Best current NAS for Sync - with best support for instantly observing new files

[mr.canada]

I have the luxury of being able to choose whatever NAS I want.  I'm looking for input please.

Here are my needs:

-Large archive of files to sync (almost 3TB today, growing maybe .5TB per year).

-very deep folder hierarchy - not my fault, but too late to change it (evolved over years)

-very long file names

-Lots of small files, but also lots of very large (1gb) files.  

-up to 70gb of new data produced each day (typically much less than that, average maybe 10-20GB)

 

I am looking for a NAS to serve two functions - be a traditional fileserver for LAN clients, and be a "parent" for a sync'ed folder in Sync.  Sync clients will be two other NAS servers, plus about 10 Mac workstations.  No PC clients.

I need speed of sync'ing and reliability of instantly observing file changes and initiating a sync.  I do NOT want to rely on scheduled file system scans, as I've already seen that this takes upwards of 30 minutes to complete on a modern Mac.  How long would it take on a NAS?  Don't know, but probably longer given the lower-powered CPU.

I'm leaning towards a Synology 1815+ with 16gb ram.  Input GREATLY appreciated.  Thanks.

 

 

[Helen]

@mr.canada,

I won't be advising any NAS in particular, but when it comes to Sync - better pick the one with bigger RAM. Syncing that big folder tree will require much of it, count some 1-2 kb per node. Node - is the file and a subfolder level (!). 

[mr.canada]

Thank you Helen.  I don't expect you to go shopping for me   

But just to be perfectly clear, I understand that you don't have a particular NAS in mind, but is it fair to say that you feel a NAS with lots of RAM (16 gig) is just as capable as a Mac with 16 gigs ram, if it's PRIMARY PURPOSE is to sync a very large share?

Are you aware of any problems with the current firmware running a modern Synology NAS that creates problems with Sync?  There are lots of threads in this forum talking about problems with Synology DSM, but they're all 2-3 years old, so I don't know if they are still relevant or not.

In the next few weeks, I have to choose between a Mac vs. a NAS as my company fileserver, and compatibility with Sync is my deciding factor.  Specifically, Sync being able to accurately of observe new/changed files without relying on scheduled folder scans is my #1 concern.

 

Thanks!

 

[iswrong]

Did you consider buying a somewhat beefy x86_64 box and using something like FreeNAS? (Or a Linux-based NAS distribution?) I think hardware-wise this is often a better trade-off than a real NAS and it gives longer support cycles. Of course, it may be a bit more work when it comes to administration.

[RomanZ]

@mr.canada How do you expect your files are going to be changed on your NAS? Over SMB? Over AFP? One of the most common issues causing non-working files notifications on NASes is the fact that files get changed by SMB or AFP daemon, not some application on NAS. Technically, if NAS supports SMB3.0 as well remote SMB client, notifications should work well. Although we never tested it in lab. Not sure about AFP.

[mr.canada]

On 2016-09-03 at 2:13 PM, iswrong said:

Did you consider buying a somewhat beefy x86_64 box and using something like FreeNAS? (Or a Linux-based NAS distribution?) I think hardware-wise this is often a better trade-off than a real NAS and it gives longer support cycles. Of course, it may be a bit more work when it comes to administration.

If it were my money, sure, i'd cobble together a nas out of a pc and freenas.  For clients, i'll defer to a proven brand with warranty and hardware/software support.  

 

[mr.canada]

10 hours ago, RomanZ said:

@mr.canada How do you expect your files are going to be changed on your NAS? Over SMB? Over AFP? One of the most common issues causing non-working files notifications on NASes is the fact that files get changed by SMB or AFP daemon, not some application on NAS. Technically, if NAS supports SMB3.0 as well remote SMB client, notifications should work well. Although we never tested it in lab. Not sure about AFP.

access is via SMB and AFP.  If anyone here has a NAS with a particularly large shared folder (multi TB...) with Mac clients I'd really like to hear about your NAS and how it's working for you.  

[RomanZ]

@mr.canada JFYI - be aware of the fact that Samba daemon doesn't like when someone else accesses files it possess ;). Read more here.