# NAS buying advice



## Zangetsu (Feb 4, 2022)

Hi Guys,

Looking for NAS Setup for Home.

*Usage:*
1. Backup device for all Multimedia content
2. Plex server media station for Streaming 1080p/4K videos on Smart 4K TV
3. Other nifty features which I don't know 

Budget is not yet decided but will decide based on features.

Since, there are many Brands. Which one you suggest ?


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## omega44-xt (Feb 5, 2022)

Not an expert, but some use boards like Rasberry pi & make a makeshift NAS for cheap.

Otherwise use something like Synology DS220j with HDDs.


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## Cool Buddy (Feb 5, 2022)

There has to be some kind of indication as to your budget, otherwise it's very difficult to recommend.

Here are the questions you need to ask/answer:

Will your NAS be used by just you or multiple people?
If multiple, how important is it to isolate their files?

Will you use it over local network only or want to access it from anywhere in the world
How much storage do you need? Do you see it growing consistently such that you keep adding more every year, or do you think you can get 16 TB now and make it last for 5-6 years?
Is it absolutely critical that you don't lose any of your data? Or you'll keep important documents on the cloud as a backup and some possibility of data loss from the NAS is acceptable?
How much time/effort are you willing to spend on setting things up?
Do you see yourself running other services on it, like a database, bot scripts, etc.?
The options you have are 

Build your own using a Raspberry Pi or any other SFF build or old PC which you can get for cheap (like a Dell Optiplex from OLX)
Buy a proper NAS solution from brands like Synology, Asustor, WD, QNAP, etc.
If you are comfortable with Linux and are ok spending some time learning and building a NAS, go for the first option, it will be cheaper. It will also you the greatest flexibility in terms of hardware/software you want to run. However, in case you go for NUC or Raspberry Pi, you might need additional hardware like Disk bays, Powered USB switches, etc.

If you see your data needs growing continuously, or your data is critical to you and loss is not acceptable, then go for a 4-bay NAS, which you'll be able to setup in RAID to guard against accidental data loss.

If you have multiple users and you need isolation, something like Synology will offer you those features out of the box. You will also be able to assign quotas to each user.

If you need internet access, Synology provides a tunnel based access out of the box. For own setup, you'll either need a dedicated public IP (not necessarily static IP, but dedicated IP, i.e., you're not behind ISP NAT), or will have to fiddle with an ngrok like setup. Keep in mind though, that Synology does not give you the option to use your own domain, just a subdomain on quickconnect.to.

If your needs are limited, and you just want something quick and easy to setup, something like Synology DS220j will offer the greatest value for money. 

So here's my recommendation:

*Need complete control over setup, don't mind spending time, and want the possibility of expanding it into a home lab later*: Go for a Raspberry Pi 4 or SFF build
*Need lots of storage but don't have a huge budget/don't need to run lots of services: *Asustor AS4004T - 4 Bay NAS
*Need lots of storage and want to run services, but don't have a huge budget right now: *Synology DiskStation DS720+
*Don't need lots of storage and want something not too expensive and easy to setup*: Synology DiskStation DS220j
*Need lots of storage, possibility of running more services, easy to setup, and budget not an issue*: Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation DS920+


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## RumbaMon19 (Feb 5, 2022)

Zangetsu said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Looking for NAS Setup for Home.
> 
> ...



How many users will you have? In case of 4k content playing, you should for for ds220+ because it has a better processor. ds120j is only good for data storage, backup and share. Also DS120j has only one HDD slot so if that HDD is gone, data is also gone.


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## Zangetsu (Feb 6, 2022)

Thinking of 4Bay and 4 users at home.
Main use will be file backup & 4K streaming. A quad core cpu should suffice ?

Starting with 8 + 8 TB HDD + rest 2 in future

which one is good WD Red plus or Seagate Iron Wolf ?


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## RumbaMon19 (Feb 6, 2022)

Zangetsu said:


> which



I am using Iron wolf 2TB I got for 5k last october, offline. Satisfactory performance, speed boost of 14MBPS over normal HDD. My main motive was to run it 24Hrs.


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## Zangetsu (May 23, 2022)

Do I need a Quad Core CPU (DS920+) ? or a Dual Core will suffice if streaming 4K content from Plex ?

