Login at Kodi Home

McButton · 2018-12-19, 22:16

I'm swapping out my WD MyCloud 6TB due to it having odd app support and the site always being down....also I need 8TB.

I figured I'd build my own with an auto backup.
I have 2x 10TB WD MyBooks that I plan to shuck and put the drives into a NAS.
I'll use the NAS to backup personal pictures and stream my video collection to Kodi - likely via Ethernet vs WiFi.
My experience with NAS setups is limited.
Would this be the best option?
Synology 2 bay NAS DiskStation DS218 (Diskless)
I don't want to go over $250, but For $50 less, I get far less ram and processor.

Ideas?
Thanks!

**Klojum** · 2018-12-19, 22:42

Synology is perhaps not at the top of hardware innovations in NASses, but their firmware/software and its support is second to none AFAICT. They basically support a NAS for 5 years, and sometimes beyond that when it involves major security fixes. Any current Syno or QNap NAS should be more than capable of serving files to Kodi.

McButton · 2018-12-20, 01:19

Cool. I like a few QNAP as well, but reviews seem a bit worse, but better specs.
I just need to get away from WD devices for a bit.
I'd like one that could somehow be accessible via a USB as well...but that defeats the purpose of the NAS, I suppose.
Video seems more stable if I'm USB plugged rather than through the router.

Hmm...
Back to comparing. Thanks!

**Klojum** · 2018-12-20, 11:31

(2018-12-20, 01:19)McButton Wrote: Video seems more stable if I'm USB plugged rather than through the router.

Then you need to double-check your network performance on all aspects: settings, cables, connection speed etcetera. Optimal gigabit will transfer up to 115-120 MB/s.

A USB drive connected to a NAS will solve .. which problem? Smile

Any steady gigabit network connection will easily outrun a USB 2.0. With the performance of USB 3.0 on (slow?) NASes I have zero experience with.

RockerC · 2018-12-21, 14:35

Other than them being expensive you can not go wrong with an Intel-based Synology NAS today because their firmware and software is better than all other consumer and prosumer brands/models:

https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledge...y_NAS_have

Note here that Synology naming scheme can be confusing as "DS218+ is Intel-based but " "DS218" is ARM-based, and ARM-based Synology is not as recommended because they don't support all packages/apps.

https://synocommunity.com

Hence I would not recommend " "DS218" is ARM-based model unless all you are absolutely sure that you will not be using it for anything other than SMB/CIFS or NFS shares (ie. traditional NAS functionality).

If you think that you might be interesting to also use it as a 'home server' to run other applications or even virtual machines on it then you really should get an Intel-based model instead of an ARM-based model.

If it's within your budget aim to get an x19 Series or x18 Series as the newer models will release for longer.

McButton · 2018-12-27, 05:32

Interesting. By USB, I meant an External HD via USB 3.0 seems to give smooth playback. Using a MyCloud via ether net, it sometimes stutters or freezes Kodi. I never use wifi for the same reason.

However, the MyCloud no longer connects... So...
It may have not been the best source to begin with.

I literally play video on 1x Chromebox and backup my cell phone pictures. I only have a few dozen 1080p, and the rest are 720p or smaller. No 4k.

Synology is my current pick. I didn't realize the 218 was ARM. The plus puts me at $300. Trying to get around $200. I like a few QNAP, but I may just suck it up and go with what works best.

**Klojum** · 2018-12-27, 08:26

The 'simple' ARM-based Synology NAS should also be more than capable of pushing out videos via ethernet to whatever network device you have. I'm not sure if you even need the more grunty plus version of the 218 NAS, unless you have "big plans" for the future. Simple backups and video storage is not a complex thing. And also, a NAS is not a backup: it's just another drive. Keep more than one backup around of your important files.

McButton · (This post was last modified: 2019-01-07, 04:53 by McButton.)

I actually went with a Synology 218. I plugged my bare MyCloud HD into it to check the scan and found like 130 bad sectors. So, definitely jacked.

I was able to plug it into my laptop via USB and a Linux program to read the partitions. All the data is available.
I can also NOW get it to run via Ethernet like normal. It just started working again.

That said, I want all the data on my Synology. What would be the best way to make that happen? If I just drop and drag over the network, it's like 1MB/sec.
If I plug into the NAS via USB it can't be read, because of the partitions.
If I leave the MyCloud on the network, I can mount it as a remote folder and drag the files where I want. This seems to take a long time just to transfer 40MB. Likely the same as just dragging via my laptop, but I won't need the laptop on since it was a network command.

That can't be it...can it? I've looked online for hours and found barely any info. It seems like a pretty common thing.

McButton · 2019-01-07, 07:07

UPDATE: For anyone in the same situation...
I mounted the shares from the old NAS and just copied or cut/paste in the Synology DSM site.
It goes something like 80MB/sec now.
Tricky.

**Klojum** · 2019-01-07, 11:23

(2019-01-07, 04:20)McButton Wrote: If I just drop and drag over the network, it's like 1MB/sec.

Something is definitely wrong there. Any decent gigabit network should provide the full capacity, that's up to 110-115 MB/s throughput. Of course, 'YMMV'. Things like cheap UTP (unshielded) CAT5 cable or STP (shielded) CAT6 can already make a difference. Disks in RAID-1 also bite off a bit of the performance. But only 1MB/s could be a serious drive issue, broken switches or network cables, or one hell of a driver problem. If files are transferred via an actual internet cloud, all depends on your internet connection.

McButton · 2019-01-08, 21:01

I got it all sorted. Using the Synology NAS is insane. I never realized how much of a trash box the MyCloud was.
I did the 218 rather than the 218+. Saved $50, and I didn't need the extra power. The 218play only had 1GB ram vs 2, so that seemed worth the $20 upgrade.
It's running great now.
* MyCloud always had connection issues and the site was always down. This is always running fine.
* The MyCloud always needed me to transfer files with the PC to some degree or it would just error off. The Synology just runs the task through the network, and I come back to it being done. It also has a check to make sure none of the files are jacked. Syno took 2 days to transfer 6TB with 2 button clicks. The MyCloud took me several horrible weeks of messing to put 4TB into it last time.

Got a 20TB NAS for under $600.

Thanks for all the assistance!