Using NAS servers in small companies and offices
With the current level of IT development, even younger server platforms and processors are too redundant for some types of tasks or small companies. In order to somehow more intelligently use the computing resources of the server, virtualization technologies are actively used, but we will talk about them in our next article on the example of Huawei software. Today we want to discuss the use of NAS-servers in small companies and remote offices. Of course, this type of device provides more modest possibilities than full-fledged servers, but their cost is one of the important arguments.
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Active development of the NAS server was obtained at the moment when their manufacturers started making firmware for devices based on the linux platform. Prior to this, their capabilities were extremely modest and rarely went beyond the normal storage of data. But with the advent of linux systems, the situation has changed dramatically. Today's article is devoted to the question of choosing, choosing a budget device that is able to meet the needs of a small office. Synology has kindly provided us with our senior model for this article for the SMB market - Synology RS2414 + . We will not dwell on the review of the device itself, Synology has told in detail about it, we want to talk about the software component of NAS servers, in general, and talk about the possibilities of using these devices.
But I still want to start with the hardware of this type of device (I’ll just make a reservation that we will talk about rack-mount models). Just want to say on the topic of fault tolerance. Many believe, and in general it is reasonably enough, that there is no need to talk about fault tolerance with devices of this type, but this applies only to younger, low-end models. The NAS Synology RS2414 + has the ability to install only one power supply, while its older brother Synology RS2414RP + can already have 2 power supplies installed, but this will cost an additional ~ 30000r, which is almost 1/3 of the cost of the NAS ` . Not cheap worth noting. As for controllers and disks: the smaller disks can be installed in the NAS, the less controllers are installed in it, usually there are 1 controller for 4 disks, respectively, there are 3 controllers installed in the 12-disk NAS (JBOD, RAID 0, RAID are supported) 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10). Hot-swappable hard drives, network ports from 2 to 4.
As processors, they can be used as the simplest Intel Atom processors in budget devices, as well as Intel Xeon in top models, respectively. Usually the "average", satisfying most needs, is a dual-core processor with a frequency of 2-3Ghz. The number of disks depends on the NAS model and your needs. The minimum (for rack models) is 4 disks, the maximum is up to 12 disks, but in many cases the volume can also be increased by connecting additional shelves. Both 3.5 "and 2.5" discs are supported. The amount of RAM also varies from 512Mb to 8Tb. It can already be understood that the technical characteristics in many models can compete with budget servers, so what is their main difference? Here it is time to talk already about the OS used to control the device and services.
First of all, you probably should immediately list the NAS features that we can use in the office:
Of course, this list can be continued, at the expense of additional software from the repository, but this can be called a “main” list of features that will interest us.
We will not bore you with a description of the interface and an abundance of screenshots, I think there is nothing better than YouTube videos (in this case).
Synology has a publicly available Synology DSM 5 that you can try on your own (admin / synology)
You can also see interfaces from competitors: QNAP QTS 4 , ThecusOS 6 .
And so, let's move on to talking about the services provided by NAS, which will be useful to us in office work. Perhaps one of the main things you can call - integration with ActiveDirectory. What does it actually give us? I think that after all most of the readers know what AD is and how it works, so we will not be distracted by it. So what are the advantages? We get a file server that supports work with groups and users of our domain. In fact - our data service is now not inferior to it under Windows Server or SAMBA on Linux, even the management interface is extremely similar to Windows. But do not forget that in the case of Windows Server, we also still need to purchase a license for the OS, and setting up SAMBA for Linux with domain integration is not given to all system administrators. Therefore, this functionality can be safely attributed to the pluses, both in terms of ease of setup and operation.
But if for some reason you do not have an ActiveDirectory domain, then the NAS also supports classic ACLs, which you can start and use yourself.
ISCSI support . Storage Manager allows you to create, delete and edit LUN numbers and iSCSI targets without any problems. Using an intuitive interface, you need just a few mouse clicks to change settings and apply them. You can also view information about LUNs and targets at the same time.
And now let's run through all the services that interest us:
VPN server . With Synology's VPN solution, employees can simply remotely access resources without violating security protocols. Synology's VPN server supports Open VPN, PPTP and L2TP over IPSec protocols.
DHCP server is a network protocol that allows computers to automatically obtain an IP address and other parameters necessary for working on a TCP / IP network. Devices based on Synology DSM 5 can be full-fledged DHCP servers to cover the needs of a small office.
DNS server is a computer distributed system for obtaining information about domains. Most often used to get an IP address by host name, to get information about mail routing and serving nodes for protocols in the domain. I think a full-fledged DNS server, with a convenient web-interface, will have a lot of liking.
