Advice on NAS build

[TimVNL]

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice on a new NAS build that I am planing todo to replace my Synology DS918+ and some Pis to one machine.

Things I run:
- Docker: various containers including syncthing and adguard home with its own IP within my LAN network
- Home Assistant with zigbee stick (I want to convert this to a docker or vm with usb pastrough)
- Plex with 5 users and hardware transcoding

Would like some advice on?
- What OS should I run? Looking at TrueNAS, Unraid or tailor made? For example: GitHub - davestephens/ansible-nas: Build a full-featured home server or NAS replacement with an Ubuntu box and this playbook.
- Prebuild of DIY?

I reacted on a second hand HP Micoserver Gen 8 with an Xeon 1265 v3 and 16GB bur i am not sure about the following:
- Can I Run 2 2.5 inc SSDs as boot mirror while running 4 HHDs? What do I need to achieve this?
- What are things I need to pay attention to if I want to run Unraid or TrueNAS

DIY would also be an option I am not afraid to get my hand dirty but what components would you guys advice for a somewhat low power server small footprint with support for Intel Quick Sync support for my Plex.

Thanks in advance

 

[zer0sum]

In all of my experience and testing there is simply nothing as easy and flexible as UNraid.

If you want a new type of docker app you just search for it and spin it up in 30 seconds

 

[TimVNL]

Thanks for your response I will try unraid.

I am also looking in to building my own nas because the seller of the Gen8 Microserver is being a bit weird at the moment unfortunately.

I saw this motherboard ASRock Rack > C246 WSI
Does this support Quicksync for plex could not find a simple yes or no and what low power CPU should I pair with it for my needs?

Some low TDP options I am looking at for the CPU

• Intel Core i3-9300T
• Intel Core i5-6500T
• Intel Core i7-8700T

Which one would fit my needs the best with the ability to grow in future?

 

[ReturnedSword]

Intel C246 only supports Xeon E-2100, E-2200 refresh, and Core 8th/9th gen, so the 6500T won’t work. QSV will work as long as you have a CPU with iGPU enabled.

I’m a bit curious about you mentioning Plex Cloud. IIRC, that feature was discontinued in 2018?

 

[TimVNL]

Intel C246 only supports Xeon E-2100, E-2200 refresh, and Core 8th/9th gen, so the 6500T won’t work. QSV will work as long as you have a CPU with iGPU enabled.

I’m a bit curious about you mentioning Plex Cloud. IIRC, that feature was discontinued in 2018?

So the ASRock Rack > C246 WSI only supports the i7-8700T and i3-9300T with QSV? Which one of those two would you recommend?
Looking to put it all in a Silverstone DS380 case with a NH-L9i CPU Cooler.

The plex cloud thing was a typo from my side

 

[ReturnedSword]

So the ASRock Rack > C246 WSI only supports the i7-8700T and i3-9300T with QSV? Which one of those two would you recommend?
Looking to put it all in a Silverstone DS380 case with a NH-L9i CPU Cooler.

The plex cloud thing was a typo from my side

Yes, the board specs says it supports pGFX, which is what Intel used to call their “Pro” iGPU. Not sure if Intel still refers to it that way. The board does have a DP and HDMI port though so definitely should have iGPU support if a suitable CPU is used.

You can use any G variant Xeon 2100/2200, non F/KF variant or T variant supported CPU. Be aware if the Core CPU has a F in its model name that means the iGPU is fused off and therefore won’t work. The main difference between a vanilla Core CPU (no variant suffix) and a T variant is the normal TDP for T variants is 35W vs for vanilla it’s 65W. That doesn’t account for max boost wattage though. Most recent boards can have the max wattage set in the BIOS, so that sorta negates needing a T variant for lower wattage. During system idle wattage use for all CPU within the generation is somewhat similar (quite low).

