Future proof NAS - PCIe expandability and what to do with existing NVMEs?
Hello everyone,
I am kind of tired with running scrappy solutions, so want to invest a bit (at the worst possible time, I know) and build something proper that will be extensible.
Currently running Lenovo tiny with 16GB of ram and 2x2TB SSD for storage (no mirroring, plain 4TB of storage) running Win 11 IoT. A setup that most would probably despise here, but hey, it worked until now.
So my rough plans is to go with:
- Core Ultra 225 - future proofing for AV1 encode/decode
- 16GB ram in one stick - for easier expansion
- Either an ATX or mATX board - didn't decide yet
- Fractal R5 or Jonsbo N5-like case - need to think about in terms of where to place it in my apartment. Fractal R5 might look a bit empty, but I technically have space for a tower so why not?
- 2x8TB HDDs - for start, mirrored
- JetKVM - I want to invest in this, not sure if really needed, because my current setup was stable, but it supports Tailscale which I already use so could be fun to play with
- 2.5G onboard LAN will be more than enough (was running on WiFi 6 for a really long time)
- Probably will run Ubuntu server - not familiar at all with TrueNAS and similar, and don't mind a bit of extra work.
Application:
- media server with primarily large music library
- local backup (additionally I backup off-site to Hetzner)
Since this will be a big investment, I want this to be future proof.
Obviously adding more drives in the future, but due to power consumption I would probably next add 2 bigger drives, so migrations shouldn't be an issue. If I run out of space I would drop something like 2x18TB (or something) so migrating shouldn't be an issue from "simple" mirrored pool.
I also have 2x 2TB TLC NVMEs that I don't really know what to do with them. Maybe something like a bigger cache so HDDs can stay off? More fail resistant mirrored space for application data/containers etc.? I could of course get rid of them, but maybe there is a good use for them?
Additionally not sure how many PCIe slots I could possibly need. Adding an LSI HBA is possible which would occupy PCIE x16 slot. That would leave me with 1 PCIe x1/x4 (depending on MB). Higher speed NICs are unlikely in my use case. Since most transfers actually happen from outside of home network, so I am limited to 1G symmetrical fiber anyway. Not sure if it's worth going ATX over mATX, for an extra PCIE slot.
I don't really do large transfers often, clients will mostly back-up over WiFi still.
Appreciate any thoughts.