March 9, 201511 yr Just seen what looks like a great deal for a LENOVO ThinkServer TS140 Xeon E3-1225 v3 3.2Ghz Quad Core and 4GB RAM Was looking to replace my HP Microserver N40L to serve more user in Plex but then was thinking could I leave my data on the N40L and run plex from the ThinkServer or would that just cause extra network traffic? Im not sure how many drives I can get into the ThinkServer but ideally would like to be able to serve 5 user at once without any issues. Any thoughts or suggestions? BTW UK based
March 9, 201511 yr ... then was thinking could I leave my data on the N40L and run plex from the ThinkServer or would that just cause extra network traffic? I don't see why not. Of course it will cause some extra traffic, but it shouldn't be a problem for gigabit network. Even with 5 users simultaneously, traffic from storage (N40L) to transcoder (ThinkServer) shouldn't be more than about 50% of network capacity for typical high-definition content. Traffic from transcoder to users will be less than that. Unless you will be transcoding some 4k/8k high-bitrate video. I would, however, first of all test if the storage (N40L) is actually capable of serving 5 data streams without hiccups. Although it might be highly dependent on particular data layout. E.g., if all 5 source files are on the same physical drive, I would expect hiccups to be unavoidable.
March 9, 201511 yr ... the ThinkServer but ideally would like to be able to serve 5 user at once without any issues. (after some googling) Hmmm... Intel Xeon E3-1225 @ 3.10GHz passmarks=5986 If memory serves me correctly, rule of the thumb for Plex transcoding is about 2000 passmarks per stream. The CPU seems to be underpowered for your task. Not to mention that 4 GB of RAM looks weak, too, but that's easily upgradeable.
March 10, 201511 yr You can get 5x 3.5" drives in a TS140. There's two bays with caddys, one floppy/HDD bay and a 3.5" bay in a frame in each of the 5.25" bays. If you're using 5 HDDs, the DVD won't work as there's only 5 SATA ports on the board. The Xeon E3 is more than powerful enough for what you need IMHO. I bought a TS140 when they were ultra-cheap and eventually gutted it for parts, but I did run Plex on it and it performed really well. You will need to put an addition DIMM in to get dual channel memory working, which improves performance. I used Kingston ECC RAM and it worked a treat.
March 10, 201511 yr Author Thanks for the replies guy I have not actually tested how many multiple streams I can get with N40L but did realise theres a bug with external subtitles which causes the stream to constantly buffer or stop all together. @HellDiverUK what is good price for the TS140 as I can get one from ebuyer for £219.99 after cashback I would definitely be looking at upgrading the ram but then need to decide to I go with unRaid on both machines or just move everything to the TS140
March 10, 201511 yr That's a good price with the Xeon => the TS140 is sold with a LOT of CPU choices, but the Xeon you're looking at is the best choice. I'd think that will do what you've outlined very well.
March 10, 201511 yr Author This is the machine http://www.ebuyer.com/623350-lenovo-thinkserver-ts140-4gb-xeon-e3-1225-v3-3-2ghz-tower-server-70a5000kuk https://lenovo-offers.com/uk/en/pages/business/qualifying If anyone wants the link. Hopefully cashback wont take too long
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