Sonic

btw:

"If I understand correctly, you can't install HexOS on the array itself, so for that we'd opt omitting the wifi card in favour of a 2230 NVMe SSD. "

--> this is correct

Hi Antares,

You can definitely run HexOS on the MS-01. Personally, I don't think the MS-01 is the ideal NAS device. You can indeed add extra SSDs via PCIe to M.2, but cooling will become a challenge. The MS-01 is widely used as a server in many homelabs. I have one myself—it's truly a brilliant device!

Minisforum did develop a prototype expansion card with four SSDs, but it was never released due to heat issues.

The great thing about the MS-01 is that it packs a lot of performance into a small case—actually too much for a NAS. At the same time, it has just too few expansion options for storage to be an ideal NAS solution.

But don't get me wrong—you can definitely run HexOS on an MS-01. With the setup you’re proposing, you’ll be good to go!

@Dylan, the WTR pro specs looks promissing (still rumors) 🙂. 6 HDD bays, 6 nvme, 10 gbe and 2,5 gbe network and an AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU. I have seen on the AOOSTAR facebook page that they expect the release in Q1 2025. I am afraid that I also will spend some extra money on hardware this year.

5 minutes ago, Mobius said:

seems like what you want isn't very intense.
there is this prebuilt that has been kinda popular 

 

This build is something that could work for you too
https://nl.pcpartpicker.com/list/Jd292x
I would however consider checking ebay to see if you can find a 8500(t) or 9500(t) and a compatible motherboard for cheap

I'm not sure what the price for the jonsbo n4 is in europe so i just put in a conservative estimate for price.
The Sagittarius 8 bay chassis that @Sonic mentioned is also an option.

@Mobius created a nice setup. An alternative could be a machine like the WTR pro N100. @Dylan, what is your experience with running Plex on a N100? Another alternative could be running HexOs on NAS devices from QNAP, Terramaster or Ugreen. See nascompares.com for guides.

For a full selfbuild NAS the Jonsbo case is great. And the hardware on the list of Mobius is more then sufficient.

Network: 2,5gbe is more furture proof and works also with a 1 gbe switch. (You can upgrade your switch later)

hdds: you can start with 3 hdds of 4 TB in raidz1. Then you will have 8tb of storage and you can expansie with extra HDDs 

videocard: given your budget and also with power efficiency in mind, it’s best to use a iGPU. (Integrated gpu in the CPU). Intel cpu’s are the better options for hardware based transcoding. (Needed for Plex or Jellyfin.

@Insanittyx, you can build a NAS from many different types of hardware, and you can use that NAS for many different purposes. There is no generic answer. To give you a good response, you’ll need to be more specific about what you want (as @Mobius also asked).

Choosing hardware is always a trade-off between component cost, performance, power consumption, and form factor.

Here are some questions to consider:

• What do you want to use the NAS for? (Which apps, storage needs, etc.)
• What are your GPU requirements? (Do you plan to use Jellyfin or Plex?)
• How much storage do you need?
• How big/small should the case be?
• What network speed do you require?
• How important is power efficiency?

Here is also an alternative for the Jonsbo N5. Then you have something to choose 🙂 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr5MjhgPz_c

@ubergeek, can you share your experience? You moved HexOs already to a new device.

@Mobius said it all. The Jonsbo is a great case. And it’s 6 sata vs powerdraw.

On 1/4/2025 at 2:43 AM, jonp said:

Don't you worry!  We have plans for you brave testers out there to keep you on a "beta" track that lets you test out the goodies as we're building them.  Basically we will have feature-tagging so we can enroll certain users in new beta features for testing before they are ready for the stable track.  When we get to that phase, more will be revealed 😉

I also like to beta test. My test setup is ready for it!

1 minute ago, markrieder said:

For now, I will stay with the system that has everything I need. It offers RAID, docker, WM, disk hibernation, UPS support... I don't even need more. I will patiently wait for Hex to develop.

You are absolutely right! 

I use 5400 RPM HDDs and I setup HDD spindown in the TrueNas interface without any problems. It saves a lot of energy

8 minutes ago, MaLiXs said:

haswell based cpu are not that bad ... I  have myself a i5 4690k... it not like running a fist gen icore (aka socket 1366). It will take several years (especially if the energy cost is low like in Quebec) for the cost of newer and more efficient equipment to be worthwhile.

and if the user dont need a lot of pawer it easy to downclock and undervolt this cpu (I'm planing to do it)  

 

Back to OP : I have a similar config myself : i5 4690k, asrock z97 anniversary, 16gb but no dedicated gpu (I dont need plex HW encode since I only use local stream)

as drive I got 128gb sata ssd and 5x2tb WD caviar black (old recycled drive that have more than 8year of uptime)  and it plenty of computer to serve home with few user. Even if i use all of the 6 sata slot on my board I dont plan use a pci-e card since I'm gonna start up fresh with bigger drive and extend the pool with more drive

Haswell based cpu’s are indeed not bad a all. In the past I didn’t pay attention to energy usage. But in Europe this energy prices increased dramaticly. So for me it has become relevant.

