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October 11, 2024 9:50 AM Subscribe
Help me remix my Plex setup. Add a NAS? Rebuild the server box? So many options.
I’d like to revamp my Plex server setup. Right now, the server is running off a Dell Optiplex. 3TB external drive, one or two local clients at most. I want to double that space at a minimum. I think the way to go is to add a NAS so I’d love some advice on that. I don’t want to roll my own but I will if the cost difference is significant. I’m also not opposed to building a new dedicated server box with really large hard drive.
Budget is $500-$1000. I realize that $500 is on the very low end but if it can be done for that, great!
I’d like to revamp my Plex server setup. Right now, the server is running off a Dell Optiplex. 3TB external drive, one or two local clients at most. I want to double that space at a minimum. I think the way to go is to add a NAS so I’d love some advice on that. I don’t want to roll my own but I will if the cost difference is significant. I’m also not opposed to building a new dedicated server box with really large hard drive.
Budget is $500-$1000. I realize that $500 is on the very low end but if it can be done for that, great!
I bought a 2-bay Terramaster NAS a few years ago and loaded it up with a pair of big ol' HDs running as a RAID 1 array (for e-z backup purposes) and have the Plex server running straight off the NAS. Terramaster conveniently includes Plex in their in-NAS app store, so you get easy access to server updates as well.
I upload content to it after prepping the files on my desktop machine, and have it running from my hallway closet, plugged into a teeny-tiny network switch. It runs whisper quiet and cool even in a small, relatively unventilated space.
It does great with straight-ahead HD content (haven't attempted UHD yet) but doesn't do well with HD transcoding (like with non-burned in subtitles), so you may want to get a model with a slightly beefier processor if you do a lot of that.
(On preview, the NAS enclosure cost me around $175, and comparatively splurged on the drives, but you can determine the best drive size/price for your needs/budget.)
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:31 AM on October 11
I upload content to it after prepping the files on my desktop machine, and have it running from my hallway closet, plugged into a teeny-tiny network switch. It runs whisper quiet and cool even in a small, relatively unventilated space.
It does great with straight-ahead HD content (haven't attempted UHD yet) but doesn't do well with HD transcoding (like with non-burned in subtitles), so you may want to get a model with a slightly beefier processor if you do a lot of that.
(On preview, the NAS enclosure cost me around $175, and comparatively splurged on the drives, but you can determine the best drive size/price for your needs/budget.)
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:31 AM on October 11
I too am a fan of using a Synology + Plex to both store and stream movies/tv -- it's fairly unbreakable. When I installed mine, I don't think there was an official Plex plugin so I had to sideload it, which was easy using online instructions, I don't know if there's an official install yet. My Synology is a 720+; the 220j did struggle a little, hence the upgrade, so don't go with the smallest/cheapest option. I think my 720+, with two 8TB drives in Raid1 (mirrored) was around $700 but that was like five years ago. I just bought two 16TB drives to upgrade, because I've hooked into Synology's ability to be a Time Machine server, do other backups, etc., there's a lot of 'win' in getting a high functioning NAS.
If you go with Synology, definitely use their compatibility website to choose what hard drives to use; it will complain, for valid reasons, if you use just any drive (cheap drives don't have the reliability of higher end drives) but it doesn't require too expensive of drives, WD Reds are generally compatible.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:25 PM on October 11
If you go with Synology, definitely use their compatibility website to choose what hard drives to use; it will complain, for valid reasons, if you use just any drive (cheap drives don't have the reliability of higher end drives) but it doesn't require too expensive of drives, WD Reds are generally compatible.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:25 PM on October 11
You may be overthinking this. A $200 N100 Mini-PC is plenty powerful enough to run Plex, and with any modern Intel CPU you get hardware transcoding. Then just plug in a USB drive for storage. The biggest 2.5" external drives are about $150 for 5TB. Or spend the same amount for a 12TB or bigger 3.5" external drive.
If you want to get fancy, a HPE Proliant MicroServer G10+ is about $650 for enterprise grade server hardware. You can put in 4 drives and go nuts with RAID.
For software, anything you like will work. My favorite these days is Proxmox as a Linux server, then a VM running Linux and Plex. Even the little N100 has plenty of spare capacity to run other services in VMs and containers.
posted by Nelson at 1:57 PM on October 11
If you want to get fancy, a HPE Proliant MicroServer G10+ is about $650 for enterprise grade server hardware. You can put in 4 drives and go nuts with RAID.
For software, anything you like will work. My favorite these days is Proxmox as a Linux server, then a VM running Linux and Plex. Even the little N100 has plenty of spare capacity to run other services in VMs and containers.
posted by Nelson at 1:57 PM on October 11
I recently dumped my old homebuilt Windows Plex server I kept in the basement for the last however many years for a sexy new Synology unit. It's the best. Just make sure you get one that has a GPU that can do hardware transcoding. There's a big spreadsheet floating around our there. Message me for more information.
posted by kbanas at 2:12 PM on October 11
posted by kbanas at 2:12 PM on October 11
If you go the NAS route (and I highly recommend that plan) then check the NAS compatibility list for one that supports hardware transcoding.
posted by Runes at 6:54 PM on October 11 [1 favorite]
posted by Runes at 6:54 PM on October 11 [1 favorite]
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