Hello,

I found your page from your YouTube videos and honestly I'm a bit flummoxed. I would like to build a NAS server for home usage (don't foresee myself sharing it with anyone, and hardly playing anything outside of the home). I have a large collection of 4K UltraHD discs and a decent amount of Blu-rays that I'm going to be ripping to MKV files (no compression). I would like to start with a NAS that has around 4-5 bays and hopefully can be expanded more just in case. I just want to be able to play a big 4K file ripped off a disc without any choking from the CPU or PLEX. Just start the movie and go. Maybe turn subtitles on. Also, I'm most likely going to be using a NVIDIA Shield Pro device to play back on my 4K TV. Would you be able to send me some recommendations on affordable NAS cases to start off with, please? Thank you, and keep up the excellent content on YouTube!

Sincerely,
Justin Kramer

Hello,

Firstly, thankyou so much for all of your youtube video content, you are really leading the way in this field.

I am looking to build a NAS system for multile video editors (2-4) to use symultaneously to edit 4k footage in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.

I have created a spec based on the information your videos suggest.

£2,206.29 QNAP 1288x (need 1 of these)
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/41151-qnap-tvs-h1288x-w1250-16g/

£386.13 18tb Seagate Ironwolf Pro NAS Hard Drive (need 4-8 of these). Used for storage
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/40264-seagate-st18000ne000/

£102.20 QNAP QXP-T32P Thunderbolt Expansion (need 2 of these)
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/42448-qnap-qxp-t32p/

£75.17 Thunderbolt 3 cable 2m (need 4 of these)
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/34349-qnap-cab-tbt320m-40g-lintes/

£831.09 WD 2TB SSD (x4). Used for editing on
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/38935-wd-wds200t1r0a-4ssd/

£99.74 WD 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD (need 2 of these). Used for cache.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/43690-wd-wds100t1r0c/

My idea is to use the Iron Wolf drives for storage, the SSD for editing current projects on, and the M.2 NVME SSD for cache. All in RAID 6.

By adding 2 of the TB3 expansion cards this gives me 4 TB3 ports on the back of the unit. I then plan to have 4 IMac computers plugged directly into those TB3 ports.

2 questions:

Would this give me the best read and write speeds (and ultimately smoothness in editing for all users)?

Would i get better performance by buying a 10gb switch and a 10GB ethernet to TB3 adapter for each machine? Or would this effectively be the same thing using TB3 cables directly into the expansion cards?

Thanks in advance.

Ash

Hi there you awsome nascompares,


I am looking for some advise about type of NAS I am looking for:
the situation:

my father in law is a video and photo enthusiast. he has several external hdd's laying arroud in a total of about 6 TB.

he creates allot of videos with his drones and camera's and mixes those videos together and stores them. He also likes to it to use it like an video/photo player on lcd in living room.

requirements:

- expandiblity I guess
- 400-650 diskless.
- 6TB no but growing
- so expandabillity.
- easy os to learn.
- HDMI for 4K (nice to have for video playing directly to tv).

my idea was get an 2-4 bay nas with with m2 ssd slot for caching. polulate it with 1 or 2 slots left for expandabillity. so slam an 8 TB in raid 1 a 3 or 4 bay.

myself I have the qnap 332x. I have some experience on linux, but do not want to be his helpdesk for daily use. therefore I want a solid easy os, and support from a vendor instead of a community.

my first bet was synoligy because of their reputation of the OS. but they all lack HDMI.


my first tought was the following:
synology 920+ (but expendabillity is expensive and no HDMI).
qnap ts-364 (4k 30Hz and a bit noisy for the living room).

qnap ts-464 (checks all the boxes, but is not released in europe)

did I overlook someting?

and which drives to take?

youyrs thankfully,
Robert Lemke

Hi, I like the look of Nord VPN's Meshnet service but I can't see any online tutorials for running Nord VPN on a qnap NAS. I use the QVPN app to connect to a Nord VPN server account for downloads but meshnet seems to be an feature within the Nord VPN app. In order to get that running on a QNAP could I just try the 'Install Nord VPN on Linux' route or is that likelyto screw up my NAS ?

Thanks

Keep up the good work.
Hope the donations campaign is going well.

Good evening,

First, thank you for the time and effort to explain the different brands, highlighting Pros and Cons of the different manufacturer's.

I want to buy my first NAS. In basic to provide storage for iPhone backup, other hdd’s with backup on them, redundancy in backup (at least one drive failover). IT knowledge is mediocre. I am considering a Synology NAS, 4 bay; like the DS920+
My question is the following: if I now make a setup of 3 times 10 TB for day to day use and backup and leave one bay open for a feature surveillance drive, is that something that is to be advised? Or should I populate all 4 bays due to backup and expand the nas in the nearby feature and make the expansion a dedicated surveillance setup?

Would love to hear your advice. Any more tips that I should take into consideration?

Best Regards,

Mark

I have an old QNAP that I use as a Plex Server. However, it doesn't handle 1080 files very well. I'm planning on purchasing a new NAS and was wondering if I can connect the old NAS for file storage. Can I pull media from the old NAS to the new NAS on the fly and use the power of the new NAS to watch Plex movies in 1080/4K? Or, do the video files have to be on the new NAS?

Hi, I've scoped your site for a couple of years now. I think its time I finally make the jump. A few years back purchased a Synology DS218J on dirt cheap on Prime day. It's done the job fine but I want to upgrade now that Ive maxed the 8T drives. I've decent ability on the computer, but much of the stats referenced are beyond my knowledge level. Ill brake down how I currently utilize the NAS and what I would like to be able to do with a new one. I tend to lean toward purchasing hardware that I think would be considered beyond what is deemed necessary for a home user. But I would always prefer having hardware to grow into, containing interfaces, scalability and above all performance perhaps beyond necessary. The last thing I want to do is wait for something to be processed.

