r/HomeNAS

Dear experts,

I humbly ask for your advice.

I currently have the 200 GB plan for Google drive. Recently, I have been forced to dump big files (mainly videos shot from our phones) to an external HDD with an ever increasing frequency. Therefore, I looked online and it seems that the pair immich+NAS would be able to replace Google drive for my use case. However, looking into it, I ballparked that I'd need ~1k EUR for a 2 bay system with 6TB in redudancy. Therefore, I am asking myself whether I should just upgrade to the 2TB Google Drive plan for 100 EUR/year. Granted that I'd have less storage, it will still be almost 10 years before I recoup the initial investment.
May I have your second opinion on my line of thoughts?

Hi everyone. So I want to get a NAS for my home. There's a couple of main things I wanna do with it:

• Plex Media Server - I constantly use my Plex server at least once a night every week so my friends and I can watch TV shows and movies together. I currently use an Intel NUC for this, but feel a dedicated NAS would work better.
• Long-Term Data Storage for YouTube videos I've edited before, but now mostly just need to get off one of the 2.5" SSD's in my PC so I can have more storage for games
• UniFi Protect extended storage - I have a single G4 Doorbell Pro camera in my apartment, but if I ever move to a bigger place or rent a home instead of an apartment, I'll probably add more cameras. I'm currently using a 512 GB microSD card in my UDR7 router.

I've been doing some research online and I also went to my local Micro Center for advice. The NAS I've seen most recommended are either the UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus or the MINISFORUM N5 AIR. The employee at Micro Center personally recommended the Minisforum NAS since it has more power and an extra drive bay for nearly the same price as the Ugreen. However, I do feel it's kinda overkill for what I want.

In addition to which NAS I should get, what is the software you'd recommend? I've seen everyone say to eschew the default OS and instead reformat it to either Unraid or Truenas. What would recommend for someone who is technical, but prefers the GUI interface over command line and is new to NAS? I appreciate any and all responses!

TL;DR - Is IoT LTSC Enterprise any good for running a Jellyfin server and a self-hosted cloud?

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Trying to find information to help decide a path forward.

I have a mini-PC I want to use for the following purposes:

1. Jellyfin home media server (movies, music/audiobooks via Finamp)

2. Self-hosted cloud to cover the following bases:

\- Immich (or something as good as) for phone photo backup

\- Nextcloud or whatever software is appropriate for running a self-hosted cloud (with a view to eventually replacing OneDrive to access documents /files across multiple devices)

The obvious contenders come up time and time again:

\- TrueNAS Scale

\- OMV

\- Ubuntu Server with something called CasaOS over the top of it

\- Unraid

I keep seeing things come up telling me I need to use "Docker" - I've seen the Docker logo, but not experimented with it yet and have no experience so far.

I like the familiarity of Windows and IoT LTSC Enterprise seems like a possible option for this.

I don't like Linux and the whole CLI thing - lots of things on Linux seem to break, lots of things don't seem to work. Need to learn a new language to use it. Annoyingly, most NAS/server utilities seems to be built on/around Linux. This may be an unpopular view, but it's just my experience so far with Ubuntu and a couple of other distros I tried. Albeit, for different purposes. Are the Linux NAS /server focussed OS distros easier/more reliable?

Has anyone successfully run a similar setup, hosting a home media server with IoT LTSC Enterprise?

Has anyone had any experience of running a self-hosted cloud in IoT LTSC Enterprise?

Any thoughts/suggestions following your experiences would be appreciated. Thanks.

Recently, I wanted a better way to manage and store all my files at home, so after comparing a few systems and features, I ended up getting a TerraMaster NAS. Honestly, it’s been one of my more satisfying tech purchases lately. It’s been a great fit for a home setup, mainly for backing up and managing everyday files. My family and I are still exploring all the features as we go.

One thing I like a lot is CloudSync. We used to have files scattered across different places like Google Drive and OneDrive, but now I can manage and sync them more centrally through the NAS. My current setup uses the NAS as the main storage, with important files also backed up to the cloud and an old hard drive.

