7 hours ago
The UniFi UNAS can store your Plex files and Time Machine backups, but it cannot run Plex Server itself. There’s no CPU/GPU for transcoding, and UniFi doesn’t support third party apps like Plex or Docker yet. So for your use case you would pair the UNAS with a small external Plex server and point it at the UNAS via SMB or NFS.
A simple setup looks like this:
UNAS Pro as storage and Time Machine target
Mini PC as the actual Plex server
Your UniFi network handles everything in between
For the Plex server, any small Intel based mini PC with Quick Sync is perfect and inexpensive. Here are options that work extremely well:
Beelink EQ12 (Intel N100)
Great for 1080p and a bit of 4K direct play.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Beelink+EQ12&tag=dbite_yt-20
BeeLink SER5 or SER6 (Ryzen)
More power, but no Quick Sync, so better for direct play libraries.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Beelink+SER5&tag=dbite_yt-20
Intel NUC 11 or 12 Pro
Best balance of power and efficiency for Plex with hardware transcoding.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Intel+NUC+12+...bite_yt-20
If you’d prefer a single box solution in a rack rather than using a mini PC, then go with a proper NAS that can host Plex directly:
QNAP TS 873A
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=QNAP+TS-873A&tag=dbite_yt-20
QNAP TS h874 (extremely powerful for 4K transcoding)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=QNAP+TS-h874&tag=dbite_yt-20
Synology RS1225+ (excellent for Time Machine and easy management)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Synology+RS12...bite_yt-20
A simple setup looks like this:
UNAS Pro as storage and Time Machine target
Mini PC as the actual Plex server
Your UniFi network handles everything in between
For the Plex server, any small Intel based mini PC with Quick Sync is perfect and inexpensive. Here are options that work extremely well:
Beelink EQ12 (Intel N100)
Great for 1080p and a bit of 4K direct play.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Beelink+EQ12&tag=dbite_yt-20
BeeLink SER5 or SER6 (Ryzen)
More power, but no Quick Sync, so better for direct play libraries.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Beelink+SER5&tag=dbite_yt-20
Intel NUC 11 or 12 Pro
Best balance of power and efficiency for Plex with hardware transcoding.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Intel+NUC+12+...bite_yt-20
If you’d prefer a single box solution in a rack rather than using a mini PC, then go with a proper NAS that can host Plex directly:
QNAP TS 873A
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=QNAP+TS-873A&tag=dbite_yt-20
QNAP TS h874 (extremely powerful for 4K transcoding)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=QNAP+TS-h874&tag=dbite_yt-20
Synology RS1225+ (excellent for Time Machine and easy management)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Synology+RS12...bite_yt-20

