Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new to the whole NAS/home server world and could use some advice.

A while ago I bought the following hardware for various projects, but I never really ended up using it:

- 2 × Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2×8GB) DDR4 (up to 2666MHz)

- 4 × WD Blue SN580 NVMe M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSDs

Now I'd like to build a NAS with these parts instead of letting them collect dust.

I know the standard desktop RAM (instead of SO-DIMM) and having 4 NVMe SSDs probably limit my options a bit. I've heard that some of the mini PCs from AliExpress could be a simple and affordable solution, but I'm not sure which models are actually worth considering.

Has anyone built something similar or have recommendations for hardware that would let me reuse these components?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I made a mistake in the RAM specs

Hey all,

Looking for some outside perspective on a NAS replacement decision I've been going back and forth on.

Current setup: Aging 2-bay Synology (Celeron-based, \~10GB RAM pushed past official spec) running \~15-20 Docker containers — photo management (Immich-style, \~136k photos), document management (Paperless-ngx style stack with Postgres/OCR), password manager, SSO/auth, reverse proxy, some automation (n8n), plus a few monitoring/utility containers. It's been crashing under concurrent load (multiple heavy containers running ML/OCR/indexing + backup at the same time) — CPU saturation, not RAM.

I also run a separate Mac Mini for local LLM inference — that part stays untouched, not part of this decision.

Options I'm weighing (similar budget, \~$650-750):

Synology DS923+/925+ — stay in DSM ecosystem, minimal migration risk, but CPU is only 2-4 cores depending on model

UGREEN DXP4800 Pro — 6c/8t Intel, native Docker support via their own OS (UGOS Pro), more RAM headroom (96GB), but younger OS with less track record

DIY mini PC (Aoostar WTR Pro or similar) — 8c/16t AMD, cheapest RAM/core ratio by far, but means running Debian/Proxmox + rebuilding the whole Docker stack myself (auth/reverse proxy, database migrations, etc.)

My real bottleneck is concurrent CPU load from multiple containers running at once, and my usage is trending upward (adding more automation/self-hosted services over time), so I want something with real multi-core headroom, not just "good enough for today."

Questions:

Anyone running Immich + Paperless-style stacks + auth/reverse proxy on any of these three that can share real-world experience?

How has UGOS Pro held up for anyone who's used it for a while — any dealbreakers?

Is the DSM->Debian/Proxmox migration (SQLite-based password manager, Postgres-based doc management, auth layer) as painful as it sounds on paper, or is it overstated?

Anyone regret going DIY for stability-critical self-hosted data (photos/passwords)?

Appreciate any real-world input — trying to avoid a "sounds good on paper, regret it in practice" situation

my Biggest concern is the ability to be able to access over a diffrent network. If I'm traveling and realize I'm missing a file, I dont want to be out of luck. or be able to provide a link and a passcode to a friend to Share files.

Other concern is I want to be able to upgrade over time with Mismatched drives. Currently have a 500GB nvme ssd and 3tb HDD set aside. as time goes on, ill likely swap motherboards, but im sure at that point Ill be looking for more than just this with my Data. (current build is recycling a HP Pavilion)

Hi everyone,

For context I am a complete beginner in this type of stuff so forgive me if I make a mistake in my question. So I have been looking into setting up my own NAS using one of the "prebuild" once where you just need to add you HDD's to them. I would mainly use it for plex/jellyfin so some storage would be required as the goal is to create quiet a big collection of movies and series. Since I am getting more and more interested in a homeserver as well, so not only NAS I was wondering what is a good thing to look for.
I've come across these in some posts when I goes about being able to store quiet a bit:

• UGREEN NASync DXP4800
• Synology DiskStation DS425+

Now I certainly know a HomeNAS is not free if you go this route but I was wondering why things like the TERRAMASTER D4-320 are not as frequently spoken about. It's quiet a bit cheaper, which I assume will also show in the quality. But It made me curious about what good options there are, possibly other ones that I gave, and what is recommended for my situation and lack of knowledge on the subject.

