Build suggestions: Low power media server, safe data storage solution

[noobtastic88]

Hello,

Looking for a couple of suggestions on a low power media server/data storage solution.
Not really sure how to go about doing this. I have lots (terabytes worth) of data including family photos and videos, music, movies, software.

I'm wondering if I can throw something down in my utility room like a NAS or server with a large RAID setup. Is a certain RAID level best? Luckily I do have a bunch of terabyte drives sitting around that I could use so cost really isn't too much of an issue. Looking at maybe setting something up that will net me 4 TB of storage space and I currently have 6 1 TB drives (could buy more of course)

Obviously the family photos are extremely important. Music, movies, software would be a pain to get back but it wouldn't be a devastating loss.

I also don't need to access those photos often so I would imagine I could leave this powered off most of the time. Maybe even split this off and have a separate redundant solution other than the media server, which would need to be accessed and powered on much more often.

Wondering if you could throw out a couple ideas. Would also be nice to have a media server set up to access these movies vs. throwing each on a USB stick every time we want to watch a movie. Could I throw this down in my utility room too and have the TV access it via ethernet (less of an eyesore in the basement) or is the best solution to have it hooked up via HDMI cable next to the TV?

Thanks.

 

[kanewolf]

ANYTHING that is irreplaceable (like family photos) needs to have a philosophy that includes off-site archive. That might mean cloud backup, or a USB drive that stays at your parents house. If a fire hits your house, multiple copies on-site may not survive. Take this into your design. I have a Synology NAS which supports Amazon Glacier storage for cloud storage. 150GB of glacier costs about $1.50 (penny / GB) per month.