Can I have some recommendations for Hardware to use for HexOS?

[Taylor G.]

Hi all!
I currently have a Home Server which is an old HP workstation (Specs below). I currently have been using External Seagate storage devices for Plex but I plan to expand this to a proper NAS/DAS system hence why I purchased I license for HexOS as the features and planned upcoming features are exactly what I am looking for.
I'm not sure what I should be getting to suit my needs in terms of an actual NAS/DAS Enclosure for hard drives and there are plenty of smart people around here so I thought I would get all of your two cents.

I currently use my Home Server to host Plex, Sonarr, Tautilli and Ombi but I wanted to also look into the Photo app HexOS offers (I forget the name) and possibly a Steam Cache but that one I can very much live without.
My home server currently uses Windows File Sharing on a 1G per port Switch between the Home Server, Router, My PC and my Dad's PC.

My Home Servers Specs are below:
CPU: Intel Core i5-5400 @ 2.70GHz
RAM: 12GB DDR4 2133MHz (I have 16GB spare which I plan to swap over in the near future which should increase clock speed and RAM Amount).

I am in the United Kingdom so the product will need to be available for delivery there. 

I thank anyone in advance who is willing to help me pick out an enclosure for my described uses and HexOS!

[Mobius]

depending on your motherboard and psu size as well as your needs/budget the jonsbo n2, n3, n4 or n5 could work. Fractal node 304 or 804 are other options.

 

alternatively you can go on uk.pcpartpicker.com, input your components and then set the filters for what kind of case you would like

Edited December 1, 2024 by Mobius

[Taylor G.]

7 minutes ago, Mobius said:

depending on your motherboard and psu size as well as your needs/budget the jonsbo n2, n3, n4 or n5 could work. Fractal node 304 or 804 are other options.

 

alternatively you can go on uk.pcpartpicker.com, input your components and then set the filters for what kind of case you would like

I saw this on someone elses post, what are your thoughts on this as I am not massively great with building. I'm alright at the odd thing but a whole PC 😅

Let me know.
https://aoostar.com/products/aoostar-n9e-intel-n100-mini-pc4c-4t-up-to-3-4ghz-with-w11-home-8-16gb-ddr4-3200mhz-ram-256-512gb-m-2-2280-nvme-ssd?variant=48813283508522#ddReview

[Sparkrdom]

1 minute ago, Taylor G. said:

I saw this on someone elses post, what are your thoughts on this as I am not massively great with building. I'm alright at the odd thing but a whole PC 😅

Let me know.
https://aoostar.com/products/aoostar-n9e-intel-n100-mini-pc4c-4t-up-to-3-4ghz-with-w11-home-8-16gb-ddr4-3200mhz-ram-256-512gb-m-2-2280-nvme-ssd?variant=48813283508522#ddReview

Specwise, seems solid. N100 is a good little chip.

[Mobius]

i agree its a convenient little machine but a quick search on reddit shows that it struggles pretty badly with burning subtitles to videos. If that isnt important to you itll definitely be able to run a few plex streams.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Mobius

[Taylor G.]

4 minutes ago, Mobius said:

i agree its a convenient little machine but a quick search on reddit shows that it struggles pretty badly with burning subtitles to videos. If that isnt important to you itll definitely be able to run a few plex streams.

I only add subtitles to non-English movies or tv shows. About 98% of shows do not include subtitles.

Generally, we have a max of 3-4 people watching Plex at one time.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Taylor G.

[Mobius]

at 3 or 4 streams at once with the arr stack and more you are pushing the lil machine to its limits. I would consider going with something a little beefier.

Building a pc is not as hard as it sounds and i think even an unexperienced person should be able to get it done in around 3h. I believe in you

[Mossware]

@Taylor G. Hi. I'd start by just using what you have and give it ago. Don't spend any money unless you need to. And, if you watched the LTT video, even if you do need to upgrade for performance reasons, then a newer 2nd hand desktop will be fine. No need to build anything.

If it was me and I started from scratch, I'd look for a Dell Optiplex with a 8-10th gen processor, in a larger sized case. Plenty on Ebay in the UK for £80-100. You can add drives, network cards (2.5g) to upgrade as you go.

When you get your copy of HexOS, maybe come back to this forum for advice on how to try it on your current hardware, without destroying your existing setup. I'm sure someone will be glad to help. 

[Taylor G.]

Just now, Mossware said:

@Taylor G. Hi. I'd start by just using what you have and give it ago. Don't spend any money unless you need to. And, if you watched the LTT video, even if you do need to upgrade for performance reasons, then a newer 2nd hand desktop will be fine. No need to build anything.

If it was me and I started from scratch, I'd look for a Dell Optiplex with a 8-10th gen processor, in a larger sized case. Plenty on Ebay in the UK for £80-100. You can add drives, network cards (2.5g) to upgrade as you go.

When you get your copy of HexOS, maybe come back to this forum for advice on how to try it on your current hardware, without destroying your existing setup. I'm sure someone will be glad to help. 

