Question I need some NAS/Media server advice

[AdamHFF]

Hey! I hope this is the right place for this post.

I need some help and advice. So I am wanting to set up a NAS/Media Server/some way of watching youtube and/or other websites (using chrome browser) on my TV.

I have a 3 Terabyte 7200 rpm HDD I can use as well as extra (full sized) DDR4 RAM and 2 samsung 250 GB SSD's.

I'm looking for a pcpartpicker type guide that can support 4 drives (I will be buying 3 more 3TB HDDs maybe?) I would like RAID 10 in the smallest case.

That would be ideal, I think!

I'm looking at this guide right now: https://www.androidauthority.com/cheap-diy-nas-server-3348392/ and it says I could use DAS(??) with this mini PC https://www.amazon.com/TRIGKEY-Mini...0C15GD3V8?tag=at88bnp-20&th=1&geniuslink=true

But I'm also looking into using a good older i7 Ultra Small Form Factor computer I already have, but using that Direct-Attached-Storage (DAS)? I have never heard of this technology before I started searching for NAS/Media server options. Does anyone have experience with this? I imagine its not as quick as a Raid 10, or can you add on all 4 required HDDs? The USFF is too small to install a new HDD and has a 500 GB one right now.

I would also like to access it remotely with SSH or something if possible.

What would you do? Thanks in advance!

 

[kanewolf]

Hey! I hope this is the right place for this post.

I need some help and advice. So I am wanting to set up a NAS/Media Server/some way of watching youtube and/or other websites (using chrome browser) on my TV.

I have a 3 Terabyte 7200 rpm HDD I can use as well as extra (full sized) DDR4 RAM and 2 samsung 250 GB SSD's.

I'm looking for a pcpartpicker type guide that can support 4 drives (I will be buying 3 more 3TB HDDs maybe?) I would like RAID 10 in the smallest case.

That would be ideal, I think!

I'm looking at this guide right now: https://www.androidauthority.com/cheap-diy-nas-server-3348392/ and it says I could use DAS(??) with this mini PC https://www.amazon.com/TRIGKEY-Mini...0C15GD3V8?tag=at88bnp-20&th=1&geniuslink=true

But I'm also looking into using a good older i7 Ultra Small Form Factor computer I already have, but using that Direct-Attached-Storage (DAS)? I have never heard of this technology before I started searching for NAS/Media server options. Does anyone have experience with this? I imagine its not as quick as a Raid 10, or can you add on all 4 required HDDs? The USFF is too small to install a new HDD and has a 500 GB one right now.

I would also like to access it remotely with SSH or something if possible.

What would you do? Thanks in advance!

DAS is just storage than isn't internal to the case. The performance depends on the interface between the motherboard and the external enclosure. eSATA is one option, USB3 is another. So it depends on what interfaces you have available with that small form factor.

 

[lantis3]

DIY could be cheaper or more expensive depending what you want or ends up with. But the time you spend probably will way beyond your imagination.

Brand name NAS units will serve you much better if you don't have the time to build/test/troubleshoot the whole setup for days or even months (to get familiar with the OS and install add-on software via plugins or docker ). Their OS and software have been tested and integrated for years.

The performance of external DAS case (with 4 drives) usually will suffer since there is only one USB 3.0 or one eSATA connection as mentioned above.

Sell your old stuff and use the money for new NAS.

In reality you don't need RAID 10 either just for media storage and streaming.

---

2 drives DIY NAS route

AOOSTAR R7 Review: An affordable 2-bay DIY NAS with Ryzen 7 5700U and PCIe NVMe support - Liliputing

AOOSTAR R7 Review: An affordable 2-bay DIY NAS with Ryzen 7 5700U and PCIe NVMe support

liliputing.com

You can replace aoostar-r7 model with R1
https://www.amazon.com/AOOSTAR-R1-Support-Storage-Computers/dp/B0CKXMH977


Videos regarding using Aoostar as NAS
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=aoostar+NAS

 

[AdamHFF]

Thanks for the response.

So I'm not too put off by doing it myself if it saves money. That said, I was willing to allocate about $300 to this project. If I can get everything for $250 and it turns out to be much easier (and a decent deal) like the link you mentioned about the DIY NAS, then I will do it.

- Just wondering, if you own one of those systems maybe you can tell me that if it plugs into my TV could I surf the web through it? Like attach a keyboard/mouse and watch youtube?

Thanks

 

[bill001g]

Why do you need a NAS. Do you have a bunch of machines that need access to some data.

Since you seem to want to hook a pc to the tv anyway just buy a small pc you can put hard drives inside and use microsoft file sharing. If you have a old pc laying around it likely will be fine it takes very little to surf web and play youtube.

 

[lantis3]

Your i7 Ultra SFF computer actually can connect to your TV using HDMI and surf the net. No DIY NAS needed. Just use your TV as monitor.

 

[palladin9479]

Thanks for the response.

So I'm not too put off by doing it myself if it saves money. That said, I was willing to allocate about $300 to this project. If I can get everything for $250 and it turns out to be much easier (and a decent deal) like the link you mentioned about the DIY NAS, then I will do it.

- Just wondering, if you own one of those systems maybe you can tell me that if it plugs into my TV could I surf the web through it? Like attach a keyboard/mouse and watch youtube?

Thanks

Doing it yourself will definitely be cheaper, though it means you will have to go through a learning curve.

#1 is this going to be a headless system that is just serving content or do you need a desktop GUI for stuff? Has a very large impact on how we go about this.

If you do no need to login with a GUI, then TrueNAS is beyond amazing and will do everything you mentioned. If you want to plug a mouse / keyboard / screen and do desktop stuff, then we're needing a full featured distro where you install and configure all the service daemons yourself.