The 6 Best NAS Devices In India Reviews and Buying Guide

While you can simply use an external hard drive with all of your devices for sharing files and keeping all of your data in the same place, it is not the most practical option since it can only be connected to a single device at once. This is where NAS or Network Attached Storage devices come into play.

You can use these to easily access all of your data on all of your devices wirelessly. But compared to traditional storage devices, these are highly secure while offering various kinds of features that they offer. Since these features can be a bit confusing, we are here with the best NAS devices in India based on these factors:

• CPU & RAM: Unlike a typical external hard drive that you might have used in the past, these NAS devices offer various features along with encryption options along with other tasks that are handled by the integrated CPU and RAM. Some models come with a dual-core processor and some with a quad-core CPU and 1 GB RAM.
• HDD Slots: Almost all NAS devices allow you to install multiple drives inside them so that you can potentially have a lot of storage devices and allow you to add new drives without replacing older ones easily. You can generally find either 2 or 4 HDD slots in a NAS device for installing further HDDs.
• Connectivity Options: Once you have installed hard drives in your NAS, you would want to connect it to your devices for storage access. In that case, you should check the connectivity options to ensure that it can connect to multiple devices at once. You can find ports like LAN ports, USB ports, and others on the back and the front.

If you want to know more about NAS devices, then you will be glad to know that we have mentioned all of their details as well as a detailed Buying Guide related to these NAS devices as well as a FAQ section so that you can buy the right one after going through this article until the end.

6 Best NAS Devices in India

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Top 6 NAS Devices Reviews in India

1. Synology DiskStation DS918+ NAS Drive

Specifications:

• HDD Slots: 4 slots
• Maximum Capacity: 56 TB
• CPU: Quad-Core 1.5 GHz CPU
• RAM: 4 GB DDR3L, upgradable to 8 GB DDR3L
• Storage Speeds:Up to 225 MB/s
• Ports: 2 x 1 GbE LAN ports, 2 x USB 3.0 ports
• Supported RAID Types: Hybrid, basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10
• Hot-Swappable Drives: Yes
• Warranty: 3 years

Synology is the most popular brand out there when it comes to NAS devices and related accessories since it offers so many product options. And most of them offer excellent performance just like its DiskStation SD918+ NAS device.

The Synology DiskStation SD918+ is the best performing NAS device present in this article. It can offer exceptional performance thanks to its quad-core Intel Celeron J3455 1.5 GHz CPU that can go up to 2.3 GHz speed clock. This CPU is paired along with 4 gigs of DDR3L RAM that can even be upgraded to 8 GB for even better performance.

Such a RAM and CPU combination allows you to get storage access speeds of up to 225 MB/s while using this NAS drive. You can even increase the performance of this drive by using an SSD cache drive since it comes with dedicated M.2 NVMe SSD slots that offer even better performance than SATA SSDs since NVMe drives are much better cache drives.

Talking about the HDD storage itself, you get a total of 4 HDD slots in this NAS device. All of these 4 HDD slots are hot-swappable so that you can quickly and easily replace drives whenever you need. Such a feature can be handy to replace the drives if you want to reach the maximum storage capacity 56 TB by using four 14 TB HDD drives inside this NAS.

Its storage capacity can even be further increased by using the DX517 expansion unit offered by Synology that increases the slot count to a total of 9, resulting in a storage capacity of 126 TB. Despite having a high storage capacity, all of your files are still safe thanks to its AES-NI hardware encryption to prevent unauthorized data access.

If you are interested in setting up RAID in your NAS device, then you will be glad to know that this one supports almost all of them. It offers the support for Hybrid, basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10 types of RAID setup. These can be used to either create redundant drives or increase the overall storage access speeds of the HDD drives.

You get a total of 2 x USB 3.0 ports and 2 x 1 GbE LAN ports in this unit that should be more than enough for most users. All these ports allow you to easily share files, use the NAS as a multimedia server, create a backup of all your devices, or even connect IP cams to this unit and record videos in the HDD since it supports a total 40 IP cams along with 2 free licenses.

