What's your recommendation for a small NAS? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm looking for a compact NAS to back up events from my video surveillance system. Two drive bays is enough, maybe four at most. They can be 2.5" or 3.5", SATA or SAS, preferably populated with mechanical drives but even with reliable SSDs. It doesn't need to handle more than a few GB per day of throughput and 16TB of total storage would be more than enough so it doesn't need to support even more massive drives. I don't care if it's complete product like a Synology or something built from scratch using an SBC and adapters; all I need is RAID 1 and an SMB/CIFS file share, though I would like to keep costs low. My house is wired for Ethernet so wifi would just be a bonus but it might help to hide the device somewhere a burglar isn't likely to see it like they will the NVR in my server rack. Also, a GNU/Linux-based OS is obviously mandatory or else I wouldn't be on Lemmy.

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[-] [email protected] 16 points 6 days ago

For the easy way I would just grab a Synology DS224+.
For the DIY something like Jonsbo N2 case + a N100/6xSATA mitx board from china should do the trick. The N100 is great for low power builds.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

I second this proposition of DIY build. My current build is an older version of this using an ASRock motherboard with integrated Intel j5040. It's already very capable! I run Jellyfin with HW transcoding and a dozen other containers and there is still plenty of headroom.

The Jonsbo N2 case is pricey but good quality, nice looking and nice to build with ! Cheaper options are there but not as nice in terms of looks and usability.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The N100 really is a great option, I'm running like 40 services on mine. However, some N100 boards from China don't have the best power management and BIOS. Instead you can also get an N100 board from an established brand and combine it with an M.2 to 6x SATA splitter (those other boards use splitters anyway) for the same (or better) price compared to those Chinese NAS boards.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

That's very true, I'd rather by an ASUS or other known brand N100 MB + an M.2 to SATA splitter too, if the price is equal (or better).
Last time I looked at it I was looking for hw for an opnsense router so I wanted the multiple intel i226 nics that most china-brands add on, so my mind went that way right away.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

I second the N100. It's what I use and it's ridiculously powerful for the small amount of power it drains. And barely needs refrigeration.

this post was submitted on 27 May 2025

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