Reddit reviews Synology DiskStation 2-Bay Diskless Private Cloud NAS (DS214se)

Just 250 GB of free space? This will give you a redundant TB.

$140 Synology DiskStation 2-Bay

$65 (x2) 1 TB Western Digital Red

Total: ~$270

If it's purely for backup, this might not matter as much, but like /u/comnam90 mentioned, I'd advise you to bump up to the $200 variant if you have the cash for better performance.

That would take the build up to ~$330

>I would like not to spend more than 300$, and I this is what i hope to achieve:

I think you need to be realistic here. If you want a NAS, you need to be willing to spend a bit more cash. $300 isn't going to get you very far.

>With this requirements, you think this model will comply?

>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Synology-DS214se-DiskStation-Bay-Desktop/dp/B00FWURI8K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426422404&sr=8-2&keywords=synology+2+bay

You are aware that's an empty enclosure, yes? To stay under the $300 price mark, you're going to be stuck with 1 TB drives. For a RAID 1, that's 1 TB of usable disk. Just so you're aware.

>I also looked into DIY solutions (using HP microservers mainly) but I think I would end spending more money.

Well, you get what you pay for. Setting up a little mini ATX server with 4 drives with ZFS might cost you a bit more, but you may be more pleased with the performance and the redundancy, as well as the total control over the system. I know I would be.

Consider getting yourself a NAS (Network Attached Storage).

• It'll hold your internal drives.
  
• Good ones also support attaching USB drives, which will take care of your external drives.
  
• You can put them anywhere in your home/office area so long as it's got an ethernet cable available. This takes care of the size/space problem.
  
• They can also handle other types of computing work besides simple file sharing. This includes things like Plex media serving.
  
• The disadvantage is that good brand NAS's are surprisingly expensive. You'll probably drop $150 or more on a 2-bay NAS. This one is from an excellent brand and includes two USB ports.

$99 + one more drive is above budget?

Laptop probably won't do, due to limited drive hookup slots. I'd probably go with a prebuilt, and whether you buy it loaded with drives or not is really your call. For ease of installation, they're a bit more money but the drive-included models aren't super expensive.

Here are a few models I've used in your price range with great performance.

• The Synology DS214se $140-400 depending on disk load out.
  
  
• The Western Digital 4-12TB My Cloud $210 (4TB model)-$549 (12 TB model)
  
  
• Then there's the highest ranked amongst cord cutters: The QNAP TS-251 From $300 (diskless, 1 GB RAM) - $1050 (8TB 4 GB RAM).
  
  For your budget, the QNAP might be a little pricey. If I were in your situation, it would depend on how familiar I was with NAS devices. If you know some stuff, the Synology is a great device. If you know nothing, the Western Digital is the most user friendly. All the included links are for Amazon. You may find them cheaper in a general search.

2 of these

And maybe this

Honestly, I would use a small PC case and itx motherboard to spin the drives with one of the free NAS software options, but if you want simplicity a consumer NAS should work.