Self-Hosted NAS Platform with Automated Media Processing

Media and personal data were managed through manual transfers, inconsistent naming, unreliable playback, and fragmented storage workflows, with unnecessary dependence on third-party cloud services.

• Limited compute resources on NAS hardware
• Mixed application and storage workloads
• Need to balance responsiveness with storage capacity
• Inconsistent external input data and media naming

A centralized NAS-based platform was built using containerized services, storage tiering, and automated normalization workflows. NVMe storage was used for system workloads, while HDD storage handled media and large data.

1. 01

   Deploy a NAS-based storage and service platform.

2. 02

   Separate OS and containers from large-data storage using NVMe and HDD tiers.

3. 03

   Implement Jellyfin for centralized media access.

4. 04

   Deploy Immich for self-hosted photo management.

5. 05

   Build n8n workflows to normalize file names and metadata using TMDB.

6. 06

   Iterate toward improved compatibility and playback consistency.

• Storage tiering with NVMe for active services and HDD for large data.
• Containerized multi-service architecture on a single NAS platform.
• Automated media normalization pipeline using n8n and TMDB metadata.
• Structured file naming for movies and TV content to improve indexing.
• Foundation for future media-format refinement and subtitle normalization.

• Self-hosted NAS platform
• Automated media renaming workflow
• Centralized streaming and photo-management environment

The resulting platform provided centralized access, structured naming, reduced manual handling, improved media reliability, and a self-hosted foundation for both media and photo management.

• Automation significantly reduces friction in repetitive data workflows.
• Storage tiering improves responsiveness without unnecessary cost.
• Self-hosted systems require structure to remain maintainable over time.
• Usability matters as much as technical capability when replacing cloud tools.