Friday, May 31, 2013

1.5 RAID Selection

Posted by at Friday, May 31, 2013

Quote:
Mast C (my gang) said, "If there is no RAID, it is a normal desktop!"

Yes! I do agree with that. =)  I cannot emphasize more than enough how crucial the role of RAID is in your NAS. The type of RAID you configure on your DIY NAS is highly dependent on the OS. My own preference is to maximize the data capacity, which will be RAID 5 or equivalent.


Comparison of RAID
For reference, here's a comparison table from SnapRAID that provides an overiew of different RAID file systems.


Do I Need Hardware RAID?  ZFS vs Hardware RAID
During my early days in IT as a Server Administrator, I remembered handling IBM "X" series servers which come with dedicated RAID cards. The procedures to configure the RAID controller and mount HDDs with data are always tricky and worrying. One wrong step might result in erasing your HDDs down to nothing. There are also instances where the controller card breaks down and we have to rely on vendors to do a 1-to-1 swap. Below are a list of references which discuss software RAID against hardware RAID:
10 Things About RAID
A PDF on Software RAID Versus Hardware RAID
ZFS Mirroring VS ZFS-RAID and Advantages of ZFS Over Hardware RAID
ZFS needs Hardware RAID?
FreeNAS Setup - Hardware RAID or ZFS?
ZFS VS Hardware RAID Users' Opinions
Benchmark - ZFS RAID 10 VS Hardware Raid 10

To sum it up, software RAID is my preferred choice mainly because:
  1. Resiliency - RAID controller card is vendor dependent and it is a single-point-of-failure in a RAID file system. If it dies, you will spend time searching all over Ebay for the same model. To build a resilient system, a RAID card is a NO NO unless you have two of it or regular backups for restoration purpose.
  2. Cost - Software RAID is significantly less expensive.
  3. Adaptability - with software raid you can generally move from system to system easily.



1st Setup: ZFS RAID with FreeNAS
Recall that I will setup 3 different Operating Systems. This leads to 3 types of RAID file systems to fiddle around. To start off, I picked ZFS RAIDZ.

ZFS RAID Type
  • RAID-Z Similar to RAID5, but uses variable width stripe for parity which allows better performance than RAID5.
  • RAID-Z2 Similar to RAID6, and allows 2 drive failures before being vulnerable to data loss.
  • RAID-Z3 Allows 3 drive failures before being vulnerable to data loss.
Pros 
  • Data integrity - ZFS eliminates typical RAID 5 "write hole" errors that hardware controller could not prevent.
  • Self-healing RAID - ZFS can detect silent data corruption and fix them on the fly.
Cons
  • The largest drawback of ZFS RAID would be storage scalability; adding HDDs to your storage requires careful planning.
  • ZFS is also always hungry for RAM - but RAM is never a problem as it's cheap and can be expanded easily.  The general rule of thumb is 1GB of RAM for every 1TB of data in your storage. 8GB as the minimum recommendation. 

ZFS is not for the faint hearted and beginners. My advice is if you are not prepared to understand it, don't use it despite the fact that you can easily set it up via GUI on FreeNAS. Read the following guides to strengthen your understanding of this technology.
Wikipedia - ZFS
ZFS RAIDZ Administration
FreeNAS - Working with Volumes

Lastly, I strongly recommend that you plan your ZFS RAID and NAS build before you start configuring and using it! If the references given above are too dry, study this excellent powerpoint to grasp a strong concept of ZFS.



2nd Setup: Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR)
Next, I have Synology Hyrbid RAID that comes with Synology DSM.
Synology has also developed a very neat RAID Calculator here.
Key features of SHR are highlighted below:
  • SHR automatically maximize the data capacity of your RAID with different sizes of HDDs used.
  • Before Synology DSM 3.1, SHR allows for 1-disk worth of redundancy - meaning that the SHR volume can suffer the lost of one disk, and the data volume will still be available for use.
  • Starting from Synology DSM 3.1, a 2-disk redundant version of the SHR is available.

If setting up of Synology DSM goes all well with my DIY NAS, this is the RAID setup plan:


Unlike ZFS, the flexibility of SHR amused me. Being able to combine HDDs of different sizes and also maximize the data space is fantastic. Thumbs up to Synology who has made configuring RAID so easy, unlike some rocket science technology.



