So I’m a happy owner of a GL Inet Flint 2 router, and it’s a great piece of hardware. Besides routing, it supports tons of extensions like an ad blocker, VPN client or server, and network file storage.
The router has a USB Type‑A port with a max bandwidth of 5 Gbps, which is not bad, since its fastest LAN port is only 2.5 Gbps. I had a few spare SSD sticks lying around, so I grabbed a Ugreen SSD to USB adapter and hooked up my drive. The Flint 2 firmware only supports SMB and WebDAV, so I went with SMB, since it’s less exotic and works almost everywhere. I wanted to try NFS, but no luck.
Most things worked fine, so I moved my personal data folder and my Kodi media library over to it. Then the issues started. Heavy 4K HDR movies struggled, and I got random disconnects when accessing my personal data. That’s just not acceptable, so I started looking for other options.
First I tried a standalone NAS. It fixed the stability problems, but 4K playback still lagged, the bottleneck turned out to be Kodi’s Android app and its poor SMB client. Switching to NFS solved the issue, but I still wasn’t happy with the speed or the extra maintenance.
In the end, I ditched the NAS altogether and switched to local storage. I plugged a 1 TB stick directly into my TV box and got a simple, zero setup 10 Gbps link with no issues, which is a huge improvement over a status quo. The downside is I have to unplug the drive and connect it to my PC when I want to manage files, but the time lost is more than made up for by that outstanding 10 Gbps link.
For my personal folder, I did the same thing: I set up an encrypted external SSD that I can take with me when I travel. That way I don’t need remote access, and the data stays encrypted when it’s not in use, a big security upgrade.
Some people might really need remote access and extra features, but after looking at how I actually use my setup, overengineering it doesn’t make sense. Keeping it simple works best, and “a USB stick with files” is a clean abstraction anyone can understand and use, even when I’m not home.