Sonic

The waiting game is not my favorite. I backed this Kickstarter project in March. Today my new Lincstation N2 finally arrived. I am really happy with it. 🙂 This will be my main HexOs server running as a VM on Proxmox.

I like it anyway 😀. For someone like you, a 3d printer could be a nice adition to your toolsset. When I read your SFF journey I see a lot of experimenting and out of the box thinking.

Did you 3D print the bottom of the case yourself?

And also another new player in the NAS market. The Orico Cyberdata Vault NAS – Price and Release Date The ORICO CyberData Vault NAS series is expected to launch via Kickstarter in late May to early June, marking the company’s formal entry into the high-performance private cloud storage sector. While final pricing has not yet been confirmed, ORICO aims to offer a competitive tiered structure across the six models, reflecting differences in storage configurations, processing power, and expansion options. Positioned as a direct response to a wave of emerging Chinese NAS alternatives, the CyberData Vault lineup is expected to compete with recent and upcoming releases such as the UGREEN NASync DXP series, the Minisforum N5 Pro, and the Aoostar WTR Max. All of these systems target prosumer and professional users seeking hybrid storage, high-speed connectivity, and non-subscription-based private cloud infrastructure—an increasingly active space that ORICO appears intent on disrupting with its multi-model launch strategy. See full article: https://nascompares.com/2025/05/19/orico-cyberdata-vault-nas-revealed/

Also interesting: Jonsbo N10 and NV10 NAS ITX Case Revealed ‪@COMPUTEXTAIPEIshow. This are mini ITX NAS cases and you can use them for full SSD DIY NAS solutions.

@Mobius, @Mindless999, my statement was not correct. You can use multiple pools. But it could be that installing 1 click apps are broken with 2 pools. If I remember correctly you have to correct this via the TrueNas interface. We had several forum post about this topic.

This is well thought approach. One thing to keep in mind. HexOs only supports one pool at the moment. In the future it will support multiple pools. It’s still on the roadmap.

@Dylan, Robbie is also reading your questions on the HexOs forum 🙂🙃 This is published tonight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMCHZVsAKdo

BTW, Robbie from Nascompares announced that he will visit AOOSTAR in October 2025.

Let the reviews enter the room 😀. I think the WTR Max, the Zima Cube and the N5 (pro) are only the beginning of series of new NAS / SFF server innovations. I expect to see a lot of new concepts in 2025 / 2026.

See: https://nascompares.com/2025/02/21/updated-fake-used-seagate-ironwolf-hdds-now-reported-how-to-check-your-drives/ for more background info

This is not really a HexOs issue, It's the lack of good Realtek drivers for Linux based systems.

Review Nascompares: https://nascompares.com/2025/05/16/zimaboard-2-review/

Did you also spot some interesting new hardware?

excellent platform to try a lot of things. 2,5 gbe NIC's is a really nice upgrade. Also nice to experiment with 3d printed cases

What do you plan on using 120TB for?

Mainly as a power efficient NAS to store files, pictures and movies. I will run HexOs as Proxmox VM with NVME passtrough. I also run Proxmox Datacenter Manager in a LXC container. My Lincstation N1 will be my Proxmox Backup server. I use spinning rust only as offline storage and as backup target. The spinning rust is activated only when needed using Cron jobs (shutdown) and Wake-on-LAN. The Lincstation N2 (and also my N1) uses only 6 to 9 watts in idle.

I almost forget Minisforum MS-A2. Also a lot of performance in a small box.

I am waiting for indepth reviews of the Minisforum N5 (pro) and WTR Max. Both are interesting devices. I am also reading a lot about oculink NVME boxes. This is a link to the one from Aoostar, but also other brands have them on the roadmap. https://aoostar.com/products/aoostar-tb4s-oc-usb4-oculink-4-slot-m-2-nvme-ssd-enclosurepcle3-0-x-1-single-slot-up-to-800mb-s-support-thunderbolt-4?variant=50145471889706

120+ TB is a lot 😀. I will start with 4 x 4 TB in raidz1. I will reveive my brand new Lincstation N2 next week and I am looking forward to have 10 TB net storage. 10 TB fast SSD storage and a 10 gbe NIC will bring my HexOs NAS to the next level.

I'm in the same boat. Active Backup for Business and Active Backup for M365 are a key part of my backup strategy. All the other apps I used to run on my Synology are now running on a different platform. The problem is that these backup apps are just very solid on Synology, and I haven’t found any good alternatives yet.

Terramaster hardware is designed to be used as a 24/7 NAS. A solid setup to start using HexOs. welcome!

See nascompares.com. In the subsection TrueNas you will find a lot of guides. Also for Ugreen, Qnap, Asustor, ….

Perhaps 45drives / 45homelabs suits your needs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibrOOaYNtJ4 https://45homelab.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopoy3DLgbUc0gcO-KJF9JSFQdNElCXuwmDG4ASU0pnspj5Lc8fe

It all depends of the purpose of your NAS. If you want a rock solid storage for all your important data, don't go this path. If you like the experiment and want to investigate the cutting edge of technology, go ahead. I did a quick search, but I can't find BC-250's for $50. And BC-250 draw a lot of power. So if you want a affordable solutions, there a better options in the market.