Reccomended Builds

[Sonic]

57 minutes ago, freid said:

Looking more into it, I do believe I need a larger case but I don't like the fact that in the Jonsbo N4, not all the drives are hot swappable. Also, the case height is a little taller than the space I have for it. So I've reworked my shopping list for the N2. As noted before I'm reusing existing 4TB data drives so they are not in the build list. See my current list below. Let me know what you think. I've included all the links to make things easier to reference.

 

Component	Item	Source	Price (USD)
Case	JONSBO N2 Black	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQJ6BCB7	$149.98
CPU	Intel Xeon E-2386G	https://www.ebay.com/itm/186977137815	$595.00
Motherboard	Supermicro X12STL-IF	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQTQNGC8	$292.99
RAM (ECC)	OWC 32GB (2x16GB)	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBT1GH4Y	$78.99
OS Drive	Crucial MX500	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786QNS9B	$59.99
Cache Drive	Samsung 970 EVO Plus	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7Q21N7	$87.60
PSU	CORSAIR SF850	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D45PQ8C4	$199.99
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-L9x65	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VB3Y89E	$59.95
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W6HJP6	$21.95
MiniSAS HD Cable	10Gtek SFF-8643 to 4xSATA	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0912DLX31	$9.69

Hi @freid, almost $900,- for motherboard / CPU combo is a lot of money. I am wondering what the main purpose will be for your NAS setup? It seems a little top heavy to me. But don't get me wrong. You probably have good reasons for the choice of this combo. I only like to learn from your choices.

[PsychoWards]

Also Noctua stats that the CPU cooler should only be used with care on CPUs with more then 65W, your CPU has 95W:

https://noctua.at/en/nh_l9i_tdp_guidelines

[Mobius]

1 hour ago, Sonic said:

Hi @freid, almost $900,- for motherboard / CPU combo is a lot of money. I am wondering what the main purpose will be for your NAS setup? It seems a little top heavy to me. But don't get me wrong. You probably have good reasons for the choice of this combo. I only like to learn from your choices.

i think in an older post he said he wanted both ecc memory support and av1 decoding.

[freid]

Thanks for looking into this. I wanted to build a NAS that supports the following:

• Docker Containers → Media streaming (Jellyfin), security cameras, other NAS services (Sonarr, etc...)
• Virtual Machines (VMs) → Some lightweight VM usage (software testing)
• AV1 Decoding → For efficient transcoding to older formats
• H.264 & H.265 (HEVC) Encoding → For transcoding via Jellyfin
• 24/7 Stability & Reliability → ECC Memory Support for data integrity
• 6+ SATA Ports → To connect at least 5 HDDs + 1 SSD
• Compact Form Factor → Must fit within 28cm (W) x 26cm (H) x 34cm (D)

Ideally, I'd also like for a build that is not too noisy and that I can build with in stock items. I agree that the pricing is quite high but am open to other solutions to my requirements. The TDP of the CPU is a valid concern you point out so perhaps we can go with a lower model or move transcoding to a dedicated GPU?

Edited Monday at 08:30 PM by freid

[Sonic]

There are some new kids on the block. Just to show you some alternatives.

https://aoostar.com/blogs/news/the-aoostar-wtr-max11bay-is-about-to-meet-you-all

Minisforum will also introduce a new NAS with the same CPU and ECC memory support. And have seen several other examples

Those brands are not as proven as a brand like Supermicro. But the new brands are shaken up the market for sure. More functionalty at a lower pricepoint. I have to say that I am not an encoding and transcoding expert. But you can find a lot of reviews via Google. https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/1h7fskn/amd_ryzen_7_8845hs_is_a_transcoding_beast/

I also found this on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr5MjhgPz_c&t=1337s , perhaps also a good example.

Just some thoughts. In the end you have to choose which option fits best for you.

