As you describe it it seems you need a pretty beefy x86-64 NAS. I think calibre is the clincher.
But I don't do what you describe. So I have several tiny ARM32 NAS. And run calibre on my laptop.
Calibre is pretty simple.
I've got Calibre-web (keeps me from having to download the Calibre app.. I can just read in any browser).. Doesn't seem to be overly taxing on resources, so I'm not sure how calibre would be difficult for a Pi to manage... especially if you end up transcoding with Plex or Emby.
following boards are NOTseverly bottlenecked by design (USB2 attached storage or crappy SATA implementation):
- NanoPi M4
- NanoPi NEO4
- NanoPC-T4
- Espressobin
- Rock64
- Renegade
- ODROID XU4/HC1/HC2
(I have/had all of them in my lab, tested them and optimized NAS settings on a per 'board family' basis). ARM boards that are not listed there since not enough relevance or currently WiP but also as fast or faster as any Gigabit equipped x86 box:
- Clearfog Base/Pro
- the yet not available ClearFog ITX outperforming even all 10GbE x86 NAS boxes
- Helios4
- MacchiatoBin
- Any RK3399 board mentioned here
- countless others
OK then, I retract my claim. It wasn't fair of me to paint all ARM boards with such a broad brush stroke.
To get this nicely summarized list above was worth having you spazz out at me.
Now that I've recently got my first taste of Docker (I tested out a Zulip Docker container), I'm getting gravitated back to x86, as the most choice in Docker images these days are on x86. Having said that, I still commend all the efforts made in the ARM world, such as Armbian and OMV on Armbian.
@TechnoDadLife said "I prefer x86 because everything I want to do runs on it already.". I strongly agree, and want to further commend your choice in phrasing, which didn't come across as any sort of personal attack.
@KM0201 said "I'm not sure how calibre would be difficult for a Pi to manage".
The main window of Calibre might be decently performant on a Raspberry Pi, but when you actually open an eBook to read it, that built-in eBook reading app that comes with Calibre is dog-slow. Opening larger ebooks (with thousands of pages and many footnotes), or (gasp) scanned or large pdf's with lots of graphics will be a nightmare, and I have tried it. Calibre's ebook reading app is written in python, and seems to be very poorly optimized for performance at this time.
There is a Much faster eBook reader called "fbreader", and Calibre can be configured to open fbreader as the eBook reading app instead, using a Calibre plugin, whose name I forget. But good luck installing fbreader alongside calibre in the same docker container.
On a Raspberry Pi, I say proceed straight to fbreader for ebooks, even though the ability to organize larger libraries is way better in Calibre. Calibre + fbreader might work on a Raspberry Pi if they are not in a Docker container.
Admittedly, I'm not a Calibre expert, and obviously am not a Pi user.. so I'll take your word on that one. I've had no problem at all using the browser read on my phone, laptop, etc.
And FWIW... I don't think any of my books are less than 250 pages (maybe a few here and there).. they all open up fast, etc. So I'm pretty sure the stuff you're describing is primarily an issue w/ the Pi.
Good info.
Calibre is pretty simple.
I've got Calibre-web (keeps me from having to download the Calibre app.. I can just read in any browser).. Doesn't seem to be overly taxing on resources, so I'm not sure how calibre would be difficult for a Pi to manage... especially if you end up transcoding with Plex or Emby.
The difficulty is that a recent version of calibre, AFAIK, is not available for arm. Only(?) for X86. I don't use calibre to read ebooks. I use it to manage my ebook collection. Add books, edit metadata and covers, send to devices. Calibre can also be used as a web app for browsing and reading books. I run calibre on my laptop and I store the books on my HC2s. Works fine.
I think once you take into account that you have to add powered hd to small boards
Ever looked at an ODROID HC1 or HC2? Or at an NanoPi M4 with SATA HAT inside an old PC enclosure from the scrap yard?
Ever looked at an ODROID HC1 or HC2? Or at an NanoPi M4 with SATA HAT inside an old PC enclosure from the scrap yard?
The HC2 looks interesting, but I am trying to cut back on the number of computers that I have. I recently got a good deal on some nucs. My wife says something must go now!
@TechnoDadLife, you said you were going to have your NUC's "backed up to the web". Can you say more about that? How will you do that? Rsync?
I too find the NUC's interesting, but the 1 internal 2.5" SATA bay is kind of limiting for affordably putting some bulk storage in there (say, above 2 or 4 TB). (Dear Intel, how about a few more 2.5" bays in a NUC that's a little taller?)
In a few years, when SSD's get somewhat cheaper, then I could probably get by (for a personal NAS) with just a NUC having an M2 drive for the OS, then a 2.5" SSD for the bulk storage, say with 2 or 3 TB. I make a point of habitually saving few videos, and not being an "archivist" of anything and everything slightly interesting that comes my way.
I have an Intel NUC and considered using it a remote backup, but since it only allows 1, 2.5in internal drive.. didn't really seem like it would meet that need... so I went w/ an HC2 and repurposed the NUC. Don't regret that for a second.. I've only had it just under 2mo, but I really like it. If you've set up OMV before, installing OMV is pretty much brain dead simple. I put an Internal 4tb drive inside the case and just set up a simple rsync job. A little router/port work at my parents house, and I've got a simple offsite backup that cost me about 180 bucks.
I just ordered another one about about 2 weeks ago, and will be ordering another 4tb drive this week. This one is gonna go at my sisters. I'm just gonna sync Movies and TV shows to it, then they can use their Android TV boxes and Kodi to watch the content.
I'm honestly not a huge fan of using ARM's for a NAS (most of them anyway), but I'd recommend the HC2 for a remote backup anytime.
Dear Intel, how about a few more 2.5" bays in a NUC that's a little taller?
Dear NAS Enthusiasts, what about realizing that Intel is only a minor player in this league? If you're interested in silent and somewhat energy efficient x86 boxes better take a look at Zotac, Shuttle, Compulab and the other usual suspects. There are whole sites dedicated to this niche, e.g. http://www.fanlesstech.com
I'd recommend the HC2 for a remote backup anytime
The funny thing is: if it's about 'just NAS' a HC2 running with OMV4 outperforms easily 95% (maybe even 99%) of x86 boxes running OMV as long as the x86 box isn't equipped with better networking than Gigabit Ethernet (NBase-T or 10GbE). Same is true for RK3399 or recent Marvell based ARM designs...
BTW: there's a lot of stuff that works better on ARM anyway, e.g. automatic UAS blacklisting of problematic USB3 disks. Such questions will only occur on x86 
When I eat soup, I use a spoon.
When I eat a pork chop with potatoes, I use a fork and a knife.
ARM SBC has its place in the world of NAS. Only you need to be fully aware of each solution and know your actual needs .... The best is simply not to try to eat soup using a fork.
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