Help with finding a new Synology incl. transcode

[Seger 110]

Hello all,

Can anyone help me with an experience or a recommendation? I am looking for a successor NAS to my current DS2415+. I currently have a 11x4TB (gross 9x4TB=36TB) Raid 6 array and 1 SSD installed in my NAS. 

Now I would like to install a new NAS and in this context I would also like to talk about replacing the 4TB disks with large =>18TB disks. I need to stay in the RAID 6 array to keep the failover (2 disks) - later Volume2 "would like to be able to put Volume 2 to sleep later". 

In addition, I would also like to operate the current 1xSSD at least in a Raid 5 array (later volume1) .

According to my calculation, it looks like this:

Volume 1 = 3 bays for the SSDs (system)
Volume 2 = 4 bays a 18TB = 36TB gross (data storage/rest mode)
Since I only represent my old system with the number of bays (storage space), I would have to have more than 7 bays to have enough storage in the future.

Now we come to the actual challenge, I want to do all this to save a little power and also have transcoding on board in the future. Can you think of a possible Diskstation for this case or a Diskstation in combination with an expansion?

I am curious about your ideas.

Thanks and best regards
Seger
  

[Luke 37214]

@FrostByte I think will have great things to say about his Synology model.

[FrostByte 5057]

I do like my DS1821+ (8 bays) and it meets all my needs, but I wouldn't get it if you're doing transcoding and especially 4K.  You will want the Intel processor models and stay away from Ryzens to use hardware assisted transcoding and va-api.

I can only see 3 models then that meet your requirements DS 2419+II, DS3622XS+, and DS3617xsII.  Transcoding, 8+ bays, expandable, etc.  All of these are $$$ though, but you didn't mention that in your requirements so maybe it's not an issue.

Product List | Synology Inc.

You could go with a smaller bay model (cheaper) and add an expansion cabinet (5 bays) but then you mentioned power.  An expansion cabinet uses its own power brick, so that's now almost double the power needed.

BTW, @cayarsdid an excellent write-up on using the nvme slots for more than just read/write cache.  

 

 

[Seger 110]

Hey my friends,

Thanks for the quick feedback.

"I can think of only 3 models that meet your requirements: DS 2419+II, DS3622XS+ and DS3617xsII. transcoding, 8+ slots, expandable, etc."

The three models you mentioned above have also caught my eye, I'd actually fade the financial one :-). But tell me are you 100% sure that the above three models can transport? Similar to my DS 2415+, I have not found any indications that these three processors support transcoding.

With the models you suggested, I would even have the advantage that I could simply move my current disks with the variant of the internal Nvme slots.

The variant with the additional expansion module has also crossed my mind, but then there is the power consumption again, which they also mentioned.

Yes, I also read the report about the use of the Nvme slots in passing. Unfortunately I don't quite have that in mind though. @cayars did you use the two slots as vol. 1 for system installation or did you use them as vol. 2 for program installation? I have gone to classic SSD for my volume 2 in the past. Is there also a failsafe entered above RAID1?

Many thanks and best regards
Seger

Edited March 29, 2022 by Seger

[DonMacaroni 27]

6 hours ago, FrostByte said:

I can only see 3 models then that meet your requirements DS 2419+II, DS3622XS+, and DS3617xsII.  Transcoding, 8+ bays, expandable, etc.  All of these are $$$ though, but you didn't mention that in your requirements so maybe it's not an issue.

I don't think any of them is suitable for transcoding, none of those have GPU so you need to rely on software transcoding.
For software transcoding, I think only DS3622xs+ is capable of doing anything 4K related and even then, probably only single stream.

After taking a quick look on Synology current product line, I would say your only option would be to go with DS1520+ and expansion bays.

I am myself using DS1019+ for all my multimedia needs and it can handle 4K just fine, with the help of QuickSync or VA-API.

 

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by DonMacaroni

[DonMacaroni 27]

58 minutes ago, Seger said:

With the models you suggested, I would even have the advantage that I could simply move my current disks with the variant of the internal Nvme slots.

You cannot, nVME drives can be only used for caching on Synology Diskstations, you cannot use these slots for data drives.

