Should I even buy a NAS? :)

[Enquiries]

Hey, big fan of the channel. I even used this advice section once in the past but ended up not buying the NAS because at the time I was moving to another country.

So, what change then?
Well, I now have a homelab server, that deals with my media and server needs. So things like virtual machines and Plex media server are covered.

I would buy a NAS it ppurely for storage and backups. I would store all my media there (the things I stream in plex, but also family photos and videos) and use it in some sort of raid configuration for extra layer of backup protection.

I don't have a very good router, I'm using standard internet provider one and it can barely deliver 600mb/s on cable. So I would probably benefit form buying a router as well?

So, my questions are:
Do you think i would benefit from buying a NAS?
Any recommendations purely for storage use?
Should I buy a new shiny router?

[ed]

Hi, thanks for getting in touch. You absolutely can benefit from a NAS, but only in the areas your homelab server does not already cover. Since you already run Plex, VMs and all the “active” services on the server, the NAS would become a dedicated storage appliance, which is still a very sensible move. A NAS gives you easier drive management, proper RAID, hot-swap trays, snapshots, scheduled backups, offsite sync and a much cleaner way to store family photos, videos and media without risking the stability of your main server.

For pure storage use, you do not need a powerful CPU at all. You just need something reliable with good drive support and long software updates. In your budget the two best choices are the Synology DS425 Plus or the QNAP TS-464. Both give you four bays, RAID five or six, good snapshot tools and easy remote access. The Synology is simpler and better for photo backup, while the QNAP gives you HDMI, faster ports and more features if you want them later.

Your router is the real bottleneck. A NAS can easily push one gigabit or two point five gigabit speeds even with mechanical drives, but if your ISP router struggles to reach six hundred megabit, then it will limit your LAN performance. You do not need anything fancy and do not need Wi-Fi upgrades just for the NAS. A simple upgrade to a UniFi Express, UniFi UDR, or a stand-alone two point five gigabit switch will instantly unlock the full speed of whatever NAS you buy.

So yes, a NAS makes sense for you, but keep it simple. Use it as a storage tank, keep your VMs and Plex on the server, and upgrade the router only to remove the LAN bottleneck. If you want, I can tell you exactly which model suits your current drives and whether two bay or four bay makes more sense for your long term plan.