Migrating Server from Synology

gco211 · November 29, 2023

Hey all,

I hope this is the right place to put this, but I appreciate any help you can give me.

I currently have a Synology DS20+ with 4 drives that are all 16 tb or more. I use this to run a Plex server for myself along with some other minor server uses. Unfortunately, the ~48 tb of space is coming up on its limit, and it's prohibitively expensive to use the Synology expansion add-on. As such, I need a new storage solution and I have a few questions if you'd be kind enough to help.

1) My thought is to use my current laptop (8gb memory, Intel 1240p CPU with Iris XE integrated graphics). I know this will be more than enough to run the server generally, but does anyone know if it will be able to transcode 4K films?

2)My second thought is I will use an external hard drive bay setup, with an eight bay USB-based connection for the storage. Will I have any issues with it being run via USB?

3) Finally, what software would you suggest I use for this? The laptop already has Windows installed which is an OS I'm very familiar with, but I could be convinced to change it over to a server-oriented OS if that would make more sense.

Any insights and advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

FloRolf · November 29, 2023

Honestly this all sounds rather terrible. I would suggest getting a bigger Synology. That way you can easily import your Raid Array so you don't have to go through massive hoops trying to move the data. You stay in a known environment and if setup correctly you should be able to just extend the raid array or just build a second one.

I'd look at the used market for some of them DS18XX or whatever they are called.

aggie113 · December 6, 2023

Would also recommend a larger Synology array if you're happy with the performance of the software. What I would also suggest is that you look at getting a good deal on a used Synology unit off eBay. I'm on my third Synology setup and they were all used and out of warranty. Besides a dead CMOS battery making me think one of them was DOA I've only had software/configuration issues with them and Synology support has always been willing to help me out regardless of the unit being under warranty or not. By upgrading to a unit with more bays you can easily swap over the existing drives and then add on to them later to expand the array as needed. You can also then sell your old unit to recoup some of the costs. Just look at what's available used online and wait for a a good deal. My current unit took a couple months of checking a saved search on eBay before the right deal came along. Be sure to look for units that work well with Plex as not all the CPUs they come with will perform equally well with it.