Hi guys! Long time lurker here. However, I need some advice that is a bit over my head.
Background: My company has (and is, for now) a subsidiary of a state university and has always used their servers and VPN for our storage needs. We will be splitting from them in the next few months (woohoo!) and need our own. And it has come to me to figure it out (boohoo!). I'm tech savvy enough to have built our machines and maintain our software (many thanks to the wonderful forums here for the wealth of knowledge on that!), but have never really dabbled in storage.
We are 3 people, located in NC, OR, and VT. Our storage needs entail using geospatial data actively within applications. These files range in size from next to nothing to ~750MB. The kicker: there are a WHOLE lot of them, but they're MOSTLY on the very small end (~5% of our files are >5MB out of nearly 8TB). We don't need to access them simultaneously, but we all need to be able to access them when it's our time.
It would be very time consuming to use a type of cloud storage that requires downloading all the files, using them, and then uploading the modified files. This is not possible. We need a direct connection from our remote locations to where the files are stored in order to use them. Anywhere from 50 to dozens of thousands are in use at one time for any particular project, and it can be difficult to ascertain which files are associated with what.
I have been looking into both NAS and tower servers. Obviously you can pay as much as you want for anything in life, but the advice I am seeking lies more in how to combine our needs with the capabilities and constraints of these technologies.
Would a decent NAS hold up well over a VPN with many small files being updated very often, or should we step up and get a tower? I realize performance is going to come down to our IP's bandwidth, but I'm more referring to stability. This is more than just streaming some "legal" media from the bedroom to the living room via Plex, the integrity of the files and constant connection is important.
Again, I know that "you get what you pay for" to a certain point with all giztronics, but is a whole tower server necessary for 3 people over a VPN, with 1.3 of us using a constant connection for a few hours a day and the rest just browsing some? Is this something a NAS can handle?
Are there benefits of a tower over NAS that I don't see (besides having a UI)? Is this even relevant for 3 TOTAL maximum users?
How does NAS handle outside the network (over vpn) versus a tower server?
If we're not webhosting or anything, just I/O of numerous mostly small files, which makes more sense to you and why?
Any input is greatly appreciated. I am here to learn, and capable of doing so on my own, but am really looking for some groundwork to start from. Anecdotes, answers, opinions, questions, even brief gutteral-sounding comments: they're all welcome. Thank you for your time.
Background: My company has (and is, for now) a subsidiary of a state university and has always used their servers and VPN for our storage needs. We will be splitting from them in the next few months (woohoo!) and need our own. And it has come to me to figure it out (boohoo!). I'm tech savvy enough to have built our machines and maintain our software (many thanks to the wonderful forums here for the wealth of knowledge on that!), but have never really dabbled in storage.
We are 3 people, located in NC, OR, and VT. Our storage needs entail using geospatial data actively within applications. These files range in size from next to nothing to ~750MB. The kicker: there are a WHOLE lot of them, but they're MOSTLY on the very small end (~5% of our files are >5MB out of nearly 8TB). We don't need to access them simultaneously, but we all need to be able to access them when it's our time.
It would be very time consuming to use a type of cloud storage that requires downloading all the files, using them, and then uploading the modified files. This is not possible. We need a direct connection from our remote locations to where the files are stored in order to use them. Anywhere from 50 to dozens of thousands are in use at one time for any particular project, and it can be difficult to ascertain which files are associated with what.
I have been looking into both NAS and tower servers. Obviously you can pay as much as you want for anything in life, but the advice I am seeking lies more in how to combine our needs with the capabilities and constraints of these technologies.
Would a decent NAS hold up well over a VPN with many small files being updated very often, or should we step up and get a tower? I realize performance is going to come down to our IP's bandwidth, but I'm more referring to stability. This is more than just streaming some "legal" media from the bedroom to the living room via Plex, the integrity of the files and constant connection is important.
Again, I know that "you get what you pay for" to a certain point with all giztronics, but is a whole tower server necessary for 3 people over a VPN, with 1.3 of us using a constant connection for a few hours a day and the rest just browsing some? Is this something a NAS can handle?
Are there benefits of a tower over NAS that I don't see (besides having a UI)? Is this even relevant for 3 TOTAL maximum users?
How does NAS handle outside the network (over vpn) versus a tower server?
If we're not webhosting or anything, just I/O of numerous mostly small files, which makes more sense to you and why?
Any input is greatly appreciated. I am here to learn, and capable of doing so on my own, but am really looking for some groundwork to start from. Anecdotes, answers, opinions, questions, even brief gutteral-sounding comments: they're all welcome. Thank you for your time.
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