Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats 962: The Home Server / Synology Show
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Dec 10, 2025 Wes and Scott dive into the world of home servers, exploring the benefits of backups and control over your data. They share insights on Synology setups and compare SSDs vs HDDs for optimal performance. The duo discusses popular apps like Home Assistant and Jellyfin and strategies for safely exposing services using Cloudflare Tunnels. They also examine the trade-offs between VMs and containers and weigh the costs of different hardware options. Tune in for a mix of tech insights and practical tips for setting up your own home server!
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Synology Upgrades That Transformed Performance
- Wes runs a Synology DS918+ for about six years with 16TB and a RAID giving ~10TB usable space.
- He upgraded RAM, added 2.5GbE via a USB dongle and two 256GB SSDs to speed apps and uses Hyper Backup to mirror to Backblaze B2.
Cache Drives And The Case For Manual Cleanup
- Scott also runs a Synology with 16TB but uses two 1TB SSD cache drives to hold more frequently accessed data.
- He frequently cleans old video and project duplicates to reclaim storage instead of always buying more drives.
Prefer SSDs For Speed And Quiet
- Consider SSDs for a new NAS build because they reduce noise and dramatically improve responsiveness compared to spinning drives.
- Balance capacity vs speed: choose SSDs if you value performance and quiet operation over raw terabytes.