Total Novice needs help with NAS setup

[B!shopKn!ght]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for this community and anyone here helping newbies figure out their NAS setups. It's super appreciated. I've been watching hours and hours of videos about NAS set ups and all related equipment and all I've learnt is that I am woefully out of my depth with this stuff.

I've got a few things I think I've honed in on but I'm still fumbling in the dark with this stuff. 

A big part of what I need help with are questions I have not been able to find answers to on any of the many many beginner videos I've watched.


1 - What other devices do I need to make my set up work and how do I wire it all up? What gets plugged into what? I think I need to plug my modem into a router and then router AND NAS both into a switch which goes out to all my devices. What kind of switch do I need for? Is there something specific for putting a router and NAS input together. Is there an all in one version or do I need all these different devices. 

2 - Compatibility  - Related to the first question. I have tried to look up these different devices but there are sooooo many technical details I get overwhelmed with how to keep track of what works what. What is the simplest combo of devices that all just work together without me needing a computer science degree?

3 - NAS Expandability  - Regarding future NAS storage upgrades: How do I upgrade drives when I need to expand for more storage. IF I start with 4 - 8gb drives and want add space can I just change one drive to a 16gb or do they all have to be the same size. And if they need to be the same size how do I upgrade? do I switch one drive at a time and rebuild each one as I go? That whole process is very fuzzy to me. Also if I just start with 2 drives (in a 4bay nas) and add to them later how do I redistribute the info in the raid? Does the data all need to be rebuilt? 


OK. So here's what I have and what I am trying to achieve.


I am trying to build a NAS set up solely for a media server system. Just to watch my movies and photos. NO backups, gaming, editing or anything processing intensive like that. I have 6 rooms with ethernet lines and the rest would be wi-fi. My house has crazy thick walls so the wi-fi needs to have a strong signal. I have about 500-ish movies I want to store. A mix of regular dvd and bluray. I'm not crazy over 4k so that's not a major factor for me. I figure at an average of 25gb per MKV file I would need about 16tb just for what I have. I'd like to have storage to get to about 1000 movies before I need to upgrade. My photos and videos are only about 500gb combined so that's not a huge factor. I get a fair amount of "traffic/streaming" between the kids and guests on ipads and what not so the ability to handle up to 3 NAS streams and a some heavy youtube action or Netflix streaming would be ideal. Remote access so the kids can watch their cartoons while we're traveling would be awesome too, but not an absolute must.

I'm "aiming" for a budget of $1000 usd. But that would include the NAS, drives, router, switch and any other other devices I might need. From what I've watched so far I was thinking of a Qnap TS-464 using Jellyfin. I was thinking about just starting with 2 - 8tb drives for redundancy and adding on as I need it, to stay in the budget but the whole drive/raid thing and how to change it all as I grow into it is super confusing to me. 

So I that's it. I'm sorry if this is too long of a post. I wanted to be as detailed as I could. 


Could you guys PLEASE help me with a basic setup that all works together and gives me some room to grow but doesn't kill my wallet. And a little help with some of the questions about how to handle the number of drives and how to expand as I go. (As General Sarris from Galaxy Quest once said, "Explain it, as if to a child") 


Thank you all so much for any help you can offer. Any links to videos that address any of these specific questions would also be appreciated.

[ed]

First off, kudos for diving into the world of NAS setups! It can be overwhelming, but you're on the right track. Let's break down your questions:

Networking Setup:
You're correct about connecting the modem to a router, and then connecting both the router and NAS to a switch for multiple connections. A simple unmanaged switch would work for your scenario. You can find affordable options with enough ports for your needs.

Compatibility:
For a beginner-friendly combo, consider a QNAP NAS like the TS-464, which you've mentioned, and pair it with a reliable router like the TP-Link Archer C7. These are popular choices with good user interfaces and support. It's important to check compatibility, and these options generally work seamlessly together.

NAS Expandability:
If you start with fewer drives, it's recommended to add drives of the same size when expanding. Most NAS devices allow you to swap drives one at a time, rebuilding the RAID array after each swap. This minimizes downtime. For instance, in a 4-bay NAS, you could start with two 8TB drives and add more as needed.

Now, considering your needs:

Media Server NAS: The QNAP TS-464 is a good choice, and pairing it with Jellyfin is a solid plan for a media server.
Storage Needs: For your movie collection, starting with 2 x 8TB drives is a good idea. You can expand as your collection grows.
Budget: With a $1000 budget, allocate a portion for the NAS, drives, router, and switch. Look for deals and bundles to maximize your budget.
For expansion, remember, QNAP NAS devices usually support hot-swapping, making it easier to upgrade your drives over time.

[B!shopKn!ght]

Hi Ed. Thank you so much for the response. I really appreciate the help. I know theres allot of videos out there about this stuff but most seem to start with the assumption that the viewer understands what all the technical stuff even means. Coding and protocols, and flow rates and LAN versus WAN is like trying to interpret a Sanskrit passage when you have no idea how to read the language.  

I have a couple follow up questions if it's ok? I've been looking at the switches and I'm still a bit confused on how they work and what I need in regards to the number or ports and port speeds. 

Question 1 - Do I need a switch with multiple INPUT ports or just a lot of regular ports? I'm stuck on whether to get one with 2 dedicated inputs or if the router, NAS and all my output lines all just get plugged into "whatever" ports on a 10 port switch.

Question 2 - Considering my streaming needs: Being able to stream up to 3 Bluray quality lines from the NAS and a few additional ones with internet video (Youtube/Netflix kinda stuff)  -  How important is the gigabit flow rate capability of the switch lines. For example, the ones with dedicated dual inputs can have 2.5gbps inputs with all the outputs being 1gbps while most for the basic switch models might have something like 8 ports (no dedicated inputs) all with 1gbps flow rate. How important is trying to get those higher 2.5gbps rates and dedicated inputs versus just getting a simple $25, 10 port switch with 1gbps rates across the board? If you could recommend a specific switch that'd be awesome.

Thank you again for all your help. Cheers!

[B!shopKn!ght]

First off, kudos for diving into the world of NAS setups! It can be overwhelming, but you're on the right track. Let's break down your questions:

Networking Setup:
You're correct about connecting the modem to a router, and then connecting both the router and NAS to a switch for multiple connections. A simple unmanaged switch would work for your scenario. You can find affordable options with enough ports for your needs.

Compatibility:
For a beginner-friendly combo, consider a QNAP NAS like the TS-464, which you've mentioned, and pair it with a reliable router like the TP-Link Archer C7. These are popular choices with good user interfaces and support. It's important to check compatibility, and these options generally work seamlessly together.

NAS Expandability:
If you start with fewer drives, it's recommended to add drives of the same size when expanding. Most NAS devices allow you to swap drives one at a time, rebuilding the RAID array after each swap. This minimizes downtime. For instance, in a 4-bay NAS, you could start with two 8TB drives and add more as needed.

Now, considering your needs:

Media Server NAS: The QNAP TS-464 is a good choice, and pairing it with Jellyfin is a solid plan for a media server.
Storage Needs: For your movie collection, starting with 2 x 8TB drives is a good idea. You can expand as your collection grows.
Budget: With a $1000 budget, allocate a portion for the NAS, drives, router, and switch. Look for deals and bundles to maximize your budget.
For expansion, remember, QNAP NAS devices usually support hot-swapping, making it easier to upgrade your drives over time.