Discussion
I've recently been gifted an old NAS box. My work have upgraded and were going to scrap it, so I offered to give it a new home.
Its a Buffalo TeraStation Pro II (TS-HTGL/R5). Its got 4x 500GB drives running RAID 5, so approx. 1½TB of storage.
I'd like to use it as a media server but it doesn't seem to have a DLNA server built in. From what I can make out, the non-Pro version does have DLNA, so can I simply flash the firmware to get the software I need, or is there a way to upgrade these units to offer DLNA?
Failing that, what is the cheapest way to get a 4-Bay NAS with DLNA?
Its a Buffalo TeraStation Pro II (TS-HTGL/R5). Its got 4x 500GB drives running RAID 5, so approx. 1½TB of storage.
I'd like to use it as a media server but it doesn't seem to have a DLNA server built in. From what I can make out, the non-Pro version does have DLNA, so can I simply flash the firmware to get the software I need, or is there a way to upgrade these units to offer DLNA?
Failing that, what is the cheapest way to get a 4-Bay NAS with DLNA?
Kenny6868 said:
From what I can make out, the non-Pro version does have DLNA, so can I simply flash the firmware to get the software I need?
A quick look and it's apparently doable, http://forums.buffalotech.com/index.php?topic=9495...Some further hunting should find the specifics for you.
Thanks for all the comments.
I've spent all weekend trying various firmware versions and just can't get it to work. I think I'm going to buy a new NAS box.
Serviio or Plex wouldn't run on this old thing. Its just not powerful enough. It might do someone a turn as a cheap backup NAS, but it's no good for my needs. At least it didn't cost me anything.
What are peoples thoughts on a Synology DS218?
I've spent all weekend trying various firmware versions and just can't get it to work. I think I'm going to buy a new NAS box.
Serviio or Plex wouldn't run on this old thing. Its just not powerful enough. It might do someone a turn as a cheap backup NAS, but it's no good for my needs. At least it didn't cost me anything.
What are peoples thoughts on a Synology DS218?
Kenny6868 said:
Thanks for all the comments.
I've spent all weekend trying various firmware versions and just can't get it to work. I think I'm going to buy a new NAS box.
Serviio or Plex wouldn't run on this old thing. Its just not powerful enough. It might do someone a turn as a cheap backup NAS, but it's no good for my needs. At least it didn't cost me anything.
What are peoples thoughts on a Synology DS218?
If you want a NAS to run Plex and other bits then you will need a more powerful device. I have an RS815+ and it handles Plex and Sabnzbd but I wouldn't call it fast.I've spent all weekend trying various firmware versions and just can't get it to work. I think I'm going to buy a new NAS box.
Serviio or Plex wouldn't run on this old thing. Its just not powerful enough. It might do someone a turn as a cheap backup NAS, but it's no good for my needs. At least it didn't cost me anything.
What are peoples thoughts on a Synology DS218?
The 218 will run plex just fine, the suggestion that you might need a rack mount RS815+ is just silly and the equivalent today (the RS820+) is 4 times the price.
[ETA - Just reread maccas99's post and I'm not sure he was suggesting that after all]
I'd avoid Synology's "J" versions, they do tend to be a bit weak and the savings are minimal.
Don't install Plex from the Synology Package Center, download it direct from Plex and install manually (Package Center then "Manual Install" in the top right corner). The Synology supplied version is always way behind, when I installed 1.18.7, DSM was saying that the latest available version was 1.16.something. Just looked and it's caught up a bit but still two point releases behind at 1.18.5
Look at Emby too. I've never used it but some folks prefer it to Plex.
Likewise with QNAP, some like them, I hated mine. My old TS251 is sat on the naughty step somewhere gathering dust whereas my 9 year old DS211j is still running 24/7 as an NVR recording 2 CCTV cameras. It is painfully slow if I ever want to look at a recording but it still runs reliably even out on a shelf in the garage, the QNAP was flaky from day 1.
[ETA - Just reread maccas99's post and I'm not sure he was suggesting that after all]
I'd avoid Synology's "J" versions, they do tend to be a bit weak and the savings are minimal.
Don't install Plex from the Synology Package Center, download it direct from Plex and install manually (Package Center then "Manual Install" in the top right corner). The Synology supplied version is always way behind, when I installed 1.18.7, DSM was saying that the latest available version was 1.16.something. Just looked and it's caught up a bit but still two point releases behind at 1.18.5
Look at Emby too. I've never used it but some folks prefer it to Plex.
Likewise with QNAP, some like them, I hated mine. My old TS251 is sat on the naughty step somewhere gathering dust whereas my 9 year old DS211j is still running 24/7 as an NVR recording 2 CCTV cameras. It is painfully slow if I ever want to look at a recording but it still runs reliably even out on a shelf in the garage, the QNAP was flaky from day 1.
Edited by stemll on Thursday 5th March 18:07
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