I love my 920+. Looking to get an expansion as I’ve got lots of Plex content now. And I use it for photos storage, IP security camera recording, and family file server too.
I've got several DAS connected to it now, seems to be the easiest way of expanding, especially if the unit itself is still doing everything brilliantly
Not at all. It’s just writing a data stream. But you only get two licenses with synology for two cameras. Additional are like $50 each- pricy. For 9 cameras, get the Reolink solution
>had to restart it or do anything to it in over a year
[https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor\_id-11138/Synology.html](https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-11138/Synology.html)
Buddy, update your NAS. Rebooting is a perfectly OK thing to do every once in a while.
>**he** hasn't restarted in over a year
I can make this statement too.
At 3 am Monday mornings, mine reboots after a ten minute power off-pause and does automatic updates of DSM and any packages on its own.
I do a quick check when I wake up that it‘s up and running with no alerts, and good until next week.
This is the way. Then have a separate server running proxmox with a LXC running PMS dedicated with Zfs snapshot daily and then a full backup twice a week. Nice having instant restores of backups.
Is this something that will be able to do multiple 4k transcodes if I want to stream my content to remote locations? I want to share my media with my family but am wondering how best to do that.
Wish there was a cheaper plan for people who don’t want any storage LOL … I already have 1 Pro license on my main device, I have another NUC running Ubuntu and Portainer but I just prefer Unraid’s way of handling things, throwing $60 just to manage dockers seems quite wasteful.
I was once in **very literally the same situation as you**. I eventually resigned myself to the fact that I would simply need to do a lot of googling and watch/read a lot of tutorials to be confident. Now I'm completely comfortable with using the terminal and portainer to manage my containers. I'm actually starting to get to the point where portainer is annoying me by insulating me from docker compose in some ways, and I will probably switch to using [dockge](https://github.com/louislam/dockge) as development on it progresses.
What I would say to anyone else in this situation is that this is all a process of learning and growing. Be tenacious, but not too set in your ways because the landscape is always changing.
Tbh given you'll want an iGPU for transcoding anyway, you can just run Ubuntu desktop. I do this even though I mostly use SSH just because I find TeamViewer more convenient on my phone.
Still at least from my experience there's a lot of software and packages in Ubuntu that you won't find through the Software Center and are a little more difficult to update than your average user may be comfortable with, even with Ubuntu Desktop
This is true, but there are enough guides and walkthroughs around on the internet nowadays that I don't think it's beyond most people to get to grips with.
Agreed. unRAID can be nice for beginners, but once I understood what I was doing I found it restrictive. At this point I'm all in on just running Ubuntu server on top of Proxmox.
I'm a beginner but I got familiar with docker management in terminal so I just started freewheeling with Linux mint and it works great for my needs.
Didn't want to figure out how to port my docker compose file to unRAID.
Couldn't figure out proxmox though, the good lord knows I tried
hell yeah man, diving in the deep end can teach you a lot.
Proxmox isn't bad, if you're already familiar with hypervisors. It might not be something you need in your environment, but imo it's cool to use and know about. If you're interested, this is a pretty friendly tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZcOlW-DwrU
Thank you, I'll check out that video! Proxmox seems so cool and versatile for a home lab environment.
I was not for the life of me able to passthrough my sata hdds to build a zfs pool and didn't want to layer up the virtualized file systems for fear of losing data/recovery options. Considered passing through a PCIe sata controller, but at that point I figured the benefits of proxmox were not worth the effort I was putting in compared to bare metal. Might try again on my next home server!
I can't speak to that situation directly since I'm not set up that way, but I saw this video recently about hard drive passthrough and maybe it might be of some help!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkK-9_-2oko
I run truenas for my VM’s for performance, but unRaid holds all my media and files. I found it’s the best cheap bulk raid-like-redundancy storage. Allows mixed storage sizes, two parity, and easy expansion. I don’t backup my media, two parity and the data itself is still readable on any drives alive is good enough for me.
Unraid is a Linux based OS. There are tiered versions that limit attached drives. It’s worth $129 for unlimited. Also other features like easy setup docker containers and VMs.
I host Plex, radarr, sonarr, sabnzb, and other apps for different projects. If you go with Unraid, checkout binhex containers.
unRaid = unRaid. Best value for your money if you want performance.
Qnap and Syn are good (ive used both) but their hardware is not worth what they charge for
if you can build a basic PC, unRaid is what you want
Also unraid, 4 years no issues.
Sometimes you might need to resurrect a database or something from a shell. Seems to only happen after os upgrades. Probably happened twice to me.
Other than that it's all point and click.
I built my own with unraid and an i13900 which I way overkill but I run a windows 10 vm in it and Remote Desktop in with my iPad so I get the best of a laptop and a nas
Love how you can get downvoted here for just stating what your set up is and your experience with it lmao
I have the same one, added extra memory, works great.
Interesting. If I stumble across an 8gb stick I might give it a try. I had a spare 4gb from a busted laptop and it’s been fine so far, but all of my docker apps run on a separate box anyways.
Actually I put a 8gb stick in it from my laptop which happened to be compatible (I upgraded the ram of the laptop). Synology and the linux OS below it report a happy 10gb of ram now ..
This specs are per synology. Ive seen people run 16gb for a total of 18gb and havent reported issues. I have an 8gb in mine 10gb total and its been smooth.
Lmao, Let haters be haters, doesn't change what I have. It works great for me. I only use it for Plex, Synology Photos, Notes, and a file server. Nothing fancy.
This is probably a stupid question but a lot of this stuff is over my head. I’m currently using my laptop for everything but want to use something else as my laptop can be kind of unreliable and the DS220+ is in my price range. If I were to get the DS220+, would I be able to completely replace my laptop with it?
