A good NAS?

colors6

Disciple
Hi,

I want a personal cloud for storing and streaming media.

It should be able to stream 4k content.

I also plan to backup the data to the cloud using gsuite as backup.

Any suggestions? This is for personal use. Budget is around ₹15-20k
 
Can I stream 4K without transcoding on my local network? Direct play?

What would you suggest?
Well that depends on the playback device and the video file. If your device e.g. smart TV can natively play the video you're trying to stream via Plex/DLNA then transcoding is not needed.
 
Ok, if I were to raise The budget, want nas would you recommend for 4K streaming and the type/size/number of storage drives.
 
Ok, if I were to raise The budget, want nas would you recommend for 4K streaming and the type/size/number of storage drives.
You are gonna go with 2 bay devices or 4 bay?
4 bay ones are pretty expensive.

I think this is the best balance between price/perf for 2 bay NAS-

Personally I depend on a mini-ITX rig with full fledged Windows and 2x8 TB WD Red hard drives for this purpose as it doubles as a shifty website brower/torrent downloader via Windows Remote Connection as well.

The processor I have (Intel J4205 quad core 1.5 GHz) is passively cooled and only high end NASes above 50k have this hardware.
I don't have a requirement for transcoding as my playback devices support the downloaded videos natively via Kodi/mysql networked setup.


Keep in mind for 2x8 TB WD Reds you have to spend 42k though.
 
Personally I depend on a mini-ITX rig with full fledged Windows and 2x8 TB WD Red hard drives for this purpose as it doubles as a shifty website brower/torrent downloader via Windows Remote Connection as well.

The processor I have (Intel J4205 quad core 1.5 GHz) is passively cooled and only high end NASes above 50k have this hardware.
I don't have a requirement for transcoding as my playback devices support the downloaded videos natively via Kodi/mysql networked setup.

The ds218 synology costs around 25k while 218+ is 31k on amazon. Looks interesting. I think the difference between 218+ and 218 is expandable ram and slightly better processor. I wonder if it’s worth paying extra 6k for that.

I was considering the 218j since it costs around 16k but has only 512mb ram and apparently can’t transcode 4K. I don’t know if that is important since my 55” 4K android tv should be able to play them natively. Not sure.

Can you give me a link and cost estimate of your itx rig? I don’t know what itx means.
 
The ds218 synology costs around 25k while 218+ is 31k on amazon. Looks interesting. I think the difference between 218+ and 218 is expandable ram and slightly better processor. I wonder if it’s worth paying extra 6k for that.

I was considering the 218j since it costs around 16k but has only 512mb ram and apparently can’t transcode 4K. I don’t know if that is important since my 55” 4K android tv should be able to play them natively. Not sure.

Can you give me a link and cost estimate of your itx rig? I don’t know what itx means.

Here you go-


Keep in mind this is more flexible but would cost you more. I would suggest trying to play your video files natively on the TV.
If it doesn't work then try with a Android TV box like the Mi Box S.

If this works then you can go with the DS218j as the ARM processor won't need to transcode 4k streams and you would be playing videos directly from the NAS.
So your expense would be 16k(NAS)+8k(Mi Box)+21k(WD Red 8 TB).

For now pick one 8 TB and then get another one as soon as possible for RAID 1 so that you don't lose data due to drive failure which I did.
 
I found one mini PC with intel j4205 on amazon. Costs around 43k


Seasiant India Beelink AP45 J4205 4GB DDR4 64GB 5G WiFi 1000M LAN Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PC Support Windows 10 (Single Item) https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07T2CSST5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_TMujEbTCYBC9M
These are NUCs which don't support multiple 3.5 hard drives and are a bit too expensive for what they do. I imported the mobo for 10k from newegg back in 2017 but now the newegg import prices are obscene under the new tax regime.

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If this works then you can go with the DS218j as the ARM processor won't need to transcode 4k streams and you would be playing videos directly from the NAS.
So your expense would be 16k(NAS)+8k(Mi Box)+21k(WD Red 8 TB).

