Run Plex server on PC or NAS given network setup

[Pardila]

Hello all. First time post.

I’m more of an A/V guy than a computer guy but I’ve done pretty well and I’m happy with my current set up (Plex and network). But I need more storage (and redundancy) so I’m considering buying a NAS. Before I screw things up I’d like to get your thoughts/recommendations, not on what NAS to buy, but on what might be the best change to my set up. Right now I’m running the Plex server on my PC (windows 10, I5 CPU) located in my office on the 2nd story of my house. I’ve got an 8TB hard drive in the PC. The PC is hardwired (CAT 5e) to my router located in my basement, two levels down from the office. The speed to my PC is capped at 100 Mbps download, 12 Mbps upload, even though I get over 200 Mbps from Spectrum. (I’ve been unable to remedy that situation and it’s looking like I need to replace the cable which I’d rather not do but could be done with some expense.) From the router I’m using my existing coax cable and coax adapters to get over 200 Mbps to my Nvidia shield pro in my media room on my main level. I direct stream my content (MKV files of ripped 4K, blu-ray and regular dvd movies and concerts) with little to no buffering (except for one rip - Clapton’s latest 4K blu-ray, Lady in the Balcony, which buffers every 20 seconds – hmmm???).

So I’m thinking to buy a NAS (Synology DS1520+ or the DS1621+) and installing it in my basement where the router is.

The questions are: If I buy the NAS do you think running the Plex server on the NAS is the way to go given the higher speed from router to the Shield or should I keep running the Plex server on my PC because of the good CPU in the PC? Will it be easy to try the Plex server on the NAS and then if I’m not happy with the results, migrate back to the Plex server on the PC? How difficult will it be to transfer my existing files from my hard drive in my PC to the NAS? Any other thoughts/suggestions on all of this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pardila]

I don't have a NAS yet.

 

[Rusty]

I don't have a NAS yet.

Sorry, on the plex server side, your PC. Is it registering as 1G as well?

 

[Pardila]

Where do I go to answer that?

 

[Rusty]

Where do I go to answer that?

Network inside control panel. Check your registered adapter speed

 

[Pardila]

Not sure I'm looking at the right thing. Under local area connection 2 status it shows 100.0 Mbps.

 

[Rusty]

Not sure I'm looking at the right thing. Under local area connection 2 status it shows 100.0 Mbps.

O you are looking correctly, and now we know the problem. So plex server side is capped at 100Mbit.

Either your adapter is old and not 1G ready, or it’s configured to be at 100 max or your cable is damaged. One out of 8 wires is enough to be bad to drop your speed from 1G to 100Mbit.

Start with the cable and take it from there.

 

[Phone Guy]

I think a simple way to test would be to put the PC (Plex server) + a network switch + Nvidia shield (Plex player) all in the same room and test with new short cables. Not sure if your making your own cables? I'm assuming you are not, so if this setup is possible buy a couple cables from Amazon or Walmart or wherever just to test...this will eliminate any odd cabling issues. (you did bypass the moca stuff right?)

You can also lookup the model of your motherboard and verify it has 1gb Ethernet (nic) onboard (it would have to be really old not to. 100m nic is like really old, 1gb has been standard for quite a while) to verify your motherboard you can use Windows apps like speccy, cpuid, hw monitor, among many others. These are all freeware as I recall. That will show your motherboard model and you can Google the specs.

If your nic is 100m, you need a 1gb nic adapter either pci (internal) or USB (external).

If it's your cabling, then you'll need to repair your wiring of your lan.

 

[Telos]

Under local area connection 2 status it shows 100.0 Mbps.

Be sure you are looking at the correct LAN adaptor...

Also be sure your router ports support 1Gbps.

 

[Pardila]

Thanks. The cable from the cellar to the upstairs will be hard to change out. Since the new NAS was in the plans, I may just install it in the basement and run the Plex server from there.

 

[Phone Guy]

That's why I said try to get everything close to each other and just try a small easy cable run to verify it all works before attempting a rewire

 

[Pardila]

Just want to thank everyone again for all the help. I'll post as this adventure continues so maybe it will help others.