Edited March 29, 2022 by DonMacaroni

[Seger 110]

That's exactly what I thought, hardware support kind of falls out and to get over the processor without support would be crazy.

Regarding the NVMe story, I thought so too, but I also think I read that it made it to a volume via detours.

Somehow not good news. Even in the rack area there is nothing to be found, sad.

If anyone else sees something, please bring it up.

Thanks
Seger

[FrostByte 5057]

4 hours ago, DonMacaroni said:

I don't think any of them is suitable for transcoding, none of those have GPU so you need to rely on software transcoding.
For software transcoding, I think only DS3622xs+ is capable of doing anything 4K related and even then, probably only single stream.

After taking a quick look on Synology current product line, I would say your only option would be to go with DS1520+ and expansion bays.

I am myself using DS1019+ for all my multimedia needs and it can handle 4K just fine, with the help of QuickSync or VA-API.

 

 

Yep, I failed to check the Intel site thinking all theirs cpus had gpus.

 

The DS620slim (6 bays), gpu, not expandable

Intel Celeron Processor J3355 2M Cache up to 2.50 GHz Product Specifications

DS1520+ (5 bays), gpu, expandable up to two cabinets

Intel Celeron Processor J4125 4M Cache up to 2.70 GHz Product Specifications

 

[FrostByte 5057]

4 hours ago, DonMacaroni said:

You cannot, nVME drives can be only used for caching on Synology Diskstations, you cannot use these slots for data drives.

Sure you can.  Like I mentioned there are guides on how to do it.  It's just not supported and very possibly void any warranty.  

[FrostByte 5057]

If I were you I would look at some of the Qnap systems.  I think they may have more options that meet your needs and their nvme drives are usable for data without any sort of hack.  I just don't like their OS as much as DSM.

[Seger 110]

4 hours ago, FrostByte said:

I just don't like their OS as much as DSM.

That's exactly how I feel, which is why I'm going around in circles a bit. mhhh....

Thanks in any case for the great thoughts and exchange.

It's crazy how much Synology limits itself.

Many greetings
Seger
 

[Carlo 4331]

10 hours ago, Seger said:

Yes, I also read the report about the use of the Nvme slots in passing. Unfortunately I don't quite have that in mind though. @cayars did you use the two slots as vol. 1 for system installation or did you use them as vol. 2 for program installation? I have gone to classic SSD for my volume 2 in the past. Is there also a failsafe entered above RAID1?

9 hours ago, DonMacaroni said:

You cannot, nVME drives can be only used for caching on Synology Diskstations, you cannot use these slots for data drives.

You can through the command line as it's just Linux after all.  I tested using two 1 TB Samsung NVMes in every way I could think of to find the absolute best use of these for Emby. Turns out using it as a standard volume setup to hold all of Emby's data (cache, metadata, transcoding, DVR) was best by a lot!  You can even take it further than I documented using symlinks to move the database to NVMe but I don't think that's really needed with little additional benefit if any as you can tune Emby's memory use of SQLite.

I've got another surprise for some people coming up as well for uses of the NVMe slots which might be even better use of those slots.  I've learned how to work around the artificial limits that Synology puts on the box with their software layer that sits over the core Linux system.  

With that said there is only so much you can do with a "non expandable" 4 core Celeron.  They really aren't the right hardware to use for a media server to be honest. But Synology has some really good software to use for other purposes like backup, online office, photos, video camera recording, etc...

A used mini desktop or Full Tower off eBay for $100 or less will give you a lot more freedom with expansion and upgrades if building you want a system that's built for media serving. Much cheaper and 5 to 10 times the horsepower or 20x if you have an Nvidia GPU to use with it.

[Seger 110]

Yes, it looks like I'll have to wait for Synology, it's crazy that they don't offer models that come with a few bays. But the software is just great for me and really well rounded. Before I go to a separate computer, I'll probably go to the extension variant, because then I'll stay in the closed system with the same software.

If you can think of any other models or variants, please let me know.

I have already enjoyed the speed benefits on an "Ssd" for the last few years, unlike you in the expansion slots I have formed a volume with an SSD and run my app on it. I will come back to your trick of picking up the spears from synology when I eventually have a suitable Nas ;), great job! Looking forward to it.

Many greetings
Seger