NAS server or NAS + Mac Mini?

General Discussions
1

I’m about to get a NAS and trying to decide whether it should replace or work with our Mac Mini. We have run our Plex server off a couple of Mac Minis over the years, but our current Mini is once again showing its age and getting VERY slow. The problem isn’t with actual downloading or streaming performance, but with any system operation – whether it’s moving files or launching applications. (It’s a Late 2012, 2.3 Ghz Core i7 with a whopping 4 GB of RAM. Yeah, we should probably pry it open and add some RAM.) I am also getting really tired of the time it takes for me to keep everything running (in part because I have to constantly move stuff from internal to external drive, because our external drive periodically unmounts, so I can’t torrent directly to it.)

I’d like to take the load off by (finally!) getting a NAS and maybe even an Apple TV (for our itunes + netflix usage). I don’t think we need a NAS that is capable of transcoding because 98% of the time we are watching Plex content on the TV that is directly attached to the Mac (and which will be attached to the NAS). My thought is that I could still run a second instance of Plex server on the Mac Mini for those rare occasions when I’m streaming/downloading to Plex mobile on iPhone or Android.

But I would love advice on…

  1. Can I run a dual-server setup (one Plex Media Server instance on a mid-range NAS, one instance on our Mac Mini) without it being a nightmare?
  2. If a dual-server setup is feasible, is there a way for me to name/configure the servers to that it defaults to the NAS version unless I need transcoding?
  3. Would I be better off just keeping Plex Media Server on the Mini and using the NAS only for storage (and maybe as a torrentbox?)
  4. Any other thoughts/advice? Does anyone want to move in with us and dedicate themselves full-time to running our Mac server/torrenting in return for, um, low-carbohydrate meals and access to a really good board game collection? :wink:

Thanks,

Alex

2
  1. Certainly
  2. Maybe but I don’t think so
  3. That works
  4. Buy a NAS with 4 bays and an intel CPU and use that for everything.
    Like a Synology 918+
3

Thanks Spike – super helpful! But I’ll admit I got spooked by this post suggesting there are compatibility issues with a lot of the synology optiosn: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/295969/synology-ds118-ds218-ds218play-ds418j-and-ds418-model-advisory-realtek-cpu#latest

4

@tivodrome said:
Thanks Spike – super helpful! But I’ll admit I got spooked by this post suggesting there are compatibility issues with a lot of the synology optiosn: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/295969/synology-ds118-ds218-ds218play-ds418j-and-ds418-model-advisory-realtek-cpu#latest

They are ARM processors.
Stick with Intel

5

I also have a late 2012 Mac mini, i7, but I upgraded (myself) the ram to 16 GB, and added a Samsung SSD. The SSD made a huge difference. Still runs like a charm with Plex. I have another Mac mini i5 (with SSD added) running Plex. Finally, I have 2 Western Digital NAS MyCloud boxes and run Plex on each of those as well. All my videos are mp4. I use CCC to backup files from the drive directly attached to my i7 Mac mini and also to the NAS drives, and well as others connected to my i5 Mac Mini. CCC is fully automated, so copying and backing up files is not much of an issue for me. I use an Apple TV (plus laptops, iPads, Roku, etc) and whether I run Plex from the Mac Mini’s or WD MyCloud boxes makes no real difference, all video runs smoothly.