Synology DS220+

[miniz98 63]

Hello so I currently use a gaming PC with Nvidia 3060 ti that works great. Problem is storage. I started looking into nas. How well does emby server run natively on this nas and I'm wondering if I should still use the PC for server and the nas for file storage. Or would running the nas as the whole server run better than a windows machine? Thanks in advance. 

[Luke 37132]

Hi, emby server should run just fine on this. @FrostBytemay have more insight.

[FrostByte 5053]

The most important thing to probably consider is how much do you transcode 4K, or transcode at all.  Emby runs great on a Synology and I won't be going back to Windows as my server.   Synology DSM is a great server OS and it's nice only needing one machine up at all times. However, the NAS won't be able to compete with your PC for transcoding.  The DS220+ does have a 4K gpu though so it can probably handle a stream or two with no problem.  

If you're going to get the NAS anyway for storage you could try it as an Emby and just have two servers for a bit.

[miniz98 63]

Thanks for clarifying. So using the nas as a storage server would run fine then I'm assuming. Will the windows machine still transcode just as fast as the drives being native on the windows machine? I guess I could always put more drives on the windows machine. 

[Spaceboy 2500]

1 hour ago, miniz98 said:

Thanks for clarifying. So using the nas as a storage server would run fine then I'm assuming. Will the windows machine still transcode just as fast as the drives being native on the windows machine? I guess I could always put more drives on the windows machine. 

my setup is server on windows and most media on a synology nas. the stuff i record off tv is on a drive in the windows pc though and there is no perceptible difference in terms of start time

[miniz98 63]

What nas would you recommend that would be comparable to a Nvidia 3060 for transcoding. And do you think I'm waisting my time and just run it on a windows machine?

[FrostByte 5053]

Have you had a look at Qnap?  I don't like their OS as much as DSM, but you can add a nice Quadro or something else to a Qnap NAS

[miniz98 63]

I'll take a look. Thanks. 

[BillybobBilly 14]

Just to add some commentary to this. I run my Emby on a DS1821+ and it works fine. It isn't lightning fast compared to my previous system (hosting it on a win 10 PC with very high end hardware) but that's to be expected. As was already mentioned, if you do a lot of transcoding it can be a bit slow but I've been slowly converting my whole media library to the proper video+audio format and the amount of transcodes has gone down significantly.

For reference, I run some media at 1080p, most media at 720p and a strong percentage at below 720p (where sourcing higher quality is difficult or the media is not popular and I just store it for collector/backup purposes). I have my server configured for 10 users (usually between 1-4 active at a time) and there is no issues whatsoever. 

I do have a good amount of ram in my box (32gb) and 2TB SSD for faster loading of images (posters, artists etc.). Without the RAM and SSD upgrade I found my NAS to be a little slower than I'd like but since I've upgraded the experience is quite nice. I never get complaints from any of my users related to lag or loading times.

[heffeque 40]

10 hours ago, BillybobBilly said:

Just to add some commentary to this. I run my Emby on a DS1821+ and it works fine. It isn't lightning fast compared to my previous system (hosting it on a win 10 PC with very high end hardware) but that's to be expected. As was already mentioned, if you do a lot of transcoding it can be a bit slow but I've been slowly converting my whole media library to the proper video+audio format and the amount of transcodes has gone down significantly.

For reference, I run some media at 1080p, most media at 720p and a strong percentage at below 720p (where sourcing higher quality is difficult or the media is not popular and I just store it for collector/backup purposes). I have my server configured for 10 users (usually between 1-4 active at a time) and there is no issues whatsoever. 

I do have a good amount of ram in my box (32gb) and 2TB SSD for faster loading of images (posters, artists etc.). Without the RAM and SSD upgrade I found my NAS to be a little slower than I'd like but since I've upgraded the experience is quite nice. I never get complaints from any of my users related to lag or loading times.

DSM 7.x does a great job at SSD R/W cache. A pair of cheap 256 GB NVMe SSD is more than enough to make everything snappier, especially Emby's graphic interface. No need for a whole 2 TB SSD.

[Carlo 4330]

On 5/30/2022 at 9:37 AM, miniz98 said:

Hello so I currently use a gaming PC with Nvidia 3060 ti that works great. Problem is storage. I started looking into nas. How well does emby server run natively on this nas and I'm wondering if I should still use the PC for server and the nas for file storage. Or would running the nas as the whole server run better than a windows machine? Thanks in advance. 

Have you thought of keeping you setup exactly like it is now but add an external DAS box with 4 to 8 bays?
It's going to be 1/2 the price or cheaper and no NAS is going to compare to the speeds you get on your computer.

[miniz98 63]

That sounds like a good solution. What communication would the das box use?

[Carlo 4330]

Lots of choices. Home consumer models usually use USB3, Firewire, eSATA or 1Gb Networking.
Typically only support SATA Drives

Enterprise/Commercial uses SAS, InfiniBand, Fiber
SAS, SATA, Fiber

You can probably get used Enterprise stuff off eBay cheaper than new consumer equipment. Built like a tank but really wants to be in a rack.

For home use you may want to checkout a USB3 DAS unit with 4 to 6 drive bays.  You want JBOD (just a bunch of disks), not RAID, MIRROR or other features.