NAS built in 2015? No, SFF instead!

[Dylan]

@ulfn This is fantastic! I love the design and implementation - how will you be using it?

(this is really fun stuff!!)

[ulfn]

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.

Edited April 24 by ulfn

[Dylan]

Keep us posted @ulfn!

[ulfn]

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 😉

[ulfn]

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.

Edited April 27 by ulfn

[ulfn]

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.

Edited April 27 by ulfn
Polishing my English

[ulfn]

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…

Edited April 27 by ulfn
Adding last comment

[ulfn]

It’s apparent I’ve taken a little break from the HexOS implementation. It’s just that many questions are up in the air, a situation which don’t help me going forward.

By writing them down here I try to make the road ahead a little smoother. It makes me being able to focus on one problem at a time. I hope. So here we go:

• Smb shares possible without installing anything?
• Separate pool for smb shares? (correct TrueNAS terminology?)
• Getting my main Windows PC going, for smb shares
• Delete truesnas_admin account, and create another administrator user?
• Static IP (realized by DHCP reservations?)
• Https instead of http?

 

Useful comments are welcome!

[ulfn]

In the topic ”What new gear are you interested in”  by @Dylan I mentioned I had a little project on the side.

So I got me a Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM, with two possible use cases. First alternative is to place it in my sister’s apartment for an off site backup, together with a 5TB Lacie Rugged USB drive for storage.  Second alternative and maybe more exciting is to use it for a Nextcloud setup.

There is a specific Pi OS for this - Nextcloud Pi. I even found a video describing a setup like this:

https://www.xda-developers.com/i-built-a-personal-cloud-using-my-raspberry-pi-and-heres-how-you-can-too/

Many years ago I bought a wooden case for an earlier version of the Pi I had also got. That never came to any use, but at least I got to know there are nicer cases out there. So with this new Raspberry Pi 5 I ordered, from Germany, a case specific for the Pi 5:

https://barebaric.com/en/shop/barebaric-raspberry-pi-5-case-made-from-real-oak-or-walnut-wood-1#attr=14,2,3

 

 

[ulfn]

I would like to show some pictures of the older case also, since they are both very stylish. This case has a bottom part where you put the Pi, then you put the top part above 😉 That’s why it looks a bit so-so in the pictures - the top part is not properly set. 

If I hadn’t found a wood case for the Pi I would(!) have chosen this Akasa aluminium case:

https://akasa.co.uk/update.php?tpl=product/product.detail.tpl&type=CHASSIS%20POWER&type_sub=FANLESS%20CASES&model=A-RA13-M2B

Thiis isn’t about HexOS, I know, but either of my use cases could work like partners to my HexOS PocketNAS.

[Sonic]

44 minutes ago, ulfn said:

In the topic ”What new gear are you interested in”  by @Dylan I mentioned I had a little project on the side.

So I got me a Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM, with two possible use cases. First alternative is to place it in my sister’s apartment for an off site backup, together with a 5TB Lacie Rugged USB drive for storage.  Second alternative and maybe more exciting is to use it for a Nextcloud setup.

There is a specific Pi OS for this - Nextcloud Pi. I even found a video describing a setup like this:

https://www.xda-developers.com/i-built-a-personal-cloud-using-my-raspberry-pi-and-heres-how-you-can-too/

Many years ago I bought a wooden case for an earlier version of the Pi I had also got. That never came to any use, but at least I got to know there are nicer cases out there. So with this new Raspberry Pi 5 I ordered, from Germany, a case specific for the Pi 5:

https://barebaric.com/en/shop/barebaric-raspberry-pi-5-case-made-from-real-oak-or-walnut-wood-1#attr=14,2,3

 

 

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

[ulfn]

Wish I could but no, I don't have those capabilities machine wise, or knowledge😉 

Just happy it's out there to buy...

[Sonic]

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.

[ulfn]

1 hour ago, Sonic said:

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.

Creativity is like food for the "happiness center" of our brain. My natural creativity area is language, I like writing. But this computer related  stuff is not far behind.

 

[Sonic]

@ulfn, I have another question for you. What is your experience with the cooling of your newly build SFF NAS? And how about the noise?

[Dylan]

10 hours ago, ulfn said:

Creativity is like food for the "happiness center" of our brain. My natural creativity area is language, I like writing. But this computer related  stuff is not far behind.

I truly relate to this. It's when the magic happens. It looks like you've been having a really good time creating unique builds and finding ways to leverage the devices and at a relatively low cost as well!

This is great stuff!