NAS as torrent client.

[gpsguy]

Most of us are using FreeNAS for "network attached storage" on our local network. As @danb said, we wouldn't recommend your hardware choice for that purpose.

Given what you are doing, your Internet connection will probably limit your performance to the point where you can get by with your J1900.

I noted that emk had a different opinion on the j1900 for torrents.

 

[danb35]

I had a look at the ark.intel page on the J1900, and it looks like that chip's a bit more capable than I'd remembered--though its limit of 8 GB of RAM is still going to make it marginal.

 

[emk2203]

Because it sounds like you're trying to build the NAS on the cheap, and FreeNAS has some significant hardware requirements. It's perfectly capable of doing what you're asking for, but a J1900 is marginal at best, and 8 GB of RAM is the minimum, with 16 GB recommended.

In what sense is a J1900 marginal? My HP N40L Proliant Microserver is absolutely fine for my home setup, can simultaneously copy files, stream FullHD movies and torrent dozens of torrents. The passmark value of the CPU is 912, which is less than 50% of the 1864 passmark value for a J1900.

You need to have server hardware and ECC memory, but the CPU horsepower is the least of your worries if you are not running a demanding setup with 25+ clients or so. I would still recommend the HP Proliant Microserver for a cost-effective SOHO setup.

 

[emk2203]

I had a look at the ark.intel page on the J1900, and it looks like that chip's a bit more capable than I'd remembered--though its limit of 8 GB of RAM is still going to make it marginal.

Fair point. I would recommend 16 GB as a comfortable default as well. 8 GB is enough, but only barely.

 

[nicolaj]

Yeah, it's not all bad. I think a lot mistaken it for the j1800 which is only dual core compared to the j1900 quad core at 2ghz.

 

[nightshade00013]

In what sense is a J1900 marginal? My HP N40L Proliant Microserver is absolutely fine for my home setup, can simultaneously copy files, stream FullHD movies and torrent dozens of torrents. The passmark value of the CPU is 912, which is less than 50% of the 1864 passmark value for a J1900.

You can easily get by streaming if the media is encoded in a format that the player can easily handle. Anything that needs to be transcoded will be choppy. It can work but you may also be limited later on so the question there is this: Is it better to build out a new server later to meet the new current needs or to build out a server now that will meet the future needs?

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201774043-What-kind-of-CPU-do-I-need-for-my-Server-

Very roughly speaking, for a single full-transcode of a video, the following PassMark scores are a good guideline for a requirement:

• 1080p/10Mbps: 2000 PassMark
• 720p/4Mbps: 1500 PassMark

 

[emk2203]

You can easily get by streaming if the media is encoded in a format that the player can easily handle. Anything that needs to be transcoded will be choppy. It can work but you may also be limited later on so the question there is this: Is it better to build out a new server later to meet the new current needs or to build out a server now that will meet the future needs?

Ah, OK. We are talking very different requirements here.

My statement was only for the case where you only stream and do some other things. If you have the inclination to transcode, you certainly need more horsepower.

Since I would never transcode, it didn't even occur to me that you advised for this case.

 

[nightshade00013]

Ah, OK. We are talking very different requirements here.

My statement was only for the case where you only stream and do some other things. If you have the inclination to transcode, you certainly need more horsepower.

Since I would never transcode, it didn't even occur to me that you advised for this case.

The way I look at it is if you want to keep your FreeNAS around for even just five years you may go through multiple electronics that will be used with it and while most support a particular file format that is the same what do you do when one company decides to do something different and you don't figure it out till you get home. Or you get a nice new movie that is 4k and then your kids/wife/whomever decides to play it in another room on a device that does not support 4k. To add to that streaming remotely will sometimes have no choice but to transcode to reduce quality to a point where it's not constantly dropping the stream.

And outside of streaming when you have a cpu that doesn't have some extra overhead for the next feature that becomes a must have. I know some people have already dabbled in using a jail or VM as a home automation controller. I personally wouldn't mind setting up a VM that will be able to work with something like iSpyConnect and let it all live on one system which will not even work well on it's own with four cameras on a system with a cpu below 2000 passmark let alone something that is doing other things.

That is why I suggest going with as much as you can afford and be happy later on rather than to be dropping more money down for a new cpu among other things later on.

 

[SweetAndLow]

Ah, OK. We are talking very different requirements here.

My statement was only for the case where you only stream and do some other things. If you have the inclination to transcode, you certainly need more horsepower.

Since I would never transcode, it didn't even occur to me that you advised for this case.

If you plan on running Plex it will transcode at some point I can guarantee it. Whether it's to a cell phone, smart TV or remotely. It's basically unavoidable and that's why you choose Plex, so it does all the magic for you.


Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[diedrichg]

...or Emby

 

[Jailer]

If you plan on running Plex it will transcode at some point

It does every time you add a new file and update the library.