Any recommendations for a replacement NAS for MinimServer

[chip]

Hi all,
My QNAP NAS seems to be ready for replacement.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a replacement?
My NAS is used for backups, video, and music.
Any good thoughts or concerns would be appreciated.
Chip

[simoncn]

What NAS do you have at present?

[chip]

(08-03-2025 18:06)simoncn Wrote:  What NAS do you have at present?

My current NAS is:
1 x QNAP TVS-463-8G (8GB)
1 x QNAP 8GB DDR3L RAM Module
4 x 3TB Western Digital RED NAS HDD

[simoncn]

There are a few similar models in the current QNAP range:

TVS-h474
TS-473A
TS-453E
TS-464

I suggest you compare the specs on the QNAP website to see which of these is best suited to your needs. You should be able to use your current HDDs in any of these.

As an alternative you could look at the Synology range. Synology typically withdraws software support for older models after a shorter period than QNAP, which could be an issue if you want to keep the NAS for a long time.

[chip]

(09-03-2025 22:59)simoncn Wrote:  There are a few similar models in the current QNAP range:

TVS-h474
TS-473A
TS-453E
TS-464

I suggest you compare the specs on the QNAP website to see which of these is best suited to your needs. You should be able to use your current HDDs in any of these.

As an alternative you could look at the Synology range. Synology typically withdraws software support for older models after a shorter period than QNAP, which could be an issue if you want to keep the NAS for a long time.

I will look at QNAP since I have fairly good experience with their products.
Thanks, now my investigation begins.

[chip]

I have been investigating the QNAP NAS systems you suggested I review.

I am running containers on my current NAS and would like to run containers on my replacement NAS.
My current NAS has 16MB of memory. Do you have a suggested amount of memory for a NAS to support file sharing with 5 people, MiminServer, and containers?

I have noticed that they have different processors.
TVS-h474 - Intel® Pentium® Gold G7400 2-core/4-thread 3.7 GHz Processor
TS-473A - AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V1500B 4-core/8-thread 2.2 GHz processor
TS-453E - Intel® Celeron® J6412 4-core/4-thread processor, burst up to 2.6 GHz
TS-464 - Intel® Celeron® N5095 4-core/4-thread processor, burst up to 2.9 GHz

Should I consider the processor when making a decision?
Which processor should be considered the better option?

[simoncn]

I think you meant 16 GB memory, not 16 MB. MinimServer doesn't use much memory (less than 1 GB even with a very large library) so it depends on what else you are running. File sharing doesn't use much memory unless the files are very large, so it mainly depends on how many containers you want to run and how much memory they need. If you buy a NAS that can be expanded up to 32 GB and start with 16 GB installed, this should provide flexibility for any future memory requirements.

The processor does matter but any of these models should have a processor that performs well enough for file sharing and MinimServer. The Celeron J is the lowest performing. Next up are the Celeron N and AMD. The Pentium Gold has the most CPU power but this also means increased running cost/heat/noise. It would only be justified if your users are doing tasks that need a lot of compute power.

[lyapounov]

Just a question, Simon, about the processor: do you factor in your recommendation the use of ffmpeg for transcoding, which is CPU intensive (specially if, like me, you are using Chebyshev polynomial ?

[simoncn]

You are correct that in this specific situation a higher-powered processor might be needed. What processor are you using for this?

[lyapounov]

(16-03-2025 08:52)simoncn Wrote:  You are correct that in this specific situation a higher-powered processor might be needed. What processor are you using for this?

I have a DS920+ (Intel Celeron J4125 4 cores); 8G RAM. I have HW acceleration but I don't think ffmpeg uses it (mandatory for movies with graphic subtitles)

4 x 8T SSD Samsung 870 QVO - Raid SHR - this makes the Synology very silent.

Synology on a direct switch to my Klimax using a Buffalo BS-GS2008 (same technology as Melco S100 but much much cheaper), synology and switch on Audiophonics LPSU200 power supply.