(04-17-2025, 03:50 PM)Z1R Wrote: 
I have been investigating an updated replacement for an EOL NetGear RN422 initially acquired back in 2019 !
With basic specs of Intel® Atom C3338 Dual Core Processor, 2GB DDR4, Drive Bays 2
No further explanation warranted lol !
The two units I put to scrutiny are the Asustor 5404T and the QNAP TS-464 after much scrutiny I decided upon the QNAP TS-464 based on my use case and what appears to be a vastly larger amount of peer based user community resources – albeit understanding the configuration terminology etc. may be a steeper hill to climb !
I am posting this plethora of questions for one simple reason I rest firmly in the school of “Fail to Plan …Plan to Fail” !
The hardware configuration I plan on assembling consist of the following and I plan to use the NAS as both a media server for locally stored media files hopefully via Jelly Fin and for serving files for primarily PDF’s MS Office .docx, .pptx, .xlsx etc.
Ø QNAP TS-464 4-Bay vendor states pre-configured with 8GB of RAM and QTS 5.0.1 Operating System pre-installed , Intel Celeron N5095
Ø Crucial RAM 16GB Kit (2x8GB)
Ø Seagate IronWolf Pro 10Tb NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD x 2
Ø Western Digital 2TB WD Red SN700 NVMe M.2 SSD x 2
HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS STATED AS SUCCINCTLY AS POSSIBLE
I have studied to the point of information overload on what might be the best way to configure the drives. In regard to storage pools, volumes thick, thin, static etc. Note I have little to no desire to use caching as I see very little benefit from it due to its primary focus on serving up small files quicker etc.
I am looking for suggestions/advice on QNAP ecosystem configuration/provisioning based on my stated use?
Since the retailer of the QNAP TS-464 is an unpopulated enclosure and the vendor proclaims the OS QTS 5.0.1 is pre-installed this begs to question were exactly is it installed? When I upgrade the memory to 16 GB and install the new drives will I have to reinstall the OS ? or is the OS installed on the 4GB Flash Memory simply requiring me boot it up and add the drives once the OS has loaded ? If the latter is the case is there a wy I can force th OS to load to the NVME’s to use them for the smoother /faster operational speed they might bring to the table ?
Is the hardware I have chosen the best use of $$$ seeing my minimalist understanding of what the two NVME’s will bring to the table in terms of daily use would I be better off expanding the HDD capacity to 4 x Seagate IronWolf Pro 10Tb NAS Internal Hard Drives configured in a RAID 5 configuration were I could gain the additional storage/file hosting of 30Tb and utilizing one 10Tb to store parity information while dropping the NVME’s ? Thereby creating and environment with good balance between data protection, increased practical useable capacity, and speed ? I have had very good luck with the Seagate IronWolf PRO’s to date !
Thanks in advance for reading my unbelievably lengthy post !
Hey Z1R, you're
definitely not alone in getting deep into NAS rabbit holes—planning ahead like this is 100% the way to avoid regrets down the line. You've already done a ton of research and are asking all the right questions, so let's break this down step-by-step and make sure you're getting the most out of your QNAP TS-464 setup.
✅ YOUR USE CASE
You're planning to:
- Use Jellyfin as a local media server.
- Host and serve documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX)—general file sharing.
- No need for caching or heavy VM/Container use.
? 1.
Is QTS Preinstalled? Where Is It?
Yes,
QTS is stored in a dedicated internal 4GB DOM (Disk on Module) inside the QNAP unit. It’s not installed on any drive you add.
Quote:So when you add your drives and power up for the first time, QNAP will boot into QTS and guide you through setting up volumes and storage pools.
- No need to reinstall anything manually.
- When you upgrade RAM and add disks, QTS will still boot normally from the internal flash.
⚙️ 2.
Should You Install QTS on the NVMe Drives?
Short answer:
No, and you can't.
QNAP doesn't let you install the OS directly on NVMe SSDs. The system always boots from the internal flash module. However:
- You can use NVMe drives for:
- Read/Write Cache (not your priority)
- Storage Pool (this could make sense if you want a super-fast space for things like Jellyfin metadata, small files, or temp files)
- System volume (apps and containers) – optional.
Quote:If you're not going to run multiple containers, databases, or VMs, using NVMe for a dedicated pool is probably overkill for your use case.
? 3.
Best Drive Configuration Based on Your Needs
You’re torn between:
- Option A:
- 2x 10TB IronWolf Pro (RAID 1)
- 2x 2TB NVMe
- Option B:
- 4x 10TB IronWolf Pro in RAID 5
? Recommendation:
Go with Option B
Why?
- RAID 5 with 4x10TB = ~30TB usable and protection from 1-drive failure.
- Better overall value for a media server and general file serving.
- No wasted NVMe slots if you’re not using them for caching or intense app workloads.
You said it best:
"good balance between data protection, increased practical usable capacity, and speed."
If later you need more performance or plan to host apps/containers, you can always
add NVMe drives for storage pools or apps later on—TS-464 supports hot installation.
? 4.
Storage Pool & Volume Advice
Here's a simple config that works well:
- Create one Storage Pool using your RAID group.
- Create a Thick Volume for flexibility: allows snapshotting, space quotas, but doesn't suffer the overhead of thin volumes.
- Enable shared folders for your media and documents.
Quote:⚠️ Avoid “Static Volumes” unless you want to skip snapshots entirely and are going for maximum performance (usually not needed here).
? 5.
Final Tips- Make sure to update QTS to the latest version after initial setup.
- RAM upgrade to 16GB is great – Jellyfin benefits from caching in RAM, and future-proofing is always good.
- Use the multimedia console to control indexing/scanning – disable things you don’t need.
- Consider external backup (USB drive, or cloud) for critical documents.
? TL;DR Summary
Topic
RecommendationQTS Install
Stored in internal flash; no need to reinstall
NVMe SSDs
Not necessary for your use case – skip for now
Best Config
4x 10TB HDDs in RAID 5 = 30TB usable + protection
Volume Type
Thick Volume in a Storage Pool
Use Case Fit
Perfect for Jellyfin and document hosting
RAM Upgrade
Yes, 16GB is worth it
Caching
Not needed for your workload