RADIUS server . The RADIUS protocol is the primary means of authenticating and authorizing connections within your network. Build your server to secure the authentication of each user.
FTP, WebDAV and CalDAV . If you need to transfer large files over the Internet, the best solution is to use the FTP protocol. There is also the possibility of additional settings, including bandwidth control and SSL / TLS connections, which increases the reliability of the exchange of confidential files. In addition, DSM supports WebDAV and CalDAV services with HTTPS support.
WEB server and MySQL server . Usually, these two services work closely together on servers, but here it is also no exception. You can organize a full-fledged web server for your small website or blog, you can automatically deploy Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, etc. The server can run both applications written in PHP and Python / Python3 / Perl scripts.
Mail server Using Synology Mail Station, you can send and receive emails using your own email domain. With the help of numerous options for performing fine tuning, create a corporate mail algorithm.
Asterisk is open source software that allows you to use your DiskStation as a feature-rich voice communication server. With features such as call forwarding and incoming call processing, creating outgoing calls and call forwarding, as well as conferencing Asterisk allows you to quickly create voice applications.
CCTV server . Surveillance Station is a web-based application that allows you to manage IP cameras to set up office monitoring. With Surveillance Station, you can view and record live video, set up scheduled recording, play back recorded events using a web browser or mobile device for remote monitoring. You can also set up sending notifications when an important event occurs.
Print server Simply connect the printer to your DiskStation server, and you can print documents, scan them, or fax them from any computer.
Antivirus . Install the free Synology Antivirus Essential antivirus protection or purchase an antivirus from McAfee, a recognized industry leader, for peace of mind and compliance with legal requirements.
Cloud Sync synchronizes files on Google Drive, Dropbox and Baidu with files on your DiskStation server. For users who have storage volumes on various specialized storage sites, Cloud Sync provides additional convenience by creating a unified record for all files. Since the DiskStation server stores copies of all files, it is also a kind of protective screen for your digital resources, eliminating the impact of potential third-party storage restrictions.
Generally speaking, if we are talking about the topic of additional software that can be installed from the Synology repository, the list is quite extensive even for the “standard” repository, but there are also third-party resources where you can find applications for Synology DSM. This and various systems of electronic sales, CRM, SVN, Git, DLNA, etc., go far beyond the usual office needs.
Backup Synology DSM 5 offers various backup solutions that help protect everything you create from human interference and mechanical errors. In a modern and dynamic business environment, maintaining business continuity is often a key requirement for the operation of even a small company.
As you can see, the NAS servers have a wide enough functionality, which allows them to be used to perform a very wide range of tasks. At the same time, its technical characteristics are more than enough for servicing a small office. Of course, in some models, the issue of fault tolerance is extremely acute, but one should not forget one of the key advantages of these devices - the price. This solution can compete with budget models of servers in terms of cost, and the quality of warranty service is even better than with some vendors. The warranty on the devices is 2-3 years (depending on the model), if the equipment is not acquired in Moscow - the representative company itself delivers the equipment from the client to the SC and back, if the business process in the company cannot be suspended to send the equipment to the SC, first, the equipment for replacement is sent, and then it is sent to the SC (all this is completely free of charge for the client during the entire warranty period).
Of course, many are concerned about the issue of resiliency. If you use older models of NAS `s in a pair, creating a cluster of them - you get enough budget and at the same time reliable data storage, which is able to take on" extra obligations "for the technical support of your office.
Personally, after we got acquainted with Synology devices, we decided to install the RS814 + model for ourselves , to replace our old video surveillance server.
For any questions about Synology NAS servers, please contact our head of the direction, Ivan Voronov .
Korp
')
Active development of the NAS server was obtained at the moment when their manufacturers started making firmware for devices based on the linux platform. Prior to this, their capabilities were extremely modest and rarely went beyond the normal storage of data. But with the advent of linux systems, the situation has changed dramatically. Today's article is devoted to the question of choosing, choosing a budget device that is able to meet the needs of a small office. Synology has kindly provided us with our senior model for this article for the SMB market - Synology RS2414 + . We will not dwell on the review of the device itself, Synology has told in detail about it, we want to talk about the software component of NAS servers, in general, and talk about the possibilities of using these devices.
But I still want to start with the hardware of this type of device (I’ll just make a reservation that we will talk about rack-mount models). Just want to say on the topic of fault tolerance. Many believe, and in general it is reasonably enough, that there is no need to talk about fault tolerance with devices of this type, but this applies only to younger, low-end models. The NAS Synology RS2414 + has the ability to install only one power supply, while its older brother Synology RS2414RP + can already have 2 power supplies installed, but this will cost an additional ~ 30000r, which is almost 1/3 of the cost of the NAS ` . Not cheap worth noting. As for controllers and disks: the smaller disks can be installed in the NAS, the less controllers are installed in it, usually there are 1 controller for 4 disks, respectively, there are 3 controllers installed in the 12-disk NAS (JBOD, RAID 0, RAID are supported) 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10). Hot-swappable hard drives, network ports from 2 to 4.