3rd Setup: U-NAS LVM+RAID+JBOD???
On U-NAS OS product page wrote:

U-NAS adopts a powerful LVM+RAID+JBOD system architecture for better data management. It supports multiple volume groups/volumes and can mix different RAIDs into a single transparent storage space to the users. U-NAS provides the max flexibility of management for enterprise users.

Honestly, I have no idea what is LVM + RAID + JBOD. There's no need to guess, I will discover as soon as I install it. We'll see...


Thursday, May 30, 2013

1.4 Operating System Selection

Posted by at Thursday, May 30, 2013

The NAS operating system will be installed on a separate drive; either a USB thumbdrive or a 2.5" HDD.  So which OS do I go for? This is where it gets interesting...


- The most popular free OS for NAS is FreeNAS.
- The most popular OS among off shelve solutions is Synology DSM due to it large bundle of apps.
- The most anonymous and potential dark horse is U-NAS OS


FreeNAS
It's free and popular among self built NAS. Simple GUI with ongoing developments. The highlight of FreeNAS is it's ZFS RAID feature which I will cover on the next topic.

Synology DSM
Synology DSM needs no introduction, most favored OS among most users. Much thanks to the remarkable work from the guys who recompiled DSM source code, it is proven that DSM can be installed on non Synology appliances. However, you have to keep it to yourself that it is an unlicensed, unsupported installation.

U-NAS
I only came across this OS after purchasing the U-NAS enclosure. Most of our readers here wouldn't have heard of it before as well.
- Do you find the graphical interface familiar? =)
- How reliable are China applications?
Well, to toy it around for the price of SGD$20 seems like a fair deal, so I grabbed it together with the NAS enclosure. You can have a feel of the OS here,

Conclusion
To be honest, I wouldn't know which OS suits my requirement and liking till I experience it.

So let's compare and review all 3.

Stay tuned for more OS comparison and reviews during Phase 3.


Monday, May 27, 2013

1.3.5 Enclosure Selection

Posted by at Monday, May 27, 2013

Any ATX casing can be the home of your NAS build. This is true provided you do not mind an enclosure that is twice the size of off shelve NAS and does not have HDD hot-swapping bays. But, I mind. =)

I didn't expect the NAS enclosure to be the most challenging component when I first started out my search. Believe it or not,  I took more than 3 weeks to confirm and purchase my NAS enclosure. I have spent more than 2 trips browsing around SLS (IT Mall) but the hunt was disappointing. Till date, I have yet come across an enclosure that suits my requirement and is available locally in Singapore. If you happen to know of any NAS enclosure that is available locally, do drop me a note. Now, let's take a look at my requirements:

1. Enclosure with 4 - 6 hot swappable HDD bays.
2. Affordable and below SGD $150.
3. As compact as possible; I don't need space for a normal sized PSU and a graphics card.


Shortlisted Enclosures
Quote:
Mast C (my gang) said, "If there is no hot swap feature, it's a file server"

Haha...ok, after searching high and low, I have these enclosures shortlisted:

CFI A7879 Mini-ITX Server


4 hot swappable HDD bays, Mini-ITX, not avaliable in Singapore, China manufacturer.



G-Alantic - GA6301 


3 hot swappable HDD bays, 1 internal 3.5" HDD slot, Mini-ITX, not avaliable in Singapore, Taiwan manufacturer.



Fractal Design Node 304


NO hot swappable HDD bay, 6 internal 3.5" HDD slots, Mini-ITX, SGD $135, cheapest alternative.



Lian Li PC-Q25 

5 hot swappable HDD bays, 2 internal 3.5" HDD slots, Mini-ITX, EOS (End of sales).



Lian Li PC-Q18 


4 hot swappable HDD bays, 2 internal 3.5" HDD slots, Mini-ITX, SGD $185

At first, I have locked down my target on Lian Li PC-Q18. On yet another trip to SLS (IT Mall) to examine the actual product, I find PC-Q18 rather bulky and I'm kind of turned off by the half fuck hot swappable feature (need to remove side casing). I went back home and continued my search, determined to find something better. Indeed, my persistence paid off when I stumbled across U-NAS, a China company that provides cost effective NAS solutions.



U-NAS NSC-600

The U-NAS NSC-600 is my most ideal NAS enclosure; 6 Hot swappable HDD bays, just perfect! When I thought I have landed my search this time, U-NAS replied they do not have available stocks for this model. I tried in vain to contact other possible sources, but news revealed that they have stopped producing this model for more than a year! My project has to go on and I decided not to wait, but go for my 2nd choice. 