 

[Pardila]

Well I changed out the cables that I could do easily and what do you know. I did the internet speed test on my PC and I'm getting 200+. My network speed in my PC shows 1Gb. I played the Clapton video and no more buffering. Things went sour when I tried to "rewind" and "fast forward" but overall I'm happy.

Now onto buying a NAS and figuring out the best options for the NAS: hard drive brand, type, size; RAM; cache. I know there is a lot of info out there but any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Rusty]

Now onto buying a NAS and figuring out the best options for the NAS: hard drive brand, type, size; RAM; cache. I know there is a lot of info out there but any advice is greatly appreciated.

Best to start with the budget, then we can work within those parameters and see how far you can go and achieve what you expect from the unit.

 

[Coop777]

Well I changed out the cables that I could do easily and what do you know. I did the internet speed test on my PC and I'm getting 200+. My network speed in my PC shows 1Gb. I played the Clapton video and no more buffering. Things went sour when I tried to "rewind" and "fast forward" but overall I'm happy.

Now onto buying a NAS and figuring out the best options for the NAS: hard drive brand, type, size; RAM; cache. I know there is a lot of info out there but any advice is greatly appreciated.

with anything 4k UHD rewind/forwarding can crash playback, this is simply due to the larger file size, IMO. Regarding NAS items - do your research on drives (read reviews). I'd recommend 7200 RPM drives - make sure you go with boxed retain NAS or Enterprise rated drives.

 

[Phone Guy]

Glad to hear you got it going.

Tell us what are you thinking about on a nas? 2 bay? 24 bays? 4tb? 160tb? Are you only going to host media on it for Plex? Or use it for VM or more? What I like it want may not be what you want or like. What's your budget?

I like my Synology boxes alot. I've got two DS1621+. It's way overkill for what I use them for. I've got 6x 4tb in one and 4x 4tb in the other and another brand Nas with 5x 4tb drives. If all you want is a hard drive in an Ethernet cable that's one thing, if you want to do stuff, that's another. I'm still working out the "doing stuff" part personally.

 

[Pardila]

Right now it's all about storing and playing my movies, concerts at home and accessing personal photos when I'm not at home. I don't think I'll need more than a 5 or 6 bays. I just want something reliable and high quality and I'm willing to pay for it, although it doesn't have to be the absolute best. From what I've read I'm thinking of starting off with 3 larger HDs with synology's raid 5 set up. I don't think I will ever need to transcode. When I watch my sci fi and action movies it's all about the quality of the picture and sound. I have a nice media room with projector, screen and nice speakers so I can't imagine I would ever want to watch a 4K movie away from home.
Maybe I don't have to decide right away, but as I move forward I want to keep in mind the decision to keep running the Plex server on my PC or running it from the NAS. Lastly, any news about when we might see the new NAS models coming out?

 

[Rusty]

any news about when we might see the new NAS models coming out?

Nothing fresh yet

 

[Coop777]

The last question is hard to answer - I'd say keep an eye on Syno's site for announcements/updates. Regarding storage needs - think short/long term (3-5 years) when deciding on the NAS model. You are much better off having expansion capability and not needing it, rather than needing and not having. You should already be noticing how large 4k video is....

 

[Phone Guy]

I am going to drop my two cents.
Whatever you buy, do SHR... that way you can expand with larger hdds later in pairs. (SHR/2 > raid5/6 imo)
Leave a couple bays open if you can, that way you can just insert new (larger) drives as needed instead of having all 6 bays filled when you've only got 4tb of data on a 24tb system. (speaking for a friend)
Buy the best one you can afford. If plex is on your mind, get one with an intel cpu so it can transcode. The other cpus dont.
I think all the DS Synologys are probably excellent? I've seen deals on the 920 and 1520. But those are already 2 years old. the ##22s are shipping.
Make sure your HDD choice is compatible with your nas choice, as some new 22 models (higher end) limit compatible hdd to synology branded ($$$) hdds. Not sure about the soho consumer stuff? I think even if the hdd are not compatible, it all works by dsm complains a lot which would drive me crazy.
Good luck and let us know your decision.

 

[Telos]

you can expand with larger hdds later in pairs. (SHR/2 > raid5/6 imo)

That's only true for SHR... not SHR2