I see. Issue is I am looking for an actual NAS/DAS enclosure either to link to my current home server or a totally new one with one built in.
I need to expand storage and saw this as the perfect opportunity to do so but have no idea what to buy in terms of actual enclosure hardware for 3.5" Harddrives (Likely Seagate Ironwolf).

If there is an enclosure I can buy that allows 4 3.5" hard drives then I can go with that instead and host HexOS off my existing home server.

[Sparkrdom]

If you're just wanting to increase storage, I can personally attest to these Sabrent expansion bays - I've been using this 4-bay model since 2021. Literally just plug and play - no software to faff about with.

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Tray-Less-Docking-Station-DS-SC5B/dp/B07Y3WDHLD

[Mossware]

@Taylor G. Right, I get you. I would start by saying what your budget is and go from there if you're happy to share that. I'm sure others will be able to help then.

I'm all about doing it on the cheap and don't need 4x drives these days. I had a qnap backplane in my desktop for years.

 

Good luck.

[Taylor G.]

6 minutes ago, Sparkrdom said:

If you're just wanting to increase storage, I can personally attest to these Sabrent expansion bays - I've been using this 4-bay model since 2021. Literally just plug and play - no software to faff about with.

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Tray-Less-Docking-Station-DS-SC5B/dp/B07Y3WDHLD

Amazon UK doesn't seem to have those 😅

https://www.images.taylorgibbs.dev/DoTe0/SEfOYIWI43.png/raw

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sabrent-Tray-Less-Docking-Station-DS-SC5B/dp/B07Y3WDHLD

[Taylor G.]

2 minutes ago, Mossware said:

@Taylor G. Right, I get you. I would start by saying what your budget is and go from there if you're happy to share that. I'm sure others will be able to help then.

I'm all about doing it on the cheap and don't need 4x drives these days. I had a qnap backplane in my desktop for years.

 

Good luck.

Generally up to £250-£300 but I can bend it. I host a lot of stuff on Plex for my family and friends so a lot of space has been taken, currently 12TB in use, mainly just Gundam shows 😅

[Sparkrdom]

Looks like they do have the 5-bay one, and you might be able to get it from their webstore.

There are definitely options, and I think Mossware made a great point 🙂

[Mossware]

@Taylor G. Excellent, a use case and a budget. I'm sure someone will help.

[Taylor G.]

9 minutes ago, Mossware said:

I had a qnap backplane in my desktop for years.

Can someone explain what this is exactly? I think I found what it is but don't really understand it.

[The_Green_Nerd2]

7 minutes ago, Taylor G. said:

Can someone explain what this is exactly? I think I found what it is but don't really understand it.

Let's you plug in more hard drives

[Taylor G.]

1 minute ago, The_Green_Nerd2 said:

Let's you plug in more hard drives

I see. This might not be ideal for the area I plan to put it, more because I don't want to accidentally have a HDD slip and fall or it accidentally rank it out of place.
I feel an enclosure may be better in the area I plan to place it in but that's an extremely cool idea.

[Sparkrdom]

Pretty sure that's just a PCB with a bunch of SATA power/data ports. So you'd mount the hard drives and run cables. Or slap light SSDs onto it.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Sparkrdom

[Taylor G.]

Gotcha well that's another thing I don't have a place to mount them which is actually one reason I wanted to look into an enclosure as I am currently balancing my external hard drives in a sketchy way, it sounds like I'd have to do the same thing.

[Taylor G.]

I do appreciate the help by the way guys and girls ❤️

[Taylor G.]

Hey. Opening this again as I am still looking into this.

Would HexOS support a DAS like this? It uses USB-C to connect instead of Ethernet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TERRAMASTER-D4-320-External-Drive-Enclosure-Silver-Grey/dp/B0BZC3HCNC/ref=asc_df_B0CTZRY7YR?mcid=0d0785db3e2436efb2c294dafb2fb31a&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697292516770&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8440863920737850880&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045550&hvtargid=pla-2294915855738&gad_source=1&th=1

[Mobius]

37 minutes ago, Taylor G. said:

Hey. Opening this again as I am still looking into this.

Would HexOS support a DAS like this? It uses USB-C to connect instead of Ethernet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TERRAMASTER-D4-320-External-Drive-Enclosure-Silver-Grey/dp/B0BZC3HCNC/ref=asc_df_B0CTZRY7YR?mcid=0d0785db3e2436efb2c294dafb2fb31a&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697292516770&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8440863920737850880&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045550&hvtargid=pla-2294915855738&gad_source=1&th=1

external usb devices are not recommended and may cause issues.
It may or may not work depending on if the DAS passes through the actual serial number of the HDD, a lot of External HDD enclosures don't 
either way i wouldn't bother.

[Sonic]

Like @Mobius said, It could work, but you need to like troubleshooting and prepare for a lot of trial and error. If you search on "usb c das truenas scale" you will find positive examples of specific DAS devices in combination with Truenas. But you will also read about a lot of trouble.

I wouldn't take the risk.

[Dylan]

@Taylor G. To echo what the others have said, I agree - especially while HexOS is still in beta. Even if TrueNAS supports it, it invites problems. I'd at least wait for a v1 release before using any important data.