I want to stream 4K in TV from plex server.


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## RumbaMon19 (May 23, 2022)

Zangetsu said:


> Do I need a Quad Core CPU (DS920+) ? or a Dual Core will suffice if streaming 4K content from Plex ?
> 
> I want to stream 4K in TV from plex server.



Quad core wud be better, I have seen lags on dual core.


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## Zangetsu (Sep 15, 2022)

How is TerraMaster F2-423 ?


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## Vyom (Sep 20, 2022)

Never heard of it, and as per reviews not much great either. Haven't dig deeper, but it's hard to recommend any NAS apart from Synology, now that I have used it for a few months. If you just want to setup and forget it, Synology's NAS is proven, popular and comes with huge support in terms of apps and features.

Disclaimer: I did won a Synology NAS in digit's contest a while back, but my views are not based on my own experience in using it.

Having said that there are options where you can turn a low powered system as a 24x7 to act as NAS (like Cool Buddy mentioned), advantage being you have full control of it's OS, but that of course requires more of your time and effort.


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## TheSloth (Sep 20, 2022)

Vyom said:


> Never heard of it, and as per reviews not much great either. Haven't dig deeper, but it's hard to recommend any NAS apart from Synology, now that I have used it for a few months. If you just want to setup and forget it, Synology's NAS is proven, popular and comes with huge support in terms of apps and features.
> 
> Disclaimer: I did won a Synology NAS in digit's contest a while back, but my views are not based on my own experience in using it.
> 
> Having said that there are options where you can turn a low powered system as a 24x7 to act as NAS (like Cool Buddy mentioned), advantage being you have full control of it's OS, but that of course requires more of your time and effort.


Do you run your Synology NAS 24x7? Did you notice any increase in electricity consumption? I wanted to know if it consumes more electricity or how much consumes.


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## Zangetsu (Sep 21, 2022)

I think it depends upon usage. If you use it daily just like your TV or PC.
Some people switch it off when not in use, like consoles. 
idle mode it will be way less.


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## chetansha (Sep 21, 2022)

Zangetsu said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Looking for NAS Setup for Home.
> 
> ...


Hey, checkout amazon, wd 24tb nas available for 63k after discount *amzn.eu/d/7ROVCBs




Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk


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## Vyom (Sep 22, 2022)

TheSloth said:


> Do you run your Synology NAS 24x7? Did you notice any increase in electricity consumption? I wanted to know if it consumes more electricity or how much consumes.


I use to turn it off occasionally on weekdays when I didn't use to watch anything, but now I keep it on 24x7. I can't comment on electricity consumption, since bill in my area depends on usage, and upto 200 units it's free. Hence it's difficult to observe any pattern.


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## TheSloth (Sep 22, 2022)

Synology has several machines from 15k to 85k. How does one decide what configuration would be good?
Say the usage is something like
 1. backup of images and accessing them later on Smartphone/PC/TV through WIFI
 2. Installing Plex and streaming videos on TV/Smartphone again through WIFI.
How much RAM may require for this kind of usage? What kind of usage requires 4GB RAM in NAS setup?


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## Zangetsu (Sep 22, 2022)

TheSloth said:


> Synology has several machines from 15k to 85k. How does one decide what configuration would be good?
> Say the usage is something like
> 1. backup of images and accessing them later on Smartphone/PC/TV through WIFI
> 2. Installing Plex and streaming videos on TV/Smartphone again through WIFI.
> How much RAM may require for this kind of usage? What kind of usage requires 4GB RAM in NAS setup?


Simple rule to follow is the number of active user(s) using the NAS the more RAM & CPU speed you need.
So, if you want to transcode 4K movies on the fly then Dual Core is not good.

For normal backup and 1080p streaming Dual Core is sufficient.


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## TheSloth (Sep 22, 2022)

^Thanks! I will stream 4k movies but that would be done only for single device. 

Also, can Synology like NAS systems other application like adguard ? That is one of the main use case, to run some application and use NAS device as server. What kind of config would be needed if I need to run less than 5 applications using docker?


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## Zangetsu (Sep 22, 2022)

then Don't buy Dual Core NAS for 4K streaming.