My Pick - U-NAS NSC-400

I procrastinated on the enclosure decision for quite sometime, in hope of landing the NSC-600. I finally gave up hunting around and made a big gamble to buy U-NAS NSC-400 from overseas. There are a lot of uncertainties when you ship in a bulky item - transport cost, delivery schedule, buying from unknown source. I felt this is the best option and I went for it; crossing my fingers that the enclosure will arrive in 1 piece with no issues.

This NAS enclosure sets me back SGD $165 (excluding shipping) and is the most expensive component in my build.  I have certainly under estimated the cost of the NAS enclosure when I started this project! Below are the specs of the casing:

 Model  NSC-400
 Motherboard  Mini-ITX (17cm x 17cm)
 Material  Aluminum & Steel
 OS Tray  up to 2x 2.5" (optional)
 Hot-Swap  YES
 Hard Drive Tray  4x 2.5"/3.5" SATA Hot-Swap
 Case Fan  1x 12cm quiet fan
 Front USB  1x USB
 Switches  1x Power,1x Reset
 Net Weight  2.7KG
 Indicators  Power & HDD
 Dimensions  255mm x 190mm x 180mm



Lady luck smiled on me when my good bra-ther (brother that wears bra) offers to help me ship for free. Her generosity has greatly helped to reduce my build cost.

A very big thank you to Ah-Per, the next round of Moo-Ka-Ta is on me.


Updates - 6-6-2013
With good fate, I have linked up really well with the NAS enclosure seller since the purchase of NSC-400. If you embark on a journey to build your own NAS (BYON) and take keen interest in this enclosure, drop me an or PM. All for good will, I will help you acquire and ship it in to Singapore with no additional fees.


Sunday, May 26, 2013

1.3.4 HDD Selection

Posted by at Sunday, May 26, 2013

Hard disk drive is a common component in both DIY NAS and off shelve NAS. Typically, the price of off shelve NAS do not include HDDs. For a clear comparison, I will not include the cost of HDDs in my NAS build.


The Three Musketeers
I planned to start with 3x 2TB HDDs and scale to 6 in total. If the NAS enclosure also offers hot swappable features, upgrading or replacing HDDs will be a walk in the park. Master C suggested Western Digital RED HDDs while Ah Kim ambitiously recommended 4TB drives. On a tight shoestring budget, I prefer to start modestly and expand in future. Below are the three musketeers used in my setup:

 QTY  Manufactuer  Capacity  Model  Specs
 1  WD Green  2TB  WD20EARS-00S8B1  64MB Cache / 5400RPM
 1  Seagate Barracuda Green  2TB  ST2000DL003 9VT-166  64MB Cache / 5900RPM
 1  Samsung EcoGreen F4 (Barracuda Green)  2TB  ST2000DL004  32MB Cache / 5400RPM

The WD Green is recycled from my current desktop while I purchased the Seagate & Samsung drives from IT Garage sales. Both the Seagate & Samsung are fresh RMA drives, as good as new. I intently picked 3 HDDs of different makes; which one do you think will die first?

Saturday, May 25, 2013

1.3.3 Power Supply Selection

Posted by at Saturday, May 25, 2013

How much power does your NAS need? Let's compute the maximum power consumption required. You can also use this utility as a guide.

 QTY  Component  Estimated Power Consumption
 1  ECS NM70-I2 (V1.0)  20W
 1  Kingston DDR3 8GB  3W
 6  2TB HDD (5400RPM)  20W* x 6 = 120W
 1  120mm enclosure fan  4W
    Maximum power load
 147W
*20W is the power drawn during bootup; figure is taken from here

Notice I included 6 HDDs in the calculation. For scalability, the power supply must be capable of supporting the maximum number of HDDs you install on your NAS plus the underlying backbone. With the above figure, I will need a power supply that is between 150W - 200W.

PicoPSU?
My inital plan is just to get any cheap power supply for the NAS. When Mast C (my gang) suggested PicoPSU, I have lots of doubts on this tiny little piece of PCB with capacitors:

1. Will this tiny fellow even work?
2. Does it have enough juice to power my NAS?
3. Is it compatible with Mini-ITX motherboards?
4. How reliable it is? Will it overheat or kill my parts?

