So, I currently have a Netgear ReadyNAS 314 with 1 SSD, 3 HDDs, Intel Atom D2701 and 4GB RAM, running Debian 12, and since getting it I’ve been getting more into self hosting. What I have now is primarily too weak in the CPU and RAM department, but it could also use more HDDs. I’m aiming for 5-6 3.5 HDDs, 1 Nvme, 1 2.5" SSD.

What I’m currently running:

  • Samba and NFS server

  • OpenVPN

  • Jellyseerr/Jellyfin/*arr stack

  • Pangolin

  • Dawarich

  • Immich

  • rsnapshot

  • Homepage

And it’s rather sluggish right now, and is almost filling up its 4GB of swap.

What I’d also like to be able to run/have:

  • Nextcloud

  • Transcoding (including ability to decode AV1, but preferably also encode)

  • Anything else I may want to run (working on degoogling myself)

  • ECC RAM (to prevent bitrot, I’m already running btrfs raid1 to prevent bitrot from faulty disks)

  • 1x 2.5G ethernet

If possible I’d like to have some room for upgradeability. I’m aiming for a low power build, that should be rather compact, especially not very wide unless I can find a better place in my office for it.

I’m looking at a Jonsbo N1 chassis (17cm wide) , but I’m also following a Readynas 626 (19cm wide) in an online auction. Options:

Intel N100 board

Pros: cheap, low power, quicksync with av1 decode

Cons: boards with 2.5G ethernet have to be ordered from Aliexpress and have no support and uses the JMB585 chip that prevents low power C states, limited pcie lanes, no AV1 encode, not very upgradeable (1 DIMM, soldered CPU) , no ECC, I worry it may be too slow

Intel 13100

Pros: AV1 decode, quite fast, upgradeable

Cons: No ECC, relatively expensive, no AV1 encode

AMD 8500G

Pros: AV1 enc/dec, ECC, relatively fast, upgradeable

Cons: relatively expensive, not as low power as the 13100

Readynas 626

Pros: enterprise grade HW, less DIY, ECC, may be relatively cheap

Cons: high power for its performance (roughly that of the N100), wider (19cm) than a Jonsbo N1 (17cm), not upgradeable (no CPU or mobo swap), expensive DDR4 2133 ECC UDIMM, doesn’t have M.2 but has a PCIE slot

I’d love to hear what you think about these options and whether you have other concerns that I haven’t thought about.

Edit: I just now realized that the 13100 doesn’t have AV1 encode in HW, that didn’t come until Core Ultra. And wowee, suitable mITX mobos start at 400$ here! I think AMD is the realistic choice if I want to go for AV1 HW encode…

  • link42@lm.preferlinux.deEnglish
    2·
    22 days ago

    Hi there, I have build a nice backup NAS recently:

    Supermicro X11SCL-IF 16 GB ECC RAM 2666 Intel i3 9100T M.2 512 GB System Disk 4x 8TB Ironwolf 5400 RPM Fractal Node 304 Case Be quiet Pure Power 11

    This is around 40W @the wall with all disks spinning and has Intel quicksync for decoding. My use case is mainly backup, you should consider i5 for hosting more apps on it. The processor was 30$ at eBay but is quite low power and has ECC support without being a Xeon processor. The newer generations of i3 do not have ECC ram from the spec. The board itself was 300€, but wanted ECC ram. The case is well cooled what ist most important for a system running for a long time. You should also consider N100 mini computer in addition to have more flexibility in the long run for different application demands.

    Hope this helps for decision making

  • just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    23 days ago

    First, I think you’re attacking this from the wrong angle. You’re focused on ECC memory for some reason, but that’s not going to prevent bitrot, just potentially reduce errors in transfer, or catch issues. Your filesystem of choice has more to do with degradation in storage.

    Second, you haven’t mentioned any of the boards and their storage capabilities. Do they support the correct number of drives you want to use? Do they support hot-swap, and is that even something you care about?

    Last, you want more services, and but are worried about power consumption…that’s not how that works. More services means more CPU and MEM util, which means more power usage. You can either constrain your TDP at that point by using an UNDERpowered CPU and have that tradeoff, or provide a more capable CPU and take an increased TDP. There is no third option, that’s just how it works. Pick the more capable CPU and take the power hit (really, it’s going to be minor compared to a large server), and just run the things you need to run instead of coming back in a year and wanting to flip it again.

    • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.comEnglish
      0·
      23 days ago

      Ditto to your comment except power usage. I moved my Plex/Jellyfin (and hopefully Immich soon) docker containers to an N100 for the hardware acceleration. TDP is 6 watts on some of these devices and CPU use sits around 2% unless Plex is doing DB optimizations (about 60% for a bit). I haven’t measured consumption or my older server, but I feel moving some CPU intensive services to hardware GPU is saving a few watts.

      • Bronzie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        I did the same.

        Jellyfin and all “fun” containers to a N100 NUC and let the NAS be a NAS. It’s only running the .arr stack and qBit. Works really well and the NUC has power for days to expand.

        • ladfrombrad 🇬🇧@lemdro.idEnglish
          0·
          22 days ago

          Fourth person chiming in here [email protected], and I’ve pretty much the same as the above guys.

          Segmented the NAS to being a NAS + arrr stack, N100 for Immich/Jellyfin HW transcoding, RPi3& 5 for Adguard and TVHeadend server.

          I like the idea of there not being a single point of failure.

          • chellomere@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
            0·
            22 days ago

            You’re starting to convince me, I’ve been looking at getting a GMKtec G3 N100 mini pc and just slotting it beside my existing NAS. I can even get a dedicated gigabit ethernet connection going between these two.

            • Bronzie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              2·
              22 days ago

              That would be a mirror of my setup. GMKtec N100 with 16 Gb of RAM doing all the heavy lifting with Jellyfin (transcoding), game servers, HomeAssistant and so forth. Not once has it had a hickup.

              It’s a brilliant little thing for really very little money.

              Remember to activate C-states in BIOS to achieve the super low idle TDP people talk about, around 6-8W.

              Good luck on your journey!

            • ladfrombrad 🇬🇧@lemdro.idEnglish
              1·
              22 days ago

              It’s an expensive journey if you wanna ever keep near Moores Law and why I like handing down shit.

              A family member has my old Synology NAS and they still can’t get their head around Jellyseer but understands it, works.

              It then also gives me a test + bonus backup place. Have fun!

  • non_burglar@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    22 days ago

    I have a jonsbo n1, do not buy it.

    1. Cooling is insufficient. Something about the case layout makes the motherboard area not get enough ventilation and the supplied fan can’t cool 5 disks, the chassis holding the disks doesn’t allow enough air through.
    2. Only room for half-height expansion card.
    3. Cable routing is abysmal, with sharp edges.
    • chellomere@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      22 days ago

      Thanks for the advice, noted! I was attracted by the compact size, I guess it’s not realistic that it would handle 5 disks…