I know this question has been asked a few times in this forum but I felt like getting some more specific information to situation I find myself in.
I’m currently running PMS for my apartment off my 2012 iMac. I have two desktop external HDDs currently attached through USB 3 adding 6TB of space to my server and keep all of my media on those drives. My husband and I primarily use it to stream to two Apple TVs and occasionally to our iPads. We keep the iMac on 24/7, only turning it off when we know for a few days we won’t be using it.
After digitizing and building up my media library I’m finding myself out of HDD space. I started looking at just adding another desktop external HDD but then wondered if there was a better solution that didn’t involve extra wires and power supplies and stacking up of external HDDs on my desk. Also, I want a solution where I’m not constantly having to buy a new external drive every year or so when I run out of space.
I’m a relative computer novice when it comes to hardware, etc and would prefer something Mac compatible since that is currently my entire ecosystem. I have many different file types currently (mkv, avi, and mp4) so while I don’t currently notice it I’m assuming there’s a lot of transcoding that PMS does when I play videos. So I’m afraid a NAS drive directly hooked up with my router or a cloud drive may not be the best option because I’ll need some CPU power.
Other than that i’m open to ideas and suggestions within relative budget parameters.
Well, i would need to know 2 more things to better give you and advice: budget and growth expected.
But, taking your requirements i would suggest a consumer NAS for storage, and keep the Server in the Mac if that’s not a problem.
A Synology with 4-6 bays (or more), depending on the expected growth, could be a good solution.
The most reliable solution is rarely the most efficient and even more rarely the cheapest.
For me “extra wires and power supplies” are not an issue because I have a recycled wheeled vertical shelving system (Acquired from a convenience store) that I adapted and modified to hold my server, external drives and all support stuff. It also holds my server’s UPS, which I STRONGLY recommend. All my drives and other equipment that is server related is powered through that UPS. I can even disconnect everything external to that rack, including the power, and relocate the entire system to another location without powering down. I have done that several times. I currently have 10 external drives connected to my server. I use two 7 port USB 3.0 hubs connected to the server’s 2 USB 3.0 ports to connect all my drives.
One more thing that I use is :DrivePool" by StableBit. It simplifies my file placement by combining all my drives into one big one and has “duplication” features that store copies of selected media on two different drives to protect against ant single drive failure.
I looked into external multi-drive solutions but after research found them too expensive for the advantages they offer.
To add to my existing storage I simply get a new drive and plug it into one of the hubs and add it to the pool and my system does the rest. It balances the load between disks and I really have to do nothing more. I cannot overstate DrivePool’s reliability and importance.
Having said all that I note that you are using a MAC for your server and DrivePool is not, as far as I know, available for a MAC. But everything else I said applies to even a MAC. The only thing is that you will have to find a different pooling/protection system to use on the MAC. Pooling is not, necessarily, a requirement but I believe that some kind of copy backup is one. Even if you can, as I can, recreate most everything in your library it is not a task I would want to undertake if there is a single unrecoverable drive failure.
Of course if I were to recommend a full system rebuild I would recommend against a MAC. Not because they are unreliable or under powered but because the Apple system is so closed. More choices are available for other operating systems. A PC running Windows or Linux is, I believe, a MUCH better choice for a Plex server and that PC should have no other regular tasks.
There are NASes out there that can fit the bill of a storage device and a Plex Media Server device. They don’t come cheap. I have one such unit in the Asustor AS-7004T. If I had it to do over I would have gotten the 7008 or 7010 though. More bays is always better…
That said the advice @Elijah_Baley gave is sound. Except for one caveat to it. Use the operating system you are most familiar with. Trying to learn a new OS at the same time you try getting a working HT setup going can be daunting.
In my opinion the cheapest solution (And slightly better performance) is just a simple multi-bay USB drive enclosure. Mine is a 5 bay.
Then just slide in another HDD as needed.
LOL
I see you are learning like I did… The BIGGEST expense with this hopbby is not the server system but all the HDDs you need.
In 4 years I am up to about 25 drives for around 100tb…
I wish I had started using HDD enclosures a long time ago.
My drive farm is ridiculous… LOL
@Elijah_Baley said:
For me “extra wires and power supplies” are not an issue because I have a recycled wheeled vertical shelving system (Acquired from a convenience store) that I adapted and modified to hold my server, external drives and all support stuff. It also holds my server’s UPS, which I STRONGLY recommend. All my drives and other equipment that is server related is powered through that UPS. I can even disconnect everything external to that rack, including the power, and relocate the entire system to another location without powering down. I have done that several times. I currently have 10 external drives connected to my server. I use two 7 port USB 3.0 hubs connected to the server’s 2 USB 3.0 ports to connect all my drives.
I live in a modestly sized NYC apartment. A new shelving system like you built isn’t really an option for me. At least not right now.
@MikeG6.5 said:
Use the operating system you are most familiar with. Trying to learn a new OS at the same time you try getting a working HT setup going can be daunting.
I am most familiar with Mac since it’s my personal OS, but every computer I’ve ever had to use outside of work has been a PC so I’m decently well versed in both OS’s. My bigger concern with OS is just that every device I use with Plex is an Apple product. And though I understand the concern about “openness,” I again am a relative novice when it comes to most of this stuff so would not be doing anything soon that would require an open system.
