I was on the fence about getting some type of off-the-shelf ARM-based NAS, but once again my wariness of "consumer" hardware turned out to be a good call. I wish it could be otherwise.
My current NAS is an old PC that I built for the purpose many years ago with ECC RAM and an unlocked Phenom II, and currently runs Ubuntu Server after I experimented with OpenSolaris just in time for the Oracle takeover, and then took a detour through CentOS. It's getting kind of long in the tooth now, and I could get a lot more oomph for the same power consumption, or the same for less power.
It's clear that my next server is going to have to be one I build up myself, just as before. I'm leaning toward an AM4 server board (such things do exist), as it offers lots of CPU options from cheap/low-power to Ryzen 9 5950X. The latter is extreme overkill, but it's an option nonetheless. ;) I'd be most likely to go midrange on the CPU. ECC RAM is a no-exceptions must.
I'm on the fence whether or not I should spring for 10G Ethernet. I have absolutely nothing else that uses it right now, and I have perfectly good gigabit gear that has served me well and would rather not throw out or try to sell. It might be worthwhile anyway as a direct single-client SAN.
I was close to getting a QNAP as they are cheaper than a Synology. My use case is storing home security camera footage.
Currently, I have an old PC running Linux with software RAID. My motivation to switching to an appliance was power consumption and heat/noise. I live in a tropical country so I can't get away with passive cooling. Due to dust build up, the Intel Celeron CPU and motherboard broke down.
It's been replaced with an AMD Athlon. My plan was to replace the entire setup with an appliance NAS the next time it breaks down. I'm now hoping it will last long enough that an ARM-based CPU solution will work out. My top candidate is the ROCKPro64.
I wish I'd built my own instead of buying synology. The added value software is just a gimmick to pad the marketing material, most of it has only the most basic functionality and isn't particularly well made.
My current NAS is an old PC that I built for the purpose many years ago with ECC RAM and an unlocked Phenom II, and currently runs Ubuntu Server after I experimented with OpenSolaris just in time for the Oracle takeover, and then took a detour through CentOS. It's getting kind of long in the tooth now, and I could get a lot more oomph for the same power consumption, or the same for less power.
It's clear that my next server is going to have to be one I build up myself, just as before. I'm leaning toward an AM4 server board (such things do exist), as it offers lots of CPU options from cheap/low-power to Ryzen 9 5950X. The latter is extreme overkill, but it's an option nonetheless. ;) I'd be most likely to go midrange on the CPU. ECC RAM is a no-exceptions must.
I'm on the fence whether or not I should spring for 10G Ethernet. I have absolutely nothing else that uses it right now, and I have perfectly good gigabit gear that has served me well and would rather not throw out or try to sell. It might be worthwhile anyway as a direct single-client SAN.