Synology to TrueNAS
From a Synology DS124 to a custom TrueNAS SCALE build
Project Overview
I moved off a Synology DS124 (1GB of RAM, one 4TB drive) onto a custom i5-12500 build with 32GB of DDR5 and two 8TB drives in a ZFS mirror. Plex transcodes on the CPU now, and Quick Sync is passed through to Frigate. Remote access goes through Tailscale, and there's room to add drives.
Migration Complete
Status: Finished November 2025. I checked the data after the copy, and every service came back up.
- Data Transferred: ~2.2TB with rsync, wrapped in a retry loop
- Downtime: Minimal. I moved services over one at a time
- Downloads Preserved: The download client's state came over intact, so nothing was downloaded twice
- Hardlinks: Switching to hardlinks after the move cleared out the duplicate copies of downloaded media
- Result: Double the storage with redundancy, enough CPU for the current Plex load, Quick Sync for Frigate, and room in the case to grow past 48TB
Hardware Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i5-12500
iGPU
Intel UHD Graphics 770
Motherboard
ASRock B760M Pro RS
RAM
32GB DDR5-4800
Storage
2x Seagate IronWolf 8TB NAS
Boot Drive
Kingston NV3 1TB NVMe M.2
PSU
Corsair CX550 80+ Bronze 550W
CPU Cooler
Thermalright Assassin X120
Case
Fractal Design Define 7
Performance Capabilities
Plex Streaming
Direct streaming, with enough CPU to transcode for the current remote viewers
7.27TB Usable
ZFS mirrored RAID1, expandable to 48TB+ with 4 bays remaining
Free iGPU
The Intel UHD 770 is left free for Frigate, with Quick Sync passed through to its container
Data Redundancy
ZFS mirror protects against single drive failure with automatic scrubbing
Migration from Synology DS124
| Feature | DS124 | TrueNAS Build |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2-core ARM (1.7GHz) | 6-core Intel i5-12500 (3.0-4.6GHz) |
| RAM | 1GB (Non-upgradable) | 32GB DDR5-4800 |
| Acceleration | None | CPU Plex transcoding, Quick Sync for Frigate |
| Storage | Single 4TB drive | 2x 8TB Mirrored (7.27TB usable) |
| Expandability | 1 Bay (Maxed out) | 6 Bays (4 free for expansion) |
| Redundancy | None | ZFS Mirror |
Primary Use Cases
- Plex Media Server: Movies and shows, direct-streamed or transcoded on the CPU
- Network Storage: File storage for every device in the house, on ZFS
- Docker Hosting: Nearly 60 containers across media, monitoring, productivity, project, and finance stacks
- Data Redundancy: The mirror survives a single drive failure
- Remote Access: Tailscale from anywhere
- Photo Management: Immich for self-hosted photo backup (30,000+ photos, 2,000+ videos)
Related Projects
- TrueNAS Server Build: The finished build in detail.
- Plex Media Server: The media stack that moved with it.
- Immich Photo Library: One of the first things set up on the new server.
- Website Migration: Moving this website onto the new server.