Other How would you build your own NAS?

hruodr · 2026-03-25T15:00:03+0000

FreeBSD, as any unix, offer a lot of possibilities for building something like a NAS,
special in FreeBSD is ZFS with its zpool scrub.

You can boot with pxeboot, mount with nfs, or send files with rsync, etc.

But the biggest problem I always have is mechanical.

You need to build a system with two discs for the mirror and a third for the OS (if no pxeboot). A big PC case?

Commercial NAS systems have compact cases, but their CPU does not allow to install the OS you want. And they are expensive.

I would be happy to have a "2 bay docking station" with power supply and 2 esata outputs, no nas,
just connect through sata when I want to save something. But does that exist?

What would you do?

ccammack · 2026-03-25T16:00:25+0000

I run FreeBSD 14 on a TERRAMASTER F2-425 as my "removable drive" backup system. It has an internal USB port where I have mounted a USB-SSD thumb drive for the OS. If I remember correctly, to install, I added the internal USB-SSD thumb drive, then booted the installer from a regular USB flash thumb drive in an external port, then installed to the internal thumb drive. After that I was able to boot. There is also an internal drive with the original OS inside the case which could possibly be overwritten with FreeBSD. I left mine in place and have not bothered to remove it yet. I did have to make some BIOS changes that I found on the TerraMaster forums to get it working properly. The vertical mounting of the drives inside the trays requires 2 plastic retaining clips, but it's still less than a minute to swap a drive out of the case and replace it, which I do every few days to move the drive off-site. I think it would be a fine small file server with a 2-drive mirror, depending on how much power you need.

Espionage724 · 2026-03-25T16:13:10+0000

hruodr said:
You need to build a system with two discs for the mirror and a third for the OS (if no pxeboot). A big PC case?

I use a USB-C 2-bay HDD box connected to a laptop for NAS and that works

I used to use a regular desktop with 3 drives on SATA.

bgavin · 2026-03-25T16:17:59+0000

Unless you have a burning need to learn to invent the wheel, why not a turn-key NAS?
I use XigmaNAS which works great in the default installation.

All the details are worked out already, as how to boot from a thumb drive, use a ram drive for paging, and set up the file systems.

Alain De Vos · 2026-03-25T16:30:50+0000

Veteran here, "man zpool" ,"man zfs".
What do you need.
NAS is storage over IP. Needed or not (storage locally) ?

kent_dorfman766 · 2026-03-25T17:08:44+0000

I guess at the end of the day I would not "build one"...I'd buy an existing NAS product. NAS for me would be at least 4 sata drives, preferably more, and building one I suspect I'd end up with a chassis and motherboard that is way overkill for the task...so I think it makes sense to let an EOM absorb the development costs and use an existing product instead. ie what bgavin said

ralphbsz · 2026-03-25T17:57:51+0000

hruodr said:
But the biggest problem I always have is mechanical.

You need to build a system with two discs for the mirror and a third for the OS (if no pxeboot). A big PC case?

My home server (which is also a NAS) is a compact case, about the size of a shoebox. It contains a micro-ATX motherboard, and has slots for 4 or 5 large (3-1/2") drives in hot-swap bays, plus two SSDs. The hardware is about 15 years old. Today, with SSD capacities of multiple terabytes, I'm not sure a home NAS still needs rotating drives.

mer · 2026-03-25T18:14:04+0000

ralphbsz said:
Today, with SSD capacities of multiple terabytes, I'm not sure a home NAS still needs rotating drives.

I agree with this.
A shoebox today fits a heck of a lot more power than a suitcase used to.
Motherboards, with all the integration you don't need much space. Just make sure you have enough I/O connectors, RAM and spend money on a good power supply. I'd opt for support to be able to add an Ethernet card (just in case the onboard one has issues).
Make sure network interface supports whatever you may expand to in speed.

I think the terms "mini-tower" or "SFF (Small Form Factor)" describe the box.
One reference I found for sizing has:
350-420mm H 180-210mm W 360-430mm D

So maybe a little bigger than a shoebox, but that's where commercial NAS devices make money. Design a case they want.
This is a good example.

Node 304

$www.fractal-design.com$ www.fractal-design.com

kent_dorfman766 · 2026-03-25T18:30:35+0000

ralphbsz said:
My home server (which is also a NAS) is a compact case, about the size of a shoebox. It contains a micro-ATX motherboard, and has slots for 4 or 5 large (3-1/2") drives in hot-swap bays, plus two SSDs. The hardware is about 15 years old. Today, with SSD capacities of multiple terabytes, I'm not sure a home NAS still needs rotating drives.

I disagree about SSD vs HDD for the simple reason of price per GB. HDD is still cheaper and with proper buffering/caching the end user shouldn't notice any throughput difference. Also HDD tech is very mature and public. flash memory is still somewhat black-box so is less trustworthy.

cracauer@ · 2026-03-25T18:32:21+0000

Cooler Master Stacker 810 as a case, job done.

cracauer@ · 2026-03-25T18:33:06+0000

hruodr said:
You need to build a system with two discs for the mirror and a third for the OS (if no pxeboot). A big PC case?

No, there is no reason why the OS can't live on the RAID disks, too.

ralphbsz · 2026-03-25T18:37:36+0000

cracauer@ said:
No, there is no reason why the OS can't live on the RAID disks, too.

Even stronger: It is a good idea for the OS to also be on RAIDed disks; like that the machine will still boot and run in case of disk failure. My current setup is kind of mirrored: I have two data disks (spinning HDD), and two small SSDs for the OS. All using ZFS. Alas, the SSDs are not mirrored, and instead get duplicated every night; I need to fix that, but haven't had time.

hruodr · 2026-03-25T20:19:52+0000

Espionage724 said:
I use a USB-C 2-bay HDD box connected to a laptop for NAS and that works

I want to be able to do: zpool scrup

bgavin said:
Unless you have a burning need to learn to invent the wheel, why not a turn-key NAS?

I want to have control over the system, namely known OS.

Alain De Vos said:
NAS is storage over IP. Needed or not (storage locally) ?

Not necessarily, but if the storage is not in the system I work, other cable will be necessary.

No problem with eSATA cable, but why not an ethernet cable?

kent_dorfman766 said:
I guess at the end of the day I would not "build one"...I'd buy an existing NAS product. NAS for me would be at least 4 sata drives, preferably more, and building one I suspect I'd end up with a chassis and motherboard that is way overkill for the task.

The NAS you buy is also a computer, with a more compact chassis.

mer said:
One reference I found for sizing has:
350-420mm H 180-210mm W 360-430mm D

Yes, this should be achievable with an old desktop computer.

cracauer@ said:
Cooler Master Stacker 810

And this with a tower, a tower is what I have at the moment. Very practical for exchanging pieces.
But I want to try now something more compact.

cracauer@ said:
No, there is no reason why the OS can't live on the RAID disks, too.

I think more simplicity, more flexibility.