Purchase and configuration of Lincstation N1 and disk drives

[Enquiries]

I retired a few months ago and finally have time, ... but no money. In this scenario, I started planning and building a home NAS based on Proxmox and OMV. Despite my background in computer programming and security, I've had no previous experience with NAS. No wonder I find your internet channel and reviews so valuable. Thank you for your excellent work from a subscriber.
I am currently in love with UnRaid and the Lincstation N1 seems like a cheap, almost ideal option, but I have some doubts:
- According to your tests, what is the maximum speed I need for M.2s/2.5s units? Is there an ideal buy for the six discs?
- Which format do you recommend? Can I have problems recovering encrypted units in a disaster scenario?
- How many discs should I configure as "cache"? What is the minimum capacity for each?
- What kind of data should I store in the cache and in the M.2 and 2.5 units?
Can you please help me solve my questions and give me some recommendations? Thanks in advance!!

[ed]

Thanks for your questions! It’s exciting that you're exploring NAS solutions like the Lincstation N1. Here are my suggestions regarding disk drives and configurations:

Recommendations for Drives
SATA Bays: For your SATA bays, I recommend using WD Red SSDs or Seagate IronWolf SSDs. Both are designed for NAS use and offer reliable performance for storage.

M.2 NVMe Slots: For the M.2 NVMe slots, consider the following options, which all have excellent durability ratings (DWPD):

Samsung 970 Pro – 0.66 DWPD
Samsung 990 Pro – 0.68 DWPD
Synology SNV3400 – 0.68 DWPD
Seagate FireCuda 510 – 0.7 DWPD
Seagate IronWolf 525 – 0.7 DWPD
Seagate FireCuda 530 – 0.7 DWPD
Seagate PS5 Game Drive – 0.7 DWPD
Seagate FireCuda 520 – 0.9 DWPD
WD Red SN700 – 1.0 DWPD
These NVMe options will provide excellent speed and reliability for your caching needs.

Additional Considerations
Cache Configuration: For optimal performance, consider using two SSDs as your cache drives to ensure quick access to frequently used data.
Data Storage: Store high-frequency access files on your cache and larger, less accessed files on the 2.5” drives.