I also like the photo auto-organization feature, it makes sorting family photos much easier. And when I’m away from home, I use TNAS Mobile for remote access and phone backups, which has been pretty convenient overall.

I play games with people on Discord. We all make recordings of this, and like to edit video’s using each others footage. Footage is gigabytes per game night.

I would like a dropbox / wetransfer like solution, where I just share a link, it’s valid for a month, and anyone with the link can access the files.

These are “loose” friends and even people I don’t know, so we’re not going to setup VPN’s or exchange username passwords or e-mail addresses.

What software supports this, and can be trusted to connect to the internet?

I was thinking about a OpenBSD VM with a simple webserver with HTTP basic auth or something. I value security and auto update over fancy looks, but a little friendlier than BSD would be nice.

Hi,

For the last couple of months I have started exploring selfhosting and home server setups.

I am now at a stage where I am seriously considering getting myself a NAS, and have started doing some research.

Currently I am looking on either:
- Ugreen DXP4800 pro

- Ugreen DXP4800 plus

I am running some docker containers on my current server (old lenovo laptop with proxmox), and I see I will need to upgrade to 16gb RAM directly.

One question I haven't found the answer for though, has to do with security?

This will run locally, with tailscale for remote access.

But - how about security locally? What if someone breaks into my home... I dont want them to have access to all my data if they just steal my drives? Can I do some E2E encryptions? How to secure this data?

Thanks in advance,

Hello im new to homelabing and mini pcs. But ive now embarked on the road to build a NAS. I wanted to see if I could get some assistance. I have a Dell OptiPlex 5070 Micro

1. I can use the m.2 slot for a 8 port SATA connection
2. I can use the m.2 WLAN A+E Key adapter to m.2 sata to use as a boot drive.
3. I will need external power.
4. Can I use the SATA0 port to connect 8 HDDs

Thank you for the assistance! Im starting off with 4 drives but am 3D printing a 2U all in one drive bay that holds 8 drives and the mini pc.

So the cablecard was recently disabled for my cable and now I am having to switch to another solution...and I think that will be a Plex or Jellyfin server. The server will probably have a max of 5-6 people streaming things at once (some from home, some while out) and I'll also be running radarr/sonarr.

If possible, I'll run Windows on it so people other than me can maintain it - but if I have to run a Linux distro...I can (I'd just have to learn Linux again).

Ideally... it'd be under $600 all in (Note: once everything has been watched on the PVR with hundreds of hours of shows, 6 TB in drives will be available), but I understand if it has to be more than that with all of the crap going on right now.

Hi everyone,

I have an HP ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 with the following specs:

• CPU: AMD Opteron X3216 1.60 GHz
• RAM: 8 GB
• Drive bays: 4 x 3.5" LFF SAS/SATA

I also have 4 x 24 TB Seagate HDDs that I want to use in this server.

I’ll be honest: I have very little experience with NAS systems or backup solutions, so I’m hoping for some guidance on the best way to set this up, including what software I should install and how I should configure the machine.

What I want from this setup:

1. Automatic backups for my main PC When I power on the server, I want it to automatically back up all of my PC drives.
2. Incremental backups after the first backup After the initial full backup, I want future backups to only copy new or modified files, not create a full backup again every time.
3. Backups for a second PC as well I want the same backup functionality for my secondary PC, so both systems are backed up to the server.
4. Data redundancy I definitely want some form of protection against drive failure.
5. One drive used as general bulk storage Ideally, I would like one of the 24 TB drives to act as bulk storage that I can access directly to move files onto manually.
6. Remote access Ideally, I would like to be able to access that bulk storage remotely from anywhere in the world.
7. Organized backup structure When browsing the NAS, I would like the backups to be organized into folders that correspond to the original drive letters, so I can easily find files if I need to restore something.