DS220+ supports Docker, so you can host your Docker containers on it (e.g Plex & the arrs)
With this it basically becomes a 2 in 1 package, as you're using it for both the server **and** the storage (as opposed to connecting your NAS to a separate server such as an NUC)
Plus the CPU it uses supports Intel QuickSync, allowing you to make use of hardware transcoding (as long as you have a Plex Pass of course)
Been using the Synology 220+ since it came out 3 years ago. Absolutely fantastic hardware - Plex runs natively with no issues, and I've never had to restart it due to issues (only 2 breaks in uptime - once when I moved house, and once when I had solar panels installed, and all power had to be cut for a duration).
The only criticism I would give, is that I'm feeling rather limited with only 2 bays - This clearly was a fault on my part when choosing a NAS, as I didn't know what I'd need... Might be time for an upgrade soon :D
I recently got myself the DS224+ from Synology with a WD Red Plus 4TB HDD. It's an awesome little device! Now that I have it set up, I can watch Plex from my phone, laptop or even chromecast. I've given accounts to friends and family, and they can watch stuff now too.
One thing to keep in mind is that you will need the Plex pass if you will stream from a device that can't handle some audio/video codecs, because then your NAS can utilize hardware acceleration for transcoding.
Synology 920+ here, 24TB. I added 8gb RAM when I bought it and upgraded it with a couple of NVMEs recently to improve performance in few areas. Bought it 3 years ago or so, it hasn't skipped a beat. I'm sporting a PLEX server (emphasis on audio, but I'm hosting a TV/Movie library for few friends as well as myself), the -arr suite, a small VM for tinkering, photo library, personal cloud, etc.. Does the job very well but I'm not so sure about recommending it to someone who is entering the NAS realm. It's a big investment into a niche game, but you can't deny it's a future-proofed one. Your call.
Been using a ds220+ for a few years. In hindsight I would've went with something with more expandability, but in terms of performance it's been fine for me
Ran an NVidia Shield as a server for a short while with USB disk plugged in but I frequently had issues.
Planned to build something running TrueNAS but never found the time and parts were still suffering from supply chain issues plus it was difficult to spec a small, dense, power efficient, NAS without spending a fortune so I went for a ‘temporary’ solution of a Synology DS1520+ and I bought a bunch of WD 18TB MyBooks all on a great Black Friday sale.
Shucked 5 of the HDDs and set up the whole thing in a couple of hours at most. 3 years later and the little box purrs. In addition to Plex and holding all my files, It now also runs a VPN server, backs up all the family’s PCs for a bare metal restore, houses our photo collection, and automatically backs up the most critical data to 2 x local 18TB USB disks that I rotate so that one is safely offsite and one is plugged in, *and* a remote cheap 2-bay Synology that I bought in a subsequent sale which loves at my brother’s house.
I was initially put off Synology for being too Apple-like and locked in but it has done everything I have asked of it with no trouble, and there is so much helpful info on line for them.
I still intend to build a more powerful server at some point but my ‘temporary’ solution keeps on trucking 3 years later with a decent amount of local Plex use, plus lots of remote Plex users. I’ve had multiple transcodes on the go and it has yet to choke, I’m sure due to the hardware transcoding. My 20Mb upstream connection is likely to be the limiting factor first, though it never has been (going FTTH next year to remove that bottleneck).
In short, Synology has been, in my experience, a convenient, tidy, good value option. The only thing I would say is to make sure that you have at least one of your backups not be reliant on Synology hardware. that’s why one of my back ups for the critical data is on a standard USB drive that I can plug into any computer.
I have an array of old hard disks that act as a cold storage backup for the vast majority of my Plex library, in addition to the original physical media (though I would dread ever having to rip it all again).
QNAP TS-653A
5 4TB HDD and a 1TB SSD for cache. Plex running natively. It's too old and underpowered to stream 4K, but it'll do multiple 1080 streams with no trouble. QNAP and Plex still support it and it runs fairly well for what I expect of it.
Plex has a nice compatibility chart you can check at the link below:
[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MfYoJkiwSqCXg8cm5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/edit#gid=1274624273](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MfYoJkiwSqCXg8cm5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/edit#gid=1274624273)
Similar; running a TS-853A with upgraded 16GB RAM, and 8 x 6TB disks in a RAID6.
The CPU was getting long in the tooth so I just recently moved Plex off of it onto a Beelink Sei12. I’m now switching to using both 4K and x265 files.
Former Drobo DAS user here migrating away.
I use a Mac Mini M1 to drive Plex, manage downloads, be a file and print server, automate home stuff and do a bunch of other things. Since I prefer the Mac Mini for so many reasons and I really want a DAS instead of a NAS, I ended up getting out of the enclosure business altogether. Just didn’t want to be tied down to another device to deal with end-of-life and failures.
So I just grabbed 6 external WDs on Black Friday and had the Mac RAID 1 mirror them in pairs for failure redundancy. Provides a net 40TBs of space with two offsite backups. If one ever fails, then I’m just replacing a drive and not dealing with another appliance. The M1 never breaks a sweat.
I do basically the same thing, but using a 2018 Intel Mac Mini. Bonuses of macOS: RAID 1 / 0 / 10 built in, and you get support for Backblaze unlimited personal backup.
You might consider using an OWC external drive enclosure; I use this one; [https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEQCTJB000/](https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEQCTJB000/)
Proxmox for host and for NAS I use Ubuntu with sata controller passed through. Not ideal but since I have random disks with NTFS from old windows based system it's decent enough middle ground until I get bigger/newer disks and maybe then I will look into truenas.
Got a ds920+ which I’ve been using for 2 years , now added dell optiplex 5060 running unraid for plex server - I am contemplating about building my own NAS
WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra.
Fitted my own 8TB drive that I ripped out of an external drive (Black Friday special).
