[ArchaicRider]

I'm looking to upgrade my NAS on which I store/backup personal files which mainly consist of photos.

The NAS I currently have is a WD MyWorld (white) and the disk is on the way out. It's not powerful enough to use as a media-streamer so a replacement is needed, I think.

With the advent of 'cloud' based storage I'm wondering if that's really needed, on the other hand my broadband sucks at a max of 5.7Mbps (serves me right for being in the sticks ) so perhaps I need local storage (for speed) with an online backup which can upload overnight etc.

Essential Wish List
Easy to access file storage/backup
Media storage/streamer (going to rip CDs/DVDs etc) - mixture of Apple, Windows and Android devices along with Smart TVs.
RAID of some sort

Desirable Wish List
Linux architecture as I'm familiar with that
Web Server
Potential to run OpenHAB for home automation
Easily expandable for more disks/memory etc
Good power management when not being used
Anything else that the combined wisdom on here can suggest is useful!

Synology have been suggested as a good make but I'm open to any and all ideas!

Thanks in advance

ArchaicRider

[rikur_]

If you've got basic Linux skills, you can very easily make a NAS using a Raspberry Pi and either a USB drive, or SATA drive.
Personally I've got several using the USB approach - and note the new Pi 3B includes Gigabit ethernet, resolving one of the previous limitations.
It hasn't got raid, but I simply use Rsync to replicate to a second disk (and a third, and a fourth...). I like the simplicity of this approach.

I use MiniDLNA as a DLNA server for media purposes - but as Pi is Linux, you can take your pick of Plex or whatever floats your boat.
I'm running Apache as a webserver.

I subscribe to Dropbox, and there is an unofficial dropbox hack for the Pi that allows you to hook up the Pi to Dropbox for background file sync to the cloud. Dropbox also has a lan-sync feature so that for clients on the same lan it will sync lan-to-lan, rather than lan-wan-lan. i.e. If I add some new photos to the server, the server syncs them to the 'cloud' .... but when I switch my laptop on, dropbox on the laptop grabs them from the local server, not the cloud.

In our main house, I've got three Pi 'servers' one acting as the 'main' file/DLNA server, one as an 'off site back-up' in an out-building, and one acting as the NAS for the CCTV. In our second home, I've got a single Pi doing everything, including acting as the web-server for the CCTV.

The bit I like about the Pi approach is the fact it's open and I can tinker .... but others might prefer and off-the-shelf 'no tinkering needed' alternative.

[morticiaskeeper]

This is the sort of job that calls out for the Raspberry Pi.

My kitchen computer is a Pi 3 B+ with a 1tb USB drive attached and shared via Samba over the local network. All systems back up to this drive. Certain files are also backed up to a USB stick.

Sketchup on the Win10 machine saves directly to the server drive, allowing the 3D printer to print via another Pi 3.

Another Pi 3 is about to be deployed to the man cave to backup the server using Rsync.

If you would be happy with a slower wifi connection, the Pi zero W is only £9!

[stevelup]

Long time Synology user here.

They're the best of both worlds - there's nothing you can't do with it in terms of hacking around if you want to (full SSH root access and a pretty standard Linux underneath) but it's on proper hardware instead of the proverbial explosion in a Maplins* shop.

Very flexible in terms of adding storage too - you can add drives as you go, and they don't need to be the same size as existing ones. Do remember that 'RAID is not a backup' though...

*RIP (maybe)

[RichardPearse]

Just to punt another option out there. I used to use one of the consumer-level NAS products (QNAP I think) but for me it wasn't quite close enough to a standard Linux system. You had to use their "plugins", or do non-standard hacks to get standard tools working if they hadn't provided a plugin for it.

These days I have a little HP MicroServer with a bunch of different-sized drives in, running a standard Linux version. The hardware was fairly cheap. You can administer it from the command line if that's your thing, or install a lightweight GUI and connect to it via VNC/Remote Desktop/X2Go. Works pretty well and very flexible compared to dedicated appliances, but definitely more of a tinkerer's option.

I tried running appliance-style operating systems like FreeNAS or Open Media Vault on the system initially, but found they had the same problems with flexibility & standardisation. Less tinkering though.

[stevelup]

The HP Microservers are an absolute bargain as they often have cashback on them.

[ArchaicRider]

Thank you to all who've replied, options there that I've not considered!

I'm going to have to weigh up the convenience of an off-the-shelf product against the obvious flexibility of the 'roll your own' ideas that have been put forward.

I'd not heard of the HP Micro Server, but I've got Pi (version 2 I think) on which my attempt at OpenHab is currently running, albeit slowly.

So, some thinking and research to do

Cheers

ArchaicRider

[rikur_]

Long time Synology user here.

They're the best of both worlds - there's nothing you can't do with it in terms of hacking around if you want to (full SSH root access and a pretty standard Linux underneath) but it's on proper hardware instead of the proverbial explosion in a Maplins* shop.

