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So, installed and ready, would it work? TrueNAS dashboard has the answer. Success 😀 Next step would be playing with storage files. After I got the hang of smb shares…

Just one thing I forgot to mention earlier. My SSD chip should be connected to SATA 2 or SATA 3 on the motherboard, according to ipc.net support (Jessica Fang). The one I used, the more easily available is SATA 3 to the middle right in this photo, with the black connector and cable visible. You can also see half of another SATA port just below in the photo, with the other half hidden under the board above it.

By now I feel comfortable opening up this computer case, and here is the pre-installed RAM, top of the picture. The two shiny metal ”handles” left and right of the stick you push outwards to release the stick. New RAM installed, ready to be pushed down, to sit properly. Second picture.

About two weeks ago I mentioned I got a 48GB RAM stick, for a spare or for upgrade at some point. Could I resist installing it now? No. 48GB is the max RAM possible here, and I believe it doesn’t hurt with a little more of it 😉

So, @Dylan , I plan to use it for my files mostly, not a lot of apps on my mind, yet. Files being the regular ones: Digital photos Libreoffice files CD collection ripped to computer as files and played through a streamer. If buddy backup is offered it would seem like a good idea in general, but I wouldn’t be a very good buddy 😉 My storage drives so far only has space for my own growing collection of files. I may put a second NAS in my sister’s apartment for backup and security, and/or(?) some form of cloud arrangement, like ownclud or Nextcloud. Any suggestions are welcome! And my NAS may not end up staying on the shelf in my hallway. I put it there to show it’s not something you absolutely would want to hide somewhere. The white ”box” on the wall to the left is for fiber internet, not yet implemented by me. I use some form of mobile broadband for now. I’ve got 5-6 linux ISOs to play with for storage, as long as HexOS is under development. If catastrophe happens they are only a download away. As I described in an earlier post I tried to establish some RAID10 inspired setup in the TrueNAS environment. @Sonic suggested I try to take away one or two drives to see what happens. That’s what I’m going to do, when I got smb shares ABC in order, and the ISOs are in place.

So @Dylan you said a while ago ”Looking forward to see and hearing about it when you've got it all up and running.”. Well since last weekend I’m running HexOS on my Pocket NAS. I’ve just now realized I would have to catch up on smb shares though, to make it really work. So far no files on my NAS, just running ”empty”. If those cables were tidied up a bit it could well be sitting there in my hallway for good.

I ordered this memory module today. To have as a spare, or upgrade if I feel like it. The Pocket NAS can use up to 48GB RAM. Currently it’s 32GB.

I’ve also read in this forum that there’s an idea that maybe RAID-Z1 is better for Svensson/Mr Jones. He who lives will see 😉

Here’s the TrueNAS dashboard with respectable CPU temperatures, though my NVMe drives aren’t working much yet. When they are fully engaged temperature might rise.

So, when I did it the correct way it looked this in TrueNAS interface. Now, remember I’m not the expert here. I rely on other knowledgeable persons. If what I’m doing is completely wrong, I hope someone will tell me 😉 Anyway, I’m not doing all this with critical data. For now I’m only playing a little. I would only work with disposable files at this stage. I still need to catch up on static IP address for the server, and other things, like backup of OS disk and storage. Life is fun 😉

Now, RAID-Z2 is the talk of the town, in this community, I feel. I’m however not the person that does what ”Svensson” does, as we say in my country. In English it would probably be ”I don’t do what Mr Jones does”. It wouldn’t hurt with another use case, where I’m trying to implement the equivalent of of RAID10 in a ZFS setting. Like a ”striped mirror” or so. I found a TrueNAS forum post explaining about this. After spotting some post online I did exactly as the person asking the question in my linked post did, which was corrected by another member: https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/how-to-set-up-4-disks-with-2-striped-and-then-mirrored.7956/ Member Stephan Hochhaus: ”First I created a volume with two drives and selected mirrored, then I extended the volume with two disks and selected striped. Is that the proper way to do it?” This was answered by member paleoN: ”No, select mirror the second time as well. This will create your striped mirrors.”