Pros:

• Offers excellent CPU and RAM
• Supports high storage speeds
• Includes hot-swappable drive support
• Offers support for SSD cache drives
• High maximum capacity rating

Cons:

• Quite an expensive NAS device
• Does not come included with any hard drive

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2. Qnap TS-431P-US 4-Bay Personal Cloud NAS

Specifications:

• HDD Slots: 4 slots
• Maximum Capacity: 16 TB
• CPU: Dual-Core 1.7 GHz CPU
• RAM: 1 GB DDR3
• Storage Speeds: Up to 223 MB/s
• Ports: 2 x 1 GbE LAN ports, 3 x USB 3.0 ports
• Supported RAID Types: Hot Spare, Single, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10
• Hot-Swappable Drives: Yes
• Warranty: 1 year

Qnap is another highly popular brand when it comes to NAS devices. But unlike Synology, this one is much more affordable including its TS-431P-US NAS that offers great performance for the price.

Those of you who want a NAS device with decent performance and good capacity should consider the Qnap TS-431P-US. Unlike most other options, this one uses an ARM Cortex A15 dual-core CPU with a clock speed of 1.7 GHz. It comes along with 1 GB RAM in total which is decent for the given CPU as well as the price of this NAS drive.

Even though this NAS uses an ARM Cortex CPU, it still offers pretty decent speeds of 223 MB/s for read operations and 172 MB/s for write operation. While these speeds should be more than enough for most users, the performance of this NAS unit can be improved since it offers SSD caching support that allows you to add an SSD drive for better performance.

Although, the storage capacity of this NAS device is just average since its 32 bit CPU only supports up to 16 TB capacity in total. If that is enough for you, then you will have a great time working with this NAS since it comes with a total of 4 slots giving you a lot of upgrade options. All of these slots allow you to hot-swap the drives without needing to restart it.

If you are worried about the security of all your files stored on this NAS drive, then you will be glad to know that it also offers the support for AES 256-bit encryption. In simpler words, you can password protect all of your files so that no one else accesses it. You also get LED indicators on the front to check if the drives are being currently accessed.

Even though this NAS device runs on an ARM processor, it still offers excellent RAID support. You can use it to set up your hard drives in Hot Spare, Single, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, or RAID 10 as per your choice. Despite the RAID setup you are using, this NAS device stays quiet while offering optimum performance thanks to its silent 17 dB cooling fan.

As for the ports on this NAS device, it comes with 2 x 1 GbE LAN ports for connecting to the network and 3 x USB 3.0 ports for connecting other USB devices if needed. If you are interested in connecting IP cameras to it, you will find the support for a total of 25 IP cameras which includes 2 free licenses out of the box.

Pros:

• Decent CPU and RAM performance
• Offers SSD caching support
• Includes multiple input and output ports
• Comes with AES 256-bit encryption for optimum security
• Supports 25 IP cameras along with 2 free channels

Cons:

• Uses ARM CPU and not an x64 one
• Maximum capacity is a bit limited

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3. Western Digital My Cloud EX Ultra 4TB 2-Bay NAS 3.0 USB BVBZ0040JCH-BESN

Specifications:

• HDD Slots: 2 slots
• Maximum Capacity: 28 TB
• CPU: Dual-Core 1.3 GHz CPU
• RAM: 1 GB DDR3
• Storage Speeds: Up to 92 MB/s
• Ports: 1 x 1 GbE LAN port, 2 x USB 3.0 ports
• Supported RAID Types: JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1
• Hot-Swappable Drives: Yes
• Warranty: 2 years

While Western Digital is primarily a brand of hard drives and SSD drives, it also offers a few NAS device options that go great along with Western Digital’s own hard drives. And thus, we are here with the Western Digital My Cloud Ex Ultra 4 TB NAS.

This Western Digital My Cloud Ex Ultra NAS device can be a great pick for those who are new to NAS devices and want one with a simple setup process. Despite being quite simple and easy to use, it still offers decent performance while using it thanks to the ARM dual-core 1.3 GHz CPU and 1 GB DDR3 RAM that you get in this unit.

But since this NAS drive is made for basic home and office usage, it does not offer as high speeds as seen with other Synology or Qnap options. Instead, it offers a decent storage access speed of up to 92 MB/s. This speed is primarily limited because there is no SSD caching support found in this NAS device.

Moving over to the storage capacity of this NAS device, it is one of the only options out there that comes with a 4 TB drive installed in it out of the box so that you can start using it right away. You also get a total of 2 hot-swappable HDD slots. These slots allow you to have a maximum storage capacity of up to 28 TB in this NAS, making it a great pick for home-usage.

As you would expect, this NAS drive also supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption so that all of your data is protected and there is no unauthorized access to your files. Setting up this encryption feature is quite easy and straight forward thanks to the easy to use companion software offered by Western Digital that offers various features to the user.

