File server with PLEX?
Hello,
Down through the years I have tried to have more convenient storage and backup. Recently, I have used a USB hard drive enclosure plugged into the back of my WRT-AC1200 router. But when I put photos on that drive, my local Win7 machine grinds to a halt. It takes a long time for thumbnail images to show up in Win7 File Manager, because I may have hundreds of photos in any directory I want to view. So I need to put the photos on my local Win7 machine. But I am running out of space.
Is the router giving the thumbnails from the USB drive enclosure to the Win7 machine as fast as a dedicated file server? (Probably not as fast as a Synology unit.....)
I looked at the forums at TrueNAS CORE (free software), and it looks REALLY complicated (and I have some decent Linux knowledge in my past). I know they want an impressive website, since the company also sells dedicated servers just like Synology or QNAP. But this still sounds like it may be too difficult for me.
Can I really handle a project like this? I've tinkered with D-I-Y NAS before, but nothing ever came of it. Could I use a different solution, like Ubuntu with SMB or something? I would really like to have the ability to set up PLEX media server at some point.
I do NOT have the best luck with networking -- because if it doesn't work, I have no idea where the failure is, and I have no tools to check where the failure is.
I was thinking of using:
AsRock AM1H-ITX (17 by 17 cm FM1 socket)
16 GB RAM (non-ECC)
AMD 5350 chip (64-bit, 4-core, 1.93 GHz)
This board can use up to 2 SATA drives and one USB boot device using a 65W or 90W laptop adapter. With an ATX PSU instead of the laptop adapter, it can handle 4 SATA drives and one USB boot device. (Unless you want to put in a PCI-E card that lets you have more SATA drives, or M.2 drives or whatever.)
I could use a PCI-E wireless network adapter in the PCI-E x16 slot, or use the 10/100/1000 ethernet jack. I did run the wire through my walls for this, and as we know, Linux wifi can be difficult to set up.
Please let me know any advice you have.
Down through the years I have tried to have more convenient storage and backup. Recently, I have used a USB hard drive enclosure plugged into the back of my WRT-AC1200 router. But when I put photos on that drive, my local Win7 machine grinds to a halt. It takes a long time for thumbnail images to show up in Win7 File Manager, because I may have hundreds of photos in any directory I want to view. So I need to put the photos on my local Win7 machine. But I am running out of space.
Is the router giving the thumbnails from the USB drive enclosure to the Win7 machine as fast as a dedicated file server? (Probably not as fast as a Synology unit.....)
I looked at the forums at TrueNAS CORE (free software), and it looks REALLY complicated (and I have some decent Linux knowledge in my past). I know they want an impressive website, since the company also sells dedicated servers just like Synology or QNAP. But this still sounds like it may be too difficult for me.
Can I really handle a project like this? I've tinkered with D-I-Y NAS before, but nothing ever came of it. Could I use a different solution, like Ubuntu with SMB or something? I would really like to have the ability to set up PLEX media server at some point.
I do NOT have the best luck with networking -- because if it doesn't work, I have no idea where the failure is, and I have no tools to check where the failure is.
I was thinking of using:
AsRock AM1H-ITX (17 by 17 cm FM1 socket)
16 GB RAM (non-ECC)
AMD 5350 chip (64-bit, 4-core, 1.93 GHz)
This board can use up to 2 SATA drives and one USB boot device using a 65W or 90W laptop adapter. With an ATX PSU instead of the laptop adapter, it can handle 4 SATA drives and one USB boot device. (Unless you want to put in a PCI-E card that lets you have more SATA drives, or M.2 drives or whatever.)
I could use a PCI-E wireless network adapter in the PCI-E x16 slot, or use the 10/100/1000 ethernet jack. I did run the wire through my walls for this, and as we know, Linux wifi can be difficult to set up.
Please let me know any advice you have.
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