Complete newbie with a few questions.

[thebroughfamily]

Hello everyone, finally got a synology after 4 years with a WD mycloud single bay nas, went for a DS920+ to try future proof myself for a bit.

First question is... Currently I have the DS920 with 2 new WD red 10tb drives, and once I've migrated data over from the mycloud I will put it's 4tb red into the synology... I was thinking of putting a 500gb ssd into the last bay to use as the location for downloading synology apps, and run docker from, to use for a transmission vpn server etc.

Do you think the SSD will be best for this or do I just get another normal HDD?

I'm not running any raid set ups, there's no sensitive data on the system, just going to be JBOD, but do I just pool all discs together or make seperate pools? I don't really understand the pools and volumes bit being seperate.

I'm also planning on a couple of ironwolf 510 500gb ssds for read cache, to help with media thumbnails, etc... The synology ones are just too expensive, and Samsung ones are 1/2 the TBW rating. Is there any others worth looking at.

Thanks a lot.

I'll be back soon with docker questions as it looks like black voodoo magic to me... Haha.

-- post merged: 20. Apr 2021 --

Forgot to ask, with regard to the sata SSD if you think that's the best route for me on the spare drive slot...

I've seen WD red do a ssd and ironwolf do one, both listed as NAS ssds, are these the best ones as they seem to mention cacheing lots, but obviously I'm not using it for that, just as a normal drive... The m2s will be the cache.

 

[Rusty]

went for a DS920+ to try future proof myself for a bit.

Welcome to the forum, and let me be the 1st to congratulate you on an excellent purchase!

I have the DS920 with 2 new WD red 10tb drives, and once I've migrated data over from the mycloud I will put it's 4tb red into the synology

keep in mind that if your current 2x10TB setup is a single volume, you will NOT be able to add the 4TB one into the mix. You can only add 10 or larger drives. If you want 4+10+10 combo you will have to destroy your current setup and start fresh. Again, after that, you will also not be able to add 4TB drives but only drives that are as large or larger than your current biggest drive (10TB).

Do you think the SSD will be best for this or do I just get another normal HDD?

Your idea for having an SSD on a separate volume for speed is a great one. You will benefit more from it then having cache nvme connected to the HDD volume.

I'm not running any raid set ups, there's no sensitive data on the system, just going to be JBOD, but do I just pool all discs together or make seperate pools? I don't really understand the pools and volumes bit being seperate.

This will be very important to review and decide on your own. Take into consideration what I wrote a few paragraphs before

I'm also planning on a couple of ironwolf 510 500gb ssds for read cache, to help with media thumbnails, etc... The synology ones are just too expensive, and Samsung ones are 1/2 the TBW rating. Is there any others worth looking at.

This will might help out, but it will mainly depend on where the media app "lives". If you go for the
main bay SSD and install your media platform there (Video Station, Plex, etc), you will not need cache on your HDD (media content) volume.

I'll be back soon with docker questions as it looks like black voodoo magic

most of us practice voodoo magic here and there are some brilliant witch doctors here like @one-eyed-king and the likes. We will help you get into the Docker voodoo. Also, there is a number of tutorials in the "resource" section of the forum, but you can also ask away if you don't find anything.

I've seen WD red do a ssd and ironwolf do one, both listed as NAS ssds, are these the best ones as they seem to mention cacheing lots, but obviously I'm not using it for that, just as a normal drive... The m2s will be the cache.

Personally, I run a few NAS units with full SSD setup and one of them has also a cache on top. Cache in this case is a waste as they are nothing faster than the units without cache (also running full SSDs). I have WD SSDs, and they do work great, that much I can say, and heat is close to nothing.

These are temp atm and they don't go up.

In any case, ask away if you can't find anything, and welcome once again.

 

[thebroughfamily]

Hello rusty, thanks so very much for the reply, means a lot.

The purchase kind of esculated I was going from a single drive mycloud and decided on the DS220+ doubling my storage drive... After watching YouTube videos I saw one comparing the DS220 with the DS720 and he basically said the DS720 is more future proof, with the ssd cache and quad core processor... So that became my new plan.

But then, I saw the same chap on youtube doing a before you buy video, and he said for the extra £60 the DS920 is a better option as you can increase storage over time... And low and behold, it arrived yesterday haha.

At the moment it's not set up, I started then got confused with the storage pool and volume set up.. not sure if I should pool both 10tb drives together and make volumes to split them up, music, video, tv shows.

Or do I make each disc a pool itself and have one disc for films/tv and the other got music/photos. Does it really matter? I'm struggling to see a need in my use case.

I would like to add the mycloud drive into the machine once I've moved it's data, again I guess I can't add it to a already made storage pool, do it would be in its own pool.. is that ok?

Like I said my storage isn't critical, I won't use raid, I'll be annoyed if it dies, but it's not unreplaceable stuff. So It will be JBOD I use from what I can tell.

