How cheap can you build a NAS (Network Attached Storage)?
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-cheap-can-you-build-a-nas/
"All you need to ensure is that you have SATA slots for your HDDs ..."
How to turn an old PC into a NAS: https://www.xda-developers.com/how-turn-old-pc-into-nas/
"Any old desktop PC will do, but the better the hardware the more capabilities you have."
"Plenty of people use old Raspberry Pis for media streaming without transcoding and with a hard drive attached for data storage."
"For a NAS, you'll want to pick up specialized NAS drives, but that's all ...
You'll just need to have enough SATA connections on your motherboard and space for the drives inside your computer.
If your PC has things like a DVD reader, you can even buy adapters from the 5.25-inch slots desktops typically use to get them to fit a 3.5-inch SATA drive."
"It could be good to also pick up an SSD for booting from. This doesn't have to be large, and in most cases, a 64GB SSD is more than enough. You can get a larger one and partition it if you'd like to use the secondary partition for caching, but you don't need to and you'll be completely fine without it."
"TrueNAS Core is technically more supported than TrueNAS Scale, and it's based on FreeBSD. Most people would prefer Scale for running actual apps, so if you want your NAS to be more than just storage, you probably don't want to go with Core unless you're comfortable doing some advanced tinkering. Core is very stable with wider documentation and longer support, but Scale will typically be easier, especially if you already know your way around Linux."
"TrueNAS Scale is a Debian-based (so, Linux) OS that you can install on a NAS, and it manages your Docker containers using Kubernetes. Containers are how you run most programs on a NAS, where a container is essentially an isolated digital island for an application to run in. To allow it to connect to other containers on the machine and to share data, you build "bridges" between these islands by allowing them to directly connect to each other. Containers are naturally isolated, which is great for security and means that applications only share the data that you let them share."
"OpenMediaVault looks dated, but it's very functional. You're not locked into using the ZFS file system meaning that there's a lot of flexibility in adding and changing drives around, and there's also no real hardware requirements. OpenMediaVault can run on a Raspberry Pi if you want it to, and it's a lot more straightforward and to the point in its UI. I find myself sometimes clicking around in TrueNAS to find options for things in a sea of menus, whereas OpenMediaVault is a lot more deliberate. It's different software for different people, but it's worth checking out too."
TrueNAS operating system: https://www.truenas.com/
TrueNAS CORE Minimum Requirements -
64-Bit CPU | 8 GB RAM (16 GB Recommended) | 16 GB Boot Drive (SSD Encouraged) | At Least One Attached Disk | Network Port | Hardware RAID Not Recommended
https://www.truenas.com/truenas-core/
https://www.truenas.com/download-truenas-core/
Best hard drives for NAS: https://www.xda-developers.com/best-nas-hard-drive/
Look for Western Digital WD Purple drives for under $100 ... some of the old 2Tb versions are available for less than $50.
"Alternatively, you can go for the affordable Seagate BarraCuda 1TB hard drive. While it lacks the high reliability or better storage capacity of the other drives on this list, it's an inexpensive option if you plan to use your NAS as a media server.
That said, if you're planning to outfit your PC with a quick and snappy storage drive, it's better to invest in a high-speed SSD instead. From ultra-fast PCIe SSDs to easy-to-carry external SSDs, there's quite a lot to choose from, too."
"...a great Google Photos alternative: Nextcloud. Nextcloud is a self-hosted cloud storage provider that you can access and automatically synchronize from multiple devices. I have all of my photos that I capture on my smartphone automatically back up to my Nextcloud instance, meaning I can then access those photos anywhere else really easily as well."
"Jellyfin is similar to Plex except that it's free and completely open source, but you can self host your own media with it. For example, if you have a lot of ripped DVDs and TV shows (I do), then you can host these and stream them to your devices in your home. There are a ton of automations you can set up with Jellyfin and many different applications that you can install to work with it, so be sure to do some digging into this one if you're interested."
------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative views -
Everything you need to build a DIY NAS and store all your data:
https://www.nasmaster.com/everything-you-need-to-build-your-own-nas/
How to turn an old PC into a NAS server:
https://www.nasmaster.com/how-to-turn-an-old-pc-into-a-nas-server/
"An old PC is a perfect candidate for recycling into a NAS."
"A NAS is run continuously like a server. I recommend Seagate IronWolf or Western Digital Red (Plus) drives for NAS enclosures."
