this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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I currently have a 10-year old off-the-shelf NAS (Synology) that needs replacing soon. I haven't done much with it other than the simple things I mention later, so I still consider myself a novice when it comes to NAS, servers, and networking in general, but I've been reading a bit lately (which lead my to this sub). For a replacement I'm wondering whether to get another Synology, use an open source NAS/server OS, or just use a Windows PC. Windows is by far the OS I'm most comfortable with so I'm drawn to the final option. However, I regularly see articles and forum posts which frown upon the use Windows for NAS/server purposes even for simple home-use needs, although I can't remember reading a good explanation of why. I'd be grateful for some explanations as to why Windows (desktop version) is a poor choice as an OS for a simple home NAS/server.

Some observations from me (please critique if any issues in my thinking):

  • I initially assumed it was because Windows likely causes a high idle power consumption as its a large OS. But I recently measured the idle power consumption of a celeron-based mini PC running Windows and found it to be only 5W, which is lower than my Synology NAS when idle. It seems to me that any further power consumption savings that might be achieved by a smaller OS, or a more modern Synology, would be pretty negligible in terms of running costs.
  • I can see a significant downside of Windows for DIY builds is the cost of Windows license. I wonder is this accounts for most of the critique of Windows? If I went the Windows route I wouldn't do a DIY build. I would start with a PC which had a Windows OEM licence.
  • My needs are very simple (although I think probably represent a majority of home user needs). I need device which is accessible 24/7 on my home network and 1) can provide SMB files shares, 2) act as a target for backing up other devices on home network, 3) run cloud backup software (to back itself up to an off-site backup location) and, 4) run a media server (such as Plex), 5) provide 1-drive redundancy via RAID or a RAID-like solution (such as Windows Storage Spaces). It seems to me Windows is fine for this and people who frown upon Windows for NAS/server usage probably have more advanced needs.
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[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I am to give a perspective that may go along with the OP.

I spent this last summer building up a Proxmox server and putting Plex on it, and a few VMs for things I thought I would need. I also just noticed my Synology DS1515+ is not getting new version of DSM, so it's probably getting close to needing to be retired.

six months later, this is my new plan.

  1. Retire the Synology DS1515+
  2. Replace my main windows box that is 9 years old with something current.
  3. Take a couple of drives out of the Synology and move them into the Windows Box, and do a simple dynamic mirror
  4. Put Plex server on Windows
  5. let run 24x7

There are two people in my house, no reason not to let it run 24x7 hosting everything I need. There is a fear of power usage, but, I will monitor that to see if I need to spin up a low power server.

But, I really do not need to separate it out across multiple versions of linus.