What can a home server do that a NAS can't?

[Tamar]

Now I'm quite sure that the answer is a pretty long list of features, but right now I think (and want to make sure of that via this post) that I (as someone who has built PC's before, but has little to no knowledge about networking) won't actually need any of them, or won't prefer any of them over the simplicity of using a NAS.

The argument I see come up the most are media streaming abilities. As far as I know, you can get a Plex app for pretty much anything, including NAS devices.
The second thing tends to be that you can use an old PC to make a server out of and save money that way. I have no spare PC's lying around right now so I'd be buying/building a new device anyway.
Next comes customizability. Honestly, what do you need to customize your - home - server for? It's not like you needed the newest GPU in your server to run the GUI on Ultra. The only thing that could convince me here is the ability to change the number of drives in the system, but knowing myself I'd probably just settle for one setup and never change it anyway.

I'm sorry if this comes out as uneducated rambling. These are my opinions, waiting to be disproven by someone who actually knows their stuff (a group of people that is hard to come by as I've found out).

Also, while I have your attention - I'd like to run a double-device setup (double-NAS or server-something, with the other device acting as daily backup) and I have no actual idea on how I'll manage this, so please share your experience.

[WereCatf]

Well, one thing that I do on my server is run a whole bunch of LXC-containers. One of the things I use containers for is compiling stuff -- Docker is nice and all, but it's not nearly as convenient for setting up customized development-environments as LXC, and virtual-machines would otherwise do fine, but there's the needless overhead and the RAM and storage-space is allocated statically, whereas with LXC-containers memory-allocations and storage-space usage work natively and can be tuned on-the-fly in a billion different ways, if needed.

 

This is to say, technically I could use a "proper" NAS for my compilation-stuffs, but a custom server is faster, leaner and easier to maintain for such, while still allowing me to also do all the NAS-stuff on the side.

[KuJoe]

A NAS is not a server but a server can be a NAS. A NAS is designed strictly for handling network storage while a server can do many things.

[Psittac]

I use my server mainly for file hosting and plex streaming.  I can also fold on it and use it to stream game play though very infrequent.  But honestly a synology NAS would work just fine for me.  I set up a synology 2 bay for my uncle as a dlna server for his music and have to say I was very impressed with it's capabilities.

 

The benefit of a dedicated NAS would be lower power consumption, I find that I'm not as comfortable leaving an entire PC on 24/7 because of this.  Maybe once I get family members using plex more I will gut the server of it's drives and get a 4bay synology.  Right now it's just a solid archive of files that I could use for more but don't very often.

[Tamar]

23 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

A NAS is not a server but a server can be a NAS. A NAS is designed strictly for handling network storage while a server can do many things.

And what are the things that you can do with a server which I couldn't manage / would be too impractical to do with a NAS and/or my PC?

[TheLaserCucumber]

I use my Homeserver as a NAS, a Teamspeak Server and a Gameserver.

It's not very practical to use your PC for the last two things.

[Chaz042]

A NAS is basically a software service running on a device/server. The cheap NAS units for $150 ~ $400 are servers that just have enough power for hosting file sharing services, they're more than likely running an ARM CPU instead of an x86 desktop/server CPU like Intel/AMD, leading to low performance, low cost, and low power consumption. However, when you get into the $400 ~ $1000+ range for a NAS, it's usually running an x86 desktop/server CPU, this is where you get advanced services because it's just a standard PC without standard I/O like VGA, DP, HDMI.

With DiskStation Manager on Synology devices, you can run a Plex server, CCTV DVR, email server, VPN server, web server, Active Directory server, virtual machines running Windows Server, Windows 10, Linux. At the high-end of Synology's device lineup, there's the FS & XS Series, these are servers just running their own DiskStation Manager OS.

 

If you want to put your own server together as a NAS, it's much cheaper to buy used enterprise gear if you want to do some work, you'll also get more performance per $. 

 

A good resource for hardware and software is r/homelab's wiki on Redit,  https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/wiki/index

 

For daily backups, you could do a setup with highend equipment for the core of your use, then back it up to a cheap device like the DS115j with an 8TB drive. For setting up the software of the backup, there are thousands of scripts using a number of tools to help you. Also, you could also do hourly incremental backups if you really need it.

