this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2024
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I want a NAS solution to back up my PC and host media files, but prebuilt NAS solutions are incredibly expensive and underwhelming and so I'm planning to build one. Does anyone have recommendations for a NAS interface?

I'm brand new to server management and would prefer something user friendly. I have used linux mint, but currently use windows as my daily driver (planning to switch to mint soon). I'd be fine with a dedicated NAS OS or with something I could run on mint since I'm already familiar with that distro.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

OpenMediaVault (OMV) is a Debian server with a very user-friendly web interface. It also has solid documentation and a robust community. I've been running it for 6 years, and I am very happy with it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I would just use the CLI. The web interface is a bit confusing and doesn't allow directory services.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I would agree. But for the very basics starting and learning, the UI isn't that intimidating.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Is it going to be just a NAS? If so go TrueNAS with lots of ram. (ZFS likes its ram)

If you want to run VMs use Proxmox

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, I run my TrueNAS with obly 8GiB and it does great. That said, I'm not doing any deduplication or anything, and my pool is only 3 drives at a total of ~15TB iirc

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not for me. Runs fine with minimal if any latency. Transfer speeds are not blazing fast, but typically sit in the 50MB/s or so range over samba

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Is that read or write? Also is sustained long term and if not how long does it take to run out of cache?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
  1. Both
  2. I've done writes and reads that are in excess of a TB at a time. No real issues.

I'm sure I'm missing a touch of performance here or there, but I can't notice, so who cares. It means I don't have to go spend money on new RAM when I'm too broke to even eat most days lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Interesting. What RPM are your disks running at?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

7200rpm. CMR, obviously with ZFS.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (3 children)

It depends on how much data. I would say 128Gib is a safe bet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Perhaps a safe bet but crazy . Anything over 8 GB will work and 16 gigs or more will work well. The more the better but don’t get the wrong idea from Mr. 128 GB.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a lot of RAM for a NAS...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

It is needed as spinning rust is slow. It also depends on what you are using it for. 128gb is a safe bet but depending on your needs you could go lower.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

🤣 My TrueNAS server with 16GB servers files just fine.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

As someone with TrueNAS SCALE and having been through the mess of TrueCharts, I'd go with Proxmox on the bare metal and have 1 VM for TrueNAS SCALE and another for docker-compose or whatever apps system you want. SCALE is fine as a NAS but the apps system is currently limited and about to completely change; it's just not mature not stable. If you already have a home server running the apps you want and you're only expecting this server to be a NAS, then go ahead with SCALE on bare metal.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Seconding this. TrueCharts has been an absolute pain and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Thirded. TrueCharts has been a monumental pita. Looking forward to docker compose in the fall with the next version of TrueNAS is released.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Wasn't aware they were integrating docker-compose, that's the perfect solution. I got so fed up with TrueCharts that I've been considering nuking my NAS and reinstalling OMV or something similar, but I guess I'll wait it out and see what happens.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

@windlas @jerb @linux I started with truenas, but trying to install an app that is not in truecharts is a mess. Finally I moved to proxmox and I can install whatever I want in a container or VM. It's really easy to learn how to use it. I totally recommend it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I love Proxmox but I am too much of a coward to run my NAS as a VM. It just feels like it would blow up on me. I know it is a normal thing to do. It just scares me.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

TrueNAS is fine but the dead-simplest I've ever seen is CasaOS which has one-click network file sharing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Unraid is as simple as they come and it has some features that don’t exist in normal RAID setups.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's paid and partly proprietary though. Not an issue for me, but might be an issue for some other people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Meh, features and support aren’t free. I get your, though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

HexOS is built on TrueNAS and looks promising as a simplified version. Looks like it isn't available yet but I think you're who the kind of user they are building it for.

https://hexos.com/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Synology and Qnap cheaper solutions would work just fine for what you need, and are only ~$200-300. Cheaper then building an entire box, but if not...

Fract Node 804 Case (space for 8 3.5" HDDs, AMD lower wattage CPU, whatever mobo with an SFP module.

Run TrueNAS or Unraid on it, and you'll be ready to go.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You might be right. The Synology products look really good. I didn't see that they actually have a sub-$400 4-bay NAS... DS423. Not sure if it'll meet my performance needs. But the $600 4 bay doesn't look too bad either really.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Do you really need a 4 bay unit though? HDD are cheap right now. You can get a Synology DS-2XX for ~$200, and 2x14TB Refurb WDC for $200. That's 14TB of Raid 1 protected storage right there for $400.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I didn't realize how cheap the big hdds had gotten. Definitely looking into 2 bays.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah, definitely explore it. You can get more service-level things out of a build or higher disk array, but if you don't need the compute, just go cheap and be satisfied your stuff is safe. Synology has a great ecosystem in my experience.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I'd honestly just go Ubuntu server LTS and learn to configure it through the terminal. It's not too difficult to setup. NFS and Samba shares.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I like TrueNAS Scale. If you don't mind paying for a server OS and parts of it being proprietary, check out Unraid.