Storage Options reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- csmiler · 2023-11-13 12:57 Hi! Found this sub a few months ago, and am still learning! Just wanted some inputs on adding additional storage - Current setup - 8GB Raspberry Pi 4B, connected to a 1TB SSD. This runs Arr apps, Nextcloud and PiHole. I initially thought 1TB was more than I’d need on a Pi, but here I am :) Options I’m considering - -2 or 4 Bay NAS (Expensive, not sure what a NAS would add honestly) -Some sort of HDD adaptor which can hold a couple of drives, and connect it to the Raspberry Pi (Not sure if the pi will see multiple drives, or if it’ll consider the whole thing as 1 combined storage) -I’ve seen the HP Microserver which seems to have 4 drive bays, and thought that could behave like a NAS. I don’t know if this is more powerful than the Pi I have. -Buy a HP Mini PC to replace the Pi and build a NAS out of the Pi. The Pi is good, but is choppy when playing some 4K videos on Plex/Jellyfin while 1080p works fine - not sure if either of the HP options would be able to play 4K or if they’re worth spending additional money on. I’d appreciate any inputs! I’m not in the US so my options are more limited. I presume the cheapest option would be to buy an 8-10TB Drive with an adapter and plug it into the Pi - but I’m wondering if I’ll run out of storage again Thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-13 13:20 Yes the cheapest and quickest would be to get a single bigger drive and replace or add it to your current pool. Other than that you have the following options: Multi box: Get a second-hand Synology NAS, two or four bay. Single box: Get a second-hand HP workstation like Z420 and turn it into an all purpose machine, no more RPi needed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- csmiler · 2023-11-13 19:02 Thanks for the reply! Do you know if the Pi would be able to handle multiple drives on its own, and is there a way to merge them into one volume? Would the NAS be considered one single volume? Would the Z420, or those mini HP pcs (Elitedesk, Proliant G8 etc) be significantly more powerful than the Pi, and manage 4K streaming? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-13 21:31 It has multiple USB ports that share the same USB controller so your speed is limited by that, regardless of how many USB disks you attach. You can create JBOD volumes with LVM, just don't forget to make backups! Any amd64 CPU is better than a RPi. For 4k you would need an Intel CPU with QuickSync and an iGPU that supports h265. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- csmiler · 2023-11-16 15:10 Understood - thanks! Looks like I’m better off with one of those SFF PCs, I guess they should be power efficient too. From what I see, an intel 8th Gen should have quick sync. Need to check about the codec you mentioned Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- csmiler · 2023-11-18 04:16 Hi! On a tangent - but would buying a Seagate SMR (Not a NAS drive) be fine? They’re nearly half the cost of a WD Red NAS. I was reading around and I see SMR is not recommended for NAS use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-18 05:42 That is correct, but they mean a real NAS, not a RPi. CMR is faster than SMR but this really doesn't matter for a RPi who will choke on anything anyway in terms of storage. Buy the Seagate. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- csmiler · 2023-11-18 08:17 Thanks mate, would it make a difference on an EliteDesk? Should be fast enough just for downloading and movie streaming? The OS will be on an SSD anyway ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-18 09:00 A single HDD is fast enough for downloading and streaming so don't worry about it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- csmiler · 2023-11-18 09:47 Thanks for the inputs! :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-11-18 10:33 You're welcome.