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Custom built NAS or Synology (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by caspinprince@alien.top to c/homelab@selfhosted.forum

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Looking to get a NAS but don't want to spend too much starting out. I have the opportunity to buy a used custom built NAS with much better specs than what I would probably be able to get from something like a synology NAS. It seems like a really good deal but I'm not sure how difficult/time-consuming it will be to configure for my use case or if it will be better to stick to synology software. Also, is the software to use the NAS after configuration not user friendly or well supported?

My use case is to store photos and videos and device backups from time machine for my mac. I'd also like to be able to remotely access the data over the internet.

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[–] bma300@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (9 children)

Synology and other brand NAS's are great, very simple to setup and maintain. They come with great support, power efficiency and decent build quality.

If you were to get a custom built one, it can end up costing you less, a Synology 2 bay (without drives) goes for £150 cheapest I saw brand new, plus you get very minimal specs, only usable as a NAS and nothing more if you're planning on running more stuff like game servers or many containers in the future.

Depending on the OS you use for the custom NAS, it can be incredibly versatile and offer great functionality and expandability, you can 100% achieve the same things you would with a Synology.

Although it's rarely ever "plug & play" like an OEM NAS is, configuring and troubleshooting can take a while especially without basic understanding of the OS.

It's fun and interesting to work on but if all you need is a working, reliable machine that you can plug in, put some drives into and have it work, I'd suggest spending the extra bit on a Synology or another brands NAS.

[–] caspinprince@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (8 children)

Thanks for the super helpful reply! I guess my main debate is since the custom NAS is built with a decent cpu and includes 16gb RAM, SSD and storage drives its much more value. I've worked a little with linux before so I'm not against setting it up myself. But would it be as easy to use as an actual branded NAS for family members backing stuff up that aren't great with tech?

[–] Objective-Outcome284@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

If you're starting from scratch and have a requirement for other less tech-literate family members to use the device, I'd typically advise to start off with an appliance like a Synology. Myself, I started with QNAP which tend to have better hardware but questionable firmware. Once setup the other users didn't even need to know what it was or how it worked. Probably go with a mid-range 4-bay device. NASCompares and SpaceRex YouTube channels can provide reviews and comparisons as well as examples of what device in what tier.

Once you have a device up and running you can explore your needs over time as things mature. Do you want to run other services? What's your rate of storage growth? etc etc.

If you happen to have spare hardware just laying around that could be used in a self-build then by all means have a crack and setup a trial system. If you need to buy disks then that doesn't matter as you'll need them for an appliance anyway - just look at compatibility first (WD Red Plus, Seagate IronWolf etc) and make sure they're CMR not SMR.

If I were starting out now I'd have a play with Xpenology (to see if you'd like what Synology offers), Open Media Vault, Unraid, and TrueNAS Scale. These systems are so much more usable than when I started this journey over 20 years ago. It'll be all good.

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