[Series] ~Chronicles of a Showa PC Nerd~ Part 19: "Welcome to the NAS Swamp" ~The 4-Unit Setup and the Paradise of Plex~

Before I knew it, I had four NAS units lined up in my home.

I had been interested in NAS for a while.
Before the days of NAS, I used to install multiple HDDs into the HDD bays of my main PC and build a storage pool to save my data.

However, this had a fatal problem.
Unless I kept my main PC running 24 hours a day, I couldn't access my data whenever I wanted.

That wasn't realistic.

That's why I became drawn to NAS as a "dedicated machine that can run 24/7."

I wanted to organize the ever-increasing data, manage it centrally, and be able to retrieve it at any time.

——At first, that was all it was.

My first encounter with a NAS was at the familiar Hard Off.

It was a BUFFALO LinkStation LS220DB sold as junk.
Since it didn't come with an HDD, I prepared one separately.

Normally, reliability is everything for a NAS.
I knew in my head that I shouldn't mess with junk.

Even so, my nerd blood won out.

But this model didn't work so easily.

Because the firmware is written to the HDD,
it won't boot just by inserting an HDD.

Moreover——
there is no official way to write firmware to an empty HDD.

In other words,

relying on the wisdom of those who came before me,
I had no choice but to use trial and error, combining unofficial tools with official update tools.

This was incredibly difficult. I cursed at BUFFALO, wondering why they designed it this way.

But at the same time——it was incredibly fun.

The sense of accomplishment at the moment it booted up after all that trial and error.
I still can't forget it.

And this unit is still running today.

The second unit was actually the one being sold right next to it.

Emboldened by the fact that the first unit worked,
I bought another one later—a LinkStation LS-WX2.0TL.

This one also plagued me with firmware issues,
and even the second time around, it was far from straightforward.

However, in the end, it worked without any problems.

The third unit.

While browsing Hard-Off as usual,
there it was again—a LinkStation LS-WV2.0TL.

At this point, there was no reason left.

It was purely a "collecting habit."

And the fourth unit.

A TeraStation TS-XE2.0TL I found at a different Hard-Off.
It was a model already equipped with four HDDs.

By this time, any resistance to junk NAS units had completely vanished.

I bought it without hesitation.

And this time, unusually,
it worked just by turning it on and initializing it.

—It was anticlimactically easy.

My current configuration is as follows.

Unit 1: Dedicated to PC-related data
(Drivers, OS, apps, etc. - a "PC warehouse")

Unit 2: Creative and publishing data
(Assets like NOTE, blogs, affiliate materials, etc.)

Unit 3: Dedicated to entertainment
(A "media warehouse" for videos, music, and photos)

Unit 4: Spare machine
(For backups and experiments)

At this point, it's no longer just storage.

It's a small data center, separated by role.

And what brought a definitive change to this configuration was—Plex.

However, here is the key point.

I don't run the Plex server on the NAS.

I use an
HP Elite x2 1012 G1 running Zorin OS.

I operate this machine as a dedicated server.

This configuration is, simply put, fascinating.

The NAS is dedicated to "storage." The Plex server is dedicated to "streaming."

In other words—

a complete separation of storage and processing.

When I launch Plex,
the videos and music stored on the third NAS are automatically organized.

If I add new files,
Plex scans and imports them, lining them up with posters.

The screen looks just like a streaming service.

"This is... my own personal Netflix."

The moment I felt that,
this was no longer just a viewing environment.

What gets you even more hooked is the "optimization."

At the beginning,
I was plagued by stuttering and loading delays.

The cause was clear.

Transcoding equals CPU load.

That is where the endless tuning begins.

・Can I make it lighter?
・Can I improve it with settings?
・Is this configuration optimal?

Before I knew it, improving the environment itself had become the goal.

Furthermore, apart from Plex, I had also introduced nasne a while ago.

It is a two-unit system consisting of a Sony model and a Buffalo model.

nasne is an excellent device that allows for TV recording
and viewing from outside the home.

Upon learning that the Sony version's support was ending,
I hurriedly added the Buffalo version.

And then I realized.

This is no longer

an "environment for watching videos."

It is "the hobby of building systems" itself.

Four NAS units have their own roles,
and the Plex server traverses them all.

Data is called up over the network,
processed, optimized, and played back.

This sequence of events is irresistibly fun.

In the past, I crammed everything into a single PC.

But now, it is different.

Separate and connect.

This way of thinking was completely "server-oriented."

If I think about it calmly, it is probably overkill.

Over-spec.
Electricity costs.
Management costs.

There are countless disadvantages.

Even so, that is no reason to stop.

Because—

It's fun.

The joy of thinking through the configuration.
The pleasure of optimizing.
The satisfaction of completing an environment that is uniquely yours.

This is no longer about practicality.

It is purely a "hobby" and "play."

And so, starting with the NAS that began with data management,

I stepped into a new swamp called "home servers."

And at the center of it all are Plex and nasne.

PCs, smartphones, TVs, tablets—
An environment accessible from any device,

decentralized, yet unified.

It was truly—

my own personal paradise.

🔔 Part 20 Preview

Next time, Part 20. Finally, the last episode.

The theme is—AI.

Up until now, I have built PCs, collected data, and constructed servers.
Everything was for the "joy of controlling things myself."

But one day, I encountered something that shook those values to their core.

It was AI.

Knowledge, writing, and even ideas.
By facing "intelligence that exists externally,"
my relationship with computers began to change significantly.

In my 60s.

For most, this might be an age of "completion."

But—

I am still in the middle of evolving.

Final Episode "Meeting AI"
About the origin of everything, and the future.

\Read these too!/
▶ Series "Can You Earn 50,000 Yen a Month with ChatGPT? Verification!":
https://note.com/calm_oriole2149/n/n62a8b273e43c
▶ Secret "5 ChatGPT Tricks! The Ultimate Techniques You'll Regret Not Knowing":
https://note.com/calm_oriole2149/n/n9c50b1ca82d9
▶ Confidential "The Secrets of ChatGPT - The 10 Faces AI Hides":
https://note.com/calm_oriole2149/n/n9c98735e64b4
▶ Mystery "10 ChatGPT Urban Legends: The Hidden Side of the AI Wrapped in Mystery":
https://note.com/calm_oriole2149/n/ne3faa7866efc
▶ Blog "ChatGPT Utilization Techniques: 30 Steps for Life, Work, and Side Hustles":
https://redtail55.hatenablog.com/