NAS & plex server with offsite backup

[Richard J. Acton]

I'm trying to put together a server / NAS solution to host backup of all my family's files and provide access to all our media files via plex and I'm looking for some advice. Getting the latest QNAP server and several multi-terabyte ironwolf drives for a relatively off the self-build is eye-wateringly expensive so i'd like to build something myself (also more fun ), though i'm open to suggestions for cheaper off the shelf stuff.

 

main points in bullet point form:

 

- ~30tb usable storage

- Some level of raid to protect from drive failures

- Automatic backup of the contents of the server to a second remote storage solution, also with raid. (One at my place one at my parents')

- managed with linux based software (I use linux for work and have set up things like web, git, and Minecraft servers before so i'm more comfortable with this than windows or some other proprietary software)

- Does not break the bank

 

It would be nice to have something like NVMe ssd cache to speed things up if i want to edit any video/photos directly from the NAS - cost allowing.

 

I would also welcome suggestions for (free) software to run automatic differential backups from windows machines to this server.

 

[Windows7ge]

Software wise FreeNAS can do all of that except this part:

Quote

NVMe ssd cache to speed things

You would be forced to expand your pool to increase write performance. For reads though if you want to live edit off the server the more RAM the better.