[SOLVED] NAS vs PC

[sati-edimax]

Hi

I'm thinking of making a private (personal/home, however called) file storage for me and my family so that file management over various devices will be easier (few PCs and few laptops). I do have external HDDs but they don't really work for daily usage or having access to files on multiple devices. My aim at start would be to make something in lines o ~8TB of space with the option to add more in the future (so like 2x 4TB HDDs at start). I'm trying to point out pros/cons of the 3 options I can think of:

• NAS
• build a PC that will work as home file server
• convert one of my old PC to work as file server

In all cases I would use NAS dedicated disks, though I'm debating that maybe for the PC options standard disks are enough (not want to jinx, but I have disks in my PCs that have been working for 8+ years and they have all numbers green). I'm assuming the device would work mostly during daytime (8-24), sometimes when needed during night (like having to download GBs of raw video files for editing or having to upload them). All would be connected to a UPS to secure random power failures (sadly happens where I live). I don't need RAID, like I said above my main backup would be external HDD (got 3 at home, so I'm ok here) and I don't need faster R/W on a storage machine (I won't use it for real time work in editing or anything, I got SSD/M.2 for that on my work rig). In case of PC I would use Linux as OS (something from the ubuntu brach, maybe lubuntu as it uses less resources than ubuntu and has all the functionality I need)

NAS pros:

• dedicated to work 24/7
• hardware made for 24/7 work
• less power consumption than PC
• less basic noise (not counting disk noises)
• a 2bay NAS is cheaper than a new PC
• hot plug new disks
• all kind of dedicated disk health and storage management software

NAS cons:

• 2 bay NAS has zero update options aside from "replace current disks with bigger ones" (then what to do with old disks, I already have some HDD in boxes that I'm too lazy to connect via SATA<>USB... - can't use them for NAS as there might be like 4-5 TB total space, not really enough, when I have a central storage space then I might think of a way to use those free disks for additional backup with a docking station or something)
• 4 or 6 bay NAS has prices similar to a PC (or even bigger, depends on the model ofc)
• less versatile for any additional usage, just for storing files
• if something fails within the NAS itself (not disk), the whole device is mostly lost (or the repair cost will be high enough so that getting a new one is a batter option)
• not really for daily power on/off (but in case of a NAS I would most likely keep it running 24/7)

New PC pros:

• more versatile when it comes for overall usage
• I can use it as a dedicated web-browser machine and share it via RDP to my Windows machines (as a kind of "safer" web browsing environment)
• 6 SATA ports (1 for OS, so 5 for storage disks) at start on most mobos
• can tweek disks setup and samba config for my needs
• plenty of hardware update options
• if need arises I can buy PCI-E<>SATA adapters to add even more disks (doubt I would use it, but PC gives such possibility)
• can add more RAM if needed (for web browsing for example, if the mobo will support it ofc)
• can plug a CD/DVD drive for either burning data on DVDs or to dump data from my CD/DVDs that I have (either via SATA until I have free slots or via an external USB)
• can auto shutdown when connected to UPS if there is a longer power failure (my UPS model has a linux software driver but didn't test it, yet)
• can turn off automatic updates so that I can prepare for software updates (like have a 1:1 VM to test updates etc)
• faster boot time
• dedicated to turn on/off model of work

New PC cons:

• not really dedicated for 24/7 work
• normal hardware not build for 24/7 work
• more hardware that can cause problems
• would require to have a mouse/keyboard/monitor free or within quick connection in case RDP/SSH has problems
• no hot plug new disk
• having to do all of the configuration of new disk every time I would add one
• way more power hungry than a NAS
• will probably be louder than NAS (but it would probably allow for some additional noise reducers for drives that NAS can't offer due to lack of space in the case)
• requires more space (I don't like very closed cases as they have worse air flow)
• most of the time the PC will be bored and do nothing (CPU/GPU at 0% and RAM mostly used by OS, tbh I even think about having crypto miners there just so that the PC isn't idle all of the time heh...)