 

 

[freid]

Thanks @Sonic, that is an amazing find. If it can run HexOS then I'm really looking forward to the offerings from AOOSTAR.

[freid]

I also took a look at the upcoming Minisforum N5 Pro and while it compares favourably to to the Aoostar WTR Max, the chipset used does not seem to support ECC. As such, the Aoostar WTR Max seems to be the way I'm leaning. Will look at the other resources soon.

[Sonic]

7 hours ago, freid said:

Thanks @Sonic, that is an amazing find. If it can run HexOS then I'm really looking forward to the offerings from AOOSTAR.

Several people on this forum have a WTR Pro (either the Intel N100 or AMD version), including myself. I'm very happy with it. It's a solid device.

However, you should be aware that things like customer support and the ordering process are not always at the level you might be used to. They’re not yet up to US/EU standards. AOOSTAR ships orders in batches, meaning they send everything out on a single shipping date. This means you might have to wait a few weeks for delivery.

[Sonic]

5 hours ago, freid said:

I also took a look at the upcoming Minisforum N5 Pro and while it compares favourably to to the Aoostar WTR Max, the chipset used does not seem to support ECC. As such, the Aoostar WTR Max seems to be the way I'm leaning. Will look at the other resources soon.

If you want to see more new NAS devices. See:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FVdzddNGpk

Especially the OpnNas could be interessing

https://opnnas.com/

A complete other angle is to buy reused enterprise hardware. E.g. you can buy a refurbished workstation with ECC support. I don't have a lot of experience in that erea, but people like @ubergeek do.

For me is this the fun part of discussing what hardware someone should buy. There are a lot of possibilities, but in the end you have to decide what's important for you. A nice example is the homelab challenge I watched a few day ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z06LavaCZv0

Same assignment, totally different outcome.

[Dylan]

3 hours ago, Sonic said:

Several people on this forum have a WTR Pro (either the Intel N100 or AMD version), including myself. I'm very happy with it. It's a solid device.

@freid I'm one of these people. I have the N100 version now and am very pleased with it. I also have the AMD version on order that I should be getting in the next few weeks where it will be used to backup the N100 device (my main media server). Happy to answer any questions if you have them!

[freid]

Thanks much for reaching out. I'm guessing that HexOS runs just fine with the WTR Pro. Do you have any issues running docker containers or VMs which I should be aware of?

I guess I really won't have more questions until I get the Aoostar WTR Max for myself but so far it looks exciting. The next thing would be to consider the software side which I guess isn't really the point to this thread. To give a little background I'm moving away from my Synology NAS after running various models over the past 10+ years. From a software perspective I really only use these things:

Built-in:

• Cloud Sync (replicate Google Drive content for local backup)
• DSM Reverse Proxy (secure external access to published services)
• LDAP Server (authenticate users across multiple apps)
• SMB Service (encrypted file transfer and Time Machine target)
• Storage Manager/Snapshot Replication (monthly data scrubbing and daily snapshots)
• Surveillance Station (camera video storage/manager)
• Synology Drive Server (agent-based client backup/data sync)
• Virtual Machine Manager (run lightweight VMs)
• VPN Server (OpenVPN remote access to the LAN)

Third-party:

• Jellyfin (media server)
• SABnzbd/Transmission (media download services)
• Sonarr/Radarr/Lidarr (media management)

I would imagine that most of these are either built into HexOS or can be provided via Docker image. I have not researched replacements for Surveillance Station or Synology Drive Server and I would be interested in equivalents that are used within the DIY NAS community.

[Dylan]

3 hours ago, freid said:

Do you have any issues running docker containers or VMs which I should be aware of?

No, but I should be very clear. My use-case is very limited and intentionally that way. I hope to grow my configuration and what it does as HexOS expands its capabilities. Does that make sense? So, yes I run Plex, Immich, TailScale and Radarr with no issue (mostly - check my posts for where I've hit issues but they are almost entirely config based not HW or otherwise).