Since you’re not running many services, nor running heavier services. My guess is you can probably save money, forgo paying more for a T variant and just go with a i3-9100/9300, whichever is cheaper. The performance delta between the 9100 and 9300 isn’t that much, and IIRC, the 9300 is a much harder to find CPU. Many folks here on these forums run i3-9100 for NAS or small server stuff btw.

For the DS380 case, have a look at this:

SFF Silverstone DS380 Build

My old server was five years old and started getting hard drive warnings, rather than replace the drives I figured I'd go for a completely new build. I wanted to keep the new build small as the old one fits in my IKEA unit under the TV. After looking at a couple of cases I went for the Silverston...

forums.unraid.net

You’ll get better HDD temps by creating a simple fan duct/guide.

 

[TimVNL]

Yes, the board specs says it supports pGFX, which is what Intel used to call their “Pro” iGPU. Not sure if Intel still refers to it that way. The board does have a DP and HDMI port though so definitely should have iGPU support if a suitable CPU is used.

You can use any G variant Xeon 2100/2200, non F/KF variant or T variant supported CPU. Be aware if the Core CPU has a F in its model name that means the iGPU is fused off and therefore won’t work. The main difference between a vanilla Core CPU (no variant suffix) and a T variant is the normal TDP for T variants is 35W vs for vanilla it’s 65W. That doesn’t account for max boost wattage though. Most recent boards can have the max wattage set in the BIOS, so that sorta negates needing a T variant for lower wattage. During system idle wattage use for all CPU within the generation is somewhat similar (quite low).

Since you’re not running many services, nor running heavier services. My guess is you can probably save money, forgo paying more for a T variant and just go with a i3-9100/9300, whichever is cheaper. The performance delta between the 9100 and 9300 isn’t that much, and IIRC, the 9300 is a much harder to find CPU. Many folks here on these forums run i3-9100 for NAS or small server stuff btw.

For the DS380 case, have a look at this:

SFF Silverstone DS380 Build

My old server was five years old and started getting hard drive warnings, rather than replace the drives I figured I'd go for a completely new build. I wanted to keep the new build small as the old one fits in my IKEA unit under the TV. After looking at a couple of cases I went for the Silverston...

forums.unraid.net

You’ll get better HDD temps by creating a simple fan duct/guide.

Thanks for all your information much appreciated Will make a complete parts list soon

 

[UhClem]

... I saw this motherboard ASRock Rack > C246 WSI ...

You really do NOT want a motherboard with a single x16 slot for the CPU's 16 PCIe lanes. Look for one with two slots for the CPU lanes, configured as x16/x0 (when 2nd slot empty) OR x8/x8 (otherwise). Trust me ...

 

[TimVNL]

You really do NOT want a motherboard with a single x16 slot for the CPU's 16 PCIe lanes. Look for one with two slots for the CPU lanes, configured as x16/x0 (when 2nd slot empty) OR x8/x8 (otherwise). Trust me ...

Any suggestions on a motherboard with 2 slots then? Would be really appreciated

 

[UhClem]

I'm not that familiar with the offerings; was mainly trying to prevent you from restricting your future expansion options. It's possible that mini-itx can't accomodate a 2nd slot--I don't know.

Giving a higher priority to form, rather than function, in a computer system?
Is it worth it? Only YOU know!

 

[ReturnedSword]

mITX can only have one slot. It’s mDTX that has two slots, but it’s rare in server/workstation boards nowadays.

@TimVNL When I was emailing back and forth with ASRock Rack prior to making decisions for that generation, IIRC the PCIe slot is able to be set as 8x/4x/4x (like standard Core CPUs when using a Z/H motherboard), but if you decide to do that you should confirm with them again that it’s still available with the latest BIOS.

Tbh, motherboards are limited by the case. The DS380 only supports mITX and mDTX, thus limiting motherboard selection size. mITX servers are usually “set it and forget it,” where parts are chosen for the entire lifetime of the server. I hardly ever upgrade mITX builds, except for memory perhaps.

