NAS Strategy

[Tech Junky]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09QKMQ1B1/?tag=snbforums-20 - 8 bays / DIY build up to mATX board $170

I run a R10 w/ 8TB drives and get good throughput. The nice thing about a DIY setup is you can customize based on demand vs get stuck with whatever comes with the box in the box. Being able to size your NIC for the throughput is nice instead of being stuck at 1gbps or overpaying for 10gbps when it's not needed.

 

[eightiescalling]

Future extensibility is always a good thing.

Two options from what you've said...

If you consider partitions sizes ahead of time then (assuming a Linux setup) LVM makes it easier to swap out drives for expansion later. For example... Starting with 4 6tb drives now, you could set them all up as 6tb physical volumes then later swap 2 6tb drives for 2 12tb drives configured as 2 physical volumes at 6tb each to grow the array. We don't know what the future holds but generally disk sizes are growing year on year. Another 2 disk swap and you've migrated from a 12tb raid10 setup to a 24tb raid10 setup.

Another option is to look at boards with fewer sata ports and maybe consider a PCIe card to support extra drives. Just keep in mind the more you pack in a small space the more heat and less air movement.

 

[aps]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09QKMQ1B1/?tag=snbforums-20 - 8 bays / DIY build up to mATX board $170

I run a R10 w/ 8TB drives and get good throughput. The nice thing about a DIY setup is you can customize based on demand vs get stuck with whatever comes with the box in the box. Being able to size your NIC for the throughput is nice instead of being stuck at 1gbps or overpaying for 10gbps when it's not needed.

Well, I’ve been taking a look down the rabbit hole of DIY NAS / Homelab Server. Some initial thoughts:

1. It looks as if the simplicity of Unraid might outweigh the benefits of Truenas ZFS. (This is the same strategy I’ve used vis-a-vie a router using Untangle not pfSense)

2. Might be possible for some to reuse existing parts but apart from an m2.ssd and some DDR4 RAM it looks as if I’ll need to start afresh and that purchasing parts requires careful thought if the goal is to have a system that will secure data for 5-10 years.

3. A core decision for those of us that need to purchase parts is whether to go consumer (i5 CPU, ASUS MOBO, standard RAM etc) or enterprise (Xeon, Supermicro, EEC RAM).

4. The distinction between machines for ‘data’ and ‘appliances’is less clear to me in the DIY space. I still like this design but incremental investment in the MOBO, CPU and RAM gets one from a machine that is suitable for pure data storage to one that is a home server with data storage.

 

[Tech Junky]

@aps

OS is personal choice. If you decide to add functions later like turning it into a router as well or DVR software or x/y/z then you might end up needing to change OS foundation to support those features. The whole idea behind DIY is not being locked into a specific "container" and being able to run multiple functions on the same box. If all you want is storage / NAS then go with the cheapest CPU add a NIC + drives and be done with it. If you want horsepower for more functions then looking at higher end CPU options makes sense.

-- I don't use ZFS I just run normal EXT4 in R10... The KISS method works / performs well

Just take what you have lying around already and if your case has room for X drives then use it. If you don't have any existing pieces of the puzzle then that's where planning pays off so you don't end up having to rebuild and port drives over from one case to another repeatedly.

 

[sfx2000]

I don't use ZFS I just run normal EXT4 in R10... The KISS method works / performs well

Tend to agree - mdadm/ext4 makes sense - simple enough...

LVM/mdadm/ext4 - takes it one level up - still simple enough...

ZFS - it's a great file system until it doesn't work - not that it's bad, just having pulled apart a ZFS array for recovery, it's rather unpleasant

Always have a backup, as recovery can be a pain..

 

[Samir]

I think you've over complicated things and are on the verge of a rack server running proxmox if you're not careful, lol.

I would simply go for another synology and upgrade the ram to 16GB--this should be good enough for the near and short term since you've been working with your existing one anyways. And 2 bays is enough, and run them jbod or raid 1 if you have to use raid. Jbod makes recovery dead simple and drives are large enough that you should be able to get a single drive large enough for everything--and then get a second.

Keep your existing synology setup and run this new one in parallel and use it for the streaming. Build whatever low powered box you want for home assistant because that will probably need its own setup as it's still constantly evolving.