Very flexible in terms of adding storage too - you can add drives as you go, and they don't need to be the same size as existing ones. Do remember that 'RAID is not a backup' though...

*RIP (maybe)

Interesting, I hadn't read-up on Synology previously.

re:

the proverbial explosion in a Maplins* shop

Some of the Pi stuff looks ok now - e.g. https://www.element14.com/community/doc ... desktop-pc **
** I haven't got one of these, not enough wires hanging out

[fov]

Personally i would forget the Pi for storage from what you have said. If you are thinking you need raid thats going to be terrible, or looking to stream from it a Pi is not ideal. All but the latest have a 100Mbps nic and performance is less than ideal. Add in some transcoding to really make it average at best.
Use the Pi for the webserver and OpenHAB maybe.
For the storage the HP Microserver or Dell T20 are both good options when offers are on to make them super cheap.
Or what about an old (not too old, like I3 4th generation maybe for the power requirement) desktop and run maybe unraid which would do the storage along side giving you the ability to run VMs and containers too. Or just freenas for storage.

Personally I run an old desktop with XenServer and run a freenas instance on that for network storage, some CoreOS machines for my docker fix and some full VMs for other bits. My set up might not be perfect for you though.

[rikur_]

Genuine question ... why do you want raid?
There used to be two main reasons - performance and resilience.
In most domestic/small business scenarios single disk can achieve the desired performance nowadays.
For resilience I usually endup at the conclusion that I'd rather have two mirrored servers with one disk each and eliminate all SPOFs.
I had RAID at home for a few years, but it created more failures than it avoided.

[GolfHotel]

I use a Synology at home for my photography. We have then at work on each site, we have one at home for the backups of the work data. They just work without any messing about. Simples. I don't maintain them at work but have an over view so understand sufficent to run my own one without help, but there is a good technical help available if needed.

[rikur_]

Personally i would forget the Pi for storage from what you have said. If you are thinking you need raid thats going to be terrible, or looking to stream from it a Pi is not ideal. All but the latest have a 100Mbps nic and performance is less than ideal.

Not sure if that's a comment from experience, or from assumption....
I agree a Pi is not going to compete with most microservers - but will outperform most NAS products on the market. Assuming he's buying it now, it's reasonable to base it on the current Pi 3B spec rather than the earlier models. You're getting: quad core, 1GB RAM, 64 bit, gigabit ethernet, lower power consumption, fanless/silent, etc. In my real world experience this works fine for media streaming (video and multiple kids streaming audio).
I agree with Steve's comments about the homebrew limitations

[fov]

Personally i would forget the Pi for storage from what you have said. If you are thinking you need raid thats going to be terrible, or looking to stream from it a Pi is not ideal. All but the latest have a 100Mbps nic and performance is less than ideal.

Not sure if that's a comment from experience, or from assumption....
I agree a Pi is not going to compete with most microservers - but will outperform most NAS products on the market. Assuming he's buying it now, it's reasonable to base it on the current Pi 3B spec rather than the earlier models. You're getting: quad core, 1GB RAM, 64 bit, gigabit ethernet, lower power consumption, fanless/silent, etc. In my real world experience this works fine for media streaming (video and multiple kids streaming audio).
I agree with Steve's comments about the homebrew limitations

From experience. Ive run a Pi B+ just sharing a CIFS share (which now does FR24 data stuff), Pi 3 B which was also Plex (now just spare for future) and a Pi 3 B+ (and thats currently a play thing for Docker).
The 3B+ was good enough for storage but if you start some transcoding you soon start to notice limitations. It just isnt powerful enough to do everything at the same time. Fine if you have the media in the right format and dont intend to hammer the disk at the same time and expect the webserver to respond in subsecond times.

Plus, OP said:

I've got Pi (version 2 I think)

So thats what Ive assumed he will run.

Ultimately its up to the person spending the money. Maybe my performance expectations are different, maybe I put more stress on my stuff, maybe you have media already in the best format (im lazy, id rather have the performance to just not care). But from my experience, i couldnt say a Pi will be a good fit.

[stevelup]

I would avoid transcoding in the first place. Any modern player can play any format thrown at it these days. If it can't, then just use something else!

[Bob Upanddown]

For me this sums up the problem that a non-techie person like me has with computers and now avionics.
Mention of an HP mini-server make my blood run cold. Years ago, I set up a small network in the business that worked with a couple of PCs. A local IT company came in suggesting all sorts of upgrades around an HP server which sounded great until they told me the price and the cost of the ongoing support. That’s the problem, you couldn’t have a server without the on-going techie support as we didn’t know how it worked.
I have a little Synology drive which is great for sharing and storing photos and videos. I am sure youngsters with their pies will have other ideas but nice and simple suits me. I don't know how it works but it does.