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Thread: Media Sharing NAS

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    76

    Default Media Sharing NAS

    So currently I use the main Office PC as a media share running Mezzmo..... but want to move to a purpose build NAS.

    I have a few old desktops that were running XP and think of using one of thos as a NAS..... but obviosly don't want to use XP. Was thinking about using NAS4Free - but don't believe you can you run the Mezzmo server on that?

    I just want the NAS to stream only not transcode......but want it to stand alone and not rely on a PC running Mezzmo for devices to stream from

    Anyone built their own cheap NAS and using Mezzmo server on it? If yes what did you do?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    421

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Britinva View Post
    So currently I use the main Office PC as a media share running Mezzmo..... but want to move to a purpose build NAS.

    I have a few old desktops that were running XP and think of using one of thos as a NAS..... but obviosly don't want to use XP. Was thinking about using NAS4Free - but don't believe you can you run the Mezzmo server on that?

    I just want the NAS to stream only not transcode......but want it to stand alone and not rely on a PC running Mezzmo for devices to stream from

    Anyone built their own cheap NAS and using Mezzmo server on it? If yes what did you do?
    Mezzmo runs on the Windows platform. You can always store your media on a NAS using NAS4Free, FreeNAS, unRAID, etc. but you would still need to run Mezzmo in a Windows Box that points back to the storage device using Network Shares instead of Local Folders & Files. As a result, if you want 24/7 accessibility, you'd have to have 2 devices on all of the time. So, you'll probably want to set up a do it all box based on Windows.

    I really wouldn't stress too much about using WinXP if that's the only thing you were using it for and there wasn't anything too sensitive on there. Technically, you should be running the NAS via shares from a different workstation so Virus issues shouldn't really come up either.

    As an alternative, if you can get a copy of Windows Home Server 2011 (WHS 2011) it is/was only $50 retail. It's based on Win7 so it's more secure than WinXP and really has lower system requirements than regular Windows. You can just run multiple drives or implement RAID or Drive Pooling with some software based RAID over File System Solutions.

    I run FlexRAID for RAID 5/Drive pooling but it costs about $60. Works really well with Mezzmo. Done it this way for about 18 months now.

    If you want the lower cost alternative you can run SnapRAID (RAID) and/or Stablebit DrivePool (for Pooling different HDDs ~$20) and get the same functionality.

    You'll just want to make sure you have enough CPU horsepower for transcoding on the fly but you should be able to get by with 4GB of Memory and a 40GB HDD is plenty of space for the OS as long as you run the temp file through the storage array.

    Love to help you if you think this is the way you'd like to go.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    76

    Default

    Thanks for info, going to look into this more when get back from vacation..... had thought about using XP, as you say its just hosting files and basic FW/AV should secure.

    Where do you get WHS 2011 for $50?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    421

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    Quote Originally Posted by Britinva View Post
    Thanks for info, going to look into this more when get back from vacation..... had thought about using XP, as you say its just hosting files and basic FW/AV should secure.

    Where do you get WHS 2011 for $50?
    Where the XP box won't be used to connect to the internet and is supposedly sitting behind the firewall of your home router, security exploits should really be a non-issue. As long as you are acquiring your media on a separate workstation and passing the files on to the Server via Shared Network Folder(s) then it's not something you should lose sleep over. Just make sure it's 32-bit XP. The 64-bit version seems to really struggle with some of the RAID & Pooling software out there. You will need to RDP in to the server on occasion to administer or use Mezzmo but, once again, unless you are doing a lot of downloading, installing, e-mail, etc. directly on the box then you'll be safe.

    As far as WHS 2011, I just looked into it and it looks like it has been dropped through the major vendors. I don't know if it's something you can find on eBay or if it will take some searching to find it. Great OS for this and worth it if you can find it. It's a little different than the normal Windows and is made to run headless. You install a Dashboard Tool to your administering workstation that takes care of basic server administration. You'll still have to RDP in from time to time but in general it's just a Windows OS that turns your box into a storage appliance.... which is exactly what you would want in this case.

    Really, though, any Windows version that supports Remote Desktop will be fine.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    16

    Default

    I found the Windows platform + MEZZMO to be the best for my server and also stablebit drivepool + stablebit scanner are Great, you can pool all your drives set duplication for file protection and the great thing is if a drive starts failing scanner will move files to a different drive, you can also remove the drive from the server and plug the drive to a different PC and still access the files on the disk as drives format remains in NTFS. IF you do not find WHS try windows 8 pro

  6. #6
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    Dec 2010
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    Given that software seems to be $80-$100 I might be better to get something like this

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=M977-13102

    Then add the storage drives and extra memory.

    Thoughts?

  7. #7
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    Mar 2011
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    421

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    Quote Originally Posted by Britinva View Post
    Given that software seems to be $80-$100 I might be better to get something like this

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=M977-13102

    Then add the storage drives and extra memory.

    Thoughts?
    At first I was like "No, No, No, No"

    But the longer I look at it the more I am OK with it.

    The CPU is slow but should let you transcode at least one stream on the fly in real-time. It's also only 65W which will be pretty decent for 24/7 use. Probably runs pretty quietly since it is meant for office desktop use. Win 7 Pro is a plus. The motherboard only has 4 SATA connectors but you could add an SATA card for $20 if you needed. The number of HDD bays is pretty good for that size of case, too. It has the right PCIe slots and the even though I question the overall quality of that PSU, it is still 365 watts and that is plenty + headroom for this use.

    Somewhere in the back of my head, I would file away the idea that I may want to upgrade the Case and PSU before too long but otherwise probably a good option since it comes with Win 7 Pro.

    http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01549447.pdf

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    76

    Default

    Thanks, currently I just have a 1.5TB harddrive in my study PC that holds my streaming material (mainly music & TV downloads plus some films).... its not backed up so concerning. I have a PC thats just used for backups thats 500GB..... it also is not backed up further and running low.

    Currently the 1.5TB had 460MB left and that will likely do me for a while as I don't hoard TV series - once watched mostly deleted.

    So my plan is to have 2x1.5TB for Media (1 backing up other) and a 1TB for PC backups (not sure if needs backing up as its already a backup).

    I always change media to something I know is supported so transcoding on fly not required.

    I'll look to see whats available when get back from vacation.

    Appreciate the responses.

    Cheers,
    Mark

  9. #9
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    Here's what happens if you get carried away like me.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    11,642

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    Impressive

    Mezzmo Android: Install it on your tablet, smartphone, Android TV or Amazon Fire to browse and stream files from your Mezzmo library to all your devices. Full details at http://www.conceiva.com/products/mez...mo_android.asp
    Mezzmo for Kodi Add-on: Install it into Kodi to stream files from your Mezzmo library directly in Kodi. Full details at http://www.mezzmo.com/wiki/doku.php?...odi_user_guide
    Mezzmo for Roku App: Install it onto your Roku to stream files from your Mezzmo library. Full details at http://www.mezzmo.com/wiki/doku.php?...oku_user_guide
    Wiki: User Guides & Reference Manual at http://www.mezzmo.com/wiki
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    Web: http://www.mezzmo.com

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