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Are you looking for upgrades to make to your NAS? From networking improvements to remote access, here are five ways that will take your homelab to the next level. Each item on this list will deliver a solid improvement to your NAS.
5Multi-Gig Switch and Network Card for Faster Transfer Speeds
Your NAS likely handles large amounts of data transfers. The problem is, no matter how fast your drives are, those data transfer speeds will be limited by whatever network is backing it.
In short, if you’re on a standard Gigabit network, then your data will move at right around 100MB/s max. This is fine if you’re only moving small bits of data, but if you have dozens or even hundreds of gigabytes to move, that can take ages.
Unifi Flex Mini 2.5G Switch
The Unifi Flex Mini 2.5G Ethernet Switch is a fully-managed network switch delivering multi-gig speeds. It works both standalone or with a Unifi Network Controller, making it a versatile option for your network setup. You get an included USB-C power adapter, though the switch can be powered over PoE+ from the upstream switch.
That’s where multi-gig networking comes in. I recently moved my desktop and NAS from standard Gigabit to 2.5G, and the change has been fantastic. This is 2.5x faster, and allows me to move data at 250MB/s.
Of course, 10G is the endgame goal for my homelab, but the network switches that support those speeds are pretty expensive, so I’m nowhere near ready to make that jump myself.
TP-Link 2.5G PCIe Network Card (TX201)
The TP-Link TX201 is a 2.5Gb/s network card that installs in a PCIe slot on your computer. Designed to deliver multi-gig networking, this add-in NIC is perfect for upgrading your desktop, server, or NAS for faster networking. The slim profile suits even 1U servers, and you’ll get both a normal and low-profile mounting bracket in the box. It supports networking speeds of 2500/1000/100, meaning it’s backward compatible with standard Gigabit and Fast Ethernet connections too.
Getting started with multi-gig networking doesn’t have to be expensive, however. TP-Link’s 2.5G Ethernet card is only about $30, and Unifi’s 2.5G network switch is $49. You don’t even need an Unifi controller to use the 2.5G switch, it’ll work standalone (which is how I used it beforemoving my network to Unifi).
All-in, I paid right around $100 to move three servers plus my desktop to 2.5G networking becauseI shopped some Amazon Warehouse Dealsfor the network adapters. This is a change that’s drastically improved my homelab, and I think it’ll be a great upgrade for you, too.
Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek
Fast networking is only as good as the server you’re transferring to. Takemy Unraid serveras an example. If I wrote directly to the array, I’d only get around 80-100MB/s transfer speeds, even if I had a 10G network connection.
However, my Unraid server has an NVMe drive acting as a cache in front of the array. What this does is allow me to transfer data to the SSD first, and then the server handles migrating the data from the SSD to the array at a later time.
Silicon Power 2TB UD90 NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD
The Silicon Power 2TB UD90 NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD features read speeds of up to 5,000MB/s, with write speeds nearly matching at 4,800MB/s. Running on a PCIe 4.0x4 lane, this M.2 SSD is perfect for your mass storage needs. It has 2TB of space and takes up hardly any room in your system, leaving SATA ports free for mass storage drives on servers, too.
BecauseSSDs offer much faster read and write speeds, this can drastically increase your server’s performance when it comes to data transfers.
Some file systems,like ZFS, benefit from increased performance thanks to striping drives together in an array, making an SSD cache not quite as important there. However, not every file system functions in that way.
Both your NAS and operating system have to support SSD caching to utilize this feature, however. Most modern NAS operating systems support SSD caching, but not all hardware is capable of it, so be sure to check if yours is before purchasing.
I recommend going with an NVMe drive for your cache if possible, as it offers the best read and write speed opportunities, though sticking to PCIe Gen 3 or 4 is plenty fast in most scenarios.
3GPU for Hardware Accelerated Transcoding and AI Workloads
If your NAS is anything like mine, then it likely handles some form of video processing tasks. In my server stack, I do both video streaming through Plex, and object detection with Scrypted for my security cameras.