For now pick one 8 TB and then get another one as soon as possible for RAID 1 so that you don't lose data due to drive failure which I did.

How future proof will this setup be vs the itx or 218+ rig with better ram?
 
How future proof will this setup be vs the itx or 218+ rig with better ram?
This will be better if you are only looking to backup data/play videos as the DS218+ will be enough for data storage.

As for playback the Mi TV Box S will be good for 3-4 years with all video codecs that are the norm now.

Once its outdated its cheaper to replace an Andorid TV box rather than an expensive NAS box.
Don't think you want to play 4k stuff on phones.

I never transcode on the ITX rig as its painfully slow compared to my R9 3900X/RTX 2080 equipped main rig for transcoding videos using Handbrake .
 
This will be better if you are only looking to backup data/play videos as the DS218+ will be enough for data storage.

Sorry for confusion.

Here is what I’m looking at right now

Ds218j - ₹16k - has 512mb ram no 4K transcoding

Ds218 -₹25k - has 2gb ram not expandable. Realtek processor

Ds218+ - ₹31k - has 2gb RAM which can be expanded to 8gb, has slightly better intel processor than ds218.

I am concerned whether ds218j can work for 5 years if my playback device don’t need the 4K transcoding.

What would you suggest.

My needs are as a media streamer/backup and perhaps BitTorrent 24*7 box.
 
Sorry for confusion.

Here is what I’m looking at right now

Ds218j - ₹16k - has 512mb ram no 4K transcoding

Ds218 -₹25k - has 2gb ram not expandable. Realtek processor

Ds218+ - ₹31k - has 2gb RAM which can be expanded to 8gb, has slightly better intel processor than ds218.

I am concerned whether ds218j can work for 5 years if my playback device don’t need the 4K transcoding.

What would you suggest.

My needs are as a media streamer and perhaps BitTorrent box.
The DS218j would work in the long run as the playback component (e.g. Android TV box/smart TV) is decoupled from the main system and can be upgraded separately.
As for working for 5 years I would go with the Amazon reviews as I don't have a personal experience. Keep in mind though hard drives hate being switched on and off which is what happened to me in case of my 4 TB WD Red.

Tagging @vivek.krishnan as he's the resident guru when it comes to this stuff.
 
As for working for 5 years I would go with the Amazon reviews as I don't have a personal experience. Keep in mind though hard drives hate being switched on and off which is what happened to me in case of my 4 TB WD Red.
.

I think 8tb drive is a bit over budget for me. I am probably going to regret this but I’m going to go for 4tb storage drive for now.

If they are running 24*7, that is more problematic?

Will using a UPS help much?

Also, do I need to take any precautions during summer months?
 
If they are running 24*7, that is more problematic?

Will using a UPS help much?

Also, do I need to take any precautions during summer months?
As close to 24*7 in a moderately cool part of the house would be okay.
UPS is a must as you don't want drives to suddenly come to a stop with a power failure.

But anyways you need to keep it close to the router due to the wired connection.
I am guessing you don't have CAT6 cabling all over the house.
 
As close to 24*7 in a moderately cool part of the house would be okay.
UPS is a must as you don't want drives to suddenly come to a stop with a power failure.

But anyways you need to keep it close to the router due to the wired connection.
I am guessing you don't have CAT6 cabling all over the house.

I will keep it in my bedroom which is where router is.

Is this ups any good

iBall Nirantar UPS 622 - Uninterrupted Power Supply to Your Personal Computers, Home Entertainment Network and Gaming Consoles, Black https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07X4R3C3Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_rivjEbENM1DNA
 
I will keep it in my bedroom which is where router is.

Is this ups any good

iBall Nirantar UPS 622 - Uninterrupted Power Supply to Your Personal Computers, Home Entertainment Network and Gaming Consoles, Black https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07X4R3C3Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_rivjEbENM1DNA
Go for APC


Try buying locally as PC hardware is costlier on Amazon in most cases.
 
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