@benamira said:
Well, i would need to know 2 more things to better give you and advice: budget and growth expected.
But, taking your requirements i would suggest a consumer NAS for storage, and keep the Server in the Mac if that’s not a problem.
A Synology with 4-6 bays (or more), depending on the expected growth, could be a good solution.
In terms of budget, I’m fairly flexible. Obviously I want to keep it within reason. But I’m not against the price of most of the consumer NAS because of the space it gives me. Growth is hard to tell. I got a 4TB drive at the beginning of the year and its already almost full. But I filled it mostly with digitizing my Blurays, a process I have since completed. But I would like some flexibility and growth. All of my media is now digital and I’d like to keep expanding it continuously for the foreseeable future.
@Elijah_Baley said:
For me “extra wires and power supplies” are not an issue because I have a recycled wheeled vertical shelving system (Acquired from a convenience store) that I adapted and modified to hold my server, external drives and all support stuff. It also holds my server’s UPS, which I STRONGLY recommend. All my drives and other equipment that is server related is powered through that UPS. I can even disconnect everything external to that rack, including the power, and relocate the entire system to another location without powering down. I have done that several times. I currently have 10 external drives connected to my server. I use two 7 port USB 3.0 hubs connected to the server’s 2 USB 3.0 ports to connect all my drives.
I live in a modestly sized NYC apartment. A new shelving system like you built isn’t really an option for me. At least not right now.
My “shelf” is not large at all. It is 2ft3in X 2ft X 5ft with a total of 5 shelves, The server lives on the top shelf and the UPS on the bottom and the drives, (10 of them) power strips, power supplies and USB hubs distributed through the remaining shelves. I have space for at least two more drives without any changes to my setup.
That system lives unobtrusively in a corner and I hardly notice it except for when it screems for attention… I actually do not think I could come up with a setup that uses a desktop for a server that takes less space in my apartment.
But I can see other reasons for wanting everything to be in a more compact setup. I just wanted to point out that a lot of individual pieces does not have to take up a lot of space in an apartment. It even “could” be a closed cabinet (as long as it was ventilated) without adding to the space taken.
Of course I expect that not too many people can get the deal I got on that shelf. Free for a solidly constructed wheeled metal shelf system is a pretty good bargain. I doubt if I would have actually paid much for a shelf for the purpose of holding my server.
I guess the time I spent working at a convenience store waiting for retirement was not wasted. They throw out a LOT of really good shelving.
@sremick said:
My solution is only 9.8" x 8.3" x 14.8" and contains both the NAS (6 hard drives) and the PMS
That’s great, but you didn’t say what your solution is.
I’ve decided I really only need something with 4/5 bays. In the near future I don’t see myself exceeding 40 TB. The resulting questions are for PMS. If I’m not using the NAS to transcode, but just hooking it up to my iMac, are there any performance or tech specifications I should be looking for? Reasons to maybe help me narrow down my options and for example to help me choose between a QNAP 451+, Synology 1515+, Drobo 5N, and an Asustor 7004. When looking at these three I see the differences but am unsure if I need something super high powered just to store for Plex if the cheaper model will still get the job done.
That’s great, but you didn’t say what your solution is.
It’s in my signature in every post.
I’ve decided I really only need something with 4/5 bays.
With 2 drives’ worth of redundancy, that only leaves you with 2-3 drives’ worth of usable space. Your money I suppose, but generally not a practical way to go about RAID.
In the near future I don’t see myself exceeding 40 TB.
All the more reason to go with more bays, not less.
If I’m not using the NAS to transcode, but just hooking it up to my iMac, are there any performance or tech specifications I should be looking for?
Doesn’t take much of a CPU to just dish out files. But make sure you’re using wired all the way between your NAS and whatever box is running PMS. No wireless.
Ok, but it seems like you probably built that from scratch. I’m not looking to build something because, as mentioned above, I’m a novice at all of this. My budget may be tighter but to me buying something I can use out of the box is completely worth it since I will have no idea what I’m doing with building.
With 2 drives’ worth of redundancy, that only leaves you with 2-3 drives’ worth of usable space. Your money I suppose, but generally not a practical way to go about RAID.
Again, I’m a novice. So what you’re saying here confuses me. Also your design only has six bays, so if you’re saying 5 isn’t enough then one extra by getting six is?
@bgelb said:
Ok, but it seems like you probably built that from scratch. I’m not looking to build something
Well that’s your choice, certainly. I was just pointing out that it was an option that met your space requirements.
Again, I’m a novice. So what you’re saying here confuses me. Also your design only has six bays, so if you’re saying 5 isn’t enough then one extra by getting six is?
With 2 drives’ of redundancy, then 5 bays only leaves you with 3 drives’ worth of space, which monetarily isn’t really great although certainly do-able. 6 bays makes a lot more sense, as you’re only losing 1/3rd to redundancy.
At this point I’m tempted to just pay $100 for a tiny bit of expansion now with a cheap desktop external drive while I figure out (and save) for a more permanent solution.
I was just pointing out that it was an option that met your space requirements.