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## TheSloth (Sep 22, 2022)

How this kind of mini PC setup with external storage would be over buying a NAS?
*mdcomputers.in/asus-barebone-pn51-e1-b-b5092md.html


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## Nerevarine (Sep 22, 2022)

Zangetsu said:


> then Don't buy Dual Core NAS for 4K streaming.


streaming is fine (maybe not for 55gb + files), transcoding is not.


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## Zangetsu (Sep 23, 2022)

Nerevarine said:


> streaming is fine (maybe not for 55gb + files), transcoding is not.


it will not be as smooth as Quad Core NAS setup. Expect a PowerPoint slide in between 4K streaming. Every review told about the 4K streaming issue in dual core NAS. This is the only reason I am not looking for Dual Core NAS


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## TheSloth (Sep 23, 2022)

Found this spreadsheet on official Plex guide that Synology supports Software encoding upto 720p. I have 2 questions regarding this:
1. Does it mean I can stream a 4k source video file to phone at 720p?
2. Streaming 4k video to a 4k device such as TV should not be a problem(called direct play) for Synology NAS device right?

Or if Plex and other docker based application is part of use case then a PC is better choice?


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## Nerevarine (Sep 23, 2022)

What you are doing is transcoding. i.e. convert 4k to 720p in real time. It requires good cpu support as Zangetsu said.

But if you are playing a 4k video directly as 4k, from file system, it would not be a problem regardless of what device you use. I use vlc player to play on phone, even if its 4k it plays fine on a 100 mbit network. On PC, I have Kodi installed and the exact file location to browse and play.


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## Zangetsu (Sep 23, 2022)

TheSloth said:


> Found this spreadsheet on official Plex guide that Synology supports Software encoding upto 720p. I have 2 questions regarding this:
> 1. Does it mean I can stream a 4k source video file to phone at 720p?
> 2. Streaming 4k video to a 4k device such as TV should not be a problem(called direct play) for Synology NAS device right?
> 
> Or if Plex and other docker based application is part of use case then a PC is better choice?


Playing 4K directly on a Dual Core NAS is a hit or miss. Imagine watching your favorite video on 4K and getting a buffer screen all of a sudden in between. Would you like it ? It will spoil your 4K watching experience right. So, you will have to manage your content viewing cautiously, and what I mean by that is you will have to tell your family/friends...._"Don't stream anything right now....as I am watchin 4K. And if you do that would stress my Dual core NAS CPU" _and that could also include your relatives connecting to your NAS from remote.

So, would you blame your decision of not buying a Quad Core CPU for 4K ? just like we say in hindi _"Isse accha toh mai Quad Core le leta..._"

The 4K content you will watch will not just include mkv/mp4 files of Movies/Series, it might also include your handycam/camera videos in 4K (if you shoot it now or in future)


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## RumbaMon19 (Sep 23, 2022)

Zangetsu said:


> Playing 4K directly on a Dual Core NAS is a hit or miss. Imagine watching your favorite video on 4K and getting a buffer screen all of a sudden in between. Would you like it ? It will spoil your 4K watching experience right. So, you will have to manage your content viewing cautiously, and what I mean by that is you will have to tell your family/friends...._"Don't stream anything right now....as I am watchin 4K. And if you do that would stress my Dual core NAS CPU" _and that could also include your relatives connecting to your NAS from remote.
> 
> So, would you blame your decision of not buying a Quad Core CPU for 4K ? just like we say in hindi _"Isse accha toh mai Quad Core le leta..._"
> 
> The 4K content you will watch will not just include mkv/mp4 files of Movies/Series, it might also include your handycam/camera videos in 4K (if you shoot it now or in future)



I am not getting any issue playing 4k directly on dual core ARM Nas with 512MB ram. Tbh, it just requires to copy paste which even a rpi excells. 

I was able to run one datastream with a 4K stream on tv successfully.


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## Nerevarine (Sep 23, 2022)

Yes, actual BR Rips with 55GB + Size will definitely stutter when playing directly on a dual core NAS. Better get quadcore I agree.

Regardless, my original point was to highlight the difference between just streaming a native file vs transcoding + streaming, which requires a much much powerful CPU (potentially with iGPU like Intel iGPU which can utilize quicksync).

Definitely go for a quadcore if budget permits.


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