I did some studies and found them widely used in HTPC and NAS setups. Below are some links for reference:
VR-Zone forum - PICO PSU Anyone?
FreeNAS forum - Discussion on Pico-PSU
Whirlpool forum - NAS setup with PicoPsu
PicoPSU used in project - Data_Center_In_A_Box
A blogger using it since 2006

The efficient power consumption and the tiny size of the PicoPSU appealed to my NAS build. Recall that I faced a challenging task to compete with Synology 15W power consumption at idle. Any methods to lower the power consumption of my build are most welcomed. Moreover, the tiny size of the PicoPSU grants me the freedom to use any small enclosure. I also fancy the idea of silent PSU and lowered heat dissipation. Great! 


130W PicoPSU Bundle
Out on a search again, I found this thread at VR-Zone and went on to scrutinize the PicoPSU seller with lots of questions. The neat bundle is a 130W PicoPSU paired up with a Dell 150W power adapter. After careful consideration, I decided to take a bet for $75. If it is not compatible with my build, the backup plan is to sell it off and get a normal PSU. $193 left, let's head straight onto the last two selections, HDDs & the enclosure. =)


Sunday, May 19, 2013

1.3.2 RAM / Memory Selection

Posted by at Sunday, May 19, 2013

RAMs are cheap and it's one of the components which you can upgrade easily. I'll start with 8GB DDR3 and upgrade to max 16GB if necessary. A stick of Kingston PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 CL11 8GB from SLS (IT Mall) costs me $75. With $268 left in my shopping fund, let's move on to the next component.


Mini Saga - 1333 or 1600?
I got a mini tale to share when I was in SLS (IT Mall) buying the RAM.


RAMs are widely available from most shops in SLS (IT Mall).  Browsing around, I strolled into Best B******, went up to the shop keeper and said that I wanted to get a stick of Kingston DDR3 8GB. He asked what motherboard am I using and I replied, "ECS NM70-I2". The shop keeper then did a quick check on the manufacturer's website which stated DDR3 1333 and he passed me one stick of the same specs. Looking at the pricelist, I noticed both DDR3 1333 & 1600 are selling at the same price. I pondered on the spot before telling him I wanted the 1600. The shop keeper reacted with a frown and warned that if 1600 doesn't work, he's not gonna change for me. I shrugged my shoulders and questioned why it wouldn't work? I am confident that running the memory at lower speed wouldn't bite, thus I insisted my pick.

The analogy is simply, let's assume you want to buy an Audi. You step into the showroom and the sales person tells you that there are 2 variance for that Audi model you wanted to buy - one is speed capped at 180km/hr while the other is 220km/hr, both selling at the same price. Which one do you pick? A no brainer question. Of course the 220km/hr even if the speed limit in Singapore is 90km/hr. Or do you worry that the 220km/hr model will breakdown if you drive at 90km/hr? You got the answer =)

 

Monday, May 13, 2013

1.3.1 CPU / Motherboard Selection

Posted by at Monday, May 13, 2013

The CPU / Motherboard is the backbone of your NAS. We have to be picky on this one. Ok, I need something that is cheap, powerful and energy efficient. In chinese: 又便宜又大粒还几漂亮! (malaysia ascent). Just like below =D

Hello! this is a NAS blog, not adult blog, come back JTSF!
Right, we have quite a few features to consider carefully:

1. To make our NAS compact, the size has to be Mini-ITX.
2. I need as much SATA ports onboard for scalability. Ideally 6.
3. SATAIII 6Gb/s is good to have, not a must. Typically, the bottleneck is on the HDD itself and not the SATA port.
4. For scalability, the motherboard should support up to 16GB of RAM. You may feel this is overkill but you will find out later when we discuss about RAID.
5. The energy efficiency of your build will highly rely on this component. I need to find the right balance - a processor capable enough to serve as a NAS (or more) and yet power efficient when paired up with the motherboard.
6. Gigabit Ethernet - all modern motherboards support this and should not pose a problem.