I have a 1tb hdd I was going to just chuck into the machine to use up the spare slot until I run out of space...but probably only until black friday and get another 10tb red or 2 cheap in the sale...

But then I thought if I put a 500gb ssd into that slot, I could use it for system apps, and docker apps which should reduce the main discs useage, and therefore noise... But I'm not sure if that was a sensible plan or not. I was wondering if I could make a debian VM on it, just to run the small cmd line tool for making Openwrt router firmwares, I currently use my chromebook. I thought this would be better on a SSD which is why I asked.

I plan on using videostation for videos to tvs in the house although I see plex seems much more commonly used...

I'm glad there's some docker voodoo masters here, I'm sure I'll need guidance, but I need to get it set up as a basic nas first!

Thanks for the help and advice.

 

[Rusty]

Or do I make each disc a pool itself and have one disc for films/tv and the other got music/photos. Does it really matter? I'm struggling to see a need in my use case.

Well, you can use each drive as a separate volume and then, later on, add your WD mycloud disk as a 3rd volume as well. It will all depend on your needs. If the content is not crucial then running a raid indeed doesn't make much sense, I agree.

I plan on using videostation for videos to tvs in the house although I see plex seems much more commonly used...

Would suggest plex from a personal experience. VS is not a platform high on Synos list when it comes to features and stability, but it's a solid product nevertheless.

But then I thought if I put a 500gb ssd into that slot, I could use it for system apps, and docker apps which should reduce the main discs useage, and therefore noise... But I'm not sure if that was a sensible plan or not. I was wondering if I could make a debian VM on it, just to run the small cmd line tool for making Openwrt router firmwares, I currently use my chromebook. I thought this would be better on a SSD which is why I asked.

Overall, noise, heat, that will all be gone if you decide on an SSD vs HDD. Still one SSD vs 3xHDD, you will hear the device (depending on where it sits) but in general, even one SSD will be beneficial in that aspect.

When it comes to speed and what you intend to run on it, I would say that's a solid plan and you will not regret it.

 

[Akira]

Personally I've moved all my docker containers to SSD and it's made a huge difference, especially for containers such as Jellyfin which are high I/O.

I've been through several video options:
VideoStation:
Pro - free, easily set up as it's just an install, has an android app
Con - doesn't remember what you've watched, often doesn't get the film right (when importing), not that many features.

Plex:
Pro - huge infrastructure, not just your own content both package and docker variants (so you could set it up and then migrate it to docker as you learn), has an android app
Con - requires an internet connection (as you have to sign in online), requires plex pass for hardware transcoding or to use the android app.

Emby:
Pro - both package and docker variants, android app.
Con - requires Emby pass for hardware transcoding or to use the android app.

Jellyfin:
Pro - completely free including hardware transcoding and has an android app (which is also completely free and doesn't require a pass for any extra features).
Con - Early(ish) fork from Emby so still a little rough around the edges, no up to date package so is docker only, getting support from them can be a bit of a pain.

I've opted for Jellyfin, and regularly re-try Emby/Plex but can't really see myself going back.
I accept an internet connection isn't a huge thing for many people BUT. Where I've lived until recently the internet was shocking and I really don't feel I should need an internet connection to view my own content in my own home.

There is also the option of running Kodi with a central MySQL back end database (AKA Kodi Multiroom) which I've also run in the past, however all of the other options are easily configured to be run both on your internal network and with remote connections for when you're away from home should you wish.

 

[fredbert]

Plex:
...
Con - requires an internet connection (as you have to sign in online)....

This is true and can be annoying. Though once logged in, local Plex servers remain accessible by the current user without Internet access. Will need Internet access to switch users, such as on Apple TV from child's account to mine.

Between Video Station and Plex, both can be setup to access the media folders so try them both:

• Video Station:
  • Tagging just got harder with removal of TVDB.
  • Age ratings:
    • Are very hit and miss, and often not country specific
    • TV episodes are age rated individually
  • Correcting tagging mistakes is done by each item, i.e. tedious.
  • Per user access and filtered by age ratings per library type.
  • Access outside user access filter using a PIN ... setup a home account and limit up to, e.g., 12 rating then access >12 using the PIN.
  • If NAS supports it, hardware transcoding when requested.
• Plex:
  • Multiple tag sources and ordering defined by library type and each library.
  • Age ratings:
    • Seem to be more localised and accurate
    • TV shows have one age rating
  • Correcting tagging mistakes can be applied to multiple items at once.
  • Plex Pass needed:
    • For multiple users and age rating filtering, selected library access:
      • Add normal Plex accounts to the home account (have access to the free Plex TV and Film content, not age filtered)
      • Add managed users to the home account (better for children)
      • All these home users share the Plex Pass benefits, such as use of mobile apps
    • Switch user account requires Internet access.
    • No PIN by-pass to access out-of-age-rating content.
    • If NAS supports it, hardware transcoding
  • Access to photo libraries: there is no Synology Moments or Photos app for Apple TV.