Question

nas drive

  • 31 December 2017
  • 13 replies
  • 1409 views

I have sonos system and would like to connect nas to my system, I am new to this and have looked through the community questions ref this some people say wd live is the one to have ,then I have seen sinology name keeps popping up I have looked at both ,I would like to know what the benefits of both these have and can I put iTunes on them ,so to be able to access through my computer and ios I am complete novice so simple terms please

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13 replies

Badge +20
Look at WD MyCloud devices, cheap and work, can be bought at discount from the WD refurbished store. Works without issue with Sonos.

iTunes... you had better expain more about what you want to do. You can run “iTunes servers” on some NAS devices but personally never found them reliable or useful.
hi would I just put the music on the nas and play it through sonos with ipad/phone
Badge +20
Sound like a reliable plan, just a case then of copying the music to a share on the NAS and adding it to Sonos. You don’t need to spend a fortune on a NAS with any facilities other than the ability to share.
I have a few WD MyBookLive Duos to store my local music library. I have it set in a RAID configuration so the two disks mirror each other. That way if a disk dies, you don’t lose any of your data. I also have a Synology DiskStation in the office but the WD is much easier to set up and use.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
My only gripe with the WD drives is how short a time they provide security patch support for. I have one sitting here that isn't really safe to use as they aren't issuing patches for it any more.

Making your own NAS with a Raspberry Pi and an external USB drive is cheap, easy and well supported. The Pi v3 loafs along streaming four different streams here.
Badge +20
My only gripe with the WD drives is how short a time they provide security patch support for. I have one sitting here that isn't really safe to use as they aren't issuing patches for it any more.

Making your own NAS with a Raspberry Pi and an external USB drive is cheap, easy and well supported. The Pi v3 loafs along streaming four different streams here.


By the time the OP has bought a Pi, a decent power supply and a cased hard drive it works out the same as a refurb from the WD store and looks much nicer.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Initial purchase, the Pi is usually a bit cheaper, not a lot and it does take a new user a few minutes to set up with the Pi user guides.

$50 -- Basic PI, case power -- https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01D92SSX6
$7 -- 8 GB Micro SD -- https://smile.amazon.com/SanDisk%C2%AE-microSDHCTM-8GB-Memory-Card/dp/B0012Y2LLE/ref=sr_1_2
$56 -- 1 TB 2.5 -- https://smile.amazon.com/Black-Passport-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B01LQQHI8I/ref=dp_ob_title_ce
$113 total

$129 -- 1 TB WD Live Drive -- https://smile.amazon.com/Personal-Cloud-Storage-Share-Photos/dp/B00429N16A/ref=sr_1_1
$139 -- 2 TB WD My Cloud -- https://smile.amazon.com/Cloud-Personal-Network-Attached-Storage/dp/B00EVVGAFI/ref=sr_1_1?

The initial price comparison is not a good indication of the true cost of ownership though. The Pi will have firmware and software updates for many years keeping it usable. The WD drive will only get updates for a short time until WD moves on to a different device, leaving it insecure to any newly discovered security issues.

I have the 1 TB Live Drive and I'm not happy that it is no longer safe to connect the WD to my network and I need to buy a new My Cloud Drive to get secure firmware and software again.
Badge +20
I know you like pushing the Pi, don't get me wrong I have several running in a cupboard. But anyone asking for help on this forum rather than giving advice is unlikely to be able to be in a position to build and configure one successfully.

I based the price on a refurb unit which is cheaper, he may also not have access to a keyboard and mouse... don’t get me started on the Pi Nano and its tiny connectors

Aesthetically much nicer buying a NAS... I have a designated Pi cupboard to hide the awful tangle of wires.

And finally, security is a non starter, kept behind the NAT on a router who cares - seriously its like moaning about SMB 1 support on Sonos, just don’t open up your home network to the Internet. Different story If I am designing a corporate network of course.

My eldest WD NAD drive is over six years old, just had a firnware update, runs the orginal drive. No complaints about its life span, much better than a device from Apple but not a goid as Sonos 😃
good morning I brought a wd cloud home , i set it up so my sonos boost has Ethernet cable to router and then jumped the wd cloud off the sonos boost the problem is I can not see the wd cloud via my computer but can access through my ipad .
is it because its not cabled straight to router that pc with windows 10 64bit can not see it.please can someone explain the setup for this .the other problem is when I go to app of wd cloud on pc the sign in button is greyed out and if I hover over it the mouse pointer just shows a red circle with red line through it any help would be great regards
Badge +20
You should have no problems putting the NAS on the Boost, but you may want to try it direct to your router as temp measure to see if that helps Windows.

I have only ever connected to my WD NAS devices via the web interface, can you try that?

Hopefully a Windows person will be along to help as I am a Mac guy.
ok I will try to night thanks
hi got home and swapped Ethernet cable from sonos boost into wd cloud I still can not see on computer I looked at computer to router does it make a difference that the computer is wireless not wired
Badge +20
No wireless will not make a difference.

Might be best to drop into the WD forum / support unless someone else chimes in.