Questions about Raspberry Pi 4 with OpenMediaVault

[OddMagnet]

Long Post, skip to the next bolded text if you just want to ignore the backstory and just read the questions

 

So far I've been using a Synology Diskstation DS212j which has served me well.

Sadly, my storage has filled, so I have a few options:

1.  just buy bigger drives. Currently I'm using 2x2TB and I'd upgrade to 2x4TB probably (best bang for buck prices from what I see)
2. buy a new Diskstation with 4 bays,
3. make my own DIY NAS with OpenMediaVault

I don't like option 1, since at some point in the future I'll have the same problem and either repeat the cycle or get a new system with more bays.

Option 2 sounds good, my Diskstation has served me flawlessly for all those years, but when I look at the prices for 4bay Diskstations... yea, I'm too cheap for that

Option 3 sounded scary until recently, when I stumbled upon a video that showed a seemingly simply DIY NAS with a Raspberry Pi 4, a Quad Sata Hat, Enclosure etc.

The biggest advantage with that option, I think, is that in the future I can simply get a more powerful Raspberry Pi (or SBC in general), instead of either needing to replace components one by one or basically needing to buy a whole new system (like with synology). Plus the Pi seems to draw the least amount of electricity(?)

 

In case you're curious about the video / extra hardware

The Video

The Hardware

I hope those links are allowed. The rules state that links for advertising non-LTT stuff are not allowed, but I don't think this counts as advertising?

 

It's note quite the way I'd want mine to be, but it's a start. Sadly my Google-Fu isn't up to finding all the answers to my questions, so here I am

 

 

My Use-Case

• General Storage, File Sharing and Syncing some Folders for everyone in the House
• Backups, automatically from my MacBook and then backing up the files from the NAS again for even more protection
• Stream Movies, mostly HD so far, but increasingly more and more 4k (which my DS212j starts to struggle with)
• maybe a server for some hobby programming projects

 

The Questions

1. Performance, considering how old my DS212j is I'd assume that the Raspberry Pi 4 has enough power to serve my use-case?
2. Software, from what I've read OpenMediaVault can pretty much do anything since it's basically a Linux system and I can just add the needed functionality. Which also means it would be as barebones as possible. The question here is pretty much, are there any limitations to my use-case software-wise?
3. Power, from what I could gather I'd need an external PSU if I wanted to use 3.5" drives? Any recommendations?
4. Case, since I'd prefer using 3.5" I can't use the case from the Link above. The bundle in the Link was basically a case for the Raspberry Pi4, the Sata Hat, a small display (e.g. for disk activity), a cooler and the case, for about 150€ ($99). I just can't seem to find a small & cheap case that would fit a Raspberry Pi 4 and 4x 3.5" drives.
   1. Any case recommendations? Ideally I'd want to spent a lot less than 100€ for just a case
   2. Aside from being more expensive, what are the drawbacks for 2.5" drives? If there is no small and cheap case, maybe I should just go with 2.5" drives and use my old ones via USB3.0 until I replace them?
5. Anything else I should think about that might be important?

 

Thanks for your answers in advance

[OddMagnet]

still looking for help

[OddMagnet]

I hope pushing this topic up once a week is okay?

I literally have no idea where else to look, no luck on reddit, no luck with google.

 

I know that the company that made the case for RPi4 + 4x2.5" drives has a case for 3.5" drives on their roadmap too, but I'd prefer to not wait for that, lol

[WereCatf]

On 3/7/2020 at 3:26 AM, OddMagnet said:

The Questions

 

1. Performance, considering how old my DS212j is I'd assume that the Raspberry Pi 4 has enough power to serve my use-case?
2. Software, from what I've read OpenMediaVault can pretty much do anything since it's basically a Linux system and I can just add the needed functionality. Which also means it would be as barebones as possible. The question here is pretty much, are there any limitations to my use-case software-wise?
3. Power, from what I could gather I'd need an external PSU if I wanted to use 3.5" drives? Any recommendations?
4. Case, since I'd prefer using 3.5" I can't use the case from the Link above. The bundle in the Link was basically a case for the Raspberry Pi4, the Sata Hat, a small display (e.g. for disk activity), a cooler and the case, for about 150€ ($99). I just can't seem to find a small & cheap case that would fit a Raspberry Pi 4 and 4x 3.5" drives.
   1. Any case recommendations? Ideally I'd want to spent a lot less than 100€ for just a case
   2. Aside from being more expensive, what are the drawbacks for 2.5" drives? If there is no small and cheap case, maybe I should just go with 2.5" drives and use my old ones via USB3.0 until I replace them?
5. Anything else I should think about that might be important?

1. Yes, if the Pi doesn't have to transcode your videos. If it does have to transcode 4K-video, then no.
2. Probably not, but I don't use OMV, so I can't say anything for certain.
3. You can't use SATA with Pi anyways, so you're going to need to buy SATA->USB-adapters -- just buy ones that are designed for 3.5" HDDs, so they come with power-supplies.
4. I have nothing to say about any cases, since I 3D-print my own.