It allows you to set up RAID on this NAS device which is quite great considering that this unit is made for basic usage. Although, you only get a limited number of RAID types with it including JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1. Even if you are using this unit in RAID, it still supports media streaming by using this NAS as a multimedia server with all of your devices.

You can also use this NAS drive for file sharing, device backups, web access, setup IP cameras, and even use the drive along with third-party apps like Dropbox and Plex. All of these functions can be used via the 1 x 1 GbE LAN port and 2 x USB 3.0 ports present on the back of this NAS unit.

Pros:

• Easy to set up and start using
• Comes included with a 4 TB hard drive
• Multiple handy software features
• Supports RAID setup for your hard drives
• Decent CPU and RAM performance

Cons:

• Does not support SSD caching
• Limited RAID setup options

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4. Western Digital 8TB My Cloud EX2 Ultra (NAS)

Specifications:

• HDD Slots: 2 slots
• Maximum Capacity: 28 TB
• CPU: Dual-Core 1.3 GHz CPU
• RAM: 1 GB DDR3
• Storage Speeds: Up to 92 MB/s
• Ports: 1 x 1 GbE LAN port, 2 x USB 3.0 ports
• Supported RAID Types: JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1
• Hot-Swappable Drives: Yes
• Warranty: 2 years

We have yet another NAS device from Western Digital in the form of the My Cloud Ex Ultra 8 TB, which is more or less the same NAS device as the previous one. The primary difference between this and the previous one is that this one comes with an 8 TB drive installed in it out of the box.

If you want an easy to use NAS device and still have a lot of storage space out of the box, then the Western Digital My Cloud Ex Ultra 8 TB can be a good pick. Just like the previous one, this also comes with an ARM dual-core 1.3 GHz CPU paired along with 1 GB RAM that offers decent performance for the given storage capacity of this NAS.

Although, as seen with the earlier one, it is not the best performing option out there when it comes to the storage access speeds offered by it. You get a maximum access speed of up to 92 MB/s while using this NAS. It is lower than other NAS device options out there since it does not support SSD caching.

As mentioned previously, this NAS from Western Digital offers a pretty good capacity of 8 TB out of the box. And if you want, you can further expand this capacity using either of the 2 hot-swappable HDD slots present in this NAS drive. These slots allow you to get a maximum storage capacity of up to 28 TB by using a 14 TB HDD in each slot if needed.

Whether you are using the stock capacity of 8 TB or using at its maximum capacity of 28 TB, the My Cloud Ex2 Ultra NAS ensures that all of your files stay secure. It does this by offering AES 256-bit encryption support. This can be used for enabling a password on this drive so that no one without the password can access the drive.

You also get RAID support with this NAS device that is always great for either increasing the performance of the drives or adding an additional drive for redundancy. Unfortunately, since it only has 2 slots in total, you get limited RAID options in it that includes JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1. Thankfully, using either of these options is quite easy to do with the companion software of this NAS device.

It also allows you to use this NAS drive in various other ways including device backups, file sharing, multimedia server, third-party app support, IP camera connection for surveillance recording, and much more. All of these functions are made possible thanks to its 1 x 1 GbE LAN Port and 2 x USB 3.0 ports that are quite decent in most cases.

Pros:

• User-friendly NAS device for new users
• Includes an 8 TB hard drive out of the box
• Easy to use companion software with various features
• Allows to connect IP cameras for surveillance
• Hot-swappable HDD slots with 28 TB capacity

Cons:

• Lacks SSD caching support
• Could have included more RAID setup options

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5. Asustor Lockerstor 10 Nas Device

Specifications:

• HDD: 8 x SATA3 6Gb/s; 3.5″/2.5″ HDD/SSD 
• CPU: Intel ATOM C3538 Quad Core 2.1GHz
• RAM: 8GB DDR4-2133 SO-DIMM 
• Expansion: USB 3.2 Gen 1 x 2
• Network: 10 Gigabit Ethernet x 2; 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet x 2
• M.2 Drive Slot: Yes
• Wake On LAN: Yes
• Wake On WAN: Yes
• Cache: Dual M.2 NVMe SSD ports
• Storage Speed: 20 Gbps
• Warranty: 3 years

Asustor has award-winning storage devices in-store. With the most sophisticated features, these devices are proven to be a complete value for money. Its AS6510T is one such NAS device that has several features to answer your existing storage issues.

