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HW- QNAP TS-664-8gb
Build –
Crucial (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz CL22
2x Crucial T500 1TB M.2 for OS in RAID1
I have 2x10tb and 2x12tb hdds that I will run in RAID5 that I plan to expand to 6x12tb over time (or 2x10 and 4x12 based on price and need)
I also have 3x8tb SSD that I would like to add a 4-slot expansion in time with aim to create 4x8tb ssd pool.
Q1 What is the best OS for this setup QTS or QuTS Hero and why ?
Q2 Can you link both SSD and HDD pools to a single Plex server?
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Thank you for sharing the details of your setup! Here are my responses to your questions:
Q1: What is the best OS for this setup: QTS or QuTS Hero, and why?
Both QTS and QuTS Hero are excellent options for QNAP NAS, but your choice depends on your specific requirements:
QTS is the traditional, well-established operating system that most QNAP NAS devices use. It's generally simpler to use and has a wide range of third-party applications and compatibility. For your setup, if you're looking for a straightforward Plex server without the need for advanced storage features, QTS should work just fine. It supports RAID, SSD caching, and Plex very well.
QuTS Hero is a more advanced OS based on ZFS. This brings several benefits:
Advanced data integrity features (e.g., checksumming to protect against data corruption).
Better compression and deduplication for your storage.
Snapshot capabilities for more granular backups.
Better performance for large-scale SSD pools and RAID configurations, especially when you plan to expand your SSD pool over time.
Why choose QuTS Hero: If you're planning for long-term growth and prefer cutting-edge features like data protection, snapshot-based backups, and better SSD management, QuTS Hero would be the best choice. However, keep in mind that ZFS can be more complex to manage, and some third-party apps may not be fully optimized for it yet.
Q2: Can you link both SSD and HDD pools to a single Plex server?
Yes, you can link both HDD and SSD pools to a single Plex server on your QNAP device.
Plex and Storage Pools: Plex uses the shared storage available on your QNAP NAS. As long as both your HDDs and SSDs are mounted and available on the NAS, Plex can access them for media storage and streaming.
HDD for Long-term Storage, SSD for Performance: Typically, you'd use your HDD RAID5 array for long-term storage, while the SSD pool can be used for caching, improving read/write speeds for frequently accessed media. If you're planning to expand your SSD pool, you could set it up as a QNAP SSD cache for improved Plex performance (especially when dealing with high-bitrate 4K content).
Conclusion:
For your setup: If you want simplicity and stable performance, go with QTS. If you're looking for future-proofing with advanced features, go with QuTS Hero, especially for its handling of large-scale storage, SSD pools, and data integrity.
For Plex: Yes, you can use both HDD and SSD pools for Plex, utilizing SSDs for faster access to frequently used files and the HDDs for bulk storage.