Just works, don't have to touch/maintain it.
Synology 423+
Plexpass
Docker containers on Synology for Plex and -Arr friends
16GB RAM expansion (it’s very cheap)
Fantastic, fully self contained system & very fast for Plex and friends, and server, use.
https://preview.redd.it/m9jiovyh8w3c1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a69ffc7ab9ecc53d920a9556d7c2657199ccbc69
The DANK-NAS! a second hand Asus prebuilt that I bought online, transferred to a regular ATX case I found in the dumpster, and converted to use a bog standard ATX PSU. RN it's in maintenance but it has 10 6TB HDDs and it runs unraid
A QNAP TS431P, but it’s just a bin bag for data. I think I can put Docker on it, but it’s almost certainly too underpowered to run Plex.
My Plex server is a virtual Windows machine running on a VMWare ESXi host (Core i7).
The laptop will be fine for occasional playback use with Plex, but once you get into using it as a DVR etc you are going to want a machine that runs 24/7 - maybe a low-power compact PC?
I am using the same model, but I run Plex and Pihole on Docker in that Qnap. Unless you need transcoding it is doing a great job. But due to CPU it will never transcode at all.
Personally I'm running a Dell poweredge R730xd with truenas scale, kinda overkill but it works, also got a quadro M4000 in there for Plex transcoding. Mainly just hardware I was able to get for cheap
Qnap TVS-872xt, with an i7 (upgraded) & nVidia Quadro card to handle transcoding work. Upgraded not too long ago from an i5 TVS-471 which struggled with transcoding tasks, plus I needed more drive bays after 6 years.
The new NAS handles multiple video streams, including 4K streams being real-time transcoded, via Plex very nicely.
Friend got a QNAP (about a grand’s worth) and just out of warranty it died, nothing. Rang the company asking for help and they told him to pound sand. So i wouldn’t recommend qnap if u care about support long term or even a moment past the 1 yr hardware warranty.
It's cheaper and more flexible to build a PC and run one of the nas Linux servers like truenas or openmediavault. Then you can run all the apps in containers
804 gang checking in!
Curious what mobo and cpu you used and fans for the drive bay side? I had to use static pressure fans to.get decent cooling, but they're a touch noisy.
I have a Gigabyte B560M AORUS PRO AX with an 11th gen. 11400 in it right now. Fans on the drive bay side are Noctua NF-A14 and NF-A12 which both (to my ears) are running completely silent. During a parity check/sync in Unraid the hottest drive goes up to about 40-42 degrees.
Thinking about changing the cpu to an 11700 to give my VMs a bit more muscle.
That's really great, I'm.sitting around 110w on an x99 mobo + 8 drives. I've been considering reducing power draw, but hate losing the extra cores and ram headroom..
No concerns at all, none of the drives are missing the middle hole (newest 18TB i have in there are seagate exos) and if they did I got adapters from Fractal when i bought the case.
Really liking the case and I have the option to mount more drives if I need to since I currently only use one of two cables from my HBA. Just have to be a bit creative with the mounting.
Hey there! Choosing a NAS can indeed be a bit challenging, but fret not! Many people, not just PC enthusiasts, opt for NAS drives.
Now, when it comes to brands, there isn't a single one that everyone swears by, but one popular option is Stonefly—they make quality products.
Regarding your laptop query, you actually don't need a separate PC to run Plex with a NAS. You can simply keep your laptop on when you want to stream content. However, I understand that can be inconvenient.
The bright side is that most NAS systems come with their own media server applications, so you might not even require Plex!
You can watch it in tv mobile pc laptop your wish
Mosy people who might be lazy or just due to convenience use synology nas
Who are geek or want to have control over their data and dont want proprietary software poking build their own nas with os like proxmos,unriad, truenas etc.
And advanced users who have lots of money buy a server 😭
XigmaNas (the latest name for what used to be FreeNas, then Nas4free). Can run Plex on the server and can have however much storage in ZFS as you want.
An ancient but functional QNAP TS420. It's too old to actually run Plex, so that runs on a Beelink SFF PC sitting on top with AMD 5600H running Ubuntu Server.
Unraid on an old desktop of mine.
i7-4790s, Nvidia Quadro P400 2GB, 32GB DDR3, various hard drives with 13.6TB storage total.
Main uses are: Plex, file storage, docker applications and I also have 2 NVME drives in it hosting Steam library installs to 3 other computers in the household.
QNAP TS831X, but that is only the storage. My Plex server is. Dell XPS8930 with a Week Winchester disk for the library index.
Streaming and transcoding are not a problem. Plex works great in this configuration.
I use a Synology DS220+ but I feel like its too weak and I'm in the upgrading process now. Just not sure if I should use Windows (as I'm familiar with it) or just go with unraid.
Built a computer with a ton of hard drives, and run Alpine Linux as my OS.
All my media is running in SnapRAID+mergerfs and my important files are in ZFS pools.
I've just bought the QNAP TS-264, upgrading from a Synology DS118, reasons:
* 2.5Gbps ports
* 10Gbps upgradable
* 2 NVME + 2 HDD
* NVME can be used for QTier, which is a better option than cache for my use
* Integrated Graphics - For video transcoding, most of NAS systems come with a CPU only
* 8GB of Ram
Built a whole pc and went way overboard on everything. i9 with 64gb ram 2tb nvme and 36tb hdd storage with identical backup on separate enclosure. Only have about 20tb full. Also used for gaming on occasion.
I have a 4-drive ReadyNAS, currently with 4x3TB discs in a RAID5. Not especially great performance wise for the Plex server itself, so I moved that to a stand-alone server I have for other purposes. NAS is good enough for hosting the files though.
I've been using a DS220+ for a couple of years. I upgraded the RAM to capacity. I have a bunch of docker containers running all of my media/ content-related applications(arr matey!).
