I’m new to the world of nas. Been searching and trying to understand as much as possible but not fully grasping the hardware part of the build.
The following will be NAS use.
Store existing photos and videos. (currently have approx. 10tb worth of data on a 12tb drive.)
Want lots of storage available to add more photos and videos. (We take lots photos/videos during our trips.)
Want to have remote access while on trips to transfer photos/videos from our android device and sd cards.
Be able to edit photos/videos from the nas.
Currently have Blue Iris running on an HP G3 workstation with 12 cameras. I would like to store footage that record wildlife and share on social media.
Lastly, I would like to explore other functions the nas is capable of, that I’m currently not aware of at this time.
I’ve read and watched videos (mainly nas compares) on various setups. Such as combo boards cwwk/topton N100 and N305. Also i3 12100 on a h610i motherboard board.
Planning to install 2.5gb or 10gb switch. Currently have 1gb switch and cat6 running throughout. Will run fiber if needed.
Could you provide recommendation for:
CPU.
Motherboard. (Will need to be itx due to n3 case.)
Number of hard drives and size of drives.
If mobo only has 4 sata ports, what’s best way to expand for more?
For boot drive.
NIC card if needed.
NVME if needed.
Any other parts required to have a successful build.
I don’t want to forbid you from watching videos, but I do like to say that you should be aware that many of those videos on YouTube are terrible and a source of a lot of tears here on the forums. In general, the forums and ixSystems direct documentation is the best source of recommendations.
You might find this resource helpful.
You might find this helpful for all of those questions. I will also say that you may want to reconsider your ITX case. It will greatly expand your choices in motherboards and cases, while also making your build more flexible for future expansion and more than likely will also improve airflow.
You can probably start by looking at the “Apps” section on the web GUI.
I don’t want to discourage you here, but I would like to say that you don’t want to cheap out on this endeavour. ESPECIALLY since you have multi-TiB worth of irreplaceable memories. Buy once, cry once, and do it right. You will be glad you did because the system will serve you for years; I was using mine for a decade before I upgraded and I am still using that old system for backups of the new system.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people weep over their lost data because they’ve tried on some janky sub-par setups because they “didn’t have the budget” at the time. In reality, they just don’t have the budget for the system, but have plenty of budget to spend hundreds on multiple double-digit TB HDD’s.
Most of the time, the system works quite well for 1-2 years, until it doesn’t (typically from a crash or power loss) and it ends catastrophically. And then they frantically come here in desperation hoping that we have a magic wand to Houdini their way out of catastrophe.
I really appreciate your feedback. It seems I still have much to read up on. Yes, I definitely agree with you, buy once - cry once. I’ll be increasing the budget.
I had purchase the Jonesbo N3 case, lack of knowledge in my part. I’ll look into other mobo and cases.