As processors, they can be used as the simplest Intel Atom processors in budget devices, as well as Intel Xeon in top models, respectively. Usually the "average", satisfying most needs, is a dual-core processor with a frequency of 2-3Ghz. The number of disks depends on the NAS model and your needs. The minimum (for rack models) is 4 disks, the maximum is up to 12 disks, but in many cases the volume can also be increased by connecting additional shelves. Both 3.5 "and 2.5" discs are supported. The amount of RAM also varies from 512Mb to 8Tb. It can already be understood that the technical characteristics in many models can compete with budget servers, so what is their main difference? Here it is time to talk already about the OS used to control the device and services.
First of all, you probably should immediately list the NAS features that we can use in the office:
- Integration with ActiveDirectory
- ACL support
- ISCSI support
- VPN server
- DHCP server
- DNS server
- RADIUS server
- FTP, WebDAV and CalDAV
- WEB server
- MySQL server
- Mail server
- IP telephony server (Asterisk)
- Video surveillance server
- Print server
- Antivirus
- Cloud Sync
- Backup
Of course, this list can be continued, at the expense of additional software from the repository, but this can be called a “main” list of features that will interest us.
We will not bore you with a description of the interface and an abundance of screenshots, I think there is nothing better than YouTube videos (in this case).
Synology has a publicly available Synology DSM 5 that you can try on your own (admin / synology)
You can also see interfaces from competitors: QNAP QTS 4 , ThecusOS 6 .
And so, let's move on to talking about the services provided by NAS, which will be useful to us in office work. Perhaps one of the main things you can call - integration with ActiveDirectory. What does it actually give us? I think that after all most of the readers know what AD is and how it works, so we will not be distracted by it. So what are the advantages? We get a file server that supports work with groups and users of our domain. In fact - our data service is now not inferior to it under Windows Server or SAMBA on Linux, even the management interface is extremely similar to Windows. But do not forget that in the case of Windows Server, we also still need to purchase a license for the OS, and setting up SAMBA for Linux with domain integration is not given to all system administrators. Therefore, this functionality can be safely attributed to the pluses, both in terms of ease of setup and operation.
But if for some reason you do not have an ActiveDirectory domain, then the NAS also supports classic ACLs, which you can start and use yourself.
ISCSI support . Storage Manager allows you to create, delete and edit LUN numbers and iSCSI targets without any problems. Using an intuitive interface, you need just a few mouse clicks to change settings and apply them. You can also view information about LUNs and targets at the same time.
- Create, delete and edit LUN numbers at any time
- Capacity Expansion Support
- iSNS LUN makes it much easier to work with multiple targets.
- The target mask has access options, including read-only and no access.
- With one click, you can activate multipath input / output and multiple connections per session for load balancing and failover.
And now let's run through all the services that interest us:
VPN server . With Synology's VPN solution, employees can simply remotely access resources without violating security protocols. Synology's VPN server supports Open VPN, PPTP and L2TP over IPSec protocols.
DHCP server is a network protocol that allows computers to automatically obtain an IP address and other parameters necessary for working on a TCP / IP network. Devices based on Synology DSM 5 can be full-fledged DHCP servers to cover the needs of a small office.
DNS server is a computer distributed system for obtaining information about domains. Most often used to get an IP address by host name, to get information about mail routing and serving nodes for protocols in the domain. I think a full-fledged DNS server, with a convenient web-interface, will have a lot of liking.
RADIUS server . The RADIUS protocol is the primary means of authenticating and authorizing connections within your network. Build your server to secure the authentication of each user.
FTP, WebDAV and CalDAV . If you need to transfer large files over the Internet, the best solution is to use the FTP protocol. There is also the possibility of additional settings, including bandwidth control and SSL / TLS connections, which increases the reliability of the exchange of confidential files. In addition, DSM supports WebDAV and CalDAV services with HTTPS support.
WEB server and MySQL server . Usually, these two services work closely together on servers, but here it is also no exception. You can organize a full-fledged web server for your small website or blog, you can automatically deploy Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, etc. The server can run both applications written in PHP and Python / Python3 / Perl scripts.
Mail server Using Synology Mail Station, you can send and receive emails using your own email domain. With the help of numerous options for performing fine tuning, create a corporate mail algorithm.
