Greetings, I'm a long time viewer of the channel and would love to utilize your affiliate links to make my first foray into the NAS world. I'm considering something like the DS923+ but wanted to sanity check via your handy advice form here on your website. I self host plex on my personal machine, currently sitting around 20TB of internal data, but I've also dabbled in hosting project files for myself and my peers. I'm in entertainment (animation / vfx / games) and am likely going to need to expand my local storage for a few personal projects with friends. As of right now if I just offload my plex from my personal computer to a NAS that would be fine, I could host our project files on my local machine, but it would be advantageous to build something out that I could sync to a friends house in a mirrored setup (assuming projects go well haha). I have a modest 12u rack where my pc and some other peripherals are hosted, I'd considered a rack mounted NAS but they're pricey!
Hello and thank you for being a long-time viewer! It's fantastic that you want to explore the world of NAS and consider using our affiliate links for your purchase. Based on your requirements and interests, the Synology DS923+ is indeed a worthy choice. It's a versatile NAS that can cater to various needs, including hosting Plex and managing your animation, VFX, and gaming projects.
Your 20TB of internal data for Plex and the potential need for expanding local storage for creative projects make the DS923+ a great fit. It's well-equipped for such tasks and allows for scalability, which is essential for your future plans of syncing data with a friend in a mirrored setup.
While rack-mounted NAS units can be a bit costly, you can work around it by placing the DS923+ on a shelf or a compact rack unit in your existing 12u rack. This way, you can maintain an organized setup without the premium price tag.
To get started, consider purchasing the DS923+ along with a few large hard drives to meet your initial storage requirements. Synology's SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) will allow you to mix and match drives, making it flexible for future upgrades as your storage needs grow.