Gen8 for plex/nas questions

[jubei]

Hi guys,

My storage HDD in my PC is now full and I was looking to purchase a Nas to keep storage off of my pc in the future. I would also like to run a Plex media server that I could consume on my pc/tablet/firestick/Chromecast.

Am I right in thinking that I could buy a gen 8 with a couple of wd red drives. Then using unraid I can install Plex media server on there but also run it as a Nas drive, and have PMS access the Nas files?

It was this or buy a Nas and an nvidia shield but that seems overly expensive/messy when the server could just do both jobs?

I would also love to be able to back up pictures from our phones onto it much and ideally access like a drop box.

Finally the ability to start nzb downloads from my phone etc using something like nzb360.

Is this a pipe dream or should it all be achievable and run well? Else what are better options. There really isn't too strict of a budget for something that will last years but as always I would like good value. 8tb space will be far more than I need currently.

Any information would be much appreciated, I have been googling for a couple of days and am led to believe that this unraid with docker is the way to go but would rather listen to the more experienced people here.

Cheers

 

[neodude]

Can't comment on the gen 8, never used one. But I can highly recommend UnRaid. I run a Win10 Gaming VM on mine, have 20TB of parity protected storage and run all sorts of dockers including Plex Server, NZBget, Sonaar, Couch Potato, Crash Plan, Deluge etc. I can connect via VPN from my phone from anywhere and automatically download anything via the Sonaar and Couch Potato apps.

 

[HungryHippos]

Can't comment on the gen 8, never used one. But I can highly recommend UnRaid. I run a Win10 Gaming VM on mine, have 20TB of parity protected storage and run all sorts of dockers including Plex Server, NZBget, Sonaar, Couch Potato, Crash Plan, Deluge etc. I can connect via VPN from my phone from anywhere and automatically download anything via the Sonaar and Couch Potato apps.

Nzb360 works just great with sonarr, sab, radarr etc if you do some simple port forwarding, removes need for VPN access.

Good thing about NAS is they tend to be lower powered so you can leave it on all the time without consuming tons of power. This is also a double edged sword of course as it's simply not as powerful as it could be if you need something which needs more power like Plex transcoding.

If you need to stream remotely or need transcoding then you will need something more powerful than a NAS. If you don't then a NAS would generally be fine as long as your client supports direct playing content.

+1 on Dockers, really good way to run stuff quickly and easily.

 

[neodude]

Nzb360 works just great with sonarr, sab, radarr etc if you do some simple port forwarding, removes need for VPN access.

I prefer the need for VPN access over port forwarding, that's the point

 

[jubei]

Nzb360 works just great with sonarr, sab, radarr etc if you do some simple port forwarding, removes need for VPN access.

Good thing about NAS is they tend to be lower powered so you can leave it on all the time without consuming tons of power. This is also a double edged sword of course as it's simply not as powerful as it could be if you need something which needs more power like Plex transcoding.

If you need to stream remotely or need transcoding then you will need something more powerful than a NAS. If you don't then a NAS would generally be fine as long as your client supports direct playing content.

+1 on Dockers, really good way to run stuff quickly and easily.

Appreciate the info guys keep it coming

The problem with a Nas being 'fine' is that it is far more expensive than the alternative. If it was cheaper I could understand it and look at getting one but it feels like I would be paying more for less? Could get the server with 4gb ram and 8tb WD reds for about 370. That only gets you a Nas enclosure with a worse processor and no drives. Unless I am looking at the wrong gear which I may well be!

 

[neodude]

My alternative to a NAS (in my Sig) cost me just shy of 4 grand

It'll last many years though.

 

[HungryHippos]

It's a hassle thing to some degree.

I have a Synology Nas, it's not cheap but it generally just works.

You may need to spend more time/effort on a more homebrew solution. I work in it so having something reasonably self operating is nice to have.