Hi everyone!
I saw this video yesterday (https://youtu.be/vjDoQA4C22c) showing a nice custom homelab build that’s a lot of bang for the buck, and I felt that it was time to replace my tired old Asustor NAS with something more fun. But I would like your wise advice and experience. 😊
Purpose:
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Torrentstation - automated with Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr via qbittorrent and through Wireguard VPN.
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Media server - I am currently running Plex Media Server on the NAS, but it sometimes struggles. I can imagine moving over to Jellyfin.
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File backup - standard, photos, etc. Local backup mirrored to cloud service.
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Other bits and pieces such as Home Assistant, AdGuard/PiHole, tinkering with some Linux stuff [insert your best tip here]. 😀
In the video, he builds his own NAS based on an n5105 NAS motherboard. I’m looking at the new topton i3-n305 mini PC maybe, which is said to have slightly better performance (?). Both seem to be energy-efficient, quiet and very good value for money.
But I am open to other suggestions. Preferably as small a form factor as possible as I would prefer to hide it away in the small junction box cabinet or in the TV cabinet.
I’ve also been looking at an Intel NUC (i5 or something) and just throwing in my two NAS HDDs into a two disk Raid enclosure and connecting via USB-C. Yes/no?
Then OS and software wise. What should be the base on this thing? Ubuntu? As I mentioned I want to set up qBittorrent, Sonarr and Radarr like I have to today. Get them to work downloading the media I want and then run a Plex or Jellyfin server on the machine simultaneously that my Nvidia Shield Pro can connect to and run the media to my TV.
Thank you in advance! 😊
You seem on top of everything. No red flags when I look at what you are considering. Any will do great.
The Topnton i3-n305 Mini PC is a good choice. Intel NUC is another solid option, especially when used with a RAID enclosure for storage. Remember cooling is crucial for these devices, particularly if they’ll be housed in a small space. The importance of a good cooling solution cannot be overemphasized.
As for the operating system, Ubuntu is user-friendly and well-supported. You can run your desired applications like Plex or Jellyfin for media serving, qBittorrent, Sonarr, Radarr for torrenting, Wireguard for VPN, AdGuard or PiHole for ad-blocking, and Home Assistant for home automation, all on Linux. For managing these services, consider using Docker. It can help keep your system organized and simplify the process of updating. If you’re currently using them in a nas, you’re probably doing so already. But take the opportunity to clean things up, and if you’re not doing so already, use docker compose.
Foe backups, rsync can be used for local backups and Rclone for backing up to the cloud.
I’m doing basically all the things you’ve just listed using a Dell Precision Tower 3620 you don’t necessarily need new hardware for it and could save quite a lot if there are used workstations in your area.
For software I’m using esxi with truenas core virtualized and photonos as my docker host with everything managed through portainer. I would not suggest using esxi unless you want to learn about it, I wish I’d gone with Proxmox at the start.
There is IMHO no reason any more to take Ubuntu over regular Debian. It used to be more user-friendly, but Debian has caught up in that regard and Ubuntu just added the questionable benefit of snaps in the mean-time.
If you want something NAS like with minimal configuration hassle you could try: https://www.openmediavault.org/ (Debian based).
Im running all of that and even more on DIY PC (intel g3930, 8GB ram and no gpu). Quick sync makes it perfect for media server, but other than that its overkill. Raspberry pi 4 can run all of that as well, but it cant transcode, so only direct play. I don’t recommend rpi, just wanted to point out how powerful components you need. Keep in mind I’m still new in selfhosting, but I went for Debian, running OMV and pihole bare metal, then everything else in docker containers. I’m managing containers with portainer (also docker container). Spent loads of time learning and building it, but its deffo worth it.