"Running a NAS is a great way to save money on subscription services. Have an active account with Spotify, Netflix, and Google Drive? Cancel them all and run everything from your single NAS server. This will cost a considerable upfront sum of money but will save you much more in the long term. Plex Media Server can catalog all your photos, movies, music, and shows for streaming to almost any device.
Then there's the potential for hosting websites from the server. Play Minecraft or some other online games with custom server support? That's possible too! Then there's security with some surveillance system apps on your old PC-turned-NAS. Last, you can use the NAS for storing data such as backups."
"It's possible to run a NAS with your existing copy of Windows. This is an OS you're perhaps most familiar with and it's good to go if already installed. Some issues with a desktop OS such as Windows are unnecessary bloat running in the background, slowing the NAS down, and Windows does not support RAID.
Luckily, there are a few server environments available without paying a penny! One of the most popular is OpenMediaVault. It may not have the flashiest user interface, but this robust OS has excellent hardware support and is incredibly easy to use. Another great OS is Unraid, which acts differently and more as just a bunch of disks (JBOD).
What is openmediavault (Free, Open Source)? https://www.openmediavault.org/
Unraid ($49, free trial) - a powerful, easy-to-use OS for servers & NAS: https://unraid.net/
"Unraid OS lets you use what you have to build what you want."
"Mix and match hard drives of any size to build your server and grow your storage capacity."
Finally, there's TrueNAS CORE. This is another free server environment that offers excellent performance and reliability. It's geared toward those with advanced knowledge and experience but can be mastered in a few hours with handy guides if you're building your first DIY NAS. TrueNAS SCALE is the better option for running apps."
Best NAS drives 2024: Reliable HDD, SSD, and M.2 cache: https://www.nasmaster.com/best-nas-drives/
"The best NAS drive would be one that's specifically designed for use in servers. You could go all-out and pay big bucks for enterprise-grade drives, but manufacturers including Seagate and Western Digital have NAS-specific HDDs and SSDs. Just don't go and use your old desktop PC drives."
"We'd usually not recommend an SSD for NAS storage since it's not the best choice due to how flash storage degrades over time through use. Mechanical drives are better overall and don't have a finite amount of data that can be written."
------------------------------------------------------------
How to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a NAS for Whole-Home File Sharing:
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-a-nas-for-whole-home-file-sharing
"... a standard external drive will do the trick in most cases. However, since the Pi may not be able to supply enough power to all your drives, you may need one that plugs into the wall or a powered USB hub. If you want a cleaner setup, you can use an internal drive designed for network attached storage, but that would require a big enough case."
"A NAS-Friendly Case (optional): If you want your system to have a clean look, it may behoove you to get an enclosure that fits your Pi and connected drives. This will also help to organize the mess of wires and cables this project will create."
"Start by installing Raspbian with the recommended software as described in our beginner's guide (https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/beginners-guide-how-to-get-started-with-raspberry-pi#:~:text=How%20to%20Install%20an%20Operating%20System%20on%20an%20SD%20Card)."
"If you prefer, you can SSH into your Pi and perform these commands from another PC."
{print the detailed instructions}
How to build a Raspberry Pi NAS:
https://www.raspberrypi.com/tutorials/nas-box-raspberry-pi-tutorial/
"To SSH into the Raspberry Pi, you'll use the hostname you set in Imager. If you have issues connecting using this method, you may want to use the Raspberry Pi's IP address instead."
{print the detailed instructions}
------------------------------------------------------------
How to Build a DIY NAS with TrueNAS CORE:
https://www.storagereview.com/review/how-to-build-a-diy-nas-with-truenas-core
Ultimate DIY NAS Build Guide: https://www.wundertech.net/diy-nas-build-guide/
"This also allows you to customize the NAS device based on your overall budget ..."
"... my favorite feature of OpenMediaVault is how user-friendly it is and its compatibility with different types of hardware. Due to how easy it is to use OpenMediaVault, it's a great NAS operating system to learn on."
TrueNAS Core vs. Scale: Detailed Comparison:
https://www.wundertech.net/truenas-core-vs-truenas-scale/
Everything you need to know to build your own NAS:
https://www.windowscentral.com/heres-what-you-need-know-when-building-your-own-nas
"Rather than stockpiling a collection of external hard drives with precious backups and home media, building a network-attached storage (NAS) machine helps keep everything neat and organized as one reliable solution. NAS servers offer a fantastic way to share selected files and media to any compatible device connected to your home network ..."
Building a Budget Homelab NAS Server (2022 Edition): Great write-up!
