Shim Consulting recently completed a series of articles on Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices for Bitcatcha.com. The series was intended to showcase comprehensive background knowledge of these handy devices.
The series includes;
- Beginner’s Guide to Setting up a NAS
- 10 Best NAS for Home Users
- Best NAS Hard Drives
- QNAP versus Synology
NAS Article Series Content Breakdown
The series of four articles was intended to generically cover some of the main areas of interest for potential NAS users. This coverage meant a bird’s eye view of some areas, but lots of hand-holding in others.
Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Setting up Your NAS
The “Beginner’s Guide to NAS” approaches a somewhat non-mainstream topic from a layman’s point of view. We purchased a NAS unit and populated it with large capacity hard drives (10 GB Seagate Ironwolf drives).
Our aim was to demonstrate how easily a non-techie could easily expand storage space in a centralized, secure, and performance-oriented environment.
The A to Z approach covered NAS hardware basics, a comprehensive step-by-step installation process, tips on locating the unit, software setup, and device access once everything is done. We also gave recommendations on the best NAS applications to run.
10 Best NAS for Home Users
In our collection of “10 Best NAS for Home Users” we took into account the fact that most would be highly focused on price and useability. Naturally, there was also the SOHO factor worked in which required expansion towards the slightly more comprehensive range as well.
Our recommendations saw a combined total of 16 hours of research just to assess specifications, consumer sentiment, and other necessary parameters. The end result was a staggering scope of more than 3,000 words, well beyond typically recommended content length guidelines.
Despite the specifications, we also took a more simplistic approach towards presentation. This allowed readers to consume technical content more readily compared to how some brands may try to sell on specific Unique Selling Points (USPs) alone.
Best NAS Hard Drives
In a similar fashion to the topic of best NAS devices, we wanted to offer readers the ability to pair their NAS with the right device. The Best NAS Hard Drives article meant many more hours of research into a topic that specification-wise typically makes only small differences.
Here, our experience in hardware enabled us to bring the unique characteristics of each brand and model to the fore. This, coupled with relational information to specific NAS brands would help readers make the best purchasing decisions.
QNAP versus Synology
Two of the most hotly pursued names in the NAS space (for typical home consumers) are Synology and QNAP. To allay confusion in the choice between the brands, we did a comprehensive comparison.
Among competing factors were NAS features, disk array (RAID) support, compatibility, and even customer support. Each segment was assessed separately so readers would realize that the best brand is the one that most fits their unique needs.
Roundup
The NAS series took nearly two months to complete, from conceptualization to keyword research, testing, demonstration, and content production. Photography was also carried out in person (for the NAS setup guide) without the use of stock images.
Incidentally, Bitcatcha offers a very comprehensive range of research-based topics that covers online security, blogging, website building, and other areas beneficial to small businesses. Check out their site for more information.