M.2 / NVMe to PCI-E

[RichTheAce]

Has anyone tried an M.2 / NVMe to PCI-E riser adaptor in a DS1522+ or other models ?
I'm going to order one this week and try to connect a GPU and use (Synology GPU Driver) GitHub - pdbear/syno_nvidia_gpu_driver: Nvidia Driver for Synology DiskStation
To use with Jellyfin.

Will report back my findings once done.

IF it works, next is to grab a second riser card and a Dual PCIe to NVMe card to add 2 drives back in to set up the cache option again.

 

[RichTheAce]

Update:

I got an NVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter from Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDTHR8S9?tag=synoforum-21).

1. Removed my SSD cache.
2. Installed the Nvidia drivers.
3. Powered off the system and installed the RTX A2000, using an old server to power the PCIe riser.
4. Booted up the Synology, and bam! It recognized the GPU!

However, after some testing, I couldn’t get encoding to work in Jellyfin (any help would be appreciated!).

While checking the path to the FFMPEG files, the system completely froze—great! I tried turning it off with the power button, but nothing happened. Then I realized the old server had gone into standby mode, cutting power to the GPU. After powering the server back on, the Synology started shutting down with an orange warning light flashing, which wasn’t a good sign.

Once it powered off, I unplugged the GPU, hoping no damage was done, and booted the Synology back up. Now my hot spare is in use, and RAID 6 is rebuilding after one drive dropped. I reassigned the dropped drive as a hot spare, and now I'm just waiting for the rebuild to finish.

 

[RichTheAce]

Quick update:

My Synology flagged one of my drives as damaged and refused to use it due to a power issue.

I followed this guide: Reset drive "critical" state to clear the error and say the drives were fine.

I ordered this power supply: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CMQ5KBWQ?tag=synoforum-21 and waited for delivery and for the RAID rebuild to complete.

Once the rebuild finished and the PSU arrived, I plugged everything back in and booted up the Synology.
About 10 minutes later, it froze again! I checked the power brick, and the power light was dim, and the brick was burning hot! I unplugged and reconnected the PSU, which freed up the Synology for about 30 seconds, but then it froze again.
Furthermore, I had to power off the Synology using my UPS and unplugged the GPU PSU.
After powering it back on, the Synology reported two bad drives! SERIOUSLY?!

I used the same guide again to unmark the drives and waited for the RAID rebuild to complete before restarting.
I am now back to where I started.
I’ve now ordered a GPU dock: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CZKYWQR2?tag=synoforum-21 and am currently waiting for it to arrive, I will be using it with my SFX PSU.

I also think the reason I had issues with the GPU and Jellyfin, I forgot to give the Nvidia drivers root access.

This will be my last try after this ...

 

[zombiephysicist]

Wow! I really respect your dedication and will to surmount these non trivial issues!

 

[RichTheAce]

Update for you wonderful people!

The external GPU adapter (M.2 to PCIe) finally arrived, and I couldn’t wait to set it up. After connecting everything, though, the Synology didn’t recognize the GPU at all. Odd, I thought—so I unplugged everything and tried again.

When I reassembled it with the M.2 to PCIe adapter and my A2000 ready for encoding, I powered up… still, nothing. Turns out, the main issue was that the adapter was too short to reach the locking clip, making it hard to tell if it was seated properly.

Thinking the M.2 connector was the problem, I pressed it firmly into the M.2 slot, hoping it would finally connect. But as I pushed, my hand slipped—and I ended up breaking the M.2 slot. FFS!

After all that effort, it turned out to be a total waste of time and money.

I went back to using the old PCIe riser, a reliable power supply, and the classic paper clip trick to short the power-on pins on the PSU. I plugged this into the first slot (the one with the broken connector) and crossed my fingers. The system booted up… but, no graphics card was found. Knowing I had likely ruined the first slot, I moved the riser to the second slot and tried again.

This time, the system found the GPU! I then spent far too many hours trying to get Jellyfin to recognize and use it. I tried the SPK file from SynoCommunity—no luck. Tried Jellyfin in Docker—still nothing. I even tried the Jellyfin version by the developer who supplies the Nvidia drivers—nope, nothing at all!

I spent the entire day trying to get the GPU working on my Synology and then the last 30 minutes putting everything back to stock, plus I’m down an SSD cache now due to the broken M.2 slot.

I really need something that works reliably for 4K encoding so I can stream to myself, my child, and my wife while on the move (maybe not all at once, but having three streams would be ideal).

Honestly, with Synology dropping DS Video, restricting drive and RAM compatibility, I’m seriously considering switching to a QNAP system…

Well, that’s enough heartbreak for one day. Off to bed to cry myself to sleep—at least my pillow doesn’t require a driver update!

 

[Coop777]

Realize that 4k streaming both internally and externally requires a good amount of horsepower and bandwidth. Internally I can stream 4k UHD with an Nvidia Shield Pro on a 1GBE network from my NAS without delay/hiccups. I wouldn't even try attempt it externally with my current Internet provider (Charter/Spectrum). If you have perhaps a robust fiber connection, Plex could be a solution for you to replace Video Station....

And sorry to hear about struggles with 3rd party solutions and the broken M.2 slot....I applaud your attempt and patience.