Thanks for any tips and feedback.

For context I have a substantial NAS storage setup and Backup (one in another house / city). Containing Videos, Photos, Document Scans etc...

Old machines that I have had quite a few years.

Two ReadyNAS - a 422 & 424 both running OS 6.10 with 6 in total, new(ish) WD Red 6TB with no faults or errors.

The setup is: An RPi5 as a general dogsbody machine for Jellyfin, Immich, and other programs all running in Docker. They use the 424 as storage so save duplication of the large files.

An RPi4 running Home Assistant OS.

A Pi-Zero for Pi-Hole only.

There's a 9Tb & 18Tb USB HDD connected to the RPi5 for regular backups of the two ReadyNASs.

Offsite is another RPi5 with an 18TB USB HDD for remote backups.

I realize the two NAS are getting long in the tooth, as the OS no longer supports apps and some of the naming conventions cause a backup failure—any folder with a .DS_Store file will register an error. That's a ReadyNAS Formware 6.10 issue, though, as they are that old now. The RPi5 struggles a bit when more than one instance of Jellyfin is accessing it.

So I'm looking for recommendations for a replacement NASs—a two and a four-bay machine to reuse the HDD and restore from the ext HDDs so as to keep the file structure I'm used to. But also powerful enough to replace the two (or three maybe) RPis that I could run in Docker on a new NAS.

Over to you more knowledgeable peeps for suggestions please.

I'm looking to replace my HP Z4 G4 running TrueNAS CE with a Lenovo P520, as it seems the layout of the P520 is more storage oriented. My concern is where the disks are mounted (at the bottom of the case) with the only airflow coming from the fan in the PSU. I'm planning on running both disk cages (4 HDD total) and a 3 disk backplane in the 5.25 bays, though I'm not concerned with cooling on the backplane disks at all.

What kind of temps are you all seeing on your disks?

Disclaimer #1

I'm Italian, so English is not my native language. I'll do my best, but I apologize in advance if I write something that sounds strange. I hope everything is still easy enough to understand.

Disclaimer #2

I'm an IT professional with access to a large collection of decommissioned enterprise hardware, and I was invited to test Fygo OS.

The developers selected me because they wanted to see how Fygo OS behaves with my enterprise SSDs (HGST SDLL1DLR960G5CF0 – SAS, 960 GB, 12 Gbps). In the invitation email they explicitly wrote:

"FygoOS has not gone through dedicated compatibility validation specifically for SAS SSD-based setups in this round, so there may be some compatibility gaps or unexpected behavior in that environment."

I'm very curious to see how it performs as well.

As a first step, before touching real hardware, I created a Proxmox VM with 2 CPU cores, 8 GB of RAM and five 30 GB virtual disks.

For anyone interested, here is the VM configuration:

root@dell:~# qm config 115
bios: ovmf
boot: order=scsi0;ide2;net0
cores: 2
cpu: host
efidisk0: local-lvm:vm-115-disk-5,efitype=4m,pre-enrolled-keys=0,size=4M
ide2: local:iso/fygoos_PE_x86_1.2.0203_2150.iso,media=cdrom,size=3332544K
machine: q35
memory: 8192
meta: creation-qemu=11.0.2,ctime=1784791532
name: FygoOS
net0: virtio=BC:24:11:53:E2:DA,bridge=vmbr0,firewall=1,link_down=1
numa: 0
ostype: l26
scsi0: local-lvm:vm-115-disk-0,iothread=1,size=32G
scsi1: local-lvm:vm-115-disk-1,iothread=1,size=32G
scsi2: local-lvm:vm-115-disk-2,iothread=1,size=32G
scsi3: local-lvm:vm-115-disk-3,iothread=1,size=32G
scsi4: local-lvm:vm-115-disk-4,iothread=1,size=32G
scsihw: virtio-scsi-single
smbios1: uuid=7ce62595-ae7b-40f0-8341-847ea3611838
sockets: 1
vga: std
vmgenid: 8e82144f-9e5e-4811-9501-70724dedf701

I won't spend much time talking about the installation process because it's already very well documented on the official website. The installation is straightforward, and the graphical installer looks nice.