One could go the SFF enthusiast route and expose a “second” PCIe x4 slot by using it the board’s M.2 2242 and a riser cable, which is common in SFF builds to add a 10 GbE NIC. But that would add to complexity and cost. Would also lose ability to use the M.2 as a boot drive.

How about an In Win MS08? It’s only slightly larger, much better built, supports mATX which expands possibilities, no overheat issues as long as CPU and PCIe is sized properly, and costs about the same as the Silverstone DS380 when factoring in the DS380 needs a separate PSU purchase.

 

[itronin]

Concur that if you are going with an mitx motherboard please please try and get one that allows bifurcation of the x16 slot because

If your chassis supports a full height card *and*
If your motherboard has only a single x16 *and*
If your motherboard supports x8x4x4 bif *and*
If your x8 (x16) card is HH then many things are possible for a small NAS:





example:

all x16 lanes consumed
1 supermicro x10sdv-4c
1 x8 16 channel SAS controller
2 x4 m.2 110mm nvme drives

if I wanted H/W transcoding I could have just as easilly deployed a Quadro P400 or P620 GPU there instead, let it run at x8 (it will be fine for transcoding) and still kept my 2 x4 bifurcation for nvme or as @ReturnedSword said go the enthusiast route and bring those m.2 out as pcie x4 somewhere else in the chassis.

 

[ReturnedSword]

@itronin Can you share your build with us, perhaps with more pictures?

I am aware 8x/4x/4x risers are available but I’ve never seen one like the one you’re using. The ones I’ve seen are Supermicro style where it’s a riser board with physical 8x, 4x slots carried over a flexible riser cable.

 

[itronin]

@itronin Can you share your build with us, perhaps with more pictures?

I am aware 8x/4x/4x risers are available but I’ve never seen one like the one you’re using. The ones I’ve seen are Supermicro style where it’s a riser board with physical 8x, 4x slots carried over a flexible riser cable.

I am hoping to do so - need the time to collate the images and write-up. the build is not yet complete though - bit of a well along work in progress. I don't want to hijack OP's discussion but I did want to demonstrate what *can* be done with a single x16. @UhClem though is spot on. mitx is a limiting platform and you need to think very carefully about what you want and what you need. I believe OP is doing exactly that.

and yeah my response and dropping the pic is a bit of a tease.

 

[ReturnedSword]

mITX is quite limiting, so whenever I use it I plan the system quite carefully for the expected lifetime of the system. My big cautionary advice to anyone trying out mITX without prior experience is to know that without shoehorning stuff in, expansion is difficult. Many times shoehorning stuff balloons the cost up where one might as well bite the bullet and go with mATX and a larger chassis.

 

[Sean Ho]

Another option is to offload Plex (with QSV transcoding) to a cheap TMM box with any 7th gen or later chip with iGPU. Even a Celeron can do 20x simultaneous 1080p transcodes in QSV. Mount the media over NFS from your NAS.

 

[Nnyan]

Another option is to offload Plex (with QSV transcoding) to a cheap TMM box with any 7th gen or later chip with iGPU. Even a Celeron can do 20x simultaneous 1080p transcodes in QSV. Mount the media over NFS from your NAS.

That is what I ended up doing. Cheap slim HP with a G5900. I would recommend 8th gen or later (the 5900 is 10th gen). I have yet to be able to max out the max 1080p transcodes.

 

[Sean Ho]

Yep, QSV is great for transcoding, and with very low wattage. Transcode speed/capacity hasn't changed much with newer gens, just new codec support. 7th gen can decode h.265 (and en/decode h.264); 8th and up can also encode.

Intel Quick Sync Video - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Nnyan]

I've seen some differences in performance/quality in the earlier versions and I generally recommend 8th gen and above but anything 6th gen and up should be fine.

 

[Sean Ho]

yes, prior to 6th gen the image quality was not great. Even with current gen QSV , image quality is less than CPU transcoding at default settings, but it's still pretty good, and with much much less power consumption (not to speak of GPU transcoding).