I currently have a 12 year old Netgear Readynas Ultra 6, I upgraded the firmware to the last version of the software which got me a lot more milage out of it, but the intel Atom cpu is too slow to run plex, and at this point it's capacity is maxed out, it takes a week to do a parity rebuild and volume expansion.

Currently it is running 4 20 tb drives and 2 22 tb drives for a total raid 5 (X:raid) volume of ~93tb once it finishes it's current re-sync and expansion.

I hesitate to even try putting 24 or 30 tb drives in it a i don't think it will like HAMR or SAS, no idea if when sata versions with CMR will be available and it's pretty dang full, only about 8TB free, so needless to say I think it's time for a new NAS.

I've never built a PC before despite being technical, I could probably manage but picking compatible parts always has me a little nervous, I like UNRAID and think I've seen enough videos I could manage that well enough, so building a NAS is possible, but I have somewhat specific requirements from the builds I've seen.

On the other hand, the main nas I am considering is the ds2422+ from synology. 

Pros: 
- 12 bays, double what I have now, plus expansion chassis
- SHR tech so I can add and replace mixed capacity drives as I go as I've been used to for the last 12 years on the netgear
- right form factor, low (relatively) power
- versatile software, more than I will ever use
- ready to go out of the gate

Cons:
- Price
- Features I don't need or are likely to use
- 108 tb single volume limit?  Unless that's been updates with later version of DSM
- not going to use their drives, EXOS is just too price compelling and higher capacity
- would want to instantly upgrade to 10gbe and nvme slots with the card

for a diy nas, I would need unraid, so I can continue my JBOD array of mixed capacity disks, even with the performance hit I take vs traditional raid

Pros:
- flexible hardware
- nearly unlimited single volume size? (28+2 drive limit not withstanding)
- Likely way cheaper to build, but how much exactly? half?

Cons:
- finding it hard to find a case in a form factor I like
- can't run multiple volumes if I wanted to, but shouldn't need to
- not experienced with pc building
- limited software ecosystem 

My requirements/wants:

- desktop form factor 
- low power ish
- low noise ish
(if not for those 3 factors I'd go 45 drives or a refurb supermicro server case) 
- at least 10+ bays, really 12 seems good
- really prefer hot swap cages
- 2.5-10gbe 2+ ports
- ability to have mixed drives used efficiently
- ideally 1 single volume (mapped network drive)

so Basically it comes down to the ds2422+ (or some future refresh that still supports SHR and maybe a larger single volume) 
or something like a fractal define 7 and give up the hot swap cages and have to source enough drive trays for it
or something else I don't know about, that's where you guys come in hopefully?

I can find 8 bay small cases for a build with hot swap, didn't find any non server, desktop ones that did more?

Oh, use case, basically I just want a large, network accessible single array for a media library that is always on and independent of my desktop pc running.

not worried about Upnp or dlna though that would be nice to have, I'd like to run plex again without the cpu getting choked out with background tasks, not even really worried about transcode.  Not that worried about other things like synced backups, and such like that.

I just want a big network available drive volume.  

Do I have my options pretty well figured out, or is there a diy solution I'm missing?

I have a DS416tj to replace. It has served me well over the years, but needs better performance and space. I am looking at Synology 5-bay Disk Station DS1522+ for $700 and QNAP TS-932PX-4G 5+4 Bay High-Speed NAS with Two 10GbE for $650. Both are on Amazon. It is only used for Plex. Which one do you recommend? The next step is figure out how to move my Plex stuff and data.