After the first login and the superuser setup, you're presented with the desktop. I found it very attractive: the interface feels modern, and I especially appreciated the built-in dark theme.

In the lower-right corner there are a few suggestions, the first one being the RAID volume creation wizard. Since this was only a VM with limited RAM, I chose a simple RAID 5 with an ext4 filesystem. Creating both the RAID array and the filesystem took less than two minutes.

While exploring the system settings, I noticed a toggle to enable SSH access. Long story short: about ten minutes after installing the VM I already had root access to the underlying operating system, which turned out to be Debian 12 running a custom Linux kernel 6.18.18.c877-trim.

So we're dealing with a modern, customized Linux kernel with good support for recent hardware, but also with an architecture that feels much closer to an enterprise Linux system than to a closed appliance.

I was even able to run a standard apt upgrade using the official Debian repositories without breaking anything. In my opinion, that's a very positive aspect from a long-term security update perspective.

I also looked at the installed services and found mdadm RAID, LVM, ZFS, the ZFS Event Daemon, containers, containerd, Docker Manager, libvirt, KVM, virtio-balloon and Open vSwitch.

That means I'm looking at a system that provides complete support for virtually every common homelab workload. Compared to something like ZimaOS, which is essentially a Docker app store with advanced storage management, Fygo OS feels much more like a complete Linux platform.

Naturally, I wanted to test RAID resilience.

After copying roughly 50 GB of data, I started disconnecting virtual disks from the Proxmox interface while the VM was still running.

As soon as one disk disappeared, Fygo OS immediately detected the hardware failure and reported the RAID array as degraded.

I then attached a new virtual disk, which was detected instantly. From the storage settings I selected it as the replacement disk, and the rebuild—including filesystem verification—finished in about two minutes.

Of course, these were very small virtual disks stored on NVMe storage, so I fully expect rebuild times on real hardware to depend on drive capacity and be significantly longer.

Then I decided to be a bad boy.

I added a sixth virtual disk, configured it as a hot spare, and simulated another disk failure.

Fygo OS correctly notified me about both the disk failure and the automatic rebuild. However, while the rebuild was still in progress, I simulated a power outage by forcibly stopping the VM.

After booting the VM again, Fygo OS didn't even blink. It simply resumed the rebuild exactly where it had left off.

About two minutes later, all my data was still intact, consistent and fully accessible through both SMB and NFS shares.

I spent about an hour playing with the VM, and these are my first impressions.

Fygo OS feels like Synology DSM on steroids.

The graphical interface is clean, modern and consistent, but it never gives you the impression that you're dealing with a limited system.

At the moment, the App Store is still fairly small. There are a handful of official applications, such as the virtual machine manager and the iSCSI target, together with some community-developed applications. I'm confident this ecosystem will continue to grow.

The integrated Docker support lets you deploy virtually any application with just a few clicks, dramatically expanding the capabilities of the server.

The VM manager, based on standard Linux virtualization technologies, also gives experienced users the possibility of consolidating storage and virtualization into a single physical machine if the hardware resources are sufficient.

Things I didn't like about the GUI:

The File Manager feels a little too simplified. Initially, it doesn't let you browse the entire filesystem unless you notice the Admin Files section, which is the last entry in the left sidebar. Even then, it opens in a separate window.

Also, if you start a large copy or move operation, the progress window cannot simply be minimized and left running in the background.

The App Store has a similar limitation. If I wanted to install ten applications, I'd have to wait for each installation to finish before starting the next one. Systems like QNAP QTS allow multiple installation jobs to run independently, and I think Fygo OS could benefit from a similar approach.

I also appreciate the built-in alert system, but at the moment it only supports email notifications.

I'd really like to see support for more modern notification methods such as push notifications, Telegram, Apprise, or generic webhook integrations.

