ESXi home lab iSCSI targets for storage – NAS

I run an ESXi home lab and I am looking at moving my storage to a NAS. I am torn between the DS418 and the DS918+. I have looked at some QNap, but haven’t put much research into them.

My main focus is on iSCSI targets for storage. I run Plex and MCE on my ESX server for home use. My worry with the DS418 is not being able to give the IO and speed needed to run my ESXi virtual servers. But having a virtual server I don’t need the DS918+ to run them. Though I do like the idea of the cache drives.

Whether its Synology or QNap what would you recommend? And Red or Iron Wolf?

The DS418 will not be an option for you. It has a relatively weak CPU which is not meant to be used for virtualization. The correct 4 bay alternative is DS918+ or TS-453Be from Qnap. I would pick TS-453Be because of its ability to be upgraded to 10GbE later as well as SSD cache. The good news is – you don’t need a virtual machine to run a Plex. Qnap will let you install a Plex server as an app. This will save huge amounts of your CPU resources. Qnap will also offer dockers apps which is kind of virtual machine mini version which also save the resources.

With a 4 bay NAS, you can start with only 2 or 3 drives and add more as needed. There will be many cards available for upgrading the NAS as well as endless possibilities to turn your NAS into a different type of servers.

About the drive- I would choose WD Red Pro or Ironwolf Pro.

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