He Need a NAS

TL;DR

PLOF builds a custom NAS for Plex streaming, file sharing, and data ownership instead of relying on cloud storage.

Key Points

• 1.The Intel Core i3-12100 proved ideal for a NAS build. It handles direct play, software encoding, Quick Sync transcoding via integrated GPU, and includes native AV1 support — all without a dedicated GPU, saving power.
• 2.The Jonbo N5 case supports up to 12 x 3.5-inch drives. An LSI HBA (Host Bus Adapter) card was added to expand the B760M motherboard's four SATA ports into eight SAS/SATA ports, accommodating six 8TB Seagate IronWolf CMR drives totalling ~40TB usable in RAID Z1.
• 3.HexOS was chosen over TrueNAS and Unraid for its simplicity. Linus disclosed he is an investor in the company; PLOF also received a free license, and HexOS's near-1.0 status and guided setup made it the easiest option.
• 4.Windows SMB file sharing caused the biggest headache. PLOF's desktop PC had 'RequireSecuritySignature' set to true in its SMB client config, blocking folder access; a PowerShell command to set it false resolved the issue after roughly an hour of troubleshooting.
• 5.The total build cost was nearly $2,000 CAD excluding the two existing 8TB drives. Four additional 8TB IronWolf NAS drives cost ~$1,200 CAD alone; hard drive shortages forced PLOF's brother in Edmonton to source them.
• 6.Tailscale was set up to enable safe remote access without opening ports. It creates a virtual network so trusted users like family can access the NAS securely from anywhere, avoiding traditional port-forwarding risks.
• 7.A NAS offers redundancy but is not a full backup; buddy backup is the next goal. PLOF flagged offsite 'buddy backup' — two friends each buying a dedicated drive and syncing encrypted folders to each other's NAS — as a top priority feature request to the HexOS team.