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-cheap-can-you-build-a-nas/
"All you need to ensure is that you have SATA slots for your HDDs ..."
How to turn an old PC into a NAS: https://www.xda-developers.com/how-turn-old-pc-into-nas/
"Any old desktop PC will do, but the better the hardware the more capabilities you have."
"Plenty of people use old Raspberry Pis for media streaming without transcoding and with a hard drive attached for data storage."
"For a NAS, you'll want to pick up specialized NAS drives, but that's all ...
You'll just need to have enough SATA connections on your motherboard and space for the drives inside your computer.
If your PC has things like a DVD reader, you can even buy adapters from the 5.25-inch slots desktops typically use to get them to fit a 3.5-inch SATA drive."
"It could be good to also pick up an SSD for booting from. This doesn't have to be large, and in most cases, a 64GB SSD is more than enough. You can get a larger one and partition it if you'd like to use the secondary partition for caching, but you don't need to and you'll be completely fine without it."
"TrueNAS Core is technically more supported than TrueNAS Scale, and it's based on FreeBSD. Most people would prefer Scale for running actual apps, so if you want your NAS to be more than just storage, you probably don't want to go with Core unless you're comfortable doing some advanced tinkering. Core is very stable with wider documentation and longer support, but Scale will typically be easier, especially if you already know your way around Linux."
"TrueNAS Scale is a Debian-based (so, Linux) OS that you can install on a NAS, and it manages your Docker containers using Kubernetes. Containers are how you run most programs on a NAS, where a container is essentially an isolated digital island for an application to run in. To allow it to connect to other containers on the machine and to share data, you build "bridges" between these islands by allowing them to directly connect to each other. Containers are naturally isolated, which is great for security and means that applications only share the data that you let them share."
"OpenMediaVault looks dated, but it's very functional. You're not locked into using the ZFS file system meaning that there's a lot of flexibility in adding and changing drives around, and there's also no real hardware requirements. OpenMediaVault can run on a Raspberry Pi if you want it to, and it's a lot more straightforward and to the point in its UI. I find myself sometimes clicking around in TrueNAS to find options for things in a sea of menus, whereas OpenMediaVault is a lot more deliberate. It's different software for different people, but it's worth checking out too."
TrueNAS operating system: https://www.truenas.com/
TrueNAS CORE Minimum Requirements -
64-Bit CPU | 8 GB RAM (16 GB Recommended) | 16 GB Boot Drive (SSD Encouraged) | At Least One Attached Disk | Network Port | Hardware RAID Not Recommended
https://www.truenas.com/truenas-core/
https://www.truenas.com/download-truenas-core/
Best hard drives for NAS: https://www.xda-developers.com/best-nas-hard-drive/
Look for Western Digital WD Purple drives for under $100 ... some of the old 2Tb versions are available for less than $50.
"Alternatively, you can go for the affordable Seagate BarraCuda 1TB hard drive. While it lacks the high reliability or better storage capacity of the other drives on this list, it's an inexpensive option if you plan to use your NAS as a media server.
That said, if you're planning to outfit your PC with a quick and snappy storage drive, it's better to invest in a high-speed SSD instead. From ultra-fast PCIe SSDs to easy-to-carry external SSDs, there's quite a lot to choose from, too."
"...a great Google Photos alternative: Nextcloud. Nextcloud is a self-hosted cloud storage provider that you can access and automatically synchronize from multiple devices. I have all of my photos that I capture on my smartphone automatically back up to my Nextcloud instance, meaning I can then access those photos anywhere else really easily as well."
"Jellyfin is similar to Plex except that it's free and completely open source, but you can self host your own media with it. For example, if you have a lot of ripped DVDs and TV shows (I do), then you can host these and stream them to your devices in your home. There are a ton of automations you can set up with Jellyfin and many different applications that you can install to work with it, so be sure to do some digging into this one if you're interested."
------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative views -
Everything you need to build a DIY NAS and store all your data:
https://www.nasmaster.com/everything-you-need-to-build-your-own-nas/
How to turn an old PC into a NAS server:
https://www.nasmaster.com/how-to-turn-an-old-pc-into-a-nas-server/
"An old PC is a perfect candidate for recycling into a NAS."
"A NAS is run continuously like a server. I recommend Seagate IronWolf or Western Digital Red (Plus) drives for NAS enclosures."