I'm sure you've heard/seen this before but Hexos is still very much in beta and with limited official support for apps. With that said, we DO strive to document our growth HERE and often use the TrueNAS UI to deploy apps that are not yet fully supported - do so at your own risk tolerance.

We're not quite 4 months out from release so there is still a road ahead but we have MANY talented contributors to this forum and I've enjoyed engaging with all of them!

[ubergeek]

If I was going all new this would be my build out

NEW EGG BUNDLE  " CPU MOBO RAM PSU"

Silverstone-Technology-CS380B-Storage-Cases

NAS CASE OF CHOICE

12g SAS HDD CONTROLLER

just add storage

[Jakor]

There's some seriously impressive and creative rigs here! I'm on the lower-end of specs (trying to stay on a budget until I get the hang of things and establish what my actual needs are), but things have been going smoothly so far! Hoping to upgrade to a Jonsbo case one day and fill it with hand-me-down hardware from my gaming rig. Bought the following off FB marketplace for about $125.

 

-Case: HP P600 (holds up to x5 3.5" HDDs with some minor modifications to add hot-swappable slots on the front and an additional fans in the front/side.

-CPU: Ryzen 2600

-RAM: 16GB

-Mobo: Asrock a320m-hdv micro ATX

-GPU: Nvidia GTX970 (considering removing to reduce idle power draw - don't think this is useful for anything other than a video output)

-Boot drive: random 128 GB M.2 SSD (not sure of brand.... hoping HexOS adds the ability to backup the configs sooner than later...)

-PSU: Phanteks Revolt 1000W 80 Plus Platinum (laughably overkill.... computer came with a sketchy EVGA white PSU that I replaced ASAP - this is a hand-me-down from the gaming rig.)

-Storage: (x3) 10 TB shucked HDDs (two seagate barracudas and one WD). Looking forward to expanding this one day soon!

 

Hopefully the below specs help assure others just how easy it is to run this software. I'll definitely need to upgrade my memory and CPU if I start loading too many apps on it, but this runs immich just fine for now with about 50% of RAM to spare! 

[ubergeek]

3 minutes ago, Jakor said:

There's some seriously impressive and creative rigs here! I'm on the lower-end of specs (trying to stay on a budget until I get the hang of things and establish what my actual needs are), but things have been going smoothly so far! Hoping to upgrade to a Jonsbo case one day and fill it with hand-me-down hardware from my gaming rig. Bought the following off FB marketplace for about $125.

 

-Case: HP P600 (holds up to x5 3.5" HDDs with some minor modifications to add hot-swappable slots on the front and an additional fans in the front/side.

-CPU: Ryzen 2600

-RAM: 16GB

-Mobo: Asrock a320m-hdv micro ATX

-GPU: Nvidia GTX970 (considering removing to reduce idle power draw - don't think this is useful for anything other than a video output)

-Boot drive: random 128 GB M.2 SSD (not sure of brand.... hoping HexOS adds the ability to backup the configs sooner than later...)

-PSU: Phanteks Revolt 1000W 80 Plus Platinum (laughably overkill.... computer came with a sketchy EVGA white PSU that I replaced ASAP - this is a hand-me-down from the gaming rig.)

-Storage: (x3) 10 TB shucked HDDs (two seagate barracudas and one WD). Looking forward to expanding this one day soon!

 

Hopefully the below specs help assure others just how easy it is to run this software. I'll definitely need to upgrade my memory and CPU if I start loading too many apps on it, but this runs immich just fine for now with about 50% of RAM to spare! 

Tbh its not bad, You dont need a massive power house to be a good nas, It helpsif you are going to stuff it full of APPS . And I wouldnt say 1000w is overkill. I wish I had it in my build. "15x 3.5 drives on a 650" and I am using all the adaptors to make it work but still have the headroom for a rtx2060.

 

I also just built a back up server on the cheap for what storage is in it here