With this model, you can take the advantage of online capacity expansion. You can comfortably purchase enterprise storage equipment. When you require small storage and have budget constraints, you can opt for a smaller number of hard discs and add more as your storage requirement grows.

This new Lockerstor series of NAS comes with dual intel 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports that support up to 20 Gbps of speed and dual Realtek 2.5-Gigabit Ethernet ports that support up to 5 Gbps of speed.

It has a snapshot center that supports up to 256 snapshots of a volume for every five minutes. This creates a backup that you can use to restore the data that is lost or damaged.

This series introduces Lockerstor M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD caching that increases the performance by up to 60% without becoming a cost burden to you.

Instead of regular screws, it is given thumbscrews for easy installation of M.2 SSD which are rather easy for manipulating.

You can have complete control of your data from anywhere you want. With simple installation on your mobile, you can securely access system information, ADM firmware updates, power management, system installation & initialization, and NAS.

The Lockerstor 10 features the wake on WAN technology. This technology protects the data by turning off NAS when it is not being used and it pertains to the data integrity by remaining turned off when there is a power cut.

This NAS device creates many levels of security to protect your data. It comes with the latest ADM version to prevent ransomware attacks. Along with this, it follows structured defensive techniques like a replacement administrator account, a firewall that features blacklists and whitelists, the ability to change default ports, etc.

It provides seamless cross-platform and multi-user access that lets you connect to your NAS from different operating systems from a PC, notebook, tablet, or smartphone.

Pros

• Enterprise versatility
• Comprehensive backup solutions
• PC-less Software installation
• Extensive security
• Cross-platform multi-user access

Cons

• Expensive

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6. Western Digital My Cloud Home Attached Storage

Specifications:

• Interface: Gigabit Ethernet
• Capacity: 2 TB -6 TB
• Connectivity: 1 USB 3.0
• Formatting Required: No
• Auto-backup: Yes

Western Digital My Cloud Home lets you store and organize all your valuable data. This device stores your treasured memories securely and lets you relive them anytime you want.

You can set up a My Cloud Home account and start backing up even without a computer. All you have to do is connect the storage device to your wifi and visit its website to set up an account. You immediately start backing up and sharing your data without having to pay any monthly fee.

You can access and share the data on your mobile or your desktop with My Cloud Home mobile and desktop applications. You can also stream saved videos anytime you want without any interruptions on this app.

My Cloud Home lets you save ample space on your device. You can set up an automatic backup of your photos and videos to the My Cloud Home device so you can make room for more. You can even sync your favorite folders on your computer with this device.

It comes with a USB port on the back so that you can connect external devices like flash drives and external hard discs so that you store and organize your cherishable memories.

Pros:

• Quick and simple setup
• Auto backup
• USB port
• Desktop sync
• Smooth video playback

Cons:

• Slow operation
• Can’t process lengthy videos

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Buying Guide For The Best NAS Devices In India

Since NAS devices are highly versatile, you can surely find one made for your needs and requirements. And all of the details, including features and options that we have mentioned along with the best NAS devices in India in this article, should be handy for choosing the right one for you.

Although, if you are still confused, then you will find this buying guide related to NAS devices to be highly useful for you. It will take you through the following factors related to NAS devices so that you can buy the right one after going through these points:

1. CPU and RAM

While there are a lot of different things to check before getting a NAS device, checking its CPU and RAM is highly important as it directly affects the performance of the drives as well as the features that you will be using. Just like your computer, the RAM of a NAS device is given in GB and includes options like 1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB where higher is better.

As for the CPU, there are two things to check, including the core count and the clock speed. Usually, NAS devices come with either a dual-core processor or a quad-core processor with clock speeds like 1.3 GHz, 1.5 GHz, or 1.7 GHz. Both the core count as well as the clock speeds of your NAS device should be high for optimum performance.

2. HDD Slots

Since a NAS device usually needs the user to install a hard drive inside it before using it, checking the number of HDD slots or bays is quite important. It tells you about the total number of hard drives you can install.

A higher number of HDD slots is usually better since you get better upgrade options, higher storage capacity, more RAID setup options, and much more. As for the common number of HDD slots, you usually find 2 HDD slots or 4 HDD slots in most NAS devices out there. You can choose either of these as per your storage needs.

3. Capacity

The capacity or the maximum capacity of a NAS device simply tells you the highest storage you can achieve in a given NAS unit. As you would expect, a higher maximum capacity can be highly useful if you want to store a large amount of data in your NAS unit.

