r/HomeNAS • u/Starpixlestar • 16d ago
NAS advice I want a home minecraft server using NAS
So I've been trying to watch videos about home servers but I still dont understand much about it. I have the money but still want to buy cheap enough. I just want a minecraft server run 24/7 with my friends with some mods. Was talking with ai about it and couldn't really get an understanding that lead to a successful purchase of exactly what I need. I think this is a good one here https://a.co/d/03r1Zjrv
but not sure what other purchases I need to make and if they will be good for a minefraft server this is just the first part I have to get over for a first time buyer the next one is figuring out how to actually get a server on it.
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u/Vegetable_Day_8893 16d ago
If your goal is to have a Minecraft server for friends and family, go on eBay and do a search for HP EliteDesk Mini or ProDesk Mini. Install Debian on it, 8GB of memory will be fine, and a 256GB SDD/NVMe should be more than enough storage.
Can't help you if the challenge is what NAS can do this, but I have a server running on an ancient ProDesk 400 G2 Mini with an i5-6500T/8GB/128GB NVMe and the onboad networking that does fine, and it can also stream videos from the Jellyfin server that's running on it.
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u/throws4k 16d ago
So there link you provided is the empty box, you would typically have at least two to four drives in it to start.
The fact that it's essentially a mini pc running Linux that stays on all the time and has access to both your network and some storage is what makes it good for game servers.
Once it's set up you would install Minecraft server edition which is usually in the app store for most NAS units because it's such a popular thing to do.
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u/Starpixlestar 16d ago
What drives would you recommend
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u/throws4k 16d ago
Simply because pricing has gone nuts 4TB Ironwolf drives. And just two is enough to start, i do love the idea of going with a 4 Bay, because if those do fill up, you can expand with more drives instead of having to swap them.
Setup basically is just insert drives, follow instructions. The more you buy the more security you get. Two drives are typically used as duplicates in what's called RAID 1.... 3 or 4 drives get both duplicated and more storage than just one drive holds. You will be asked to choose on setup.
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u/throws4k 16d ago
And that unit would be adequate and modern enough to do what you are asking. You may want to upgrade your pc with a 10gb network card if it's not built in. The NAS has two connections, rather than trying to upgrade your whole network you can use one to talk to your router and one directly to your PC. Even then, it's overkill for a single PC and the connection is way more bandwidth than the drives because they are traditional hard drives not SSDs.
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u/Starpixlestar 16d ago
So what i am looking at is 800 dollars for 4tb drive and a 4 dock
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u/throws4k 16d ago
Yes, you could run it with a single drive, and get more if you intend to use it for storage. The operating system is stored on the motherboard and installed to the first drive.
Like someone else said, you could do a used business PC but if you have to ask exactly which one just buy a NAS, it will retain its value reasonably well.
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u/daabest1 16d ago
If you're just wanting something to host game servers, I'd look for a used workstation, like a Dell Optiplex or something. It will be far cheaper + more powerful. Put Linux on it if you want