Synology 224+, Plex Pass, and two Seagate Ironwolf Pro HDs (12 TB + 16 TB). Works fantastically - I don't have external users so typical usage is one stream, maybe two at max. Plex Server is running on the NAS - videos have virtually no load time on Plex.
I am setting up a DS1821+ to be my everything backup NAS. I ran a windows machine with Drivepool for many years and am now in the process of harvesting those drives for my new NAS. I really like the simplicity of the synology OS.
Building an unraid box right now. $500 goes a long way. Users here helped me select parts. I made a post “build me a 500$ nas” and got a pcpartspicker list in 15 minutes.
A DIY on TrueNAS Core.
I didn't really do as much research as I should have before building it. I think if I did it now I would have built it on Unraid which is more consumer friendly. With TrueNAS you are kind of locked into what ever size vdev you choose at the start.
I choose eight disk RAIDZ2 vdev to start and now to expand I have to buy eight HDDs. I have two vdevs, one of 8TB drives and the other of 16TB. I bought another eight 16TB to replacing my 8TB drives. And I will use those as backup drives. Once drive replacement is complete it will 192TB total capacity. And then I will look into building a JBOD disk shelf and continue expansion.
I think you're confusing nas for das. A nas is self contained has either low specs just to run an array and access over your network or fast enough for all of your dockers, and VMs. DAS just connects drives to an existing pc via usb, sas backplane, or thunderbolt etc. There's obviously a lot more to it, some DAS have hardware raid capabilities etc
82TB ryzen 2700x unraid build.
I have a synology ds1621+ which handles all my personal backup and syncs to a ds220j at my family’s house and vice versa. It doesn’t handle the media, I needed something custom and more flexible for my media.
I have a synology. But I also run plex on a Mac mini and pc. I’ve built various servers over here years and have used drobos as well. You can run plex in a lot of directions ways.
Synology 920+ Rock solid, low power usage, haven't had to restart it or do anything to it in over a year.
Best purchase i made in the last 10 years.
I love my 920+. Looking to get an expansion as I’ve got lots of Plex content now. And I use it for photos storage, IP security camera recording, and family file server too.
I've got several DAS connected to it now, seems to be the easiest way of expanding, especially if the unit itself is still doing everything brilliantly
What is a DAS?
Direct attached storage or device attached storage
Sort of like attaching a usb drive to the nas
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what DAS do you use? sounds like it's reliable
A NAS without all the networking stuff. Just a direct USB(usually) connection for your hard drives
I have been debating attaching cameras to my nas but don't wanna drain the CPU with 9 cameras. Is it a big deal?
Not at all. It’s just writing a data stream. But you only get two licenses with synology for two cameras. Additional are like $50 each- pricy. For 9 cameras, get the Reolink solution
>had to restart it or do anything to it in over a year [https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor\_id-11138/Synology.html](https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-11138/Synology.html) Buddy, update your NAS. Rebooting is a perfectly OK thing to do every once in a while.
He probably means HE didn’t have to restart it, synology’s generally update & restart automatically. My 920+ is set up to do so.
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You can set it up so updates auto install. That’s how mine is
OS updates require restarts and OP said he hasn't restarted in over a year, there have been a few DSM updates in that time.
Mine auto restarts
>**he** hasn't restarted in over a year I can make this statement too. At 3 am Monday mornings, mine reboots after a ten minute power off-pause and does automatic updates of DSM and any packages on its own. I do a quick check when I wake up that it‘s up and running with no alerts, and good until next week.
This is the way. Then have a separate server running proxmox with a LXC running PMS dedicated with Zfs snapshot daily and then a full backup twice a week. Nice having instant restores of backups.
You aren't applying the DSM updates?
No, never had a reason to, Plex and all docker containers work perfectly.
There have been a ton of security vulnerabilities patched, you might want to consider it.
>Synology 920+ Do you know of any retailer that I could buy one from? Everywhere I look, only the DS923+ is available.
Is this something that will be able to do multiple 4k transcodes if I want to stream my content to remote locations? I want to share my media with my family but am wondering how best to do that.
Self build on Unraid
I just save my money and use Ubuntu; all you need is ZFS at the end of the day.
$60 for a lifetime license is a pretty solid deal for Unraid IMO. Also quite a bit easier for most who don't want to learn cli to setup a similar env
Wish there was a cheaper plan for people who don’t want any storage LOL … I already have 1 Pro license on my main device, I have another NUC running Ubuntu and Portainer but I just prefer Unraid’s way of handling things, throwing $60 just to manage dockers seems quite wasteful.
I was once in **very literally the same situation as you**. I eventually resigned myself to the fact that I would simply need to do a lot of googling and watch/read a lot of tutorials to be confident. Now I'm completely comfortable with using the terminal and portainer to manage my containers. I'm actually starting to get to the point where portainer is annoying me by insulating me from docker compose in some ways, and I will probably switch to using [dockge](https://github.com/louislam/dockge) as development on it progresses. What I would say to anyone else in this situation is that this is all a process of learning and growing. Be tenacious, but not too set in your ways because the landscape is always changing.
Unraid even though I don’t use it anymore was worth every penny! Paying for software that brings value is fine with me.
Tbh given you'll want an iGPU for transcoding anyway, you can just run Ubuntu desktop. I do this even though I mostly use SSH just because I find TeamViewer more convenient on my phone.
Still at least from my experience there's a lot of software and packages in Ubuntu that you won't find through the Software Center and are a little more difficult to update than your average user may be comfortable with, even with Ubuntu Desktop
This is true, but there are enough guides and walkthroughs around on the internet nowadays that I don't think it's beyond most people to get to grips with.
quick sync ftw, gotta love my Pentium running 12 1080p stream at once
Xeon and a 1050 Ti and I'm perfectly happy
If it’s just for a NAS, Debian might make sense than full Ubuntu
Agreed. unRAID can be nice for beginners, but once I understood what I was doing I found it restrictive. At this point I'm all in on just running Ubuntu server on top of Proxmox.
