Sonic

If you want to see more new NAS devices. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FVdzddNGpk Especially the OpnNas could be interessing https://opnnas.com/ A complete other angle is to buy reused enterprise hardware. E.g. you can buy a refurbished workstation with ECC support. I don't have a lot of experience in that erea, but people like @ubergeek do. For me is this the fun part of discussing what hardware someone should buy. There are a lot of possibilities, but in the end you have to decide what's important for you. A nice example is the homelab challenge I watched a few day ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z06LavaCZv0 Same assignment, totally different outcome.

Several people on this forum have a WTR Pro (either the Intel N100 or AMD version), including myself. I'm very happy with it. It's a solid device. However, you should be aware that things like customer support and the ordering process are not always at the level you might be used to. They’re not yet up to US/EU standards. AOOSTAR ships orders in batches, meaning they send everything out on a single shipping date. This means you might have to wait a few weeks for delivery.

There are some new kids on the block. Just to show you some alternatives. https://aoostar.com/blogs/news/the-aoostar-wtr-max11bay-is-about-to-meet-you-all Minisforum will also introduce a new NAS with the same CPU and ECC memory support. And have seen several other examples Those brands are not as proven as a brand like Supermicro. But the new brands are shaken up the market for sure. More functionalty at a lower pricepoint. I have to say that I am not an encoding and transcoding expert. But you can find a lot of reviews via Google. https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/1h7fskn/amd_ryzen_7_8845hs_is_a_transcoding_beast/ I also found this on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr5MjhgPz_c&t=1337s , perhaps also a good example. Just some thoughts. In the end you have to choose which option fits best for you.

Hi @freid, almost $900,- for motherboard / CPU combo is a lot of money. I am wondering what the main purpose will be for your NAS setup? It seems a little top heavy to me. But don't get me wrong. You probably have good reasons for the choice of this combo. I only like to learn from your choices.

Nice journey! Looking forward to see HexOs on your mini NAS. Can you share your experiences with the temperature? I'm really curious about the cooling system in this NAS mini PC.

This is a good background artikel. Thanks! It’s always good that you really understand the stuff you working with. In my opinion this is also the reason why TrueNas has a pretty steep learning curve. You have to understand the basics of ZFS and the authorization model, before you can configure the right options. To be honest, I am still not really comfortable in TrueNas. With a few guides from the internet I got my TrueNas setup up and running. But after that I change as less as possible 😀 This is exactly the reason I like the concept of HexOs. Rock solid TrueNas / ZFS in the background and easy config in the front end

@PsychoWards, you are more then welcome to copy some parts of my setup! That's also how I started with my setup. Always learning a lot of other homelabbers. And still learning every day. Do you have specific part where you are interested in? We can eleborate on that. And yes, perhaps you are right. I should create my own topic 🙂

@ChrisAcrobat See also this post above. Probably you have to change some BIOS settings. You can always contact @Suljaman, since he has the same device.

I am looking forward to all the reviews of all the new NAS devices, which are entering the market. Also Minisforum Will introduce there NAS line. The specs looks also promising. And what will the answer of Synology and QNAP be. It’s really quit in that erea.

$699,- is reasonable price. I use SPF+, but only for connections between my router and switches. So the interconnects are 10gbe, and I have one 1gb switch and one 2,5 gb switch btw, I standardized my network on Mikrotik.

Let's keep in touch! Already some inspiration and scripts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5KAt76Bg3w https://www.apalrd.net/posts/2024/pbs_hibernate/ I need to find some time to start experimenting.

@Dylan, my answer is already in your comment. 😀  I mean, they're essentially servers the size of a large grapefruit. My answer depends on how you define a NAS. In the end, they are all mini PCs or servers with a certain form factor. But to give you an idea, I’ll describe my setup. I distinguish between my home network and my homelab. Home Network My home network is used by my family, mainly for file sharing and backups. The cornerstone is a rock-solid Synology NAS DS1520+, which I use for local Office 365 backups. Additionally, I back up my photos from my NAS to the cloud, so all my files are stored both locally and in the cloud. Before this, I had a DS414, which ran 24/7 for over 10 years. Homelab I have a separate network segment for my homelab (Mikrotik 2.5GbE & 10GbE network). All devices in my homelab run Proxmox in a cluster. My Aoostar WTR Pro serves as a NAS/storage (HexOS) and Proxmox Backup Server. Additionally, I have: Intel NUC 11 Pro → Runs Windows 11 and macOS VMs, stays powered off when not in use. Shuttle DL30N (Intel N100) → Runs Docker apps. Lincstation N1 → Test server, including a second HexOS installation. I recently ordered a Lincstation N2, which I plan to use as my primary HexOS server. This will allow me to repurpose my Aoostar WTR Pro as offline storage, activated only when needed using Cron jobs and Wake-on-LAN. The Lincstation N1 will then become my Proxmox Backup Server, allowing me to quickly restore VMs or Docker containers when experimenting with configurations that don’t work as expected. All of this is housed in 10-inch racks. I’m a big fan of small form factor devices that strike a balance between maximum performance and minimal power consumption.

