Thanks for all the info…

What kind of specs matter most for a NAS?

Budget is really more about value than anything, I have money to spend, but I don’t like to overspend or waste. Otherwise there are things I know, and things I don’t. :) I do know linux, and some docker. I have built a few pc’s over the years. But I don’t really keep up with hardware stuff. The idea to have a NUC and a NAS just came from what I was reading as it seemed to be what people do. And the plan was to get a pre-built NAS and a mini pc. That way the whole project doesn’t get so big it is overwhelming. The software stuff can be complicated from what I read. But I work in software, and I could use more time with docker and such. I was pricing things out when I got thinking about the connection between them, and thus how many ethernet ports I needed on the minipc. It sounds like people are saying that network speeds through a switch should be more than fast enough. I know this is probably the more expensive route, but I think the total cost may be at least reasonable. The minipc is like $169. Seems like the NAS is like $500. And a few hundred for drives. So maybe under a k. The way prices are these days, that doesn’t feel terrible. But I don’t really have a scope on costs for hardware.

Can you elaborate on why you wouldn’t recommend it for someone just starting out?

Well, mainly it is just what I read in various “guides”. But also it sounds easier to assemble… the minipc is just a box, no need to do any hardware stuff. And I think the NAS is pretty much the same. Plus it would allow me to easily start small on space and then add more (I think).

Also, I think it would be quieter. I assume putting it all in one would mean basically a tower with lots of fans and what not. The minipc is supposed to be pretty quiet. Don’t know about the NAS though.

yeah, I am totally with you. For the media server, I just don’t know how much money I want to put into backing it up. For the important stuff. I really wish I knew of an offsite backup that I felt like I could trust. But most business models’ these days seem to be hinged on hoping nothing ever goes wrong… or just paying if it does.

I thought there was a raid setting where it basically duplicated the data across the drives such that if any one of them fail it can recreate the data. That should at least cover the “local” backup part. For more important things like family videos and such I have external drives that are offline unless I am uploading new videos and such. But really I should have some kind of offsite backup for that kind of stuff.

ok, I see. So network is fast enough. That works for me. The miniPC only has 500gb. So that is why I figure I need the extra storage. As for a backup, I figured I would have to raid it. The only other option I can think of would be to run a second NAS or something. And that seems like overkill.

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There are a lot of things there I don’t know much about… yet. People have said that the issues in the news don’t apply to the linked mini pc because it is a 12 gen. I haven’t even picked a distro to install on it yet, so I don’t know much about the versions. And I don’t have any idea what ReBAR is in this context…

oh, hardlink. Linux I am guessing then? I am on windows for now. And it has been years since I tried to make a link in windows. I don’t recall it going well back then. :) So what do you mean by finished seeding? Someone else implied they only seeded to some limit. What is the story there?

So you are intentionally keeping two copies of things?

but why would you want to stop seeding?

So do you set the torrent client default download dir to videos? And the system is smart enough not to make a copy there because there is already one visible to the client?

So this implies there is something else I am missing. I assumed people would just keep the whole library open for seeding. Why would you want to delete the file in the download folder?

Most people point out I am not worth their effort to trace for a few movies. But I am curious, if say I use a specific browser when on the vpn and only use a few very specific accounts like this one which I don’t use when I am off the vpn. How do they identify me.