The following might be overshare, but I like to paint a clear picture of where I'm coming from and why. The last thing I ever want to be accused of is putting on airs or fronting.

- I currently reside in a somewhat rural area in what was meant to be a home for my mother which I would visit on weekends, work on and eventually my partner and I retire at. A small cabin-ish place about 1.7 hours north of SF. Cohabitation with mom was a nightmare, she bailed to go leach off her sister when I made it clear this isn't a free ride and she need to help around the house. So now I reside here and care for 3 dogs she abandoned and work on the place. I note this so it doesn't sound like a flippant "Ive got two residences" ie endless funds.

- I'm a Mac user. Currently use a Mac Pro (cylinder style) around a year or two old. 2.7g 12 core. 2T. The footprint fits the space. I'm eyeing a Mac Studio but not ready to throw down. I do freelance graphics and photo editing. Nothing too crazy, no 3D graphics or gaming.

- I find the Synology DSM confusing and not exactly intuitive but can muddle through. Synology often in Help or directive verbiage, doesn't site the exact software, program, heading or process name as it is listed. So it can get confusing. ie: Go to the heading titled Surveillance Center, but actually the item listed is named Surveillance Station or is listed under a different menu item all together. It feels as if all help and direction is written solely for a Windows version and not updated for the headings or names used in the Mac version. Many times hunting around is required. But in the end, it appears to be doing its thing correctly so I'll stick with them.

- I'm not versed in the different back-up types, different RAIDs etc. Why so many? WTF. I just want my shit backed up so I don't loose it.

- My partner resides at the SF home during the week, weekends up here. He has zero tach ability. Works for a law firm so all his devices VPN and can't be backed up on outside servers. So no worries there.

- We currently have a Nest Cam at each home to keep amp eye on things while away. I'd prefer not pay Google the fee for storing our 10 day camera feed. (around $150 pr yr x 2)
So I was thinking since Im looking to upgrade the NAS, I could integrate a security cam setup and get notifications same as Nest. (ideally 4-6 cams here, 1-2 in SF) Because even with Nests system, not all activity is recognized or acknowledged, I lean toward recording 24/7. If I was confident the systems would work as expected, recording just events) Possibly move the DS218J there for security came use or can leave it here and just buy another for SF.

- I don't currently use any sort of auto back-up. Though I should, I find it slows things up at the least convenient time. So I drag-n-drop most everything manually into the server.

- I'm unsure how much is hype trying to get people to buy cloud storage or should I be concerned about ransomeware issues with the server? I don't utilize remote access functions and prefer keep my system as secure as possible with less opportunities for outside access. Also curious about having the NAS backup to the NAS in SF. If so, I need to revisit my data limit with Xfinity.

- Currently stored on the DS218J - A decent size collection of audio files (FLAC, WAV, DSD, AIFF, and apple formats, movies (DVD's saved a files) photography (Canon and Sony cameras) along with various personal files and software.

- I do not use the NAS to process files, only for storage and to maintain a backup. I refer to use specific software on the Mac to play audio and output via HDMI to a home amp setup or to view movies. I prefer the ability to process the files prior top listening or viewing.

- I use JRiver Media Center for audio playback and have a love-hate relationship with the program. Love to audio file processing capabilities. The output can be amazing. But the software is sloppy, has a lot of quirks and their forum style help can be a real shit-show. I've seen some issues in the forums regarding problems with some NAS servers.

-Yesterday, a Synology etch services person recommended I be sure to use Surveillance rated drives. I wasn't aware this was a thing. ?

- Currently my plan is to donate for your time and assistance with product selection, but buy the hardware from a source with tech services to assist with setup and future issues. Correct me if I'm wrong, it doesn't sound like that's your thing.

- I'm opting not to post this in your forum as my personal experience with forums is rarely positive.

Is it possible to stop the disk from optimizing?

I currently have 4 drives x 4 TB that are SMR and I used to have RAID6 on them, I formatted them to have SHR-2 on them, but the process is taking way too long.

I want to stop the process and get rid of the SMR drives and replace them with CMR drives, but I need to get the data out of those drives (they are accessible but incredibly slow, so I just want to stop the optimizing disk for few hours to copy the data out and then throw the drives away)

So I was wondering if its possible to stop optimizing the disk while still keeping data on them?

Hei,
jeg håper alt står bra til.
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Hvis du er interessert så kan vi komme med noen unike ideer på emner som vil engasjere leserne deres. For kontekst kan du se noen av våre tidligere artikler her og her.
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Vennlig hilsen,
Ulrike
ulrike.niemann@prconsultancy.org
https://prconsultancy.org/
951-687-6224

Address: 60 Leadenhall St, London EC3V 1LT, UK

Hi,
I have been enjoying your YouTube Videos.

I have a F5-221 TerrMaster running TOS 4.2.39-
Firstly - I purchased 2 Seagate 12TB Drives and I configured them as Raid1 in my Storage Pool. I have been moving over my files accordingly.

Here are my config questions.
1. I have an 8TB Internal Hard Drive that I want to put into Bay 3 and I want to configure it as a separate Storage Pool. This I want to use to configure a PLEX Media Server that will be accessible from the internet to allow friends/family access to my media content. (I thought I could do this by configuring it as a HOT Spare that that does not seem to work?)

2. I have 2 External USB 3 drives (1 5TB the other is a Western Digital 16 TB) Can I plug these into the USB of the F5-221 and have it shareable without having to reformat the drives?

3. I have been using Virtual Box VM's locally on my PC. Can you do a youtube video on how to configure the Virtual Box using 221 NAS and what the benefits would be?

4. What is the Virtual Disk Option all about?";}