The components of the NAS are closely dependent on each other. Choose wisely or you will be constrained by the deprived feature later on. My studies also reveals that an onboard processor would lower the power consumption of the system. In contrast, socket-based processors are TDP 35W on average, a tad higher than onboard processor. It also increases the total cost when paired with a separate motherboard. It is clear that my choice will be a motherboard with integrated processor


1st Candidate - ASUS E35M1-I
After some hunting, I first set my eye on ASUS E35M1-I
This is a perfect board for NAS setup. AMD E-350 dual core 1.6GHz, TDP 18W, 6 SATA ports, passive cooling, Mini-ITX all for an affordable price of USD93. With my target set, I began searching high and low for this fellow. Unfortunately, the board is not available in Sinapore. I sent an email enquiry to ASUS Singapore distributor, but they didn't even bother to reply. Some days later, I finally found it at Amazon and made my purchase on the spot. To my dismay, the seller contacted me the next day and informed that they do not have this board and it's a mistake on their posting. I finally gave up after another 4 nights of fruitless search. I am aware that it's bigger brother E35M1-I DELUXE is available but the costly price of SGD $245 does not justify it's price tag.



2nd Candidate - MSI E350IA-E45
The lost hope of a perfect NAS board make me scout SLS (IT Mall). I chanced onto MSI E350IA-E45 displayed at one back alley shop. It offers similar specs to ASUS E35M1-I.
I was quoted $165, slightly cheaper than other stores which is going for around $180. At that point of time, I could not convince myself the idea of active cooling, 4 SATA ports for $165. Furthermore, reviews of the motherboard showed signs of a noisy fan. Hence, I shortlisted this board as a backup.



3rd Candidate - Gigabyte GA-C847N-D
At this point of the search, I was getting a little lost; having cross thoughts of getting a socket based processor & separate motherboard. I reviewed my requirements once again and restarted the search, this time staying away from AMD E-350. From the stacks of pricelists I've collected from SLS (IT Mall), there is Gigabyte GA-C847N-D.
This NM70 Intel chipset motherboard looks very promising - Dual core Celeron 1.1GHz,  TDP 17W for about $150. Most notably, it offers you 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports which is a rare feature among budget boards. However, I was very turned off by it's way out-dated PCI expansion slot. I needed this expansion slot to scale to 6 HDDs in total and the performance of my NAS must not be constrained by a 133MB/s shared bus. Wake up Gigabyte! It is 2013 now! Are you are still living in Millennium 2000?



Reviewing Intel Celeron 847 - NM70 
Reading these reviews helped me made up my mind to get one of these NM70 boards:
Guru 3D reviews Intel 847 NM70
Madshrimps reviews ECS-NM70-I2-V1.0
Xbitlabs reviews Celeron-847
Madshrimps reviews BIOSTAR-NM70I-847
German Hartware.net Compares 4 different platforms of low power motherboards


The Computing Power of Intel Celeron 847 - NM70
Let's take a look at the processing capabilities of Celeron 847
Source: CPUbenchmark - Intel Celeron 847, 1.10GHz 
Source: Guru3D - Intel 847 NM70 Performance 
Source: Xbitlabs.com Celeron 847 Computing Performance 
 
The Intel Celeron 847 takes the lead over AMD E-350 & Intel Atom processors in most of the benchmarks. It also performs well in memory and multimedia tests. We can be assured that it can handle NAS operations comfortably. What's more, we might be able to use it as a HTPC too. It's an option that everybody likes.


Power Consumption of Intel Celeron 847 - NM70
Next, we compare the power consumption between Celeron 847, AMD E-350 & Intel Atom 2700
I am contented to have 21W idle. The choice is clear now. =)



4th Candidate & the Chosen One - ECS NM70-I2 (V1.0)
The final choice is narrowed down between Biostar NM70I-847 and ECS NM70-I2 (V1.0). Both boards offer similar specs - nice processor, low power consumption, supports up to 16GB of memory. The only downside is 4 SATA ports onboard. To scale to 6 HDDs, I would need to add a PCI-Express SATA card. Any of the first few cards on sales here will do the job.

After a quick check with Convergent Systems, I was delighted when they informed that ECS NM70-I2 (V1.0) will be arriving in 1 month's time. I waited patiently and finally purchased it in May 2013. The acquisition of this board concluded my motherboard hunt. Special thanks to Mr Low Eng Choon from Convergent Systems, he informed me first hand when it arrived on shore. The cost is a modest SGD $107 and this leaves me with $343 for other components. Let's move on. =)



Abbreviations
TDP - Thermal Design Power; Wiki - List of CPU Power Dissipation Figures

Friday, May 10, 2013

1.2 Requirement Gathering

Posted by at Friday, May 10, 2013

Before we fill our shopping list, let's sit down and consider wisely; what features and requirements do we need in our custom made NAS?

