Question SSD DIY NAS?

[kuujo]

I need to centralize data in my house because I am using multiple devices each day and I am tired of copying things over by external drives.

I want it to be small and silent, so that it can sit on my desk, I don't need transcoding since my devices can handle media on their own and I am used to SSD speeds so I don't want a lot of compromise in speed.

I should probably go with pre-made device since I have no experience, but when it comes to SSD NAS it seems we are not there yet... I have found only QNAP TBS-464 and Asustor Flashstor 6, both hard to get in my country, overpriced and god... I usually don't care about looks... but that Asustor looks like a plastic toy... I have no faith in those devices...

So it seems it would make sense to make my own NAS, but I have no idea which parts are suitable for a NAS, I only ever built regular PCs. From my superficial understanding, I don't need powerful CPU, just energy efficient one, but no idea where to go from there.

I thought maybe to go for some i3, but 1200 motherboards in ITX format and with bifurcation (which I would need for a QUAD NVMe PCIe adapter) doesn't seem to be a thing. Maybe there is a more suitable CPU that would have mobo that meets those requirements? I just envisioned 4x SSDs in a 4-5L case and I really want to make it happen, but maybe I am lying to myself that it's possible?

 

[kanewolf]

I need to centralize data in my house because I am using multiple devices each day and I am tired of copying things over by external drives.

I want it to be small and silent, so that it can sit on my desk, I don't need transcoding since my devices can handle media on their own and I am used to SSD speeds so I don't want a lot of compromise in speed.

I should probably go with pre-made device since I have no experience, but when it comes to SSD NAS it seems we are not there yet... I have found only QNAP TBS-464 and Asustor Flashstor 6, both hard to get in my country, overpriced and god... I usually don't care about looks... but that Asustor looks like a plastic toy... I have no faith in those devices...

So it seems it would make sense to make my own NAS, but I have no idea which parts are suitable for a NAS, I only ever built regular PCs. From my superficial understanding, I don't need powerful CPU, just energy efficient one, but no idea where to go from there.

I thought maybe to go for some i3, but 1200 motherboards in ITX format and with bifurcation (which I would need for a QUAD NVMe PCIe adapter) doesn't seem to be a thing. Maybe there is a more suitable CPU that would have mobo that meets those requirements? I just envisioned 4x SSDs in a 4-5L case and I really want to make it happen, but maybe I am lying to myself that it's possible?

SSD performance is limited by the network. You won't get SSD performance.

 

[kuujo]

In case it was not clear from OP I am aware of speed compromises, the goal is only to reduce them if possible. If you are saying that network will bottleneck me to the speed of HDD, there are noise and size considerations I mentioned that still leave me with SSD solution as the most viable option.

I am not asking for a list of parts or anything, just a starting place. I find it difficult to find information about what motherboard and CPU combination is suitable for a NAS, especially the energy consumption part and how good is good enough. I also wanted to confirm if the idea with the PCIe adapter for NVMe's is even a thing, or maybe it's a stupid idea and I just don't know why yet.

 

[USAFRet]

NAS storage is still centered on HDD, due to size vs cost.

I have a QNAP (7 years old), with around 95TB in or attached to it.
Recreating that in NVMe drives would be $10k +

With zero performance gain.

And the 4bay QNAP case is pretty small.

 

[kanewolf]

In case it was not clear from OP I am aware of speed compromises, the goal is only to reduce them if possible. If you are saying that network will bottleneck me to the speed of HDD, there are noise and size considerations I mentioned that still leave me with SSD solution as the most viable option.

I am not asking for a list of parts or anything, just a starting place. I find it difficult to find information about what motherboard and CPU combination is suitable for a NAS, especially the energy consumption part and how good is good enough. I also wanted to confirm if the idea with the PCIe adapter for NVMe's is even a thing, or maybe it's a stupid idea and I just don't know why yet.

If you are "aware of the speed compromises" then you know that NVMe would be a waste.
Look at the CPUs the commercial NAS providers use. It is the lowest end CPUs. The N or J Intel CPUs. 4 cores, but active cooling not required.
I would look at "embedded motherboards".