Which NAS do I need?

[Gavin Lawrence]

Not so much support, as advice.
In short I want to use a NAS box to back up 2 or 3 file servers, and HPs site is not that helpful.
I'm settled on a DL100 in 1U form with 2TB of storage, I don't want an attached RAID array either. I need to keep costs down (don't we all). At this point I get stuck as to which model is best and which components I will need (Software esp)
So, can anyone give me a clue whats best?

[Jon Paul]

Hi Gavin,
First question is how do you want to backup your servers?
- You can write a script to do file copies
- Use NTBackup
- Use Data Protection Manager (DPM)
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/dl100g2dpstorageserver/index.html
- Use 3rd party backup software

Second question is what is your backup window? (Time allotted for performing the backup) Make sure that whatever system you choose has the performance to accomplish the backup plan you choose. Using differential backups or snapshots can drastically reduce backup times.

For ease of use, I would use DPM. It allows (with a schema change) your end users to recover their own data. If you are familiar with VSS Snapshots this works in the same way.
For cost constraints, I would use NTBackup. It's already on the NAS server and is simple to use. It is light on features though.
3rd party backup software is nice if you need lots of features for your backup or want a single backup application for your entire site.
Copying files is not really a backup strategy but is better than nothing.

Hope this helps,
Jon Paul