10-19-2022, 06:30 PM
For years, I have used my DD-WRT router as a sort of NAS. I attached a 8TB USB 3.0 External Hard drive to it, and ran a nightly backup of my Plex Server data and my family's Windows documents, pictures, etc to it.
For the past few months, I have been having problems with the network Hard Drive going offline. I would get an IO error in Ubuntu on my Plex Server, and would have to reboot the router, the hard drive, and the Ubuntu PC for it to connect again. I thought the IO error was a sign the 8TB drive was going bad. I only had about 1.5TB of free space left on the 8TB external HD, so I upgraded to a 14TB external USB 3.0 drive. Unfortunately, the Network Drive is still going offline, even after the upgrade. So, I replaced my router with a newer DD-WRT router, thinking the problem was with the router. That still didn't fix it. At this point, I'm thinking perhaps it is just too much data for a router to handle.
So now I have an extra router, a 14TB external HD I plan to keep using, and an 8TB external HD that may not be defective after all. I would like to figure out some sort of networked backup solution, but don't know if I should buy a NAS or just add a couple of Hard Drives in a RAID-1 configuration to my Plex Server that is always on anyway. I have purchased another 14TB bare hard drive in preparation for whatever I do, and plan to "shuck" the 14TB drive that is in the external HD so I can use them together to create the RAID.
Would you recommend I just add the two 14TB hard drives to the Plex Server PC, and create a network share, or do you think I should invest in a standalone NAS? If I was to get a NAS, would I be OK with a cheaper option, like the ASUSTOR Drivestor 4 AS1104T, or should I get something like the Synology DS418? I don't plan to use my NAS for Plex, or much of anything beyond backups or perhaps personal cloud storage. The idea of a couple networked video cameras is intriguing, but I don't currently have any plans to implement them.
Thanks for any insight you can provide.
For the past few months, I have been having problems with the network Hard Drive going offline. I would get an IO error in Ubuntu on my Plex Server, and would have to reboot the router, the hard drive, and the Ubuntu PC for it to connect again. I thought the IO error was a sign the 8TB drive was going bad. I only had about 1.5TB of free space left on the 8TB external HD, so I upgraded to a 14TB external USB 3.0 drive. Unfortunately, the Network Drive is still going offline, even after the upgrade. So, I replaced my router with a newer DD-WRT router, thinking the problem was with the router. That still didn't fix it. At this point, I'm thinking perhaps it is just too much data for a router to handle.
So now I have an extra router, a 14TB external HD I plan to keep using, and an 8TB external HD that may not be defective after all. I would like to figure out some sort of networked backup solution, but don't know if I should buy a NAS or just add a couple of Hard Drives in a RAID-1 configuration to my Plex Server that is always on anyway. I have purchased another 14TB bare hard drive in preparation for whatever I do, and plan to "shuck" the 14TB drive that is in the external HD so I can use them together to create the RAID.
Would you recommend I just add the two 14TB hard drives to the Plex Server PC, and create a network share, or do you think I should invest in a standalone NAS? If I was to get a NAS, would I be OK with a cheaper option, like the ASUSTOR Drivestor 4 AS1104T, or should I get something like the Synology DS418? I don't plan to use my NAS for Plex, or much of anything beyond backups or perhaps personal cloud storage. The idea of a couple networked video cameras is intriguing, but I don't currently have any plans to implement them.
Thanks for any insight you can provide.