 

 

TL:DR: A NAS is a server, most NAS devices after $400+ you can use it like an enterprise server hosting services. An enterprise server as a NAS can do anything a NAS device can do, but better with more flexibility on hardware upgrades, I/O card, and OS. 

[Chaz042]

32 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

A NAS is not a server but a server can be a NAS. A NAS is designed strictly for handling network storage while a server can do many things.

A NAS is a server, just not an enterprise server like a Dell PE R720/1950 or HP DL380.

[KuJoe]

Just now, Chaz042 said:

A NAS is a server, just not an enterprise server like a Dell PE R720/1950 or HP DL380.

Nope. A NAS is basically a hard drive.

[Tamar]

9 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I use my server mainly for file hosting and plex streaming.  I can also fold on it and use it to stream game play though very infrequent.  But honestly a synology NAS would work just fine for me.  I set up a synology 2 bay for my uncle as a dlna server for his music and have to say I was very impressed with it's capabilities.

 

The benefit of a dedicated NAS would be lower power consumption, I find that I'm not as comfortable leaving an entire PC on 24/7 because of this.  Maybe once I get family members using plex more I will gut the server of it's drives and get a 4bay synology.  Right now it's just a solid archive of files that I could use for more but don't very often.

Yeah that's kind of what I'm talking about. All devices but two PC's are connected wirelessly at our home, so I don't think gameplay streaming would even be a possibility. I honestly can't think of any other use for the server than a file archive atm, I'm just scared that I'll discover things to use it for later down the line, when it'll be too late.

[Tamar]

8 minutes ago, TheLaserCucumber said:

I use my Homeserver as a NAS, a Teamspeak Server and a Gameserver.

It's not very practical to use your PC for the last two things.

What games do you use your own server to host? How fast of an internet speed do you need to do that?

[Tamar]

20 minutes ago, Chaz042 said:

A NAS is basically a software service running on a device/server. The cheap NAS units for $150 ~ $400 are servers that just have enough power for hosting file sharing services, they're more than likely running an ARM CPU instead of an x86 desktop/server CPU like Intel/AMD, leading to low performance, low cost, and low power consumption. However, when you get into the $400 ~ $1000+ range for a NAS, it's usually running an x86 desktop/server CPU, this is where you get advanced services because it's just a standard PC without standard I/O like VGA, DP, HDMI.

With DiskStation Manager on Synology devices, you can run a Plex server, CCTV DVR, email server, VPN server, web server, Active Directory server, virtual machines running Windows Server, Windows 10, Linux. At the high-end of Synology's device lineup, there's the FS & XS Series, these are servers just running their own DiskStation Manager OS.

 

If you want to put your own server together as a NAS, it's much cheaper to buy used enterprise gear if you want to do some work, you'll also get more performance per $. 

 

A good resource for hardware and software is r/homelab's wiki on Redit,  https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/wiki/index

 

For daily backups, you could do a setup with highend equipment for the core of your use, then back it up to a cheap device like the DS115j with an 8TB drive. For setting up the software of the backup, there are thousands of scripts using a number of tools to help you. Also, you could also do hourly incremental backups if you really need it.

 

 

TL:DR: A NAS is a server, most NAS devices after $400+ you can use it like an enterprise server hosting services. An enterprise server as a NAS can do anything a NAS device can do, but better with more flexibility on hardware upgrades, I/O card, and OS. 

Thanks a lot for all that. I wouldn't mind putting in a bit of time and effort to build something myself if it came out better for me in the end. I'm really not planning to spend over $500 on the device, so I'd probably end up buying used HW and I'm not too sure on how comfortable I'd be running something like that 24/7 and storing my data there though.

Could I also do the things you listed with an entry model like a Synology DS218j? I also stumbled into something called a HPE ProLiant MicroServer, which claims to be a server but is really cheap imo and looks more like a NAS to my uneducated eye. Is it more of a nice compromise or absolutely useless?

[Tamar]

38 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

Nope. A NAS is basically a hard drive.

How is it just a hard drive if it has a networking OS and software built in? Sounds a lot like a server to me tbh.

[TheLaserCucumber]

1 hour ago, Tamar said:

What games do you use your own server to host? How fast of an internet speed do you need to do that?

At the time, primarily the forest. I can’t tell you the last thing, my connection is 430 down and 20up with a 6ms ping, I don’t know how "bad" it can be to accomplish that.

