I currently have a 25 TB server that’s getting old and needs to be replaced. I’m wondering if a NAS would be a suitable replacement? I know I’d need transcoding, would like Plex to be installed on the NAS itself, and want good connectivity outside my house. which led me to look at Synology and QNAP. I need 5 or more bays and my main concern is functionality with Plex.
I’m reading the Plex supported NAS devices and http://bit.ly/2y43Z40 .
Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!
Yeah QNAP or Synology are the big out of the box paid for NAS systems.
You can also run Plex ontop of UnRaid or FreeNAS and I would recommend it run in a “docker” type instance instead of plugin, this will help you with your drive bay limit plus you can throw as much CPU and RAM at is as you want and can upgrade down the road.
Also See this if you haven’t.
@jdgstat@gmail.com said:
I currently have a 25 TB server that’s getting old and needs to be replaced. I’m wondering if a NAS would be a suitable replacement? I know I’d need transcoding, would like Plex to be installed on the NAS itself, and want good connectivity outside my house. which led me to look at Synology and QNAP. I need 5 or more bays and my main concern is functionality with Plex.
I’m reading the Plex supported NAS devices and Choosing the Perfect NAS for your Plex Media Server in 2017 – NAS Compares .Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!
Your budget is very relevant cos u can pay $800 or $3000.
Qnap has an i7 in one of there hi end NAS that will do most everything but is top dollar
There are severall approaches to deal with live transcoding/preventing transcoding which all involve throwing money at them 
Though, the most charming is using a reliable NAS, like the DS1817+, just as a data storage and a standalone Plex Server on a NUC with an i7 quad core cpu.
A cheaper alternative would be to buy a mini server like the HP ProLiant ML10 Gen9 or Dell T30 with E3 v5 CPU. Install a NAS distribution of your choise and install the Plex server there.
Thanks for all the quick responses everyone.
My current setup is a 20 bay Norco 4u box has FlexRaid on it (I have used unRAID before as well). It has my 2012 R2 server domain on it, which also runs my Plex server. It’s really old and I have no need for a home domain any longer, which led me to think about a NAS as a replacement. I don’t really want to spend the $2,000+ for a top end system (plus the drive cost!) but I don’t mind the $900-1000 for a 1817+, so what are my best options that work well with Plex? I’d prefer an all in one solution, but Plex functionality is my #1 priority. If a small head unit and a back end NAS makes more sense, I’d consider that as well.
Nokdim - What did you mean by “docker” type instance instead of plugin"? I have seen the compatibility list, which is one main reason I posted here. Thanks for the link in case I hadn’t.
Kopfpilot - On the compatibility list, the 1815+ notes said “*May struggle with some high bitrate HD media”. Is this true and is it true for the 1817+? Can the 1817+ be an all in one unit or is this not advised?
Thanks again everyone!
What did you mean by “docker” type instance instead of plugin"?
Well not sure if you are familiar with docker but you can install plex in 2 ways on UnRaid and I believe on other NASs as well I think FreeNas calls it “jails” but either way.
install a plugin ontop of UnRaid like this one from PhAzE which runs directly on your NAS OS so any dependencies get installed on your NAS like ffmpeg or whatever is required.
or you can run a “docker” instance of Plex I use this Linux Server IO and this uses docker which is built into UnRaid so you install its own virtual instance of Plex (think of it like PaaS from Azure) so everything for plex is contained in a docker container so it is independent of your NAS OS. so when you update Plex version or your NAS version one doesn’t cause issues for the other.
The 1817+ looks to be what I’m after (8 bays, under $1,000), but it’s getting pretty poor reviews due to performance, mainly because of its Atom processor. Thoughts on other 8 bay NAS options for under $1,000 that work well with Plex?
@jdgstat@gmail.com said:
The 1817+ looks to be what I’m after (8 bays, under $1,000), but it’s getting pretty poor reviews due to performance, mainly because of its Atom processor. Thoughts on other 8 bay NAS options for under $1,000 that work well with Plex?
I have the 1817+ and the 1815+ and have run PMS on both.
For local streaming i had very few issues but all my media is mp4 and under 4000bps.
But I currently use a Skull NUC as my #1 server and have no issues serving remotely.
I have a Shield pro 2015 and a Shield pro 2017 as back up servers.
I would like to use the Shield as my main server but I cannot get my unwatched details to the Shield Plex folder. (I have been waiting for over a year for this fix)