As I said yesterday I always planned on using RAID10 for my old NAS build from 2015. My assumption about RAID-Z2 being the ZFS equivalent of RAID10 was corrected by @Sonic ”RAID-Z2 is more or less the equivalent of RAID6”. Now, with my limited knowledge of RAID and/or ZFS I was always fond of the idea of using RAID10. Especially after I sent a question to a Swedish computer magazine years ago, about hard drives for a NAS and talked about my idea of RAID10. ”That’s what I’m using” was the answer I got from the person at the magazine.

When I sent a question to ipc.net support (Jessica Fang) earlier, I at the same time talked about the M2.5x4 screw useful for attaching this SSD chip, at the lower right side. I asked if they could possibly include it in the package when shipping this Pocket NAS. I had to order 10 of them for myself, and only really need the one. Kind of unnecessary... Anyway, they asked me to verify it was this screw I talked about. I don't know if this means it really will be included in the future, but as I told Jessica it would be beneficial for future customers. I'm just happy they are considering it.

TrueNAS interface was the thing I would need how-to’s for, yes. 😉

There we go 😀 When I built my old NAS in 2015 I always had RAID10 in mind. As far as I’ve understood ZFS terminology, RAID-Z2 is the equivalent of RAID10. I would like to experiment with that quite soon, even if HexOS itself isn’t ready for it. Think I need to study some How-to’s online before I do, though. Ergo, I pause here, for now.

Current events. I’m not really ready to start using HexOS yet, so if this looking for servers takes time, I don’t really mind. I’m on my way, anyway.

My chip only SSD is the chosen drive for HexOS.

Finally it’s time to care about HexOS itself, not just the HW side of things. Booting from USB is already ok since my recent Dr.Parted Live session, and the key is ready after a meeting with Balena Etcher.

Sorry, the early morning hour isn’t helpful for writing posts. What I meant to say was I paid for shipping only. Over and out for now.

So, when I connected the Pocket NAS for this Dr.Parted live session, I noticed the outer part of the power button was missing. I had a little plastic ”thingy” I could use to get it going anyway. After I was done with this I contacted Jessica Fang at ipc.net support about my problem. We agreed about them sending me a replacement, and an extra spare one, and that I pay for shipping. That’s only fair I think. I couldn’t honestly say I did nothing to cause this problem, since I never noticed it falling off. The most economical shipping was $6 and that I paid through PayPal.

For those who might wonder about the external fan on the Pocket NAS, here’s a picture for you. On the ipc.net site where I got it, they say it’s optional, but I got one with my delivery. I don’t know if that was a temporary offer, though. I intend to begin with no external fan attached, relying on the internal fan for temperature control. Only if necessary I would use the extra fan, For a cleaner look, if nothing else.

So, reality gave me a moment to verify my drives. A live session of GParted gave this result. All drives are ready for action. My four NVMe drives are there, sda is the SSD chip I installed a couple of days ago, and sdb is the USB stick with GParted. Hooray 😀

When this Pocket NAS is ready for duty I intend to put it on four damping feet, to gain some extra height for more air to pass under the aluminium box. This to further help in heat dissipation. And they are so inconspicuous, as to be almost invisible, right 😉 Another reason is, I want to reduce potential vibration noice from the hidden fan inside, if that would rev up. These feet I borrowed from my HiFi nerd side, they are used for like CD-players or other ”boxes”with a weight between 2-5 kg. The green color is specific for this weight. My Pocket NAS is about 1,2 kg, but this would have to do. Now I must take a little break from this project for a couple of days. Over and out.

All four done 😀

I first pulled off the transparent plastic protection. They I pressed one finger over the blue protective layer, before removing this from the sheet.