Old PC (intel core 2 duo era):
[most pros of new PC] plus
lowest rig cash investment (probably only some additional noise reducers)

[all cons of new PC] plus:

• hardware is old (mobo has SATA II ports)
• hardware is more power hungry than a 2020 rig
• the PC is noisy so I would need to make it as quiet as possible (new fans, maybe new case, maybe liquid cooling, dunno really)
• some hardware that I don't have any usage off on such system like a dedicated GPU (until the PC has Windows I can use it for games that I like, but on Linux that won't work and dual boot isn't an option since if booted to Windows then no access to the storage duh), better GPU might help in crypto but that's not the reason I want a file server... (and the GPU is GTX450 so "super crypto power" )
• can't use any hardware from this PC in my other rigs as it has the worst specs (no point too take the GPU to another PC for SLI...)
• aside from adding more disks no other hardware upgrades (ram is maxed on mobo, no point in better cpu)
• potential problem that the mobo won't see the disks or that it won't work above some certain amount of space (never happened to me but who knows)
• more likely to fail while using compared to a new rig

Not sure where to put "I have the control over software updates" in a NAS as I never had one so I can't say if I can block updates or they happen automatically and I can't avoid them (if yes - that's a minus, I hate when software updates itself without my knowledge of it as that can often lead to various problems).

Did I miss something crucial? Or I got something very wrong? At the moment I guess my choice would be:

1. new PC
2. NAS
3. old PC

PS Not sure if this is the right board, but searching for NAS lead me to Networking

Thanks

 

[USAFRet]

NAS all the way.

A couple years ago (Jan 2017), I was in exactly the same spot you are.
I had an old PC that was being used as a "house file server". Time to upgrade.

Balancing ALL the pros/cons/drawbacks/benefits....the 4 bay QNAP NAS box won easily.

Silent, low power consumption, small.
Price, actually much less than a PC, if you were to factor in a Server201x license.

Software updates?
About once a month it prompts for a firmware update to the system.
More frequently for individual updates to the included applications.
You can apply or ignore as desired. But in almost 4 years of 24/7 use, I've not seen a single instance of any update causing problems.

And they are much more than a simple file server.
Mine can upscale on the fly from 1080p to 4k. I can't really test this due to no 4k display.
It can be the hub for your house security cameras. Application available at a click.
Very fine grained permissions. It is basically a server OS, based on Linux. You have much more control than a Win 10 Home or Pro install.

I have a 4 bay TS-453a. Later, I added a 4 bay TR-004 USB expansion box.
The TR-004 is seen and included directly in the NAS OS functions.
Also, I had a 4 bay MediaSonic enclosure around, and a few extra drives.

So...~51TB total available space.

Hardware upgrades like with a PC?
You can't like a PC, but in almost 4 years I've seen zero need, nor do I anticipate any on the horizon.

 

[BogdanH]

NAS, as name implies, does exactly what it's meant to do and it does that in most efficient way -because it's meant to run 24/7 at almost zero maintenance. Not to mention it's small, produces less heat/noise and uses much less power. In that sense, you shouldn't think about what NAS can't do (compared to PC).

 

[SamirD]

So you've done quite a bit of thinking on this already. So here's the critical questions that will help you drill down your choice:

• Space - is it a real concern?
• Noise - is it a real concern?
• Power - is it a real concern?
• Budget - Have one?

Our file serving literally started out as some large flash drives plugged into an xp embedded thin client and just shared the drive. It's been bulletproof and as we've upgraded to external hard drives and now mutliple nas units, you have to figure out what you need from a workflow standpoint and then pick the hardware.

On a PC you can easily use freenas to get full nas functionality too. And you can virtualize these too so you can run more on a PC, but then you're into the power usage again.

 

[Ralston18]

Yes - consider FreeNAS

https://www.freenas.org/

Should be fairly straightforward to set up and experiment with for a while.

Then, if necessary, revise and refine your requirements and go from there. E.g. the suggested QNAP NAS box.

 

[USAFRet]

Discounting the actual drives:

If you already have relevant PC parts, consider building up a PC based thing. FreeNAS as the OS.
If you don't already have applicable parts, consider a NAS box. QNAP or Synology.

 

[sati-edimax]

Ow, I forgot about this thread. Thanks for the suggestions, though in the end I didn't get either thing back then and now we have mid 2022

Atm I changed my plans to buy a cheap HP prebuild PC (have an option to get one for like 20$), get 2 drives into it (most likely 2x8tbs, and keep one SATA slot for eventual 3rd drive) and use OpenMediaVault booted from USB on it. The PC will be used for backups/storage, not actual 24/7 work with constant R-W on it.

Thanks again.