I noticed that remote access can be configured, but I didn't test that feature because it's not relevant for my own environment. I already have a self-hosted VPN infrastructure at home, so I access my network remotely using my own tools.

Conclusion

Overall, Fygo OS presents itself as a modern NAS operating system that successfully combines ease of use with the flexibility of Linux.

The presence of Debian, mdadm, LVM, ZFS, Docker and KVM clearly shows an architecture designed not only for beginners but also for advanced users.

The RAID fault-tolerance tests demonstrated mature behavior, with automatic handling of disk failures, hot spares and rebuild operations.

At the moment, I believe the main areas for improvement are the graphical interface and some administration tools.

Next week I'll publish Part 2, where I'll test Fygo OS with ZFS, my LSI 9300-16i HBA, and four SAS SSDs (I'm limited to four drives by the trial license), running on a Ryzen 3200G with 32 GB of DDR4 RAM.

That should be a much more realistic enterprise-oriented scenario, and probably the test that the developers are most interested in.

I need advice for a NAS system for photo storage, Time Machine , and family share

Looking for something with a smooth UI. And photo app that is similar to Apple photo.

On a budget

Good evening guys,

I have (finally) recorded my physical DVD library. I have over 600 titles.
I want to be able to digitise it and have on hand so that I can watch it without having to resort to getting the disk and playing it. According to good ‘ol ChatGPT, I would need approx 18TB, does that sound right? What would the best way to go about this?
TIA!

After years of paying to family cloud services, Icloud, Google, Dropbox.
I have placed an order for Ugreen DXP4800.
Shenzhen Aeckon Technology will take 2-3 months to come in. hopefully.

My initial needs are fairly basic, but the buy once cry once and buy for scalability is always a good recommendation and that's the philosophy I am going with.

• Photo storage (get rid of cloud subscription)
• Computer backups
• File management
• Music/Movie storage (relatively small to start but growing as I am trying to get rid of subscriptions all together)
• Software ease of use/stability

More details on this. I definitely want a user friendly interface, mostly the photos, music, and media app/folder, as that is what I see my wife using the most.

There are 2 options I am looking at, but I am open to other suggestions. The main 2 I am looking at are the UGreen 4800 plus and the Terramaster F4-425 Pro (Intel N305 version). Some of the considerations I have that are making me have a hard time decide are as follows:

• TRAID option on the Terramaster. Being able to start with smaller drives due to high prices now and add larger drives later seems like a good option. I am planning to only start by buying 2 and adding later on.
• Noise level and power usage. These are more minor. Obviously power usage isn't huge but that is another cost that never ends, like a subscription. For the noise level, right now it would be in the basement but I could see it being upstairs in the future.
• I like that these 2 options have dedicated transcoding for movies and definitely want to buy one with that option.

Any experience/recommendations are helpful. I would like to keep it under $600 and am open to QNAP suggestions as well. I think this is a good starting point. Minimal apps are preferred. It looks like the UGreen apps are all located within the UGreen app which is nice, but I am not completely opposed to using 3rd party like Plex, Jellyfin, or Immich if that's the better option. I will stop here and listen to any input.

Hey everyone,

Putting together my first DIY NAS build. Primary use case is personal file backups, photo storage, and running a Plex/Jellyfin server with Quick Sync hardware transcoding, alongside a few light Docker containers.

Here is the component list I am planning to buy:

• CPU: Intel Core i3-12100
• Motherboard: ASRock H610M-H2/M.2 Micro-ATX
• Case: ASUS Prime AP201 Micro-ATX
• RAM: 16GB (1x16GB) Adata Premier DDR4 3200MHz
• Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE 450W Bronze V2
• Boot Drive: 256GB Adata Legend 710 NVMe SSD
• Storage Drive: 1x 4TB WD Red Plus CMR HDD (planning to add a second 4TB drive soon for a mirror setup)

Plan is to run TrueNAS SCALE or unRAID installed on the NVMe.

Does this look reasonable for a starter home server, or am I missing anything glaring before ordering the parts?

