NAS, server, and/or USB drive

[doubledeluxe]

I'm a but confused on my options. Right now I have backups and data in two countries and countless drives. It's a mess. I can't use the cloud since my internet is too slow.

1. I want central file storage for my family. I'm thinking of just keeping a SSD in each machine and letting everyone pull files from some kind of storage on the network. Hopefully this is fast enough for things like post processing pictures in lightroom and Photoshop.

2. I'd like to be able to play my movie rips on the TV without having to copy them to a laptop and then attach a HDMI cable to the TV.

So I'm either curious about a NAS or server option for file storage (I'll backup to external USB drives) and if I can play movies to a TV from there great but I need to buy a new TV so do most new TVs support most file types today? I probably need to re-rip some of my old DVDs. The matrix for example is in divx iirc. Is a better option to just store the movies on a external hard drive and plug it into the TV? Never done it but I've run across this a few times.

Thoughts?

 

[mmntech]

NAS should be fine for bulk storage. Gigabit LAN will give you throughput up to 125MB/s.

You can also easily stream video to your TV from your server. XBMC/Kodi will do it, or any device that supports the DLNA protocol.

 

[rudeguy]

I'm not being the WRONG FORUM guy here, but the guys in the tech forums are awesome with help on this kind of thing.

http://forums.anandtech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

I'm beyond out of touch with consumer hardware, so I post in the tech forums whenever I have to upgrade something. I've never been disappointed.

 

[manly]

I'm not being the WRONG FORUM guy here, but the guys in the tech forums are awesome with help on this kind of thing.

http://forums.anandtech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

I'm beyond out of touch with consumer hardware, so I post in the tech forums whenever I have to upgrade something. I've never been disappointed.

That's the wrong forum!

http://forums.anandtech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47

The only useful comment I'll make is you don't need to buy a new smart TV, you can get away with some type of media streamer. I'm not hip on what's best nowadays for container compatibility and DLNA, but Roku is usually a good choice.

 

[cabri]

If your internet is to slow, then you do not want anything hosted at your end anyhow.

 

[sdifox]

I am very confused by your post.

If the cloud is too slow because your internet is too slow, how exactly are you going to access a file server from two countries?

 

[effowe]

My central HTPC box is in the bedroom running Windows 7. I just have a samba share setup from which I can access all content on all other computers. This computer is hooked into the TV for watching shows there. In the living room I am running a WD TV Live.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JXFM75Y/...5334313&sr=1-1

This will stream 1080p video files over the LAN just fine. There are other options for things like this (Roku, Apple TV w/ Plex) but the WD seemed to play the most formats out of the box with the least amount of setup.

I also have a few gigabit switches and hard wire all the devices I can for the best connection. Hope that helps.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'd build a server, get a rackmount case with lot of drive bays. Anything beyond 8 is typically going to require a separate sata controller for more ports, and that's where cost starts to add up, so a case with 8 bays is probably a happy medium. I personally like CentOS with Linux md raid for it's simplicity, but ZFS is a good option too.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I'd build a server, get a rackmount case with lot of drive bays. Anything beyond 8 is typically going to require a separate sata controller for more ports, and that's where cost starts to add up, so a case with 8 bays is probably a happy medium. I personally like CentOS with Linux md raid for it's simplicity, but ZFS is a good option too.

I don't get that. Why a rack for home? I don't need a pile of servers, I need one or two good ones. Certain desktop cases can hold 8-16HDs just as good as something in rack can.

Heck I would argue a desktop-based server is superior for the home if only because of noise. The problem with rack sizes servers is that they are filled with smaller fans. My two desktop servers don't have a fan smaller than 120mm on purpose. Small fans are noisy.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't get that. Why a rack for home? I don't need a pile of servers, I need one or two good ones. Certain desktop cases can hold 8-16HDs just as good as something in rack can.

Heck I would argue a desktop-based server is superior for the home if only because of noise. The problem with rack sizes servers is that they are filled with smaller fans. My two desktop servers don't have a fan smaller than 120mm on purpose. Small fans are noisy.

Mostly a preference thing, but I find even without a rack it gives better room for expansion/density if you add more servers. Better for airflow too, and they tend to be easier to work in.

 

[XavierMace]

Heck I would argue a desktop-based server is superior for the home if only because of noise. The problem with rack sizes servers is that they are filled with smaller fans. My two desktop servers don't have a fan smaller than 120mm on purpose. Small fans are noisy.

Depends on the server/case. My Norco 20 bay has 4x 120mm fans. I took the 2x 80mm's off the back due to noise. It's no louder than any of the desktops in the house.

The two advantages of actual server cases is front mount, hot swap bays (admittedly available on some "desktop" cases), drive failure lights, and a port multiplier/SAS expander (depending on case). IE my 3U Supermicro cases can run 16 drives off a single SAS cable. The previously mentioned Norco needs 1 data cable and 1 power cable for every 4 drives. Still far preferable to individually cabling each drive.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I don't get that. Why a rack for home? I don't need a pile of servers, I need one or two good ones. Certain desktop cases can hold 8-16HDs just as good as something in rack can.

Heck I would argue a desktop-based server is superior for the home if only because of noise. The problem with rack sizes servers is that they are filled with smaller fans. My two desktop servers don't have a fan smaller than 120mm on purpose. Small fans are noisy.

Noise, cost, size, space. All of the above.

 

[darom]

doubledeluxe, check out Synology boxes. I have a small 211j and pretty happy with it. You can use it as your home 'cloud' storage device, stream music/videos from, use it as a video camera surveillance station etc. There are a lot of cool apps for it. My box has 2 mirrored 2TB drives, the cooling fan inside is silent.