Preventing my PR4100 from becoming an expensive paper weight

My Cloud OS 5 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud Pro Series
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Hi

I have moved away from hosting any container on this. Plex barely runs nowadays so I am going to limit the NAS to one mission : host the data and move all the computing to a Unix server where the NAS will be mount using nfs.

For people having a decent use out of their nas. I am curious : what is your set-up? What raid type do you use?

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Plex is a useless relic from the past and most devices are more than capable of native playback without transcoding. Try it and see for yourself.

RAID is not backup and only offers a false sense of security, but most people don’t realize this until it’s too late. Personally, I only use JBOD with two sets of full backups.

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Personally, I found Plex useful for movies - - - too cumbersome for music

ALTHOUGH, like the MyPassport Wireless, I too find the “Age of Plex” has passed.
For TV watching; I find streaming more than adequate.
For “watching my own content”; I find that plugging a laptop into the TV and playing content using a generic media player more than adequate. (If I did this everyday, I would run a HDMI cable to my desk, or buy a dedicated media server laptop for the TV).

Honestly; this is what I now do with my music. I have done a number NAS media server options, with ROKU sticks, plex, DLNA, internet connections to home NAS etc.; and I found it all cumbersome to maintain and slightly flakey. I have now devolved with the super simple brute force solution:

  • Media library on a USB key; (which can travel with me and is used on multiple PC’s)
  • WMP for music server; (do I need more?)
  • USB driven DAC (this is the secret sauce)
  • DAC connected to home theater system via hardwire RCA jack.

The USB driven DAC and home theater are for higher quality music. Yes, I can play music to my desktop speakers. Yes, I can stream bluetooth to the home theater (from PC or phone). Yes, I have spotify on the computer.

As for Raid:
I have 2 bay NAS units. I use Raid 0 on these guys. Raid zero has it’s uses - - → and as Cerberus has a point that a Raid on a NAS is not a 100% effective backup system.
NAS units

  • are vulnerable to rogue software updates
  • are vulnerable to user error (OMG! I deleted my files!)
  • are vulnerable to external factors (OMG! Someone call the fire department!)

What a NAS does in general is: provides a file server repository (allows multiple users access to data); and is a great place to put ONE set of backups. You need more than one.

What Raid does do is protect you from the a common type of failure in the nas: Mechanical HDD failure. (but only if you maintain the unit; and be mindful of drive failure warning lights).
I like Raid Zero because I don’t have enough play money for 4 bay NAS units :wink: