Nas built for Plex server

[raj_ch2002]

This thread is for people interested in NAS but don't want to spend a bomb on NAS devices...

Below are the components i've used.

1) ASROCK Z77 Extreme 4.
This has total 8 sata ports. 2 pci-e for expansion.

Price-Rs:10K

2) Intel i3 3220, with some underclocking and undervolting to reduce wattage.
Price-Rs:7K

3) normal atx cabinet. with one intake fan and one out fan.
Price-Rs:3K

4) H40 water cooler.
Price-Rs:3K

why water cooler? its to reduce the dust accumulation on cpu and surrounding areas.
radiator is connected with the exhaust fan, so total i've 1 intake and 1 exhaust fans to keep temps down

5) Gskill 8gb ram
Price-Rs:5K

6) SMPS: around 4k

windows xp, which does not eat on RAM.

Total: 32k without os.

Pro's of using this setup:
1) low wattage compared to a 4 bay nas, mine runs at 40-50w max.
2) upgradability, you can upgrade any component of the system
3) Lots of power !!!
For instance I3 3220 is a dual core processor, i've disabled HT and 1 core, so using just one core of the processor, i could play all my hd movies on TV, phone and ipad simultaneously... you can't compare an ARM processor with this.

cons:
1) no raid, i don't use raid, i feel setting up raid and configuring itself is pain in the butt, so i just use extra hdd's to make a mirror backups
2) looks...
3) easy user configuration, that is if you are not so well with sharing in windows...
4) need to buy plex clients for android and ios..

 

[john_k_antony]

You can try accessing the Plex media library using the following URL in a browser and start playing the video in the web browser.

The default URL to the Plex library is : http://<PLEX-SERVER-HOST>:32400/web/

I guess this web page doesn't use Adobe Flash so that you can view the video on Android / IOS devices.

-John.

 

[GeorgeO]

Not wanting to get into an argument, but you're comparing 32K with what? Is this an HTPC or a NAS? I'm confused. I think a 4 Bay NAS will consume less power and I know it will have a smaller footprint.

 

[raj_ch2002]

no problem with an argument, that clears few doubts we have.

Like i said in the title, its mainly for streaming media with PLEX server...currently my system is drawing less than 50watts from mains.

here's my setup..

this system HTPC/NAS i use it to watch tv shows from the connected monitor.

for movies i use a dedicated AMD e350 HTPC which is connected to home theater, which streams from my NAS.

My Kid watches animation movies from IPAD streaming from NAS.

so, going in the way of a dedicated PC is way better than any dedicated NAS is what i feel, this is my own opinion but not a rule...

 

[GeorgeO]

Ok understood. I have a media server connected via preamp processor to projector, so my NAS needs are to store and stream. My audio NAS serves my Squeezeboxes. So I was abit confused reading your post on the dual processor computing power.

If this works well for you great!

 

[haisaikat]

congrats raj, but 32K in my opinion is quite a bomb I spent less than 15K for the one I built for mine. I also have Plex running on it and trust me mirroring has its cons which you can reduce by parity based raid setups, I use FlexRAID for that, very easy to setup, just one time purchase.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

@raj

While the components are great. But the sum of products is an overkill for the needs you have stated.

The e350 that u use to stream content with from the mega build nas is quite capable of achieving this on its own. Please don't get me wrong but an ion/e350 can transcode, stream and even playback easily with 2/4gb ram.

I have a e350 with 2GB ddr3 1333 running plex server, squeezebox server, mpd, torrents with flexget, minidlna and Apache Web server along with nfs and samba shares for xbmc clients with ease.

Can play 1080p multiple streams (tested 6 simultaneously) accross xbmc, tvs, Ipad and android tabs. All hdds attached remain spun down when not in use conserving life as well as power.

And but for plex, an arm 1.2 ghz processor with 128mb ram achieves the rest with ease and is my standby solution.

 

[raj_ch2002]

@dheerajjotwani

I've used the e350 before as NAS before shifting it to streamer.

e350 though is a capable machine, its not beefy enough to take up multiple tasks and it cannot transcode multiple 1080p streams.
Also, i wanted to move to a system which can take up more than 7 drives.

Edit: even though drives are put into low power mode, it still effects there life. so i prefer them to be offline when they are not used.

 

[raj_ch2002]

congrats raj, but 32K in my opinion is quite a bomb I spent less than 15K for the one I built for mine. I also have Plex running on it and trust me mirroring has its cons which you can reduce by parity based raid setups, I use FlexRAID for that, very easy to setup, just one time purchase.

the point i wanted to make was getting a diy NAS at almost same budget as a dedicated NAS... and not to use any old components.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

@dheerajjotwani

I've used the e350 before as NAS before shifting it to streamer.

e350 though is a capable machine, its not beefy enough to take up multiple tasks and it cannot transcode multiple 1080p streams.
Also, i wanted to move to a system which can take up more than 7 drives.

