1y ago

Upgrading to NAS, but there's so many choices

So I'm looking to offload my current setup from my main desktop onto an actual NAS, but I don't even know where to begin. I've looked at Synology, TerraMaster, QNap, Buffalo Tech, retired workstation, etc, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. I want something in the 4-8 bay range(50+Tb with 8-12tb drives) with good future expansion that meets the following criteria.

Hardware:

Able to run Plex, Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, (and misc. extra software that shall go unmentioned, but you can probably guess)
Able to transcode at least 4 1080p streams at a time

Software:

Easy to operate/navigate
Reliable
Hands off
It just works

Of course I expect to spend hours setting everything up for the first time, but ideally it's a one time thing. Part of offloading my server is so that I'm not constantly checking up on it. Once it's setup, I want it to be out of sight, out of mine. That's why software is a big deal to me. I know Synology charges a pretty penny, but if it shows, then I really don't mind spending a little extra now to avoid unnecessary frustration down the road. Any insight you may be able to provide will be much appreciated!

Thanks, TC370

6 comments

There is only Synology and DIY.

I run an Intel 10th gen desktop motherboard in a large case. Win11 unregistered copy works fine, even better on Windows Server.
It has tons of horsepower and enough expansion. Win 11 updates itself, reboots and I have auto login enabled so it lands back at the desktop.
It's been idiot-proof and very low maintenance.
Handles many 4K60 h265 10-bit transcodes.

I got myself 4bay QNAP, and then bought 4bay extension. Little did I know that the extension cant expand current pool, so I cant use 6+2, only (2+2)*2. (bullshit). The CPU is underpowered for basically anything, including its web-server (sometimes it just doesn't respond at all), its constantly throwing "please upgrade firmware" stuff (why cant it update on its own?), its "apps" are a joke, I have a "admin" account I cant disable or rename, I have a "guest" account I cant disable or rename (only set its privileges to 0), there was a time where its VPN login page had exploit where you could get NAS Root access trough that VPN login page without knowing username or password (was similar to sql injection), and overall I regret the decision going qnap to save few bucks ever since.
I have no idea how synology is, but since I got burned so bad my next version will be custom build NAS running something like freenas or similar.

synology 423+
does transcoding
synology automated backup of any/all computers on the network
synology drive works like dropbox
set and forget offsite backup with hyperbackup
can run docker containers and plex

I highly recommend UNRAID. I was in your same situation a month ago and now have a unraid instance running everything your mentioning with mix matched drives and parity with unlimited expansion potential.

I am happy with my Synology, it meets my needs.

6 comments