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Home Lab Infrastructure: NAS vs Compute ​

project: hinata-infrastructuretype: home-serververdict: separate storage from compute

Architectural Principle ​

The consensus among home lab practitioners is that separating storage from compute is the superior architectural pattern. Specialized NAS devices (e.g., Synology) are often constrained by low-power, non-upgradeable processors, making them inefficient "compute heads" for intensive tasks like 4K transcoding, virtualization, or AI indexing.

NAS (Storage) ​

Responsible for data persistence, RAID management, and file-level sharing (SMB/NFS/iSCSI).

Compute (NUC/Mini-PC) ​

Responsible for Docker containers, virtualization (Proxmox/Docker), transcoding (Jellyfin/Plex), and AI/photo indexing (Immich).

Using a Mini-PC as a dedicated compute head allows for:

  • Hardware-Accelerated Transcoding: Intel iGPUs (QuickSync/VAAPI) are industry-standard for media transcoding, outperforming most ARM/budget-NAS CPUs.

  • Resource Elasticity: Easier to upgrade compute power (RAM/CPU) without rebuilding your storage array.

  • Performance Isolation: System maintenance on the compute node does not inherently risk data integrity on the NAS storage.

Tactical Recommendations ​

  1. Compute-First Expansion: Prioritize upgrading compute capability (NUC7/HP G6) before expanding storage enclosures.

  2. Standardize on QuickSync: For any new media compute node, Intel's iGPU (via QuickSync/VAAPI) is the mandatory requirement for Jellyfin transcoding efficiency.

  3. Proxmox/Docker Separation: Adopt a Proxmox hypervisor on the compute node to keep services (Media, DNS, VPN, AI) isolated and easily disposable.

  4. Resilient Storage Mounts: Ensure compute nodes mount storage via stable protocols (NFS/iSCSI) that gracefully handle network disconnects or NAS reboots.

Backlog (Jimmy Neutron Brain Ops) ​

* NUC7/HP G6 Compute Head Audit: verify iGPU compatibility for Jellyfin transcoding

* Storage Mount Specification: define the protocol (NFS/iSCSI) for compute node-to-NAS data access

* BIOS Management: configure "Power on after power failure" and Wake-on-LAN for headless operation

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