Hello, I want to get into the world of creating a homelab, but I’m getting confused by all the information online. I want to use a raspberry pi 5 because of the ease of set up (at least to my limited understanding).
My use case/desires would be:
- Low energy consumption (I live in California where the rates are high)
- Securely and quickly read and write files to Nextcloud
- Stream, music and videos remotely without lag
- ease of set up and maintenance
- low cost
- periodically back up to another hard drive in case the main one fails
Does anybody have suggestions on hardware I should attach to my raspberry pie for this NAS?
I was thinking of just attaching an external SSD drive from Costco and installing the OS on this, as well as Twingate and Nextcloud, and some kind of streaming service like Plex.
Sorry for such the noob question…
I don’t think it’s realistic to find something low energy, easy to setup and cheap. I wouldn’t go with a Pi 5 as I don’t think it will do everything you are hoping for. I would look at a used SFF desktop and chuck in more memory and a few SSDs. That wouldn’t cost a lot and has a lot of potential.
start by reading the forum.
I started out with a RPI, but the hardware needs of my use cases quickly outgrew what the rpi4 8gb could provide for processing power, video decoding, system memory and connectivity. It was still a great way of discovering which services I wanted to host as well as what hardware I’d need for them, for a relatively low cost. I’d say go for it, but keep in mind that it may not be enough in the long run
Sounds to me like you’re asking for a michelin rated meal at McDonalds.
That’s good to know! I’m slowly learning about the home lab space so any feedback and expectation leveling is greatly appreciated!