OS for NAS-build

[19_blackie_73]

Hi there,

 

yesterday I posted about hardware advice for a TrueNAS build, but now i had my doubts for the OS: I really like it to sleep a lot, and TrueNAS seemingly after lot of googling does not like that very much. I like the usability of the gui as i built a NAS for a friend of mine, but as I'm the only user with multiple devices accessing the data... I don't need it to run 24 / 7 as I'm most of the week out working.

 

reasons I went with a dedicated NAS build:

• I edit from my laptop and desktop and I'm tired of using transfering data from here to there
• I'm running out of space constantly and I'm not fond of having a lot of external hard drives
• I'd like to have a scrub task that checks once in while whether everything's fine and rebuilds if necessary
• also automatic smart checks aren't a bad thing either
• Maybe in the future, having remote access or the ability to share data
• maybe emby / plex?

My to be delivered config:

• 4*4TB WD Red Plus
• Pentium G4400 on a Z270 Asrock M-ITX
• 16GB RAM
• Node 304 + bequiet Pure Power 400W Gold PSU

I know, the last component is overkill, but ... didn't find anything trustworthy for cheaper with less wattage.

 

I've come to the conclusion that the energy costs running it not 24 / 7 would offset the unraid license in a year and a bit - as far as I understand the sleep mode with the unraid addin works quite well, I would use wake on lan. Are there any other options that would fullfill the above criteria? I know these two because of Linus, but didn't see another suitable option right now.

[Bersella AI]

Theoretically any Linux system -- or even Windows -- can be configured to become a robust server, given appropriate tools. If feeling disgusted on command lines in Linux, then Windows would still be an plausible alternative; for example, sharing files, hosting something like Plex or NextCloud, & basic functions for building RAID.

Besides, modern NAS systems & Windows (may not be built-in but plausible with 3rd apps) should have options for automatic shutdown/boot-up -- if 24/7 availability is not required.

 

As for power supply, any model with 80 PLUS Bronze (e.g. Delta NX350) would be sufficient with lower costs.

[OhioYJ]

On 1/8/2023 at 2:23 PM, 19_blackie_73 said:

 I don't need it to run 24 / 7 as I'm most of the week out working.

Then why have it running? There are times where I didn't not access my NAS for a month. So I set mine up with wake on lan, so it can be turned on remotely. Mine is just backup so I actually have backup scripts that turn it on backup and can turn it off as well when done. No reason for it to run 24/7. With this setup sometimes I do manually run scrubs, or try and leave it on around scheduled scrubs, but it's not really a big deal. 

 

My NAS is bit overkill, but would be about $7 a month if I let it run all the time according to my measurements. (That's assuming it's mostly idle). See my post here for specs, measurements, etc.

[19_blackie_73]

2 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

Then why have it running? There are times where I didn't not access my NAS for a month. So I set mine up with wake on lan, so it can be turned on remotely. Mine is just backup so I actually have backup scripts that turn it on backup and can turn it off as well when done. No reason for it to run 24/7. With this setup sometimes I do manually run scrubs, or try and leave it on around scheduled scrubs, but it's not really a big deal. 

 

My NAS is bit overkill, but would be about $7 a month if I let it run all the time according to my measurements. (That's assuming it's mostly idle). See my post here for specs, measurements, etc.

Thanks for the input, I've heard that truenas sometimes has issues with sleep and constant shutdowns / power ons.

But I've found varying conflicting infos on the webs so I wanted some secondary information here

[OhioYJ]

1 hour ago, 19_blackie_73 said:

Thanks for the input, I've heard that truenas sometimes has issues with sleep and constant shutdowns / power ons.

But I've found varying conflicting infos on the webs so I wanted some secondary information here

I wouldn't pull the plug, but I personally don't see any reason not to shut it down gracefully. Some people complain that if you don't let it run 24/7 it won't do it's scheduled tasks like scrubs and such. However, you can run all those things manually if you really want. Or you can schedule them when you generally have it on. You can work around these things.

 

Nothing is more efficient than off. Not to mention then I also don't care that my NAS isn't exactly a power efficient machine as it's only running when needed.

[19_blackie_73]

7 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

Nothing is more efficient than off.

That is true, and additionally I don't have the luxury of cheap energy here so atm I'm at around 30ct/kWh, but still rising.

Lets see whats coming, first delivery arrived today, tomorrow the rest

[ToboRobot]

If energy costs are a concern and you are buying parts to build the system, I would look at a prebuilt synology or other brand.  It's hard to compete on power/performance with OEMs.

[19_blackie_73]

59 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

If energy costs are a concern and you are buying parts to build the system, I would look at a prebuilt synology or other brand.  It's hard to compete on power/performance with OEMs.

Thanks, but for the extra cost i can easily leave the other specced nas running for a few years 24/7

Plus I'm not fond on their implementation and would like to tinker around a bit. Had contact with a synology nas once, and that was hopefully my last time.