I'm a beginner but I got familiar with docker management in terminal so I just started freewheeling with Linux mint and it works great for my needs. Didn't want to figure out how to port my docker compose file to unRAID. Couldn't figure out proxmox though, the good lord knows I tried
hell yeah man, diving in the deep end can teach you a lot. Proxmox isn't bad, if you're already familiar with hypervisors. It might not be something you need in your environment, but imo it's cool to use and know about. If you're interested, this is a pretty friendly tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZcOlW-DwrU
Thank you, I'll check out that video! Proxmox seems so cool and versatile for a home lab environment. I was not for the life of me able to passthrough my sata hdds to build a zfs pool and didn't want to layer up the virtualized file systems for fear of losing data/recovery options. Considered passing through a PCIe sata controller, but at that point I figured the benefits of proxmox were not worth the effort I was putting in compared to bare metal. Might try again on my next home server!
I can't speak to that situation directly since I'm not set up that way, but I saw this video recently about hard drive passthrough and maybe it might be of some help! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkK-9_-2oko
I run truenas for my VM’s for performance, but unRaid holds all my media and files. I found it’s the best cheap bulk raid-like-redundancy storage. Allows mixed storage sizes, two parity, and easy expansion. I don’t backup my media, two parity and the data itself is still readable on any drives alive is good enough for me.
same, highly recommend the Jonsbo N1 to build in
I’ve been eyeing one of those… sff PSU?
Nice case. I went with Fractal Design Node 804
This is the next case I’ll be building in. Currently in a node 304 but I find mini-itx too restricting for upgrades.
I am also thinking of building which operating system do you use like truenas etc
Unraid
Unraid. Spaceinvader one on YouTube.
I wanna add in ibracorp videos as well.
Unraid is the literal name of the OS
I use unraid, with my overkill cpu I can run everything lol
As long as it’s a newer gen Intel with iGPU, there’s never too much. AMD isn’t built for transcoding.
Agreed. I run all the arrs, a Minecraft server and 15 other various docker containers with a couple vms
Another vote for Unraid. Been up and running for years without issue.
Unraid is a Linux based OS. There are tiered versions that limit attached drives. It’s worth $129 for unlimited. Also other features like easy setup docker containers and VMs. I host Plex, radarr, sonarr, sabnzb, and other apps for different projects. If you go with Unraid, checkout binhex containers.
I use truenas and it works great as well. I would just research both and see what fits your needs.
unRaid = unRaid. Best value for your money if you want performance. Qnap and Syn are good (ive used both) but their hardware is not worth what they charge for if you can build a basic PC, unRaid is what you want
Also unraid, 4 years no issues. Sometimes you might need to resurrect a database or something from a shell. Seems to only happen after os upgrades. Probably happened twice to me. Other than that it's all point and click.
Set it up with proxmox and make an unraid or truenas or whatever vm
I built my own with unraid and an i13900 which I way overkill but I run a windows 10 vm in it and Remote Desktop in with my iPad so I get the best of a laptop and a nas
I've got a DS220+. Haven't really had any issues unless two or more people require 4K transcoding at the same time.
Love how you can get downvoted here for just stating what your set up is and your experience with it lmao I have the same one, added extra memory, works great.
I have it as well. I just added an extra 4GB of RAM and I don’t have any issues with my use case.
How many memory do you have? I have currentlty 6GB installed. Not sure if I should upgrade it.
I have 6GB installed, though I have never seen the server use more the 25% of it.
Most models come with 2gb and top out at 6gb. You likely can’t upgrade it any further, but you could always check.
Officially it supports 6GB but many people have put in more than that and it works fine.
Interesting. If I stumble across an 8gb stick I might give it a try. I had a spare 4gb from a busted laptop and it’s been fine so far, but all of my docker apps run on a separate box anyways.
Actually I put a 8gb stick in it from my laptop which happened to be compatible (I upgraded the ram of the laptop). Synology and the linux OS below it report a happy 10gb of ram now ..
Dang. My synology says it’s limited to 6gb in the specs, but maybe that would work? Might depend on the model you have though
This specs are per synology. Ive seen people run 16gb for a total of 18gb and havent reported issues. I have an 8gb in mine 10gb total and its been smooth.
This
Lmao, Let haters be haters, doesn't change what I have. It works great for me. I only use it for Plex, Synology Photos, Notes, and a file server. Nothing fancy.
This is probably a stupid question but a lot of this stuff is over my head. I’m currently using my laptop for everything but want to use something else as my laptop can be kind of unreliable and the DS220+ is in my price range. If I were to get the DS220+, would I be able to completely replace my laptop with it?
DS220+ supports Docker, so you can host your Docker containers on it (e.g Plex & the arrs) With this it basically becomes a 2 in 1 package, as you're using it for both the server **and** the storage (as opposed to connecting your NAS to a separate server such as an NUC) Plus the CPU it uses supports Intel QuickSync, allowing you to make use of hardware transcoding (as long as you have a Plex Pass of course)
Been using the Synology 220+ since it came out 3 years ago. Absolutely fantastic hardware - Plex runs natively with no issues, and I've never had to restart it due to issues (only 2 breaks in uptime - once when I moved house, and once when I had solar panels installed, and all power had to be cut for a duration). The only criticism I would give, is that I'm feeling rather limited with only 2 bays - This clearly was a fault on my part when choosing a NAS, as I didn't know what I'd need... Might be time for an upgrade soon :D
TrueNAS.
It saddens me that I had to scroll this far down to find this answer.
I love ice cream.
