The built-out home server for media hoarders and self-hosters. A 4-bay 2.5GbE NAS populated with 16TB drives (RAID 5), NVMe caching, a 1500VA UPS, external backup drives, and a managed 2.5GbE switch. Run Plex, photos, and a dozen services — your own streaming platform.
Plans
Choose a plan that fits your needs and budget
Item List
6Network
1 items| Item | Category | Specs | Qty | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Networking Equipment | Ports8 Speed2.5GbE ManagedYes | 1 | $120 | View Shop |
NAS
3 items
Power & Backup
2 itemsPlan Totals$2,080
FAQ
Common questions about this kit
RAID 5 or RAID 6?
RAID 5 (one-disk tolerance) for capacity; RAID 6 (two-disk tolerance) for safety with big drives. At 16TB+ drive sizes, rebuild times make RAID 6 the safer call.
SSD caching worth it?
For Plex and many small files (photos, metadata), yes — cache dramatically speeds up browsing and scrubbing. For pure bulk media, skip it.
2.5GbE — necessary?
For 4K streaming and big file transfers over gigabit, yes. A 2.5GbE NAS and switch roughly double throughput for a small premium.
Backup the backup?
Always. RAID is not a backup — it survives a drive failure, not deletion or ransomware. An external drive rotated off-site is the real backup.
User Reviews
4.0 / 5.0
Media server and my battlestation both want 2.5GbE and SSD cache. RAID-is-not-a-backup is the line everyone learns the hard way.