Independent Australian Storage & Infrastructure Authority

Need to Know IT

Independent Australian Storage & Infrastructure Authority

What are you trying to store, protect, or share? Tell us what you're doing and we'll point you to the right guide, tool, or comparison, backed by a documented evaluation process, real AU pricing, and no vendor sponsorship or paid rankings.

Start with what you're trying to do

Business Storage & Backup
Shared drives, backup, and uptime for a small team
Photo & Video Storage
Fast, reliable storage for editing and archiving
Home & Family Storage
Photos, files, and backup for the whole household
Plex & Media
Stream your own media library anywhere
More use cases ↓
No sponsored rankings AU pricing & availability checks Editorially reviewed by Need to Know IT Team
Not sure a NAS is even the right call? Compare NAS vs cloud vs DAS before you spend anything. See the comparison →

Flagship Guides

Start with the guides we keep actively updated for Australian pricing, availability, NBN realities, and safe setup.

Buying & Decision
Best NAS Australia 2026
The main buying guide: all categories, real AU prices, updated monthly.
Best NAS for Beginners
First NAS? Start here. Simple picks with setup guidance for new users.
NAS vs DAS
Not sure you need a NAS? Compare network vs direct-attached storage.
Best NAS for Plex
Hardware transcoding, storage sizing, and AU-tested Plex NAS picks.
Setup & Operating
3-2-1 Backup Strategy
The backup rule every NAS owner should follow. Step-by-step setup.
Remote Access & VPN
CGNAT workarounds, Tailscale, WireGuard: access your NAS from anywhere on AU internet.
Docker on NAS
Run containers and VMs on your NAS. Practical guide for Australian setups.
QNAP vs Asustor
Head-to-head brand comparison with AU pricing and real trade-offs.

Tools & Calculators

Plan your NAS build with real numbers. AU electricity rates, vendor-published RAID formulas, and real-world transfer speeds. Not marketing specs.

Start here before you buy
NAS Sizing Wizard: how many bays, what drive size?
Buying a NAS starts with two decisions: bay count and drive size. Get it wrong and you'll either overspend on capacity you'll never use, or run out of space in two years. Enter your current storage and expected growth, get an AU-priced recommendation with an upgrade path.
Open Sizing Wizard →

Guides by use case

Every use case has different priorities. Start with the one that matches what you're actually trying to do.

Already own a NAS?

Setup, backup, security, and troubleshooting guidance for NAS owners, not just buyers.

Browse by topic

294 articles across every major NAS brand and guide type. Not sure where to start? Use the Flagship Guides above.

By brand
By guide type

Latest Updates

New and updated articles including pricing refreshes, setup walkthroughs, and brand comparisons.

Informational
Amazon Australia Memberships Explained: Prime, Audible, Music & Kindle
Amazon has enough similarly named memberships to make a simple question surprisingly hard: what does Prime actually include, and what costs extra? This guide compares Prime, Prime Video, Amazon Music, Music Unlimited, Audible, Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited so you know what you're paying for before you sign up.
Synology Informational
Synology NEO NAS Range Explained: DS725neo+, DS925neo+, DS1525neo+ and DS1825neo+
Synology's expected NEO range swaps ECC memory for non-ECC on four current Plus-series platforms to cut cost. Here's what changes, what stays the same, and how to compare NEO pricing against Plus-series stock before Australian retail pricing is confirmed.
UGREEN Review
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 GT Review: AMD-Powered 4-Bay NAS (2026)
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 GT review for Australia: dual 10GbE, four SATA bays, expandable ECC RAM, UGOS Pro, AU pricing, and who should (and shouldn't) buy it.
Informational
Do You Need an AI NAS? What People Actually Use Them For in 2026
Before comparing specs or brands, it helps to know what people actually do with AI features on a NAS. This guide covers the real use cases in plain English, with no hardware talk, so you can decide if any of it is worth it for you.
QNAPSynologyUGREEN Informational
Is AI NAS Just Marketing? What the 2026 Rebrand Actually Means
Vendors relabelled entire storage lineups as "AI NAS" in 2026, but the hardware underneath did not all change the same amount. This guide separates genuine new capability from a rebrand, using UGREEN's own storefront migration as a real example.
QNAP Review
QNAP TS-h665U-RP & TS-h665U Review (2026): Compact Rackmount NAS
The QNAP TS-h665U-RP and its non-redundant sibling, the TS-h665U, combine four SATA bays, two rear NVMe slots and QuTS hero in a compact 1U chassis. The two models share the same core specification; the RP variant adds a second power supply for redundancy. This review explains who they suit, their capacity and networking limits, and how they compare with current QNAP rackmount alternatives. AU pricing from live retailer data included.

Why trust Need to Know IT?

Need to Know IT is an independent Australian publisher focused on storage and infrastructure decisions. We use a documented evaluation process, cross-check claims against official documentation, and keep key guides updated for Australian pricing and availability. No sponsored rankings. No paid placements.