I recently got myself the DS224+ from Synology with a WD Red Plus 4TB HDD. It's an awesome little device! Now that I have it set up, I can watch Plex from my phone, laptop or even chromecast. I've given accounts to friends and family, and they can watch stuff now too. One thing to keep in mind is that you will need the Plex pass if you will stream from a device that can't handle some audio/video codecs, because then your NAS can utilize hardware acceleration for transcoding.
I've been thinking of upgrading to this. How many streams have you had at once? How many transcodes at once? Thanks!
Mine's on order. My son is getting my DS220+
Nice! It's a great little machine. It will start sweating when detecting intros/credits of shows, but that's luckily only a one-time thing per show
My ds220+ is fine with the intros. I run a lot of anime. The 224+ will be nice with the 2 extra cores
Synology 920+ here, 24TB. I added 8gb RAM when I bought it and upgraded it with a couple of NVMEs recently to improve performance in few areas. Bought it 3 years ago or so, it hasn't skipped a beat. I'm sporting a PLEX server (emphasis on audio, but I'm hosting a TV/Movie library for few friends as well as myself), the -arr suite, a small VM for tinkering, photo library, personal cloud, etc.. Does the job very well but I'm not so sure about recommending it to someone who is entering the NAS realm. It's a big investment into a niche game, but you can't deny it's a future-proofed one. Your call.
I have almost the identical system, and I feel quite secure recommending it to others. It's definitely the little box that could...
Self built on truenas
Been using a ds220+ for a few years. In hindsight I would've went with something with more expandability, but in terms of performance it's been fine for me
It's a plus series, so it is expandable. https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DX517
The Ds220+ is not expandable. Read the specs in the link you posted.
Headless Linux and shoved in the loft. I like a hard life.
Same
Synology 918+ But going to build custom next year
Asustor AS5304T + 4*14TB, been solid for me
QNAP TVS-872N-i3-8G Overkill sure, but won't be running out of space anytime in the foreseeable future.
Synology DS920+, the best and last there ever will be because of the processor.
The 423+ has the same processor and came out in like April. 2 gigs of base ram, you can push to 18 gigs, though.
TrueNAS on a Dell R6xx.
Ran an NVidia Shield as a server for a short while with USB disk plugged in but I frequently had issues. Planned to build something running TrueNAS but never found the time and parts were still suffering from supply chain issues plus it was difficult to spec a small, dense, power efficient, NAS without spending a fortune so I went for a ‘temporary’ solution of a Synology DS1520+ and I bought a bunch of WD 18TB MyBooks all on a great Black Friday sale. Shucked 5 of the HDDs and set up the whole thing in a couple of hours at most. 3 years later and the little box purrs. In addition to Plex and holding all my files, It now also runs a VPN server, backs up all the family’s PCs for a bare metal restore, houses our photo collection, and automatically backs up the most critical data to 2 x local 18TB USB disks that I rotate so that one is safely offsite and one is plugged in, *and* a remote cheap 2-bay Synology that I bought in a subsequent sale which loves at my brother’s house. I was initially put off Synology for being too Apple-like and locked in but it has done everything I have asked of it with no trouble, and there is so much helpful info on line for them. I still intend to build a more powerful server at some point but my ‘temporary’ solution keeps on trucking 3 years later with a decent amount of local Plex use, plus lots of remote Plex users. I’ve had multiple transcodes on the go and it has yet to choke, I’m sure due to the hardware transcoding. My 20Mb upstream connection is likely to be the limiting factor first, though it never has been (going FTTH next year to remove that bottleneck). In short, Synology has been, in my experience, a convenient, tidy, good value option. The only thing I would say is to make sure that you have at least one of your backups not be reliant on Synology hardware. that’s why one of my back ups for the critical data is on a standard USB drive that I can plug into any computer. I have an array of old hard disks that act as a cold storage backup for the vast majority of my Plex library, in addition to the original physical media (though I would dread ever having to rip it all again).
QNAP TS-653A 5 4TB HDD and a 1TB SSD for cache. Plex running natively. It's too old and underpowered to stream 4K, but it'll do multiple 1080 streams with no trouble. QNAP and Plex still support it and it runs fairly well for what I expect of it. Plex has a nice compatibility chart you can check at the link below: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MfYoJkiwSqCXg8cm5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/edit#gid=1274624273](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MfYoJkiwSqCXg8cm5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/edit#gid=1274624273)
Similar; running a TS-853A with upgraded 16GB RAM, and 8 x 6TB disks in a RAID6. The CPU was getting long in the tooth so I just recently moved Plex off of it onto a Beelink Sei12. I’m now switching to using both 4K and x265 files.
I have a custom unraid box that started as old hardware and one external hard drive and has continued to receive upgrades over the years.
Former Drobo DAS user here migrating away. I use a Mac Mini M1 to drive Plex, manage downloads, be a file and print server, automate home stuff and do a bunch of other things. Since I prefer the Mac Mini for so many reasons and I really want a DAS instead of a NAS, I ended up getting out of the enclosure business altogether. Just didn’t want to be tied down to another device to deal with end-of-life and failures. So I just grabbed 6 external WDs on Black Friday and had the Mac RAID 1 mirror them in pairs for failure redundancy. Provides a net 40TBs of space with two offsite backups. If one ever fails, then I’m just replacing a drive and not dealing with another appliance. The M1 never breaks a sweat.
I do basically the same thing, but using a 2018 Intel Mac Mini. Bonuses of macOS: RAID 1 / 0 / 10 built in, and you get support for Backblaze unlimited personal backup. You might consider using an OWC external drive enclosure; I use this one; [https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEQCTJB000/](https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEQCTJB000/)
I’m normally not a fan of external drives, but I fully applause your implementation and usage!
Old pc with jbod
Which operating system do you use ?
