Networks Looking for NAS advice. Added a couple questions.

As a recent user of Plex following my purchase of Chromecast. I am now looking for a NAS to store all my media files.

I have looked at the Plex Nas compatibility list but to a noobie to this sort of thing this was pretty much gobbledygook to me. What I am looking for is a simple Nas box and I am thinking a single HDD will be more than ample.

Simplicity is the watchword here ad am looking for suggestions on my first such device.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/edit#gid=314388488

Thanks..

 

I too have been looking into something similar as you have been. This is what I have found out.

1) Plex server client can be run from many of these dedicated NAS boxes but its well known fact that these boxes are using low powered hardware as they obviously have a single job to do. Now it's here where we run into issues.

Plex server can transcode your media into a format that is compatible with the hardware you're streaming too, which is you think about it is great! however it is very hardware intensive and these small NAS boxes are not really up to the task should you need to transcode any media to your devices.

Also the weak hardware does limit the fact of the amount of users connected to the NAS whilst streaming all at the same time/transcoding.

2)What i've seen the best bet is to build your own NAS using old-ish hardware that conforms to Plex's recommended hardware specs and then run a FreeNAS or unRAID with Plex installed as an app thru those NAS distros. It gives greater flexibility with no hardware issues for Plex and offer a long term upgradeability path as your media grows.

3) The WD Cloud EX range is very good but then again the issue with transcoding and multiple users will be a limiting factor but most of the cloud EX range uses WD RED drives which should be worth the money and the software looks very good from what i've seen.

 

It depends on how much storage you want and how much you have so spend. Unfortunately, according to the spreadsheet, it looks as though the cheaper NAS models either don't support Plex or don't support transcoding.

A better option might be to get an HP Microserver, chuck in a few 1 or 2Tb drives and install Linux & PMS.

My preferred version, and the one I use, is to install unRAID and PMS. The advantage of unRAID is that you can mix and match disk sizes and just add another disk when you run out of space; the downside is that one of your disks is unavailable for storage as it's always used as a parity drive (and it always has to be the largest drive).

 

HP microserver would be the best option for the lowest cost but be prepared to do all the work installing and managing yourself.
Fibblebot, I know with freeNas you can run it from a USB stick thus not wasting a hard disk. Is it possible to do that with unRAID?

I also thought Plex worked with Synology devices? Thinking about it there might be a processor limitation on lower end hardware.

 

Personally I would look at Synology DS214se not cheep by time you add disks but only a little more than micro server and you don't have to do anything apart from load up a DSM (DiskStation Manager) very easy to do low power and will support upto 12gb out the box

DiskStation DS214se Overview

 

As mentioned, if you need to transcode forget doing it on a NAS, that's microserver territory and all but the most prohibitively expensive units just won't manage it.

If your device plays native (start playing a file and it will tell you in the info section if it's transcoding or not) then a NAS is a great way to run Plex without the noise, hassle and power consumption of a server.

I have it running on a Netgear ReadyNAS 102, alongside the transmission torrent client it does all my media work for nil effort. The downside is that the interface isn't as fast as if it were coming from a server, but it's really nice to have everything contained in a little box. It'll still play 12GB 1080p films perfectly smoothly.

Synology Ds214se:

800Mhz, 256MB RAM, £125ish

Netgear RN102:

1.2GHZ, 512MB RAM, £125ish

Monster monster.

 

Some interesting stuff here will have a proper look tomorrow.

Cheers.

 

These seem to be reasonably priced even factoring in a couple of HDD's.

Synology Ds214se
Netgear RN102

But what about building my own server? I have not built anything foe a while so this would be good. But only if the end product can do the job better than a dedicated nas box.

What of components? What should I be looking for? If anyone could spec a small or microserver from case inwards I would be grateful.

 

I can't offer advice on components but if you can be bothered to build a server and house it somewhere that it can run 24/7 then do it.

It'll completely trounce a NAS in terms of performance and will be a lot more versatile going forwards.

 

Yes, unRAID has to boot from USB as it ties the GUID of the USB stick to your licence key.

tbh, this is the only bit-tech approved way of having a NAS
If you're concerned about your electricity bill, have the server sleep when it's not being used and wake it up with WOL when you want to watch a film.

 

Cheers mate , I think I will place a Wanted ad in the MP and see what is available.