Asterisk is open source software that allows you to use your DiskStation as a feature-rich voice communication server. With features such as call forwarding and incoming call processing, creating outgoing calls and call forwarding, as well as conferencing Asterisk allows you to quickly create voice applications.
CCTV server . Surveillance Station is a web-based application that allows you to manage IP cameras to set up office monitoring. With Surveillance Station, you can view and record live video, set up scheduled recording, play back recorded events using a web browser or mobile device for remote monitoring. You can also set up sending notifications when an important event occurs.
Print server Simply connect the printer to your DiskStation server, and you can print documents, scan them, or fax them from any computer.
Antivirus . Install the free Synology Antivirus Essential antivirus protection or purchase an antivirus from McAfee, a recognized industry leader, for peace of mind and compliance with legal requirements.
Cloud Sync synchronizes files on Google Drive, Dropbox and Baidu with files on your DiskStation server. For users who have storage volumes on various specialized storage sites, Cloud Sync provides additional convenience by creating a unified record for all files. Since the DiskStation server stores copies of all files, it is also a kind of protective screen for your digital resources, eliminating the impact of potential third-party storage restrictions.
Generally speaking, if we are talking about the topic of additional software that can be installed from the Synology repository, the list is quite extensive even for the “standard” repository, but there are also third-party resources where you can find applications for Synology DSM. This and various systems of electronic sales, CRM, SVN, Git, DLNA, etc., go far beyond the usual office needs.
Backup Synology DSM 5 offers various backup solutions that help protect everything you create from human interference and mechanical errors. In a modern and dynamic business environment, maintaining business continuity is often a key requirement for the operation of even a small company.
- Backup LUN iSCSI numbers. Traditionally, backing up information from a LUN from one storage device to another distracts a large part of the processing power of any server. As a reliable and efficient server for storing data, DiskStation allows you to perform backup tasks at the storage level without attracting additional funds to create an infrastructure that allows you to protect valuable data on site or at a distance.
- Snapshot Manager for Hyper-V and VMware. Data consistency is one of the challenges that IT managers face during daily operations. Synology Snapshot Manager provides an application-consistent snapshot to ensure data integrity. By offering more efficient server support in a VMware vSphere or Windows environment, IT managers can expect guaranteed state of virtual machines and data integrity. A snapshot agreed with the applications is taken only after the server resets the incomplete operations to “cold storage” and enters a state of rest.
- Synology High Availability (SHA). SHA is a cost-effective, easy-to-install and powerful solution designed for business sustainability. By connecting two DiskStation servers, all your users will always have access to data and services, even if one of the servers fails.
- Critical information for your business that is stored on the server also requires regular backups, sometimes to external storages, to prevent its loss as a result of any negative events in the office. Synology's Backup & Replication application provides copying from folder to folder both on the same DiskStation server and between different servers, as well as on other rsync-compatible servers and Amazon S3 / Glacier storage. Alternatively, you can synchronize shared folders from different DiskStation servers to a single server-host. This is ideal for exchanging documents between head offices and regional offices - whatever happens, you will always have the original. Saving multiple versions allows you to restore the server to a specific point in time and at the same time minimizes the consumption of data storage volume, minimizing processing time by saving only a specific block of data that has changed between saves. Additional protection is provided by data encryption and compression. When using the wizard interface, creating a backup will be much easier. You just need to set up the task so that its execution starts at a specified time or repeats according to the schedule you set. The main thing is to remember the following: the system configuration can also be saved. User accounts, shared folders, file sharing and security settings ... It’s enough to determine what you would like to keep in each copy, and when large-scale system migration is required, you can perform a full or selective recovery.
As you can see, the NAS servers have a wide enough functionality, which allows them to be used to perform a very wide range of tasks. At the same time, its technical characteristics are more than enough for servicing a small office. Of course, in some models, the issue of fault tolerance is extremely acute, but one should not forget one of the key advantages of these devices - the price. This solution can compete with budget models of servers in terms of cost, and the quality of warranty service is even better than with some vendors. The warranty on the devices is 2-3 years (depending on the model), if the equipment is not acquired in Moscow - the representative company itself delivers the equipment from the client to the SC and back, if the business process in the company cannot be suspended to send the equipment to the SC, first, the equipment for replacement is sent, and then it is sent to the SC (all this is completely free of charge for the client during the entire warranty period).
Of course, many are concerned about the issue of resiliency. If you use older models of NAS `s in a pair, creating a cluster of them - you get enough budget and at the same time reliable data storage, which is able to take on" extra obligations "for the technical support of your office.
Personally, after we got acquainted with Synology devices, we decided to install the RS814 + model for ourselves , to replace our old video surveillance server.
For any questions about Synology NAS servers, please contact our head of the direction, Ivan Voronov .
Korp
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/222423/
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