What I mentioned is that later generations processors use much less power when idle. For comparisson, I have a system with 4 bays and a AMD mobile processor. Without HDDs I tweaked it down to 5.2 Watt in idle. A system with a Intel I7-4790K could easy draw 100 watt in idle. For testing purposes is not really a problem, but 24/7 for several years is more expensive.

To be clear, I don’t say you have a problem. You really created a nice system. I like your creative approach. 
 
A quick win good be to use only the iGPU. And perhaps changing Some bios settings (underclocking).

It really a worthy investment. ServeTheHome tested a lot of switches for homelab / home use.

See: https://www.servethehome.com/category/networking/

Personally, I like working with Mikrotik switches—they offer great value for money. However, the management interface is geared towards professionals, making it quite complex, but also very flexible.

That said, there are many other brands offering affordable switches, such as Ubiquiti, QNAP, TP-Link, Netgear, and ASUS. The cheapest option would be Chinese no-name switches, but I’m not a big fan of those—especially if they lack proper certifications.

It's a nice build!

Is there a possibility to upgrade the NIC's to 2,5 gbe of 10 gbe? 2,5 gbe networking is nowadays not expensive anymore. 

I like your approach! Very creative!.

If you at some point want to run Plex/Jellyfin you'll with the iGPU, you want a newer CPU with h265 support on the iGPU. But if not then it's fine. But you are using the Quadro P2000, so that's OK. 

The only thing I can think of is that this is not the most energy efficient server. But it's a pretty cheap solution, so I guess you have some money left to pay your energy bill. 🙂

HexOS is not yet as feature-rich as QTS, but you’ll be part of an exciting journey! 🙂 It's good to keep that in mind when setting your expectations.

I don't have experience with this specific device, but maybe my answers can point you in the right direction.
In any case, here’s a useful guide:
TrueNAS Scale on a QNAP NAS - Installation Guide

questions:

Are there any known compatibility issues with this hardware?
TrueNAS / HexOS should be able to run on this QNAP. You can always give it a try. I would remove the HDDs and install HexOS on the SSD first. Then, check if everything works. If it does, you can install the HDDs as well (make sure to back up your data!). If it doesn’t work, you can easily revert to QTS.

Would it be best to install HexOS directly on the NVMe, or should I use one of the SATA drives instead?
Directly on the NVMe. I’d recommend installing a second NVMe of the same size and setting them up in a mirror configuration.

Any special steps needed for migrating away from QTS and setting up HexOS properly?
Check out this guide:
TrueNAS Scale on a QNAP NAS - Installation Guide

Any potential gotchas with the networking setup, considering the integrated managed switch?
No idea. 🤷‍♂️

HexOs is still beta software. At least create a good backup. I also hope that there is a clean update path, but with beta software a reinstall is also possible.

@gingerling, it’s really run to read! And I have never Seven a Pink and Green case, 😂 Very original.

And @Dylan is right. Ask your questions, a lot of people are willing to help.

I like this option

I just ran a test. I copied 210GB of data over SMB using 2.5GbE Ethernet adapters. The average speed was 277MB/s, and the total time was 11 minutes and 51 seconds. That’s at full speed.

In general, SMB is better for large files, while NFS is better for small files. However, as you can see, performance can depend heavily on your configuration and the client you’re using. It seems like something isn’t right in your setup—perhaps a driver issue?

You can have good luck with a reconditioned drive, but also a lot of bad luck. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. This rule applies even when buying new drives.

There have been rumors about Exos drives for a while now. See:
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzegNKKWmck

I’m not against buying reconditioned drives, as long as you know what you’re doing. It also depends on how important your data is. You could, for example, use RaidZ2 instead of RaidZ1, but that would require additional drives, which also cost money.

How many TB do you think you’ll need? You could start with three 4TB or 6TB drives and add another one when you need more space.

I don’t know the UK market very well, but many European suppliers also deliver to the UK. If I search for "refurbished hard disk UK," I see multiple results. If you check the reviews of those companies, you should be able to find a reliable seller.

Oh, and make sure to buy a CMR drive, not an SMR one.

Looking at the cabinet space, depth seems to be the biggest challenge. An Intel NUC is already 115 x 115 mm, and then you still have the ports at the back. I’m not sure how much storage you need, but there isn’t much room for hard drives.

Furthermore, I agree with @Theo that running your router in a VM is not ideal. As a solution, you could consider using two devices: one for NAS (storage, apps, VMs) and one as a router.

Router Suggestions:

You could consider a mini PC from Ikoolcore, which can run pfSense. There are many other vendors offering similar devices:
🔗 Ikoolcore R2

Mikrotik and Ubiquiti also offer great routers for a homelab.

NAS Suggestions:

Perhaps the Terramaster (F8 SSD Plus or F8 SSD) could be a good option:
🔗 Terramaster F8 SSD Plus

Or the LincStation N1 (the N2 with 10GbE is launching soon):
🔗 LincStation N2 NAS Review

I personally use an Aoostar WTR Pro. It supports four hard drives and has its ports on the side, which might be useful given your limited space:
🔗 Aoostar WTR Pro

These are just a few ideas—I hope they help! You can find great reviews of many NAS devices on YouTube. Also, ServeTheHome is a useful website.

Just my 2 cents.