"Running a NAS is a great way to save money on subscription services. Have an active account with Spotify, Netflix, and Google Drive? Cancel them all and run everything from your single NAS server. This will cost a considerable upfront sum of money but will save you much more in the long term. Plex Media Server can catalog all your photos, movies, music, and shows for streaming to almost any device.
Then there's the potential for hosting websites from the server. Play Minecraft or some other online games with custom server support? That's possible too! Then there's security with some surveillance system apps on your old PC-turned-NAS. Last, you can use the NAS for storing data such as backups."
"It's possible to run a NAS with your existing copy of Windows. This is an OS you're perhaps most familiar with and it's good to go if already installed. Some issues with a desktop OS such as Windows are unnecessary bloat running in the background, slowing the NAS down, and Windows does not support RAID.
Luckily, there are a few server environments available without paying a penny! One of the most popular is OpenMediaVault. It may not have the flashiest user interface, but this robust OS has excellent hardware support and is incredibly easy to use. Another great OS is Unraid, which acts differently and more as just a bunch of disks (JBOD).
What is openmediavault (Free, Open Source)? https://www.openmediavault.org/
Unraid ($49, free trial) - a powerful, easy-to-use OS for servers & NAS: https://unraid.net/
"Unraid OS lets you use what you have to build what you want."
"Mix and match hard drives of any size to build your server and grow your storage capacity."
Finally, there's TrueNAS CORE. This is another free server environment that offers excellent performance and reliability. It's geared toward those with advanced knowledge and experience but can be mastered in a few hours with handy guides if you're building your first DIY NAS. TrueNAS SCALE is the better option for running apps."
Best NAS drives 2024: Reliable HDD, SSD, and M.2 cache: https://www.nasmaster.com/best-nas-drives/
"The best NAS drive would be one that's specifically designed for use in servers. You could go all-out and pay big bucks for enterprise-grade drives, but manufacturers including Seagate and Western Digital have NAS-specific HDDs and SSDs. Just don't go and use your old desktop PC drives."
"We'd usually not recommend an SSD for NAS storage since it's not the best choice due to how flash storage degrades over time through use. Mechanical drives are better overall and don't have a finite amount of data that can be written."
------------------------------------------------------------
How to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a NAS for Whole-Home File Sharing:
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-a-nas-for-whole-home-file-sharing
"... a standard external drive will do the trick in most cases. However, since the Pi may not be able to supply enough power to all your drives, you may need one that plugs into the wall or a powered USB hub. If you want a cleaner setup, you can use an internal drive designed for network attached storage, but that would require a big enough case."
"A NAS-Friendly Case (optional): If you want your system to have a clean look, it may behoove you to get an enclosure that fits your Pi and connected drives. This will also help to organize the mess of wires and cables this project will create."
"Start by installing Raspbian with the recommended software as described in our beginner's guide (https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/beginners-guide-how-to-get-started-with-raspberry-pi#:~:text=How%20to%20Install%20an%20Operating%20System%20on%20an%20SD%20Card)."
"If you prefer, you can SSH into your Pi and perform these commands from another PC."
{print the detailed instructions}
How to build a Raspberry Pi NAS:
https://www.raspberrypi.com/tutorials/nas-box-raspberry-pi-tutorial/
"To SSH into the Raspberry Pi, you'll use the hostname you set in Imager. If you have issues connecting using this method, you may want to use the Raspberry Pi's IP address instead."
{print the detailed instructions}
------------------------------------------------------------
How to Build a DIY NAS with TrueNAS CORE:
https://www.storagereview.com/review/how-to-build-a-diy-nas-with-truenas-core
Ultimate DIY NAS Build Guide: https://www.wundertech.net/diy-nas-build-guide/
"This also allows you to customize the NAS device based on your overall budget ..."
"... my favorite feature of OpenMediaVault is how user-friendly it is and its compatibility with different types of hardware. Due to how easy it is to use OpenMediaVault, it's a great NAS operating system to learn on."
TrueNAS Core vs. Scale: Detailed Comparison:
https://www.wundertech.net/truenas-core-vs-truenas-scale/
Everything you need to know to build your own NAS:
https://www.windowscentral.com/heres-what-you-need-know-when-building-your-own-nas
"Rather than stockpiling a collection of external hard drives with precious backups and home media, building a network-attached storage (NAS) machine helps keep everything neat and organized as one reliable solution. NAS servers offer a fantastic way to share selected files and media to any compatible device connected to your home network ..."
Building a Budget Homelab NAS Server (2022 Edition): Great write-up!
No comments:
Post a Comment