My main PC currently has these drives:

• C: 1 TB
• D: 7 TB
• E: 4 TB
• F: 4 TB
• G: 4 TB
• H: 4 TB
• S: 1 TB

Total 25TB

In the future, the C: drive will likely be cloned to a 2 TB drive.

My secondary PC has these drives:

• C: 4 TB
• System Reserved / D: 100 MB
• E: 2 TB
• F: 2 TB
• G: 1 TB
• H: 4 TB
• I: 4 TB
• J: 4 TB
• K: 4 TB

Total 25TB

Total for Both PCs 50TB

So my questions are:

• What would be the best overall solution for this setup?
• What NAS OS / backup software would you recommend?
• How should I configure the 4 x 24 TB drives?
• Is it realistic to have redundancy, two-PC backups, and one separate bulk-storage drive with this hardware?
• What is the simplest and most reliable way to set this up for someone who is new to NAS and backups?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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.

Hello all,

I am currently taking spare parts and an old Optiplex to put together a PC NAS build. I am new to the world of self-hosted storage and have done my best to make a capable NAS that didn't require additional funds. I am planning on using this for media storage (pictures, home videos, etc.), and movie/show streaming through Jellyfin. I don't know if I want to copnfigure my hdds in RAID1 or RAID5... Anyways, listed below are the components I've gotten together for this build.

Looking for any advice or reccomendations on OS or if these parts are better suited for other applications.

MBD: Optiplex 9020 MT

CPU: i7-4790

GPU: EVGA Superclocked GeForce GTX 960

SSD: Samsung 870 Evo 250gb (boot drive)

HDD: 4x 4TB HGST Ultrastar He8 Helium

RAM: 4x 8GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 C10

PSU: Cougar VTX 500W 80+ Bronze

**NOTE: I have all required adaptors and splitters for the motherboard, drives and fans.**

Thank you in advance!

Not long ago I jumped into owning my own NAS. 4 bays, raid 5, great! However... other than dragging and dropping files into a folder... I am really underwhelmed. I feel I am completely missing the boat.

There are lots and LOTS of videos showing you how to set up a NAS but very little on how to get the most out of a NAS on a daily basis.

- Auto sync/backup for phones and desktop devices

- Accessing media on the go

- Downloading and arranging files

- Streaming music

- basically, having it as a central hub to go to instead of relying on many different apps.

Are there any good tutorials or guides?
Ugreen DXP 4800 plus

Like the title says I am planning on setting up a new media server for my Plex library. I was previously using an ancient Drobo DDR3-A that finally kicked the bucket.

From the researching that I've done Synology seems to be the go to for a lot of people, and the DS423 seems to be fit for my purpose. But I just want to check with the folks who know their stuff before committing to the purchase.

Anything I should know about this hardware in my situation?

Hello

I'm in the process of buying my first NAS.
Right now, I'm torn between the Synology DS425+ and the Synology DS925+.

The DS925+ has the better CPU with the AMD Ryzen V1500B, compared to the Intel Celeron J4125 in the DS425+.
On the other hand, the Intel Celeron J4125 has an integrated graphics unit for hardware transcoding. For example, for a Plex server.

So I’m currently wondering if I really need hardware transcoding.
I’d definitely like to set up a Plex server for movies—but only from my own DVDs and Blu-rays.

If I’m not mistaken, hardware transcoding is really only relevant if you want to access the movies outside your own network, like from a smartphone, or if the format isn’t compatible with your TV.

None of these apply to me.

I’m the only one accessing the files. I only watch movies on my own network. And if I rip the DVDs and Blu-rays, I can do so in a uniform format that the TV can read.
So I wouldn’t need hardware transcoding, right?

In that case, the DS925+ with the AMD Ryzen V1500B would be the better choice, wouldn’t it?

What do you think?

