My Central Hub
The heart of my digital collection is my data storage/home server.
I'm currently using a Synology DS 1821+ NAS and a DX-517 Expansion Cabinet.
The 12 hard drives are distributed across three sizes: 12 TB, 18 TB, and 22 TB. Four of these drives form three volumes in a RAID 5 configuration with one drive for redundancy.
This results in approximately 138 TB of storage space.
The NAS also has 32 GB of RAM and two 1 TB SSDs as read/write caches.
The NAS is powered by a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) which keeps it running for up to an hour during power outages. If power isn't restored within 20 minutes, the NAS shuts down cleanly. This minimizes data loss.
I store music, movies, photos, backups, databases, and media services. Additionally, a data synchronization process is running for the personal data stored on the PCs. This ensures a certain level of reliability.
The rack also houses the router, a switch, and an AdGuard server.
The switch serves two other switches via fiber optic at 10 Gbps. End devices are then connected via copper at up to 10 Gbps as needed. The switches are from Netgear and Zyxel.
My "workstation" runs 24/7 and consists of an Intel i7-13700K, 64 GB of DDR5 RAM, and three SSDs.
Since I don't play games, I deliberately opted against an expensive graphics card. However, the power supply and space for one are available and designed for it.
The connection to the central storage is via a dedicated internal 10 Gbps line. Unfortunately, there is no fiber optic connection available externally yet.
The entire setup is optimized for performance, as I'm no longer very patient with IT matters (understandable, as a former IT nerd).