[geo3]

11 hours ago, KuJoe said:

Nope. A NAS is basically a hard drive.

Wrong.

 

@Tamar The question is more semantic than anything else. A NAS is a type of server. A server is any computer that provides a service to other computers. In the case of a NAS it's providing a networked storage location. A home server is just a server that's located inside your home. (Unless you meant Windows Home Server?)

[KuJoe]

10 minutes ago, geo3 said:

Wrong.

 

@Tamar The question is more semantic than anything else. A NAS is a type of server. A server is any computer that provides a service to other computers. In the case of a NAS it's providing a networked storage location. A home server is just a server that's located inside your home. (Unless you meant Windows Home Server?)

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage, it's literally storage on a network (i.e. a networked hard drive in layman's terms).

[geo3]

1 hour ago, KuJoe said:

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage, it's literally storage on a network (i.e. a networked hard drive in layman's terms).

You can't just plug a hard drive into a network. Doesn't work that way. You need a server to make it accessible over the network. A NAS is a server.

[AshleyAshes]

...This thread has quickly turned into a pointless semantical argument instead a constructive weighing of the merits between 'Stand Alone NAS Appliances' vs 'Servers/NAS made of PC hardware'.

[Tamar]

8 hours ago, geo3 said:

Wrong.

 

@Tamar The question is more semantic than anything else. A NAS is a type of server. A server is any computer that provides a service to other computers. In the case of a NAS it's providing a networked storage location. A home server is just a server that's located inside your home. (Unless you meant Windows Home Server?)

 

8 hours ago, KuJoe said:

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage, it's literally storage on a network (i.e. a networked hard drive in layman's terms).

 

6 hours ago, geo3 said:

You can't just plug a hard drive into a network. Doesn't work that way. You need a server to make it accessible over the network. A NAS is a server.

This is like one of those lawful good to chaotic evil graph memes. It really doesn't help anyone gain knowledge on the topic though.

[KuJoe]

7 hours ago, geo3 said:

You can't just plug a hard drive into a network. Doesn't work that way. You need a server to make it accessible over the network. A NAS is a server.

Technically you can, but I wasn't even talking about that. I was breaking it down into simplest terms for somebody who's never used a NAS before.

[Tamar]

9 hours ago, KuJoe said:

Technically you can, but I wasn't even talking about that. I was breaking it down into simplest terms for somebody who's never used a NAS before.

Well since a lot of NAS's can run apps like Plex, the line between what a NAS and a server are got blurred enough for me to be unrecognisable - hence this thread.

[geo3]

9 hours ago, KuJoe said:

Technically you can,

How exactly? 

 

16 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

...This thread has quickly turned into a pointless semantical argument instead a constructive weighing of the merits between 'Stand Alone NAS Appliances' vs 'Servers/NAS made of PC hardware'.

Appliances are cheap and easy to use but limited to do only what the manufacturer designed into them, as where a NAS made from PC hardware will be more flexible and will run pretty much any service you can think of. Any specific comparison would require us to talk about a particular model and brand of appliance since they're varied enough that any generalization we make will inapplicable to many. 

[KuJoe]

54 minutes ago, geo3 said:

How exactly? 

There are plenty of consumer routers out there with a USB port specifically for connecting an external hard drive to and creating network storage (i.e. FTP, CIFS, WebDAV, etc...).

[KuJoe]

1 hour ago, Tamar said:

Well since a lot of NAS's can run apps like Plex, the line between what a NAS and a server are got blurred enough for me to be unrecognisable - hence this thread.

For the most part, a NAS as you know it is probably a server. In the enterprise world, a NAS or SAN are literally just storage on the network. I realize I was getting way too technical and probably confused more than helped so I apologize. Normally I would take the time to explain myself in more detail but I've been replying from my phone so my responses are more brief than normal, again my bad.

[geo3]

5 hours ago, KuJoe said:

There are plenty of consumer routers out there with a USB port specifically for connecting an external hard drive to and creating network storage (i.e. FTP, CIFS, WebDAV, etc...).

In which case the router is acting as the server. The device may have a different primary function but conceptually that is no different a NAS appliance or PC hardware NAS. The storage device is plugged into a computer (has a CPU & RAM, runs an OS) on the network, not the network itself.