NAS Recommendations

    After upgrading the USB hard drives that I have had connected to my Raspberry Pi a few times over the years, I'm wondering if it's time to switch to a NAS solution. Currently have 2x3TB, with TV shows/series on one and Movies/docos on the other. Not redundant by any means but at least if one fails I don't lose everything. They are Western Digital Studio drives (with the aluminium casing) that stand vertically, so they look quite neat sitting next to the TV.

    The question is, now both are at > 95% capacity, do I upgrade again to 2 x 6TB or higher, or go NAS?

    Questions:

    - Recommendations for a NAS device?

    - Gigabit ethernet fast enough for 4K HDR movies (say 15GB for a 90 minute movie) or should I look at 10 gigabit for that?

    - I'm guessing as Long as the Pi can see the volume on the network over SMB, it will work?

    - Possible to access NAS through router/switch using gigbit ethernet from computer, and USB to Pi at same time?

    Eager to hear from others who have been down this path before.

    Cheers :)

    Get a Synology 4-bay NAS with the largest drives that you can afford in SHR so you have more capacity and proper one-disk redundancy. The budget Syno models with GB Ethernet are fast enough for SMB access (no need for USB, although it can be done) to any Pi/LE device and can host an SQL DB. The plus models are faster and support Docker and such better, which often comes in useful. Shift content to the NAS and then clean-up/format the USB drives and eBay them to recoup some funds. You won't regret moving to a NAS setup. I've looked at other NAS brands over time but the software never feels as polished as Synology. There's always the self-build route, but I trust them to do a better job at hardware and build that I do myself. I find their OS to be well thought out, well maintained, zero effort, and overall great value.

    Quote from chewitt

    Get a Synology 4-bay NAS with the largest drives that you can afford in SHR so you have more capacity and proper one-disk redundancy. The budget Syno models with GB Ethernet are fast enough for SMB access (no need for USB, although it can be done) to any Pi/LE device and can host an SQL DB. The plus models are faster and support Docker and such better, which often comes in useful.

    Synology do seem to have a good reputation. I ran the numbers...

    4-bay models seem to start around AUD 400 (J), 550 (Value) and 700 (Plus) before adding any drives. Looking at around AUD 500 for 4x4TB drives, which if I understand SHR properly would give me 12TB usable (3x4TB, with one 4TB drive for redundancy).

    Two 6TB USB drives for the same usable space would set me back about AUD 400 total.

    So that's AUD 500 – 800 extra for redundancy and faster network access. I get the benefits, but geez that's a hard pill to swallow!

    I've been ripping CDs, SACDs and audio DVDs for ~20 years and have accumulated a size of collection that means a) backups are impractical so I need to consider redundancy instead, and b) the "cost" in time/effort to re-rip everything in the event of a disaster would be greater than the extra $$ for the (currently, 6x 8TB) box. Different people assign different values to their personal time and their collections.

    Quote from chewitt

    I've been ripping CDs, SACDs and audio DVDs for ~20 years and have accumulated a size of collection that means a) backups are impractical so I need to consider redundancy instead, and b) the "cost" in time/effort to re-rip everything in the event of a disaster would be greater than the extra $$ for the (currently, 6x 8TB) box. Different people assign different values to their personal time and their collections.

    Understood and agreed :)

    Quote from symean

    - Recommendations for a NAS device?

    just my 2ct:

    - I currently don't know if one is able to install a OS at your own on pre-build NAS -

    but if not, I would never go for a NAS with a vendor OS, cause when the vendor decides to stop support (e.g. pushing newer hardware) you're pissed.

    I'm waiting that the prices getting "normal" for this device (a investment for longer than 5 years):

    HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus (currently: ~500 €; normal: 100 € lesser)

    - with Pentium Gold G5420 and the option to exchange the CPU with Intel Core i3-9100F by time (normal: ~65 €)

    - ILO (remote admin, ~50 € extra)

    disadvantages:

    - maybe the need to setup all the NAS features at your own, but under a OS of your choice, or TrueNAS (ZFS !) or similar NAS-OS's

    - maybe the "HP limited" disk size (4x max. 4 TB ?! [ I've read that it's not fixed, see [1]])

    - wattage

    [Sammelthread] - HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus G5420/E-2224
    HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus G5420/E-2224 Sammelthread Index ┬┬ HP Hardware Infos - Server │├ HP Hardware Infos - Original Erweiterungen │└ HP…
    www.hardwareluxx.de

    alas german, but you can find more about it in the INet

    [1]

    HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus Ultimate Customization Guide
    Our ultimate customization guide for the HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus where we show what can be done with CPUs, memory, storage, NICs, and iLO
    www.servethehome.com

    Edited once, last by GDPR-7 (April 4, 2022 at 8:21 PM).

    I run my old Xeon workstation as NAS with WakeOnLAN, installed Unraid with some HDDs connected.

    You can use multiple sizes of not NAS HDDs and still can loose a disk without loosing data.

    Additionally you have a nice gui, very easy to use docker support, vm support and a huge community.

    Compared to OpenMediaVault it works better and hassle free.

    Ive got an HP Microserver N36L which is a good number of years old now. Currently running Win Home server but its got internal SATA and USB should you want to use something like Free Nas. Currently 3 x 8TB but Ive got 2 x14TB sitting in a box, just waiting on prices dropping before grabing another 2 x 14TB drives and that will do me for a while. The only changes I've made to the server was more RAm and a proper GFX card.

    I've had a Synology DS416slim for years now and it's never let me down. I currently have 4x 750GB WD Red 2.5" HDD's in there for 2TB SHR and that's still plenty for me at the moment.