Best regards, Marc

hello,

i am sorry if similar questions are already asked but i think it would be interesting to have a new answer especially with the hard disks and NAS prices nowadays.

i have a homelab, with an internal ssd and a really old and slow (aka dying) external hdd, and i am thinking of buying a new NAS enclosure with new hdd disks.

i want my decision to be scalable with my future needs (once the prices settle).

for the moment 4to is sufficient to me, but in regards to the enclosure i do not know what to look for, a dumb enclosure? which one ? how many bays etc.

my current budget for both the enclosure and the disk (only one at the moment, would require RAID in the future) is 250$.

what would u recommend me buying ?

thanks

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Edit: responding to comments

1. My current home server has an intel n95 cpu thats generally used under 10%, with a couple of spikes per day. I have 16gb of ram of which 6gb is used all the time, with rare spikes.
2. My target capacity in 5y (after that i dont mind buying a new nas if needed) is 20tb with replication (so 3 disks with raid 5 each having about 10tb, also i dont mind buying a smaller drive now and buying bigger ones in the future while keeping this one as an offline backup for critical data)

Hi all, I need some advise. I recently bought on eBay 2 x 12TB Exos drives from Seagate Enterprise level. This for my brother's photo backup, he currently using 2 x 4TB drives as well as some older drives. Done a small research and drive failure rate for these drives used 24/7 is between 1-2% annually so I should be safe for home use.

After this consideration, should I set to RAID 0 or go the safe road and get a third drive and run RAID 5 for redundancy? Also what recommendations for NAS solutions that don't break the bank?

Thank you.

Hi guys! I’m jumping into the world of self hosted storage, backups and self hosted server.

My plan is to have a extensive storage, with an automatic backup of that. Tv shows, movies, documents, hundreds of photos, retro emulation.

No need for the content to be available outside of my home. I plan to run Plex to be able to easily view the content on that storage / server on my TV and computer. Also be able to run retro emulation on both the tv and the computer. Nvidia shield pro will be connected to the TV to run Plex. There will be two computers on my home, one for business, one for personal. All linking to the same library.

What can you recommend me to get? NAS? Home server?

Any guides you can provide?

I was running plex and immich on a mini PC with external hard drive, however that's now run out of room due to too many photos. Looking to extend the storage capacity and update to DAS box but DAS box is $500 plus the HDD. NAS is $1100 plus HDD. Should i just bite the bullet and spend the extra on the NAS solution ? (looking at Ugreen DXP4800 plus V orico 9848RU3 4 bay). Just runining Plex and Immich and not really planning on much else at this stage.

The mini PC meets my needs in terms of buffering.

Hello, I'm a photographer and I've encountered that sharing through google drive is swallowing up what free storage I have. From my general knowledge, if I want to avoid a subscription, then a NAS is my best bet, but then also as far as I know I wouldn't be able to share pictures to anyone outside the network. Are there any ways to where I can say upload a file to the NAS, and then have it be accessible from anywhere with a connection similar to how Google Drive works like a link? Also, am I just not understanding how NAS's work and are they even the best option for me?

I got into homelabbing a few months ago and have an aging laptop that is running as my home server for now but running out of disk space. Rather than buy a DAS, I’m planning on replacing the whole setup with a UGreen 4800 pro. There is a soldered 128gb nvme for a boot drive and 2 nvme slots and 4 SATA slots.

The built-in 128gb boot drive will be wiped for bare metal Debian that I am comfortable with. I have 2 1TB nVMEs that I will install. These will be for my docker apps, particularly immich (high I/O) and a file share, and also a write cache for downloads from torrents, which will flush to hdd overnight and delete torrents after ratio hits 1.5-2. This is to avoid spinning up the disks with lots of random I/O from the torrents. Should the nvme be BTRFS? Mirrored? Not sure. I will have an external hdd always attached that will automatically pull the photos/share drive nightly and every couple months or so, I will take this drive to my moms place and transfer all to another external hdd that is essentially in cold storage.

The 4 hard drives, I will buy sequentially as needed, probably a single high capacity drive to start. They will be JBOD with ext4 and mergefs, almost exclusively for movies/shows.

Anything seem obviously wrong or dumb in this setup? Wanted someone more experienced to give me their thoughts before I pull the trigger