Nas DIY or Synology?

[squarepipe]

Here is my dilemma. Initially I had decided on a Synology unit. However I became aware of Plex and realised if I were to purchase the synology, it will probably not have enough CPU power to be usable for Plex. A suitable unit will be way out of my budget

Is DIYing a Nas a reasonable alternative?

I am not too familiar with nas systems however I am familiar with DIYing PCs and have experience installing a Linux distro on my laptop.

In the meantime I will do more research on raid,zfs,btrfs,freenas,open media vault etc so as to hopefully be able to understand you guys better.

 

[alamakazim]

I simply hate nas....

 

[jtjt00]

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeServer/comments/63ihkg/diy_nas_vs_synology/

 

[cscs3]

Here is my dilemma. Initially I had decided on a Synology unit. However I became aware of Plex and realised if I were to purchase the synology, it will probably not have enough CPU power to be usable for Plex. A suitable unit will be way out of my budget

Is DIYing a Nas a reasonable alternative?

I am not too familiar with nas systems however I am familiar with DIYing PCs and have experience installing a Linux distro on my laptop.

In the meantime I will do more research on raid,zfs,btrfs,freenas,open media vault etc so as to hopefully be able to understand you guys better.

If you don't have to run 24x7, DIY with old PC is best. So you don't have to throw away those old PC.

 

[squarepipe]

If you don't have to run 24x7, DIY with old PC is best. So you don't have to throw away those old PC.

The only desktop I have is being used to run pfsense.

Any reason on why not to run it 24/7?

 

[-Synchronicity-]

Would recommend building around asrock J4105 / J5005. Not available locally though.

The previous model j3xxx is being used by synology 918 which is recommend for a single stream transcoding using Plex.

The real question is, will you be transcoding + streaming or just streaming? Google the difference as merely just streaming can even be done with a cheap androidbox.

 

[squarepipe]

Would recommend building around asrock J4105 / J5005. Not available locally though.

The previous model j3xxx is being used by synology 918 which is recommend for a single stream transcoding using Plex.

The real question is, will you be transcoding + streaming or just streaming? Google the difference as merely just streaming can even be done with a cheap androidbox.

I would mostly be watching on my phone, PC web browser and chromecast for the TV. I assume my phone and chromecast would require trasncoding?

 

[squarepipe]

Any recomendations for a NAS os?

from my quick research freeNAS seems to be the most powerfull.

 

[-Synchronicity-]

I would mostly be watching on my phone, PC web browser and chromecast for the TV. I assume my phone and chromecast would require trasncoding?

Source file? What compression? H.264 + aac or?

 

[squarepipe]

Source file? What compression? H.264 + aac or?

I have a assortment of files downloaded from the internet.

Many of them are mpeg2 dvd rips

Others have 5.1 surround sound

My Chromecast can't play them directly from my phone

 

[DarthGW]

Would recommend building around asrock J4105 / J5005. Not available locally though.

The previous model j3xxx is being used by synology 918 which is recommend for a single stream transcoding using Plex.

The real question is, will you be transcoding + streaming or just streaming? Google the difference as merely just streaming can even be done with a cheap androidbox.

if i will be streaming through nvidia shield or xbox one, what kind of hardware i can use

 

[dryteletubby]

if i will be streaming through nvidia shield or xbox one, what kind of hardware i can use

Raspberry pi

On a serious note, I previously used a orange pi 2e (in-between the pi2b and 3b performance) as a Plex server. Storage was a usb HDD and it also functioned as a file server, pihole, VPN server, remote desktop etc.

I had to be sure my client device can direct play the media without transcoding. The exception is audio files. The pi seems to be sufficient enough to transcode flac to MP3.

Anything that requires transcoding will need more performance. Most cheaper Nas comes with a low power arm or intel CPU that may not be sufficient if you are serious about transcoding. You might be better off using a pc as a Plex server for that

 

[DarthGW]

Raspberry pi

On a serious note, I previously used a orange pi 2e (in-between the pi2b and 3b performance) as a Plex server. Storage was a usb HDD and it also functioned as a file server, pihole, VPN server, remote desktop etc.

I had to be sure my client device can direct play the media without transcoding. The exception is audio files. The pi seems to be sufficient enough to transcode flac to MP3.

Anything that requires transcoding you will need more performance. Most cheaper Nas comes with a low power arm or intel CPU that may not be capable of you are serious about transcoding. You might be better off using a pc as a Plex server for that

curious on the raspberry config. i am looking to have maybe 2 to 3 hdds in one NAS unit. any config for this

 

[dryteletubby]

curious on the raspberry config. i am looking to have maybe 2 to 3 hdds in one NAS unit. any config for this

The raspberry pi is not to be used as a "serious" Nas. It probably would not be able to run any proper file systems like raid or zfs etc.

Additionally the pi cannot power 3x usb HDD from its usb ports. You may get away with 1 but for 3 you will need a externally powered usb HDD.

A simpler solution will be to buy a 4 bay Nas. However looking at the prices ($500+) I feel it's more economical to build a pc for that purpose.

If you are set on a pi, there are many guides online just a Google search away.

If you are familiar with Linux, there are better suited sbc like the rock64 with usb3 port, gigabit LAN and a non shared usb interface unlike the pi.

 

[-Synchronicity-]

if i will be streaming through nvidia shield or xbox one, what kind of hardware i can use

Still depends on your source. If you are able to play the files on your device without any convertion, rasberry pi should be fine. To be fair, any arm based cpu works fine.

If you have different file sources which doesn't play nice natively with your device, you need a x64 could then.

 

[SBC]

Any cheap 2-bay NAS that uses 2.5” HDD?

 

[dryteletubby]

Any cheap 2-bay NAS that uses 2.5” HDD?

Just get a 2.5 inch to 3.5 adapter and use a normal Nas box?

 

[jtjt00]

The most important is your data. With DIY NAS, you are on your own if any issue with the PC. Need need more time with DIY NAS compared to commercial NAS.

 

[-Synchronicity-]

I have a assortment of files downloaded from the internet.

Many of them are mpeg2 dvd rips

Others have 5.1 surround sound

My Chromecast can't play them directly from my phone

Yes, you do need transcoding then. Asrock J4105 / J5005 will be perfect for 1-2 simultaneous streams. Any more and you will need to purchase desktop based cpu which throws energy saving out of the window.

As for os, unraid is the best option to me for a media server. It let's you mix and match different sizes of hdd to build up the library. Indexing can take some time if you replace a faulty hdd(it's based or parity). Even if you do lose a hdd, you only lose a hdd worth of media data which isn't alot.

For ease of mind and convinence, go for synology 918+

 

[squarepipe]

Yes, you do need transcoding then. Asrock J4105 / J5005 will be perfect for 1-2 simultaneous streams. Any more and you will need to purchase desktop based cpu which throws energy saving out of the window.

Currently living in a rented place that covers utilities in the lease

Not too worried about the nas using too much electricity.

That CPU looks like a good option for those concern about power usage