My NAS journey

[sunny_raven]

Hi all! I wanted to share my NAS journey starting with something completely nonsensical to something I actually daily drive now.

The first one was a DIY fully 3d printed case before I understood what all of this home lab stuff even was. I tried to connect several SSDs and an HDD to a raspberry pi via a USB hub. Surprisingly, it worked, but very badly. Open Media Vault didn't quite like this setup.

The next attempt was a mini NAS based on axzez's Interceptor board crammed into a Sony DVD RW drive enclosure. 

It was actually decent! But too little space for upgrades. I initially ran OMV on it, but after a while HexOS came out, and that was my first HexOS NAS.

That's when I began getting a grip on how a NAS actually works, what HexOS is for, and how to get the most out of it. So the next interim solution was a spare converted Mac Pro case with some custom 3d printed HDD holder bars, but still based on the aforementioned Interceptor board. This worked ok for files but lacked versatility for any other home lab use cases.

I later upgraded this setup to a normal PC motherboard and relocated the HDDs to the top shelf. That was way better and that's when I got into all of the side apps that HexOS/TrueNAS could run like local AI, Immich, Plex, Jellyfin, etc.

 

Finally, I shelled out for a case designed for a NAS. And what a difference that made! Building a NAS in a case designed for one is night and day compared to building in a hacked together Mac case.

 

 

Edited 14 hours ago by sunny_raven

[Todd Miller]

Geez.  I thought I was cutting edge with a  GMKtek mini PC and a Rasberry Pie 5 as my non standard desktop PC entries.  

[sunny_raven]

I guess, there is a tool for every problem! Some may just be better than others depending on what your use case is. 

 

I know there are a ton of "Raspberry Pi (or one board) NAS" videos on Youtube, but I feel like they definitely lack versatility for heavier tasks. 

It is, however, all relative. If I were getting into this today and didn't have the used components on hand, I'd definitely just go with something small and cheap. 

 

Also, those minis look like they could pack a punch too!