NAS + ​Pine64 ROCK64 = Few Important Questions

[g_t_j]

Very interesting write-up and oddly enough I'm in the same position as you, considering setting up a NAS based on Rockpro64 and the related NAS kit.

I, like you, want to run a few plugins such as Plex, Owncloud, Transmission, Domoticz, Uniquiti controller etc and have been wondering if the horsepower of this board would be adequate.

However, I'm leaning towards the 4GB version as the 20$ difference is not a big deal inreturn of future-proofing the build but I would like to ask you, why were you thinking of buying the XU4?
I have the XU4 and been thinking about the Rockpro64 as an upgrade as I had a lot of under-powering issues running 2x 2.5 USB 3.0 SATA drives.

I was thinking about it, because for a few dollars more, I would get an extra USB 3.0  At this price it is very difficult to find SBC with at least one. I was also thinking that I could somehow avoid the under-powering issues you've mentioned and I will not have to use USB 3.0 HUB somehow. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Furthermore, for a few days, I'm constantly thinking about RockPro64, because something tells me that Rock64 will have exactly the same issues. Besides, I've spent some time looking through OMV forum and literally no one recommends connecting several hard drives with Rock64 through HUB. Mainly, due to the huge number of problems. Not only with lack of power, but also with a lack of desired performance.

I would like to buy RockPro64 with 4GB RAM, but for the last week the investment in the NAS has become much more expensive than I expected it could be. RockPro64 with 4 GB RAM is pretty costly, especially when I look back and see that I planned to buy Rock64 with 2 GB RAM a few days ago. Not to mention cost of the fan and the ROCKPro64 PCI-E To Dual SATA-II Interface Card. I will probably have to believe deeply that RAM does not count as much as the overall stability of the whole platform. 

When do you plan on buying your SBC?

With regards to Odroid XU4, it is a very good SBC. However it's seriously dated these days, runs hot and noisy (if you have the fan version of the board) plus the filesystems of OMV over USB is not an advisable practice, even hooked to a powered hub. 

Not only I have had under-powering problems with certain USB 3.0 drives but the new OMV 4.0 won't allow you to set any RAID instances at all. I had to learn that the hard way! The older OMV version didn't have this limitation but the newer one as a measure of precaution and apparently with the main argument being reliability,leaves you no choice but to use rsync to backup your files to a second USB drive.

My main concern with these boards is if they can handle multiple OMV plugins and services. If someone could answer that from experience, that would make me buy all  accessories and proceed to building the NAS. And yes unfortunately if you buy all the necessary parts you nearly reach the 200$ mark and that of course with the drives excluded... but from where I sit, better safe than sorry - better buy something futureproof than regretting it a while later. If the NAS is gong to work well and reliably it's still a viable option compared to other off the shelf solutions. 

I saw someone recommending Qnap 251 which is supposed to be a customizable device that can run OMV. However, if you go buying that bare-bones, it's still substantially more pricey than the RockPro64+NAS kit.

All in all, if I can get some definite answers on how this NAS performs with the plugins I need and a couple of 2.5 SATA HDDs and also how fast and reliable in day-today use, I'd buy it instantly.