Freway01 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:27 am
P3R,
For my Windows Server 2016 Essentials server, I used two M.2 128GB SSD's in Raid1 for my system drive. I had the four 2.5" 500GB SSD's setup for fast storage (Plex DVR recordings that come & go) and caching to the HDD's. The six 4TB HDD's were used for the saved Plex files (almost 6TB of data), shared folders, PC back-ups, etc. Other then the new TS-1277, the GPU and the two larger (1TB) M.2 SSD's, I'm reusing everything else from the old Windows server.
I have a wired gigabit home network attached to an Orbi router that my Smart-home devices and cell phones attach to. The three PC's (two Surface Pro 4's and an older Lenovo Twist) are attached to the network via wire 90% of the time. I also have a couple of external 8TB Seagate external HDD's I use for backups and two UPS's that my Windows server and back-up drive plug into. Don't think I have a need for a 10G network yet seeing the gig network is doing the job, and I only have 10 meg upload speed for remote Plex users.
I like your idea of installing the QNAP QTS on the HDD's, makes perfect sense. As for Snapshots, in my reading, there is a new SNAP feature in QTS 4.3.4 (
https://www.qnap.com/hu-hu/how-to/tutor ... -qts-4-3-4) that allows you to reserve space in storage for Snapshot backups. I plan on implementing that to make recovery faster when I do a stupid like delete the wrong file.
That that said, how would you recommend I utilize the hardware I have?
Ok.. here is what I would do.
System Volume (CACHEDEV1): (2) 1TB m.2 SSD's Raid-1, 10% over provision, Storage Pool / Thin volume, 10-20% snapshot.
This will give you plenty of speed for Plex (APP/Library), plus snapshots for easy recovery if needed
Data Volume (CACHEDEV2): (6) 4TB HDD's, Raid-5/6 stripe... (depending on how good your External backups are... if no backups, then definitely Raid-6), Storage Pool, Thin Volume, 10-20% snapshot depending on if you have any critical data on here or not. If ONLY for Plex Media, then probably can go with 0 snapshot if you have way to recover from external backups.
VM Data Volume (CACHEDEV3): (4) 2.5 SSD's Raid-5, 10% over provision, Storage Pool / Thick Volume, 0% snapshot. This will give you near max performance, but flexibility as well. I don't see volume snapshots as important on the VM volume as Virtualization Station has VM level snapshot/backup options. Could go static volume for max speed, but should be good enough with 4xSSD Raid-5. if you end up getting tight on space, you could hold less important VM's on your CACHEDEV2 data volume to maximize space for critical VM's.
Use external HDD's for backup, use UPS (w/USB connect to NAS) for power resiliency.
If your wired GB NW switch supports 802.3ad LACP, I would enable that with probably at least 2x1GbE to give you bandwidth to support multi-user heavy loads. Another option would be if your switch also supports VLANs would be to run a separate IOT subnet VLAN on 2x1GbE LACP, and then "Public" VLAN on the other set of 2x1GbE.
This helps cuts down on chattiness of the WiFI smart home products in the normal PC/user space.