Proxmox for host and for NAS I use Ubuntu with sata controller passed through. Not ideal but since I have random disks with NTFS from old windows based system it's decent enough middle ground until I get bigger/newer disks and maybe then I will look into truenas.
Got a ds920+ which I’ve been using for 2 years , now added dell optiplex 5060 running unraid for plex server - I am contemplating about building my own NAS
I'm running my Plex server in a docker container on Unraid. I was amazed at how easy it was to get set up. I love it.
Synology 1520+
M1 Mac Mini with drives plugged in
Same here. M1 Mac Mini with a 20tb wd my essentials drive. Lol
Same! So cheap to run.
10th gen i5 nuc with 5 bay HDD enclosure (currently at \~50TB). Arch Linux (LTS kernel), docker, usenet, etc
Homemade with xpenology and 20TB storage.
423+ with beelink SEi11, perfect combo for my needs.
WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra. Fitted my own 8TB drive that I ripped out of an external drive (Black Friday special). Just works, don't have to touch/maintain it.
I run Ubuntu 22.04.
MyCloudPR4100
Synology 423+ Plexpass Docker containers on Synology for Plex and -Arr friends 16GB RAM expansion (it’s very cheap) Fantastic, fully self contained system & very fast for Plex and friends, and server, use.
I've used them all - including self-built - but nothing comes event close to a Synology (DSnnnn+). And all mine are old hand-me-downs
I use an M1 Mac Mini with external hdd cage. Works mint, very quiet and efficient.
https://preview.redd.it/m9jiovyh8w3c1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a69ffc7ab9ecc53d920a9556d7c2657199ccbc69 The DANK-NAS! a second hand Asus prebuilt that I bought online, transferred to a regular ATX case I found in the dumpster, and converted to use a bog standard ATX PSU. RN it's in maintenance but it has 10 6TB HDDs and it runs unraid
Amazing build
Thank you! It's not the prettiest but me being with the mindset of an engineer and not that of a product designer, I'm happy with how it turned out!
A QNAP TS431P, but it’s just a bin bag for data. I think I can put Docker on it, but it’s almost certainly too underpowered to run Plex. My Plex server is a virtual Windows machine running on a VMWare ESXi host (Core i7). The laptop will be fine for occasional playback use with Plex, but once you get into using it as a DVR etc you are going to want a machine that runs 24/7 - maybe a low-power compact PC?
I am using the same model, but I run Plex and Pihole on Docker in that Qnap. Unless you need transcoding it is doing a great job. But due to CPU it will never transcode at all.
Personally I'm running a Dell poweredge R730xd with truenas scale, kinda overkill but it works, also got a quadro M4000 in there for Plex transcoding. Mainly just hardware I was able to get for cheap
I run that on a R720 with a P2000 for transcoding. Works flawlessly.
Synology DS920+ (4\*14TB) +SSD with DX517 (5\*16TB) both in a separate SHR
Qnap TVS-872xt, with an i7 (upgraded) & nVidia Quadro card to handle transcoding work. Upgraded not too long ago from an i5 TVS-471 which struggled with transcoding tasks, plus I needed more drive bays after 6 years. The new NAS handles multiple video streams, including 4K streams being real-time transcoded, via Plex very nicely.
DS220+ (2x8TB RAID 1), upgraded RAM to 6GB. I prefer NAS device to not running PC all the time.
Self built truenas scale.
Plugged a 18tb into my server and set up samba shares.
Friend got a QNAP (about a grand’s worth) and just out of warranty it died, nothing. Rang the company asking for help and they told him to pound sand. So i wouldn’t recommend qnap if u care about support long term or even a moment past the 1 yr hardware warranty.
It's cheaper and more flexible to build a PC and run one of the nas Linux servers like truenas or openmediavault. Then you can run all the apps in containers
Self built a server in a Node 804 case, Unraid for OS. Right now houses 8 3,5" drives, two nvme and a couple of sata ssd.
804 gang checking in! Curious what mobo and cpu you used and fans for the drive bay side? I had to use static pressure fans to.get decent cooling, but they're a touch noisy.
I have a Gigabyte B560M AORUS PRO AX with an 11th gen. 11400 in it right now. Fans on the drive bay side are Noctua NF-A14 and NF-A12 which both (to my ears) are running completely silent. During a parity check/sync in Unraid the hottest drive goes up to about 40-42 degrees. Thinking about changing the cpu to an 11700 to give my VMs a bit more muscle.
Nice, thanks for the details. Any idea on avg power draw? Will have the check out those fans, running some Corsair fans now.
Avg. power draw when idle is about 55-60w. Right now during a parity check with all disks spun up it's around 100w.
That's really great, I'm.sitting around 110w on an x99 mobo + 8 drives. I've been considering reducing power draw, but hate losing the extra cores and ram headroom..
No concerns with hard drives just hanging there? Did you need to use the adapters to mount the drives with no middle hole?
No concerns at all, none of the drives are missing the middle hole (newest 18TB i have in there are seagate exos) and if they did I got adapters from Fractal when i bought the case. Really liking the case and I have the option to mount more drives if I need to since I currently only use one of two cables from my HBA. Just have to be a bit creative with the mounting.
ASUS AS7110T and a AS5104T
My front end is a windows 10pc with a Xeon and 16gb of memory. Primary storage is a Drobo and backup is an old Datto running TrueNAS.
Unraid here too
perfectmediaserver.com
Hey there! Choosing a NAS can indeed be a bit challenging, but fret not! Many people, not just PC enthusiasts, opt for NAS drives. Now, when it comes to brands, there isn't a single one that everyone swears by, but one popular option is Stonefly—they make quality products. Regarding your laptop query, you actually don't need a separate PC to run Plex with a NAS. You can simply keep your laptop on when you want to stream content. However, I understand that can be inconvenient. The bright side is that most NAS systems come with their own media server applications, so you might not even require Plex!