Hello, I'm really ready to bite the bullet on a DIY System and need help with recommendations on hardware and motherboard. This is what I'm looking for

1. All in One Home Server/NAS/Video Editing/possible media server.
2. 8 to 10TB storage with the ability to expand if needed
3. Connection will be 2.5GBE
4 Purpose: Back-up files/folders/VM's/Containers/Media Server and Photo Storage/4k video editing/Docker/LXC/Main OS will be Proxmox/TrueNas Scale vitrualized for NAS Storage
5. Only 1 to 3 users
6. PCIe to pass-through HBA to TrueNAS
7. Expandability
8. Mini ITX if possible
9. Lower Power Consumption if possible

Hi there! I recently saw the UGreen NAS kickstarter ad and it got me thinking of my Plex that has been neglected lately. I find myself lacking more and more time to invest in these types of projects, embarrassingly I purchased 4 8TB drives to use for a plex server and then got lost in the weeds trying to set up a raid card in my previous gaming rig. I am familiar enough to say I'm comfortable with building PCs so if there is a good cost benefit to building a mini PC for Plex I could most likely handle it but I have definitely been leaning more towards plug and play options. Currently I have those 4 "new" in box 8TB drives and I believe I have 4 4TB drives as well. I have a 15 year old HAF case that could be used for a custom build if that ends up being the suggested route. My main goal is to set up a Plex server to house all of my Movies/Music/Pictures so that I can access them via the many Plex apps in and outside of the home network on my TV/Tablets/Phones etc. Thanks!

I found this question on a forum which relates to want i am trying to do:

"I have been setting up an account for my kids and while i was able to restrict playback of videos that are not age appropriate the files and posters are still viewable.

Is there a way to automatically hide videos that are not available for playback or to set up a smart folder that only shows files that meet a specified criteria (much like smart search in iTunes).

I have made a playlist but this is only viewable on my account and does not auto update."

Is this possible?

Thank you
Andrew

Hello:

Been seeing a lot of your videos recently as I attempt to venture into NAS territory. I have been looking to detach myself from Google Photos/Drive and perhaps build an automated ARR framework for media downloading (movies, TV shows) for local and remote viweing.

Have thought about:
- Aoostar R1 or R7
- Terramaster F4-424 and Pro
- Custom DIY solution

Was thinking of running Proxmox, TrueNAS as VM.

What do you think?
...is it possible to run pfSense as a VM and then export that data to an Orbi mesh system? Hoping to use VPNs/adblocks that way.

Really appreciate your knowledge in this topic.

Regards,
Manuel

Hello I'm looking into moving my server into a itx case. I'm interested in the jonsbo N3. I noticed while it's an itx build. There's a bit more space under. I wanted to ask if you could measure from the top of an installed mother board, down to the wall of the case? I think I could squeeze an matx into the space while using a flex PSU.

Situ is i this 

I have a 923+ with 4x 8TB WD RED EFAX drives, had the drives for about 5 years, have recently upgraded to the 923+, but would like to do the \HDD migration to a new larger set of 10, 12, 14, 16tb drives.

i think for me for what im using the Synology which is mainly media files, moving to 10 is enough.

I have watched the videos on the best HDD i was looking at the Exos drives but wasn't sure if that is the best way.  

Thoughts and opinions please thank you.

If i can move to 4x12tb and it's a fair reasonable price.

Please also quote the HDD model you would recommend.

I have 2 x 16TB seagate green hard drives that I want to use in a NAS 2 bay system. I have Terramaster D5-300 but the Seagate green HHD will not fit into those containers. I want a 2 bay drive that will fit the Seagate green 16 TB HHD.

Hi I just but the Asustor Gen 2 AS6706T NAS, and been trying to follow your instructions here to install Truenas, but It will not install, I can not even get to the install screen. could you do a video on how to install truenas on the AS6706T. Thanks. Complete version is as follows: Asustor Lockerstor 6 Gen2 AS6706T | 6 Bay NAS, Quad Core 2.0GHz CPU, 4 M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD Slots, 2 2.5GbE Ports, 8GB RAM DDR4, Rapid Storage for Creators, Network Attached Storage (Disk-less). When i go to the bios the USB drive shows but it shows the following ! USB HDD Scandisk Cruser. and wil not boot from the drive.

My hardware configuration is as follows:

4 x 1tb NVME M.2 3.0 x3
4 x 6 TB WD Red NAS HDD
2 x WD 500G HDD

any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated


Thanks