I’m thinking about buying a mini PC to run HA and Jelyfin and a NAS to store/backup files and host the media for Jellyfin. I’m still looking at options but thinking of something like a GMKTec G3 Plus with an N150, 16GB RAM and 256Gb SSD and maybe a 4 bay UGreen or Synology NAS. Just looking for some advice on picking the right hardware and installation method etc. please.
Things I would like to use with HA to start:
Alexa
Ring
Google Assistant
Philips Hue
Hive
ESPHome
Zigbee USB stick
Jellyfin would need:
Hardware transcoding
Access to media stored on the NAS (probably using SMB as I’ll be accessing the NAS with Windows)
Thought it may help to give you an idea of my IT knowledge:
Experienced Windows technician
Experience with servers and VMs (mainly Hyper-V)
Scripting and programming (E.g. PowerShell, C#, Arduino etc.)
However, I have:
Little to no experience with Linux
No experience with HA
No experience with Docker or Proxmox etc.
I initially thought about Ubuntu with CasaOS and use that to install HA and Jellyfin but saw that HA add-ons are not supported for container installations as I believe the add-ons are also docker containers. I’ve seen some people say you can install add-ons manually and others say you can’t, or maybe it’s just that only some add-ons can, I’m not sure. So then I considered proxmox with a VM for HA and another for Jellyfin, but from what I’ve seen there seems to be conflicting opinions on which method to use so I’m a bit lost. I’m also wondering if the mini PC is capable of everything I want.
Addons is the softwares docker container with a simplified setup UI.
GOOD
Easy setup and manage from HA
BAD
Some things are not available as addon from HA. You can use HACS for those but they will not be
From original dev and provided by third party and now you must trust software provided by unknown dev in some case.
The setup may not fit your desired use and limit your install options.
HAOS is an option
CasaOS never heard of it. Looks like app management layer on top of Linux. These are ultimately a pain. I think if you’re gonna go this route HAOS will be better.
This is all preference.
I use docker on Ubuntu. Just my preference.
Proxmox looks OK but I prefer container of VM.
Many HA user use Proxmox and they like it.
I think this depends on hardware
VM takes dedicated memory. On resource constrained system (under 32GB memory or low power CPU) I would not use VM. I would use container or HAOS.
I will not pay above $225USD for host machine.
I started with a synology 1u rack server and learned immediately it wasn’t enough when plex and motioneye constantly hiccupped and slowly loaded. I bought a used 4bay 1u supermicro off eBay (dual Xeon chips 2012 model) for $125USD and life’s been amazing since. I replaced that (for fun) with other used units but all ran amazing without issue. I hadn’t considered need for a GPU until LLMs came around.
I mounted the 1u vertically in a closet and just ran an Ethernet to it.
My point is. You’ll need a Decent GPU before you need a better PC. I would start with low cost hardware and reevaluate after a year when you understand your resources needs. Start with old laptop or PC.
Thanks for the reply. The NAS was initially for file storage/backup purposes, but then started thinking why not look into HA and Jellyfin knowing there were apps available for them on Synology at least. I read that the hardware wasn’t really up to the task on those so thought about a mini PC as the server and the NAS as the storage.
I’m looking for something small with low power requirements which can be tucked away in a cupboard or TV unit and run 24/7. That’s why I thought about a mini PC instead of a standard SFF. I was under the impression that the N100 and N150 could handle the transcoding as they have an iGPU (the N100 is one of the recommendations on the Jellyfin hardware selection page if you don’t plan on having a dedicated GPU). I hadn’t really considered AI tbh. Don’t think I have a need for that atm Just had a quick look at a refurbished Lenovo M710q which may work out cheaper once I add RAM but it’s a 6th gen i5 and Jellyfin recommend gen 11+ because the toolkit has been deprecated for anything older. It would also be using integrated graphics though. Don’t think I’ll find anything with a GPU without going up to a SFF PC. Did your old Synology maybe just not support transcoding? I know their hardware spec is typically quite low.
With the add-ons, are you saying HACS is an option when deploying HA in a container? Or is that for HAOS if an add-on isn’t available? I’m still a but confused about if/how I can install add-ons if I deploy it in docker.
EDIT: I would never have more than 2 local streams running at once. I don’t plan to set up remote streaming.
You may use HACS with container install
Maybe the HA addon exists in HACS in some form but expect that it will not exist and you will need to install separately in a container
You would normally install it as a separate docker container. Using Jellyfin as an example. Jellyfin is a seperate software from HA. Normally you install software directly onto host PC but docker exists. Docker allows you to install software without concern for underlying OS and requirements. like VM but many differences.
If you install HA in container, you would normally install Jellyfin in a seperate container. containers are like running software on seperate PCs. Jellyfin has an integration for HA. Integrations allow HA to connect to service and pull/send data or control functions. The integration would allow HA to talk with and control Jellyfin
If you installed HAOS, you would install the Jellyfin addon. The addon basically installs Jellyfin docker container but also provides UI for setup and configure Jellyfin. You still need the Jellyfin integration for HA to talk with and control Jellyfin.
Addon = service/software install
Integration = connect to service/software
My concern with synology is past security incidents and large install base(target). I don’t like closed source third party apps or software that rely on 3rd party cloud infrastructure. It’s easy to use so there is that. Beyond that the hardware is pretty low powered when compared to what you can build or buy without OS. If synology had good hardware it would be OK but there are better options. Any random PC + Nextcloud is better. Mini PCs are great bang for buck.
My cpu is from 2012 and runs without issue. Mostly because compute power can overcome everything. I use passmark score to judge transcode/video process power. My CPUs combine For score above 26000.
N100 would be 5000,
2017 i7 is about 6000.
Transcode of 4k may cause n100 trouble but transcode is almost never required if you rip BD/DVD in correct formats and not playing on mobile or forcing reduced resolution.
I would concern myself with that at low cost hardware since you can upgrade. Above $300 and I would start getting picky
Thanks for the info both. I’ve been looking at some videos on YouTube etc. and I’ve seen a few which recommend setting up proxmox with HAOS running in a VM and then using LXCs for Docker and Jellyfin. They’re doing this on mini PC’s too, so I’m hoping it runs ok. I like the backup feature of proxmox too so thinking about giving that a go but if it doesn’t work well with the limited resources I could switch to the HA container.
Another question I have though is about bluetooth. The mini PC has BT5.2. Can I pass this through to the VM to connect BT sensors or would I need to use an ESP32 proxy or similar please?
A few people have posted recently that Bluetooth passthrough on some N100 NUC’s has stopped working. This is possibly due to them sharing a PCI WiFi / USB bluetooth chip. Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be resolved yet - although this is using Proxmox v8 so not sure if v9 fixes it.
Just had a quick look at a refurbished Lenovo M710q which may work out cheaper once I add RAM but it’s a 6th gen i5 and Jellyfin recommend gen 11+ because the toolkit has been deprecated for anything older. It would also be using integrated graphics though. Don’t think I’ll find anything with a GPU without going up to a SFF PC. Did your old Synology maybe just not support transcoding? I know their hardware spec is typically quite low.