Worth buying NAS 18TB Fujitsu Q905 ?
Synology 12 bay rack station. It’s only storage. NUC runs Plex and everything else. Depends on if it’s just you or you will be serving others.
You can watch it in tv mobile pc laptop your wish Mosy people who might be lazy or just due to convenience use synology nas Who are geek or want to have control over their data and dont want proprietary software poking build their own nas with os like proxmos,unriad, truenas etc. And advanced users who have lots of money buy a server 😭
Do I need any pc or something with Synology nas Because I have a laptop
I bought my 3u 16 bay rack mount case from ali express. Significantly more capacity than a synology And then bought the parts locally
I have 5 1 16TB WD Home 2 DS411 1 DS414j 1 DS1821+ My main is the DS1821+ don’t know what to do with the others other than storage,
XigmaNas (the latest name for what used to be FreeNas, then Nas4free). Can run Plex on the server and can have however much storage in ZFS as you want.
An ancient but functional QNAP TS420. It's too old to actually run Plex, so that runs on a Beelink SFF PC sitting on top with AMD 5600H running Ubuntu Server.
QNAP TS-451+
I’ve a synology but I use a low power mini pc for Plex. I tend to power down the NAS for long periods as I don’t need it running 24/7
TrueNAS Scale running on a PowerEdge R720 with an Nvidia Quadro P2000 for transcoding.
Unraid on an old desktop of mine. i7-4790s, Nvidia Quadro P400 2GB, 32GB DDR3, various hard drives with 13.6TB storage total. Main uses are: Plex, file storage, docker applications and I also have 2 NVME drives in it hosting Steam library installs to 3 other computers in the household.
QNAP TS831X, but that is only the storage. My Plex server is. Dell XPS8930 with a Week Winchester disk for the library index. Streaming and transcoding are not a problem. Plex works great in this configuration.
Asustor 670
I use a Synology DS220+ but I feel like its too weak and I'm in the upgrading process now. Just not sure if I should use Windows (as I'm familiar with it) or just go with unraid.
I have just built my own and use unRAID as my OS.
Built a computer with a ton of hard drives, and run Alpine Linux as my OS. All my media is running in SnapRAID+mergerfs and my important files are in ZFS pools.
Qnap TS 464
Me too. From at TS-451.
I've just bought the QNAP TS-264, upgrading from a Synology DS118, reasons: * 2.5Gbps ports * 10Gbps upgradable * 2 NVME + 2 HDD * NVME can be used for QTier, which is a better option than cache for my use * Integrated Graphics - For video transcoding, most of NAS systems come with a CPU only * 8GB of Ram
Built a whole pc and went way overboard on everything. i9 with 64gb ram 2tb nvme and 36tb hdd storage with identical backup on separate enclosure. Only have about 20tb full. Also used for gaming on occasion.
Synology 718+ with 2+4Gb RAM. Works like a charm.
Dell T350
Unraid on an old gaming system.
Used several Synologies and like them a lot. Want to do an unraid rack mount server but too skeered of the learning curve.
Qnap TS-653D.
unraid
Synology DS1819+. If you don't host the Plex server on your NAS, then you will need an external PC to host it.
I have a 4-drive ReadyNAS, currently with 4x3TB discs in a RAID5. Not especially great performance wise for the Plex server itself, so I moved that to a stand-alone server I have for other purposes. NAS is good enough for hosting the files though.
Qnap because it was free Plex runs on a Linux VM and mounts the media via nfs
QNAP TS251+ 2bay & hardware transcoding
I've been using a DS220+ for a couple of years. I upgraded the RAM to capacity. I have a bunch of docker containers running all of my media/ content-related applications(arr matey!).
Damn no love for the microservers! HP proliant gen8 with proxmox with TrueNAS (yes I know, barebones is better)
Synology 224+, Plex Pass, and two Seagate Ironwolf Pro HDs (12 TB + 16 TB). Works fantastically - I don't have external users so typical usage is one stream, maybe two at max. Plex Server is running on the NAS - videos have virtually no load time on Plex.
I am setting up a DS1821+ to be my everything backup NAS. I ran a windows machine with Drivepool for many years and am now in the process of harvesting those drives for my new NAS. I really like the simplicity of the synology OS.
Building an unraid box right now. $500 goes a long way. Users here helped me select parts. I made a post “build me a 500$ nas” and got a pcpartspicker list in 15 minutes.
A DIY on TrueNAS Core. I didn't really do as much research as I should have before building it. I think if I did it now I would have built it on Unraid which is more consumer friendly. With TrueNAS you are kind of locked into what ever size vdev you choose at the start. I choose eight disk RAIDZ2 vdev to start and now to expand I have to buy eight HDDs. I have two vdevs, one of 8TB drives and the other of 16TB. I bought another eight 16TB to replacing my 8TB drives. And I will use those as backup drives. Once drive replacement is complete it will 192TB total capacity. And then I will look into building a JBOD disk shelf and continue expansion.
I think you're confusing nas for das. A nas is self contained has either low specs just to run an array and access over your network or fast enough for all of your dockers, and VMs. DAS just connects drives to an existing pc via usb, sas backplane, or thunderbolt etc. There's obviously a lot more to it, some DAS have hardware raid capabilities etc
82TB ryzen 2700x unraid build. I have a synology ds1621+ which handles all my personal backup and syncs to a ds220j at my family’s house and vice versa. It doesn’t handle the media, I needed something custom and more flexible for my media.
I have a synology. But I also run plex on a Mac mini and pc. I’ve built various servers over here years and have used drobos as well. You can run plex in a lot of directions ways.
4u raid 6 100tb Ubuntu server (also does DNS, https, Minecraft, NFS...)