 

That Ds214se is basically a crippled Ds213j:

Ds213j: 1.2GHz Armada 370 with 512MB RAM
Ds214se: 800Mhz Armada 370 with 256MB RAM
Ds215j: 800Mhz Armada 375 with 512MB RAM

It's better to find a Ds213j or Ds215j.


Also double check Plex compatibility. Although it may say it will run, you will be missing a whole lot of features due to the low powered CPU on NAS's.

Having said that, I would still highly recommend a Synology NAS, either Ds213j or Ds215j, latter is dual core and have a vector unit for encoding. The best thing about Synology is that you will have their fantastic library of apps. To replace Plex there's their Video Station and DS Video mobile app. It's compatible with every all the streaming methods you can think of.

Finally, these Armada CPU's are so energy efficient, when HDD's spin down, they should draw no more than 4w. You can't get anywhere close with HP Microserver or any custom built.

 

As I mentioned earlier the Plex Compatibility list was a bit over my head but it seems Plex does not support Ds215j with a discussion here https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/to...ds115j-and-ds415-and-pms-compatibility/page-7 so I still need the information on the best way to go.

 

I run a Synology DS211j and have experimented with the Plex server application available for the Synology.

I didn't do any transcoding as I convert all movies to MP4 before placing them on the NAS.

However, I found with my 211j that even without transcoding, the performance hit on the NAS was painful. I use the NAS for data storage as well and I could notice the difference in response times from the NAS with Plex running. Browsing the NAS for movies via a PC, tablet and PS3 also became slower and actually annoying. I ended up removing the Plex application and just rely on the native Synology media server application now. The bottleneck was the CPU.

If you are going to go down the Plex route, you will need more powerful hardware than a Synology DS213/4/5 can offer. I would suggest building your own hardware and using something like OpenMediaVault as the O/S - OMV has a Plex server plugin.

If you only use the native Synology media server application then they will be fine although I don't know about Chromecast integration.

 

I am beginning to think that Plex is the stumbling block here. I would rather have a neat small box rather than finding room to put a server somewhere.

And whatever I use I would like it to be work with Chromecast.

I will keep researching as there is no rush.

Edit: Just found this. http://blog.synology.com/blog/?p=2377

 

That's exactly what I've been trying to say!

The stock Synology library of apps covers so much, you don't really need to find open source ones.

Their video station streams beautifully across Sony w605, Samsung F8000, Apple TV as well as Chromecast all without issue. I have even been able to pause film in the kitchen and resume on my main TV no problem.

 

I think I have settled on a the Synology DS215j as it seems the simplest way forward for an old codger like me.

Thanks mate.

Edit: Final question: Does it matter what HDD's one bungs in these things?

 

I had 2 Samsung 2TB in my Ds213j, but after a while they started developing errors. (one after the other, separated by a few month)

I now use a 4TB WD Red and a 2TB Seagate (purchased at similar time as the Samsungs, back when I built a Ds410, in 2010). The 3 other Samsung drives are now in HP Microserver as a backup target. They still read and write okay, but doesn't seem to like being on all the time.

My experience seems to be: don't buy the cheapest, the cheapest HDD at the time (Samsung eco) didn't do very well in my hands.



But then, I've not had enough time with the single WD Red yet. Although the Seagate is working exceptionally well so far.

 

One other option to consider is a 'dumb' NAS (just handles storage) plus another server to handle the transcoding (and any other server-y things you may want to do). A low-end NUC with quicksync would be more than enough for transcoding, but if you have space and some old hardware lying around you could use pretty much anything.

 

Looking to buy this http://www.dabs.com/products/synology-ds115j-1-bay-desktop-nas-enclosure-9QS3.html and adding a "TB HDD but I note that there is http://www.dabs.com/products/seagate-2tb-nas-hdd-sata-6gb-s-64mb-3-5--hard-drive-8QDN.html and http://www.dabs.com/products/seagat... Storage - Hard Drives - Internal Hard Drives

What is the difference apart from the price obviously I would prefer the cheaper option. I have had an Netdisk 351UNE which although getting on a bit has served me faithfully for some years with a bog standard HDD in. But I can probably just about stretch my budget if it is advised to get the Nas HDD, just lop a bit off her Christmas present. LOL.