Cost
I rank costing as the top factor over the others. If the cost of your custom-made NAS exceeds off-shelve solutions, what's the point of building it? Use the methodology below to compute a budget:

First, identify how many HDDs is your NAS gonna house. (Be realistic)
Next, check out the prices of those off-shelve NAS which has the same number of HDDs you have in mind.

For this project build, I wanted a 4 - 6 bay NAS. At the point of writing, a Synology DiskStation DS413j is selling for SGD$489. Hence, my budget for this project will be capped at $450. 


Resiliency
In systems design, this is one of the most talk about feature. For NAS, I will  construct a system that is resilient to hardware faults and software corruption.

Golden question: How to make your system resilient?

Option 1. Double every component
Wait...this is not feasible. Do you see any desktop that has dual motherboard or cold standby power supply?

Option 2. Use all hardware components that is dispensable
This is certainly achievable. For hardware components, I shall use parts that can be easily acquired locally. If the motherboard goes bonkers one of these days, I just need to make a trip to SLS (IT Mall). By getting another similar motherboard (it can be different make / model), I will be able to easily replace it and minimize the downtime. Alternatively, like how Elva (my gang) suggested, why buy hardware maintenance from a vendor? Buy two of everything! IF the NAS you are gonna build is so damn critical AND you have spare cash, buy 2 of every component!

Off-shelve NAS puts me off with their customized components. The pictures below show the internal view of Synology DS413j (left) & DS413 (right). You can estimate the downtime if you face a hardware issue. Count yourself fortunate if they have ready parts or else expect more delay when there's a need to ship in / out.
The pictures are sourced from here:
Synology Diskstation DS413j Review & Unboxin
XBit Reviews Synology DS413

The topic of resiliency covers a wide range of subjects. I will go in depth to touch on features like RAID, Dual Network Connectivity, Operating System in later part of this blog.


Energy Saving
NAS are meant to be operational 24x7. If your build is a power hungry appliance, you will see your electricity bills going up with SP Services (the power company) smiling at you. Besides, it does not do Mother Nature any good. Intel & AMD dominate the consumer market today and my selection of processor will be between these two giants. As such, we will base on an off-shelve NAS with Intel processor as a reference. The Synology DS412+ comes with dual core Intel Atom D2700 running at 2.13GHz. On the product page, it's power consumption is recorded as: Power Consumption : 44W (Access); 15W (HDD Hibernation). You can also check the specifications here: Synology DS412+ Specifications & Synology CPU Wiki

In my build, I will select power efficient components and pay close attention to the power consumption in order to meet this stringent requirement.


Scalability
This is an optional feature and it is very subjective. Some want it some don't. Ask yourself:

1. Do you plan on adding more HDDs to the enclosure? (note: the key word is adding and not replacing)
2. Do you need your HDDs to be Hot swappable?

If your answer is yes, get an enclosure that best suits your requirement. But mind you, it is very challenging to get an ideal NAS enclosure in Singapore.


Operating System
There are a variety of OS out there for NAS -  FreeNAS, NAS4Free, unRAID, CryptoNAS, NASLite, Openfiler, OpenMediaVault, EasyNAS, SnapRAID. Some are open source while others you need to pay. I doubt any consumer would be able to test each one out so I will be looking for these OS features:

1. Ease of installation and user experience (GUI pls!)
2. Offers a RAID system that is resilient and scalable.
3. Preferably, FOC.
4. Materials and resources are openly accessible.
5. Widely adopted by the public which also means more support and communications in forums.


Applications 
Quote:
Ah Kim (my gang) always says, "What about the apps? If the NAS don't have apps, it's a file server!"

This is an important feature that won majority of the consumers to buy a Synology. Honestly, Synology has done a great job in integrating their products with numerous apps. I doubt any NAS OS out there is able to compete with them at this moment. But hey! what if I am able to install Synology OS to enjoy the apps?


Multi-Functions
The idea of using my NAS as a HTPC struck me when I came across ASUSTOR. If you are not aware, ASUSTOR is a subsidiary of ASUS. After reading ASUSTOR AS-604T review, I wonder would my DIY NAS be able to double as a HTPC. Despite the fact that I favor the concept, "clear segregation of roles", this is definitely not a key requirement but a bonus feature. Good to have, not a must.



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