You can find different maximum capacity ratings like 28 TB, 32 TB, 48 TB, 56 TB, and even more depending on the model that you get. The maximum storage capacity of your NAS depends on the number of HDD slots as well as the largest size of HDD drive that you can use in each slot.

4. Storage Speeds

Since these NAS devices have such a high capacity rating, moving large amounts of data stored on them can take a lot of time. This can even potentially affect your productivity and workflow if you use your NAS device quite a lot. To prevent such issues, you should consider getting NAS devices that offer high storage speeds.

Just like an external HDD, the storage speed of your NAS device is also given in MBps. It can include options like 100 MBps for basic NAS units and more than 200 MBps with high-performance NAS drives. This storage speed is generally different for read and write operations.

5. Encryption

There are a lot of cases where the user might be worried about data theft in the case of shared storage that is hosted on a network. Since this can also be a potential issue for NAS devices, most of them take measures to prevent this.

You can find hardware encryption in almost all of the NAS units available in the market. This includes options like AES 256-bit encryption or other proprietary encryption methods. These allow you to password-protect your data for preventing unauthorized access. A few NAS units even offer inbuilt antivirus so that none of your files gets infected.

6. Connectivity Options

Once you have installed a NAS unit in your home or office, the chances are that you would want to use it with your devices. To do this, you need to have some sort of connectivity port.

And since most NAS devices are used along with multiple devices at once, they generally offer various connectivity options. You can find connectivity ports like 1 GbE LAN ports, USB 2.0 ports, USB 3.0 ports, and even eSATA ports in different NAS drives for ease of use.

7. Cache Drives

While this feature is only found in high-performance NAS drives, it is a highly useful feature since it can possibly improve the performance of your NAS device by quite a lot. If your NAS unit supports cache drives in the form of either a SATA SSD or an NVMe SSD, then you can simply install one along with your HDD drives.

Once installed, the SSD will be used to quickly transfer short files from either your device to the NAS or vice versa. When compared to an HDD, such SSD cache drives offer much higher speeds for random access speeds resulting in a snappy experience while using your NAS drive.

8. RAID Support

If you are familiar with NAS devices and consider yourself to be an advanced user, then having RAID support can be highly beneficial. With RAID support, you can set up your hard drives in a specific way that can either improve the performance or convert a specific drive into a redundancy drive for data safety in the case of a hard drive failure.

These things depend on the type of RAID setup you are using on your NAS unit. Some of the common RAID types include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, and various others. It is generally recommended to go with a NAS that supports various RAID types.

10. IP Cam Support

There are a lot of cases where a NAS drive might get used for storing video recordings from surveillance cameras. This is simply due to the reason that NAS drives are highly reliable and can be used 24×7. As a result, most NAS devices offer IP cam support for recording surveillance videos.

While some support connecting to up to 25 cameras at once, others might even connect to up to 40 cameras at once. Although, in most cases, you will have to buy a separate license for these cameras since you only get the support for 1 or 2 cameras for free.

11. Software Features

Usually, NAS devices come along with a companion software that can be installed on all of your devices. Such applications are highly useful for controlling and accessing your NAS drive as well as for making the most out of it. Therefore, you should check the software features offered in the companion application of your NAS device.

This includes features like file sharing, device backups, web access, third-party application support, multimedia server, and various others. You should check for all the features that you need as per your needs and requirements.

12. Warranty

Just like your hard drives, you would want your NAS device to last for a long time without having any reliability issues. This is important to ensure that all of the data stored on your NAS device stays intact and safe.

As a result, all NAS devices come with a warranty that can be highly useful in the case where there is some issue with your NAS drive. While most models come with either a 2 year or a 3-year long warranty, some more reliable NAS devices also come with a 5-year long warranty for peace of mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

All of the various NAS devices mentioned in this article can be a great pick for using in your home or office. These allow you to have a lot of storage space that can be easily accessed by all of your devices whenever needed. But since different models have different performance numbers, different connectivity options, and different capacities, choosing the right one can be a bit tricky.

Thus, we have mentioned some of the best NAS devices in India up above in this article. You can also find all their details along with a detailed buying guide that takes you through all the factors related to NAS devices. But, if you are still confused, here is our favorite recommendation regarding NAS devices:

Even though the Synology DiskStation DS918+ happens to be quite an expensive NAS device, it is one of the advanced ones with large capacity support, SSD caching, quad-core CPU, upgradable RAM, and various other features making it a high-performance unit.

Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments section. You can also post any questions down there if you have any!