So, I currently have a Netgear ReadyNAS 314 with 1 SSD, 3 HDDs, Intel Atom D2701 and 4GB RAM, running Debian 12, and since getting it I've been getting more into self hosting. What I have now is primarily too weak in the CPU and RAM department, but it could also use more HDDs. I'm aiming for 5-6 3.5 HDDs, 1 Nvme, 1 2.5" SSD.
What I'm currently running:
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Samba and NFS server
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OpenVPN
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Jellyseerr/Jellyfin/*arr stack
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Pangolin
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Dawarich
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Immich
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rsnapshot
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Homepage
And it's rather sluggish right now, and is almost filling up its 4GB of swap.
What I'd also like to be able to run/have:
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Nextcloud
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Transcoding (including ability to decode AV1, but preferably also encode)
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Anything else I may want to run (working on degoogling myself)
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ECC RAM (to prevent bitrot, I'm already running btrfs raid1 to prevent bitrot from faulty disks)
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1x 2.5G ethernet
If possible I'd like to have some room for upgradeability. I'm aiming for a low power build, that should be rather compact, especially not very wide unless I can find a better place in my office for it.
I'm looking at a Jonsbo N1 chassis (17cm wide) , but I'm also following a Readynas 626 (19cm wide) in an online auction. Options:
Intel N100 board
Pros: cheap, low power, quicksync with av1 decode
Cons: boards with 2.5G ethernet have to be ordered from Aliexpress and have no support and uses the JMB585 chip that prevents low power C states, limited pcie lanes, no AV1 encode, not very upgradeable (1 DIMM, soldered CPU) , no ECC, I worry it may be too slow
Intel 13100
Pros: AV1 decode, quite fast, upgradeable
Cons: No ECC, relatively expensive, no AV1 encode
AMD 8500G
Pros: AV1 enc/dec, ECC, relatively fast, upgradeable
Cons: relatively expensive, not as low power as the 13100
Readynas 626
Pros: enterprise grade HW, less DIY, ECC, may be relatively cheap
Cons: high power for its performance (roughly that of the N100), wider (19cm) than a Jonsbo N1 (17cm), not upgradeable (no CPU or mobo swap), expensive DDR4 2133 ECC UDIMM, doesn't have M.2 but has a PCIE slot
I'd love to hear what you think about these options and whether you have other concerns that I haven't thought about.
Edit: I just now realized that the 13100 doesn't have AV1 encode in HW, that didn't come until Core Ultra. And wowee, suitable mITX mobos start at 400$ here! I think AMD is the realistic choice if I want to go for AV1 HW encode...
I'm a big fan of old PC parts. My current NAS/home lab is my old PC, so a Ryzen 1700 + GTX 750 Ti. It's overkill for what I need, doesn't use a ton of power, and I didn't need to pay anything for it.
If that's not available, I recommend second hand. Look around your local area and see what's available, or check online at places like eBay. Be mindful of power usage for server products if that matters to you.
My next option after that depends on what I'm looking for. A mini PC with an external drive enclosure can be really nice, and there are some reasonable ITX-esque DIY rigs with drive bays that look nice. I'll be a lot more picky when buying new though, so I'm not going to recommend specific setups without knowing your priorities (space? Power usage? Noise?).
ECC is nice, but not a requirement. AV1 on the CPU is nice, but you can get that on a relatively inexpensive GPU if you go that route, or you could encode everything into AV1 at rest in a bulk operation. There are lots of options, so it mostly comes down to what you have access to, your budget, and your priorities.
That's almost my same exact setup. Pc parts in my house currently go me --> son ---> server. Servers got the ole trusty launch 1700 still going.
Yup, we're similar, though I have my SO's PC and mine to pick from at upgrade time.