Both of these tasks (and many others) are greatly improved by adding a graphics card into the mix. The GPU you can use is mostly dependent on your hardware. For instance, I opted for a bus-powered GTX 1650 in my server because I don’t have extra PCIe power available to me. However, if I were purchasing new right now, an RTX 3050 would be my ideal card. It doesn’t draw a ton of power, but it packs a punch on the transcoding side of things.
ASUS Dual NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB OC
The ASUS Dual RTX 3050 6GB OC GPU is a solid entry-level graphics card for any use case. Whether you’re wanting to use it for transcoding media in your Plex server, or enjoy your favorite games at 1080p, it’s a great choice for those on a budget. It has 6GB of VRAM, and doesn’t even require separate power inputs, as it can pull all it needs through the PCIe port bus.
You could be in a different situation if you had different hardware. I know people running RTX 4090s in their servers to handle large AI workloads.
Regardless of what you’re doing, if your server supports adding a graphics card, it’s likely going to come in handy at some point.NVIDIA’s server-style Quadro cardsare great for those who need something low-profile, and they can even bepicked up on eBay relatively affordably.
Be sure to check the card you get to make sure it still has drivers that are supported in the operating system you’re running, though. I picked up an old Quadro card a few months ago, only to find out it’s not supported in the latest Linux drivers (and hasn’t been in some time), making it useless for transcoding for me.
2UPS to Keep the Server From Shutting Down in a Power Outage
Power outages are inevitable. While they typically don’t spell disaster for normal computers, storage servers are a different breed.
If your NAS is in the process of writing data to the array, syncing the RAID, or doing any other type of data transfer when the power goes out, there’s a real possibility that you’ll experience some form of data loss.
This can only be mitigated in one way: a backup battery. Installing a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your NAS will ensure that there’s enough time to either finish a file transfer or stop the transfer and then shut down.
APC BR1500G Backup Battery
The APC BR1500G is an excellent battery backup with AVR and surge protection. It allows for easy cell replacement and the ability to add external backups.
In fact, many NAS servers can be connected to modern UPS batteries so that they can automatically shut down without you even having to lift a finger.The shut-down is triggered when the power goes outand your NAS becomes powered by the battery itself. Some units are able to send a signal to the NAS, triggering a process that stops any active transfers and shuts the system down.
You can also configure it to only shut the system down when the UPS gets to a certain battery percentage. This would allow your NAS to run for a while longer after the power goes out before shutting down.
Another big benefit to having a NAS is for power blips. If the power goes out and comes back on within a matter of a few minutes, there’s a chance your NAS could still be powered on and doesn’t have to go through a reboot cycle.
My main NAShas nearly 70TB of storage, and it has to do a drive check every time it shuts down improperly. Just the other night we lost power and my server shut down improperly, so when it did come back up, it took a few days to finish the drive checks. I have a UPS, but it needs a new battery, and this is my reminder to look into ordering one again.
1JetKVM to Access Your NAS Without a Display
If your NAS has any sort of display output that you’d typically hook up to a screen to monitor or control things, thenJetKVMwould be a great upgrade in your setup.
This tiny device allows you to remotely access your NAS server’s display output without having to plug in a keyboard, mouse, or even a screen. The JetKVM unit has a Mini HDMI port for display, RJ45 Ethernet, and a USB-C port.
JetKVM
JetKVM is a way to remotely access your server or PC. With a Mini HDMI port, Ethernet jack, and USB-C port, you’ll be able to view and control any connected computer remotely. The front display shows the IP address of the remote console, and JetKVM even offers cloud access should you enable that. This is one of the simplest ways to access your server’s console remotely.
You simply plug everything up to the unit, and then the JetKVM console’s display will show you its IP address so you’re able to access your server remotely. In fact,JetKVM even allows for cloud accessif you set that up.
All three of my servers have display outputs, so I can access the console of the server if the network is down. I’ve needed this functionality many times, and have had to lug out my old VGA monitor and USB keyboard, and mouse every time to dive into it. A JetKVM console on each server would save me from having to do that.
There’s also an RJ11 extension port on each JetKVM, which allows you to control ATX power, serial console access, or even AC/DC power depending on what you plug it into.
