TanKianW
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[NAS] TrueNAS Core DIY Enterprise Class Storage Solution
Have been using FreeNAS for the past 12 years and never looked back. Why? My reason as below:
1) Recycle and repurpose your old hardware
2) ZFS is a business class storage system with reliability, and kept my data safe since day 1.
3) Can use it to host your personal cloud system such as Owncloud or Nextcloud
4) RAIDZ is better than conventional RAID. You do not need any RAID hardware card to run, just let FreeNAS OS manage your zpools. During any hardware failure, just replace the parts like a normal computer.
5) OS is free of charge
6) Has all the function compared to OTS NAS, and more. Yet, you really pay for what you get!
7) You get to choose the hardware specs and tune the NAS to your liking
8) Mature NAS OS system with regular updates and patch
9) Nice interface and dashboard
10) Much easier to use than you think
11) The excitement and accomplishment when building your own NAS!
In this thread, i will be sharing a simplified guide to building a FreeNAS box. Why I want to do that?. Reason is because I find the OTS NAS charging premiums for mediocre performance and low reliability when it comes to recovering from a data disaster. And for some which i have advocate the shift to FreeNAS to build their own NAS, none looked back. Reason why some goes down the OTS NAS route is because they thought there iis no other options or just by setting up a FreeNAS could be troublesome, but actually, it is the same as building your own PC. The OS has matured and made simple for amateur users.
I will use this thread to share one simple instance which i used to create my own FreeNAS build at home. I am running FreeNAS 11.2, with an APC Back-UPS, nextcloud and using as a home file server and data library.
*DISCLAIMER: I will keep this as simple as possible since I am no experts. Just sharing my 2 cents. I myself is a user and has no affiliation with FreeNAS.
I am using the FreeNAS 11.2-U6 stable build. This is a purpose build DIY NAS to replace a home file server which has been running for the past 8 years.
The hardware list (all hardware easily gotten from Amazon and SLS):
1) 8x 4TB WD Red NAS drives
2) Pentium Gold G5400, at dual-core at 3.7GHz
3) ASRock Z370M-ITX/ac with dual intel GbE
4) Kingston DDR4 Value RAM 2x 16GB
5) Corsair SFX 450W PSU
6) APC Back-UPS CS series at 650VA
7) IO crest 4 Port SATA3 PCIe card
8) Silverstone DS380 NAS casing
9) Sandisk Cruzer Fit 64GB with FreeNAS 11.2-U6 installed
Build Purpose
1) store and back up all my precious files, lossless music and family photos
2) run my personal “Nextcloud” to sync my work desktop automatically
3) file server to my media boxes
4) Plex server-optional
5) able to run 24/7 with minimal troubleshooting and link to an UPS. Able to shut down safely on its own during power trip, lightning strike or deliberate or accidental power outage
6) redundancy to withstand hardware failure and file corruption
7) data roll back using snapshots
Have been using FreeNAS for the past 12 years and never looked back. Why? My reason as below:
1) Recycle and repurpose your old hardware
2) ZFS is a business class storage system with reliability, and kept my data safe since day 1.
3) Can use it to host your personal cloud system such as Owncloud or Nextcloud
4) RAIDZ is better than conventional RAID. You do not need any RAID hardware card to run, just let FreeNAS OS manage your zpools. During any hardware failure, just replace the parts like a normal computer.
5) OS is free of charge
6) Has all the function compared to OTS NAS, and more. Yet, you really pay for what you get!
7) You get to choose the hardware specs and tune the NAS to your liking
8) Mature NAS OS system with regular updates and patch
9) Nice interface and dashboard
10) Much easier to use than you think
11) The excitement and accomplishment when building your own NAS!
In this thread, i will be sharing a simplified guide to building a FreeNAS box. Why I want to do that?. Reason is because I find the OTS NAS charging premiums for mediocre performance and low reliability when it comes to recovering from a data disaster. And for some which i have advocate the shift to FreeNAS to build their own NAS, none looked back. Reason why some goes down the OTS NAS route is because they thought there iis no other options or just by setting up a FreeNAS could be troublesome, but actually, it is the same as building your own PC. The OS has matured and made simple for amateur users.
I will use this thread to share one simple instance which i used to create my own FreeNAS build at home. I am running FreeNAS 11.2, with an APC Back-UPS, nextcloud and using as a home file server and data library.
*DISCLAIMER: I will keep this as simple as possible since I am no experts. Just sharing my 2 cents. I myself is a user and has no affiliation with FreeNAS.
I am using the FreeNAS 11.2-U6 stable build. This is a purpose build DIY NAS to replace a home file server which has been running for the past 8 years.
The hardware list (all hardware easily gotten from Amazon and SLS):
1) 8x 4TB WD Red NAS drives
2) Pentium Gold G5400, at dual-core at 3.7GHz
3) ASRock Z370M-ITX/ac with dual intel GbE
4) Kingston DDR4 Value RAM 2x 16GB
5) Corsair SFX 450W PSU
6) APC Back-UPS CS series at 650VA
7) IO crest 4 Port SATA3 PCIe card
8) Silverstone DS380 NAS casing
9) Sandisk Cruzer Fit 64GB with FreeNAS 11.2-U6 installed
Build Purpose
1) store and back up all my precious files, lossless music and family photos
2) run my personal “Nextcloud” to sync my work desktop automatically
3) file server to my media boxes
4) Plex server-optional
5) able to run 24/7 with minimal troubleshooting and link to an UPS. Able to shut down safely on its own during power trip, lightning strike or deliberate or accidental power outage
6) redundancy to withstand hardware failure and file corruption
7) data roll back using snapshots
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