to go, what would be a cost-effective recommendation? Although really more than I'd like to spend, I like the specs of the QNAP TS-219P II and the new TS-221. Alternatively, to maybe save some money what do you think about a single drive NAS backed up to an external USB drive? What about the ZyXel NSA-325 backed up to an external USB drive? I do prefer a low maintenance solution.
I'd like to continue using my Seagate 640GB drives for a while. I'm guessing the RAID 1 drives would have to be reformatted to be used as separate volumes and I don't know how I would do that. Would the drives just drop in another ZyXel NAS and work without having to be reformatted? Would the drives drop into a QNAP NAS and continue working? I have nowhere to back up that much data so I could reconfigure the drives.
Any advice and recommendations are welcome. The more I look the more confused I become. . .