Please help me to validate my choice of NAS device. Thanks!

[scoob101]

Hey all, would appreciate some help in validating my choice of NAS device.

I`m looking at replacing a 10+year old wintel server with a NAS device. My new NAS will be fulfilling two roles:

• Host / Sync a local copy (and provide backup for ) Microsoft onedrive cloud storage files
• Plex Media Server for local music (synced from onedrive), Video streaming, and recording of broadcast TV via LAN attached HD homerun

My wintel home server already runs the above roles and works well. My total storage requirements are modest (currently 1.6TB), so I`ll run a two drive array with some kind of redundancy with a third drive installed outside the array for online backups. I don’t care about snapshots or versioning.

So heres where I need some input / validation of my choice of NAS. I`m currently looking at a Synology DS923+ based on the following criteria:

• I want a recent product which has a decent supported lifespan ahead of it, because I`d like to retain the hardware for 8-10 years.
• I very much require a turnkey solution with minimal configuration overhead. Life priorities mean I don’t have time to tinker these days. It needs to “just work” out of the box.
• Plex is a hard requirement, as is support for MS Onedrive sync. I`ve no interest or appetite to replace these solutions.
• I want a rich software ecosystem just in case I happen to have a new role for my server in future (unlikely but future-proofing)
• I`m happy to lose support for hardware transcoding / GPU support because a) my video content is *all* 1080p or lower, and I really don’t like the client experience of transcoded video content anyway. I`m currently testing my existing plex server/clients with transcoding disabled both server and client side to confirm this wont present any challenge.

So, with the above in mind, so we think the Synology 923+ is a good choice?


Apprecate your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[i386]

I think "minimal configuration" and "rich software ecosystem" don't go very well together...
For the latter part I would prefer a (diy) server running linux or windows (proxmox + vms in case you want/have to mix).
For the "minimal configuration" I think the prebuilt nas devices are pretty awesome (but for my taste a little bit expensive )

 

[scoob101]

I think "minimal configuration" and "rich software ecosystem" don't go very well together...

Sure, I understand what you mean. The point was about the body of applications / services which would be available to the device. Of course, the more hosted services=greater complexity. But as I mentioned in the OP, I`m only running two roles.

Again, a turnkey solution is a must.

 

[Tech Junky]

Again, a turnkey solution is a must.

Then any off the shelf NAS should hit that mark.

The only real consideration then would be the ability to upgrade the NIC and having enough bays for additional growth.

Now, if you didn't need turnkey porting the guts from one case to the next would save you money down the road as well as being able to give it more powerful resources if needed. Also, since you mentioned Plex the ability to add a GPU to speed up things and be more efficient become an option. Adding an A380 to my AMD setup dropped processing times down to 1/8th that of that CPU and max power for the GPU is ~35W which is a lot lower than the CPU.

Sometimes the convenience of the dumb overpriced box off the shelf outweighs the ability to dial in a more efficient solution. Though it's not really rocket science to setup a file server and add services it's just not done for you; The other thing to consider is how secure things are behind the curtain with these NAS providers these days. Not in the distant past there were some issues with some of them getting remote wiped due to security holes in their OS. Something you would have more control over in your own setup. I guess it depends on how much you value your data and privacy.

 

[scoob101]

The only real consideration then would be the ability to upgrade the NIC and having enough bays for additional growth.

NIC shouldnt be a worry - the 923+ is upgradable in this regard, but given the data im hosting and how i`m distributing it over the LAN dont call for anything more than a gigiabit connection, thats an upgrade path I wont be taking. All data which needs to be written to / worked on will be done client side and changes synced to the NAS via Onedrive after the event, so I dont really care about super high performace LAN throughput.

Also, since you mentioned Plex the ability to add a GPU to speed up things and be more efficient become an option. Adding an A380 to my AMD setup dropped processing times down to 1/8th that of that CPU and max power for the GPU is ~35W which is a lot lower than the CPU.

I`m not transcoding, so a GPU shouldn`t be utilised. Transcoding is a horrible client side user experience, IMO and I`m happy to get rid of it. Video content is either being encoded from blu rays or coming from the Plex DVR and in either case, direct play with no transcoding is working just fine in testing. Like i said in the OP, I`m doing extended testing on this right now to double check there are no gotchas with existing content hosted on my wintel box, but Im pretty confident this should be OK. If I do see something screwy, then I can fall back to a Synology with a Celeron J processor, but given its only available on older synology gear, its not my first choice. I`d value the faster Ryzen processor to give me the capability to spin up a performant windows 11 VM more than a GPU to deal with a problem that shouldn`t really exist.

Not in the distant past there were some issues with some of them getting remote wiped due to security holes in their OS. Something you would have more control over in your own setup. I guess it depends on how much you value your data and privacy.

I`d consider that just another variant on your DR scenareos, so I`m mitigating with your usual offline backups. I dont care about the category of catastrophic loss, I just care that i`m mitigating all of them.

If you can think of anything i`ve missed let me know, but what Im hearing is that the Synology 923+ (or perhaps the 1522+ with the extra memory and drive bay) are still good candidates.

Cheers

 

[louie1961]

Honestly nothing beats the Synology software. They don't have the best hardware choices (i.e., CPUs, etc.) but it sounds like you don't need all that much CPU for the requirements you outlined. I would say pick the best Synology device you can afford. The DS-923+ is fine. My only trepidation would be that you might wait a few more months and see what new models Synology might come out with, and maybe get some better CPU options.

The other option would be to go for a brand with better hardware options, but admittedly a less robust software ecosystem. Lately I can't help but think that the Terramaster 424 MAX is not a bad option. The hardware is fantastic, but TOS 6 is just "OK" and not in the same realm as Synology. BUT with the Terramaster, you have the freedom to install TrueNAS or Unraid and it will NOT invalidate your warranty. Plus the TOS system is functional and getting better in each generation.

 

[Leondre]

I would certainly go with something that has an intel cpu w/ igpu for quicksync in case you ever need to transcode. Nice to have even if you don't intend to use it for plex, plenty of other possibilities are out there for it as well. Something like the UGREEN NASync DXP4800 or other variants would be a better pick imo. I've seen reports their OS can connect to onedrive. Pricing is similar and the cpu is just better overall.

 

[scoob101]

Nice to have even if you don't intend to use it for plex, plenty of other possibilities are out there for it as well.

Thats interesting, what roles/applications does hardware transcoding have on this kind of device other than server side video transcoding?

 

[gea]

With the upcoming OpenZFS on Windows (current state: beta but quite usable) a simple Windows 11 + the free VMware Workstation becomes a NAS option that you can hardly beat regarding hardware support or software. I extended my napp-it cs web-gui on Windows with support for Storage Spaces and ZFS management.

 

[scoob101]

With the upcoming OpenZFS on Windows (current state: beta but quite usable) a simple Windows 11 + the free VMware Workstation becomes a NAS option..

Unfortunatley that kind of build is about as far away from my requirements as you could possibly get, but I`m sure someone else will find the information useful. I see they are on release candidate 6 at the moment, so perhaps it will be suitable for some critical applications in a year or two when the community have had a proper chance to kick the tyres.

Very much apprecaite all the feedback from this thread. Thanks all.