I just backed the Lincstation N2 on kickstarter. Also the Lincstation S1 is available. The S1 is comparable with the Aoostar WTR Pro. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lincplus/redefining-nas-style-power-and-usability-with-lincplus/description I have already a Lincstation N1, really a great device. $309 for a N2 with 30% early bird discount is really a great offer. And the N2 had 10 gbe network

Keep us posted which you like the most in the end 🙂. I am very curious.

I did the same. 64GB and 3 SSD's (I have a adapter for the WiFi slot). I run Proxmox and HexOs in a VM with SATA passthrough. I am very happy with it.

it also says 6xSATA and 6xNVMe. So is on of the 7 drive bays an NVME expander? Probably. It's a nice device, but I think i don't need so much power. AMD Ryzen7 8845HS has a TDP of 45W. That's much more compared to the WTR pro.

Source: Aoostar Facebook page, in the New Product chat. They were uploaded by Joyce (Aoostar admin). Aoostar announced the 6 WTR 6 bay Nas already in 2023, but it's postponed. See: https://aoostar.com/blogs/news/aoostar-new-diy-nas-metal-shell-mini-pc-with-6-hdd-bays-6-nvme-slots-10-gbe-ethernet-port-2-x-2-5-gbe-ethernet-ports-led-screen-and-a-ryzen-7-5800u-processor?page=4#Comments-607102894378 But the funny thing is, that Aoostar is talking about a 6 bay NAS and there are 7 bays on the pictures. Nothing final yet 🙂

Did you buy Intel or the AMD version?

And another NAS brand entering the market 😀. https://opnnas.com/ It's to much for me. I don't need so much storage. But I like the concept.

Please share your experience with the F8 SSD plus. 😀

@Dylan, how did you organize your backups?

It really depends on what you want to use your home server for. And of course, your personal preferences. In HexOS/TrueNAS, you can run VMs, but you could also choose a different virtualization platform. This is an interesting article to read: https://b3n.org/truenas-vs-proxmox/ I run HexOS as a Proxmox VM. My main considerations are: HexOS is still in Beta. Running it in a VM allows me to experiment easily, and if something goes wrong, I can restore a backup within minutes. TrueNAS and HexOS are my preferred storage platforms. However, for virtualization, I prefer using Proxmox. Especially in combination with Proxmox Backup Server, which makes for a rock-solid setup. Maximizing hardware usage. Most of the time, a (home) server sits idle. Running multiple services on the same hardware makes better use of resources. One thing to watch out for, especially with SSDs, is the file system you use. If you run ZFS on Proxmox and then again inside a TrueNAS VM, you generate a huge number of write operations, which wears out SSDs quickly. For a test setup, that’s not a big deal, but for long-term use, it’s something to keep in mind. I’ve set up SATA passthrough in Proxmox, so my HexOS VM can access the HDDs directly (as if HexOS were running on bare metal).

6 bay AOOSTAR

Hi @Dylan Apologies for my late reply. I was away for a few days on a city trip. I'm very happy with my WTR Pro with an AMD CPU. It runs Proxmox, and I have HexOS in a VM with SATA passthrough for four drives. Works great! In addition, I run a PBS VM and a Windows 11 VM on my WTR Pro. Performance is more than fine. I mainly use my WTR Pro for data storage and backup, so I can't comment on transcoding. I don’t use Plex, but the Hardware Haven YouTube channel covers this topic. It works, but from what I’ve heard, the N100 performs better in this area. I also saw on AOOSTAR’s Facebook page that their new 6-bay NAS will feature an R7 8845HS processor.

Hi MagnusSt, Could you provide more details about the HDDs? Which brand and model are they? Are the HDDs the same size? Are they SMR or CMR drives? …