I want to set up a server with an ARM-based SBC like the upcoming Odroid N2. Among other things I'd like to have it function as a media server, particularly for large HD video files. Currently, my videos only take up 2 TB, but I'd like to have a good amount of room to expand.


What would be the most cost-effective way to go about this? External hard drives? A multi-bay enclosure? A case like this (https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/clou...4-smokyblue/)? Or would it be alright (in terms of cooling) to go with a multi-bay dock? If a multi-bay enclosure would be best, which one? I don't really want to go spending more than $100-$120 on the enclosure, and I've been having a hard time finding a good one in that price range.

To my mind, likely cheapest way would be external disks on a powered USB hub.

Okay, cool. My next concern is reliability. I've seen some reviews of some Western Digital Elements external hard drives not lasting too long, though I realize it's possible that a very small number of these drives failed and most of the folks who wrote reviews are ones who received the faulty units.



For a NAS, would an external drive be particularly reliable, considering that they seem to usually contain drives that are more intended for traditional desktop use (i.e. WD Blue) as opposed to possibly being frequently accessed in a NAS (i.e. frequently spinning up & down)? Or would you say that for a small number of users (i.e. 1-4), it doesn't really matter?

I'd probably run 3 4tb WD Reds in RAID 5 through USB 3 enclosure