Edit: even though drives are put into low power mode, it still effects there life. so i prefer them to be offline when they are not used.

Well I added a pci card to increase disks to 8. I don't get the last part of your post where you prefer them to be offline.

My Diy wol comes alive at noon and shuts down at 2 am as a schedule. While it's on, the disks not in use stay spun down. Found this to be ideal and green drives have been doing over 3 years with this sorta setup.

 

[raj_ch2002]

Well I added a pci card to increase disks to 8. I don't get the last part of your post where you prefer them to be offline.

My Diy wol comes alive at noon and shuts down at 2 am as a schedule. While it's on, the disks not in use stay spun down. Found this to be ideal and green drives have been doing over 3 years with this sorta setup.

i meant, not to connect(power them) the backup drives to system when they are not used. i had issues with pci cars where drives sharing the same bandwidth of pci or pci-e lanes.

 

[haisaikat]

i had issues with pci cars where drives sharing the same bandwidth of pci or pci-e lanes.

Yes this is correct, the bandwidth is limited and I could get a max throughput of 38 / 40 MB/s only while transferring data using pci-e network cards. However the card was made for pci-e 1x slots and hence the limitation. If pcie cards are to be bought for sata port extension then better look for x8 or expensive x16 cards for being able to utilize full pcie-e bus throughput.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

While technically you are right, in practical usage a bd iso does 25-30MB stream. I see the nic saturating way before the disks io would on the pci lane. Perhaps my thinking is incorrect but I am going with sheer usage pattern. E350N setup has been upto the money with performance. I can't fault it for perceived over performance when frankly such ain't sought. Average home usage with 5-6 simultaneous streams can be got with e350n/ion platform for 1/3rd the price is all I am saying.

Sending a tank to do an ants job, well the job gets done for sure.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

Edit: I stand corrected on the pci throughput bit... As i assumed.

 

[raj_ch2002]

Atleast my motherboard NIC is handling upto 80-90MBps when i try to copy files to it and while reading it stays near 90MBps...problem is with transcoding multiple streams, this is where i felt intel i3 wins...

if you are using just direct play then you don't need the power of i3.

and instead of getting a 8x or 16x expansion, you can go for a full atx motherboard, which is what i've done

 

[arunsankar]

Good build raj, but the budget is on the higher side for a DIY NAS? I am using an E350N for the past two years as my all time ON server cum NAS. Also 8GB RAM and using XP to conserve RAM seems to be odd to me. My 2GB RAM E350N performs the following activities regularly / simultaneously.

1) Stream to XBMC HTPC in living room.
2) Stream to XBMC HTPC powering the PJ
3) Stream to iPad(s) for my wife/kid.
4) Torrent downloading.
5) MySQL server for both XBMC installations at home.
6) Scheduled backup for mobiles connected to the home network.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

I didn't mean I was getting lesser. Just saying before the pci slot speed bottlenecks, the nic would cap off really in a gigabit environment. And yes transcode g at my end happens to two devices my Ipad mini retina and plex on chromecast. For other xbmc clients and android tabs it's a direct stream

And yes am doing all this off vanilla debian wheezy headless.

Disclaimer: hotelier by education and profession, tech diy enthusiast by interest

 

[raj_ch2002]

Good build raj, but the budget is on the higher side for a DIY NAS? I am using an E350N for the past two years as my all time ON server cum NAS. Also 8GB RAM and using XP to conserve RAM seems to be odd to me. My 2GB RAM E350N performs the following activities regularly / simultaneously.

1) Stream to XBMC HTPC in living room.
2) Stream to XBMC HTPC powering the PJ
3) Stream to iPad(s) for my wife/kid.
4) Torrent downloading.
5) MySQL server for both XBMC installations at home.
6) Scheduled backup for mobiles connected to the home network.

initially i was using 350N, and it was slow for me. at least what i felt.
I was using XBMC before, then moved to PLEX now and i feel it is good.
So thought of going towards a dedicated NAS like Synology.

Problem with Synology is the cost. a simple 4 bay drive was going upwards of 35 which was the reason i bought these components. BTW, i didn't say in the thread of being budget NAS . its an alternate to expensive dedicated NAS systems which added advantage of expandability.

 

[haisaikat]

Raj, I think you can play around with other HDDs, with 2TB WD Greens I have clocked max 110-114 MB/s read speed over LAN and 101 MB/s with USB 3.0.