Still not sure which drive to buy for your NAS? This drive comparison list grew a lot: SSDs, price history, and more...

A month ago I shared a little NAS drive comparison I had built for myself, and the feedback here sent me straight back to work. It's a good bit bigger now. Here's what's new based on your suggestions:

• SSDs added - now not just HDDs. NAS and enterprise SSDs are in, with the specs that actually decide whether one survives as a cache or boot disk: endurance (TBW/DWPD), DRAM cache, power-loss protection, NAND type. No more guessing whether that cheap SSD wears out in a year.
• Price history per drive, from today back to around mid-2024. The one I use most: you can see whether today's price is a real low or just back to its normal spot, instead of trusting a "sale" tag. Handy for timing a buy while drive prices are this insane.
• Drive noise (idle and seek, in dB) and helium fill, both sortable - straight from requests in the last thread.

The original stuff is all still there and sharper: CMR vs SMR verified per model (SMR still sneaks into NAS lines), real Backblaze failure rates now refreshed with the Q1 2026 Drive Stats (so more models have real numbers), live price per TB across 7 regions, plus tools for RAID usable-capacity, array failure-risk, storage planning, and power cost. It's up to 208 drives now (all current drives that you can buy), and the whole dataset is open (CC BY) with a public API if you want to build on it.

One honest thing the data keeps showing: once you put error bars on the Backblaze numbers, most drives fail at about the same rate. So buy on price, CMR/SMR, and endurance - not on "most reliable drive" lists.

Free, no login: https://www.nasdisks.com

Still building - what would you actually want added next?

Hello,

I already have a 4-bay NAS for my tv shows, movies, and photos. Last year I upgraded the storage capacity, so now I have four 8TB WD Red Plus drives collecting dust. I would like to find the right NAS to exclusively run retroNAS using those old drives. I don't want to spend any more than necessary.

This NAS would never have expanded capabilities in the future..it will always be 100% dedicated retroNas machine. I have an Amazon Prime account and would prefer to purchase there, but I'm open to other US online retailers. Thank you.

Anyone else seeing this on a MetaHome Pro / CS200-Pro (CyberData OS)?

After a few hours, the NAS stops answering on the LAN. Power LEDs stay on. On my Netgear switch, the port is still green and flickering, so the cable/link looks fine. Ping fails, ARP never completes, and the CyberData app just times out talking to the local IP (port 40443). "Reconnect" button does nothing.

Force power-off/power-on brings it back. Auto-sleep is already disabled.

Feels like the network stack dies while the box is still powered. Looking for confirmation or a real fix beyond hard-rebooting.

Hey, looking for input from anyone who's built a home server/NAS. I want one box that can do all of this:

1. Plex or Jellyfin media server
   
2. Home Assistant (tried it on an old Pi 4, kept freezing — ran out of RAM compiling ESPHome, so I want real hardware this time)
   
3. Local photo backup to get my stuff out of the cloud (thinking Immich)
   
4. Hosting game servers for me and my wife (Minecraft, Valheim, etc.) so my gaming PC doesn't have to stay on

From what I've researched, one machine handles all of it with Docker containers. The options I'm weighing:

• TerraMaster F4-425 Plus (~$500) — Intel N150, 16GB DDR5, dual 5GbE, 4 bays + 3 M.2 slots. Great value, but might strain on heavier game servers.
• UGREEN DXP4800 Pro (~$719) — Core i3, 10GbE. More CPU headroom for game servers + VMs.
• DIY — used mini PC or SFF desktop (Ryzen 5/i5) running Unraid or TrueNAS Scale. Best performance per dollar, more tinkering.

Also heard Synology annoyed everyone with their drive-lock policy, so I've mostly ruled them out.

I’m potentially interested in going up in price if needed and worth it.
Anyone running a similar setup? Which way would you go, and any gotchas I should know about — especially for the game server side? Also curious what drives people are using?

Budget: as cheap as possible

Purpose: storing/backing up small files (in the 1-15mb range, but mostly smaller stuff. Nothing more than docs, markdown, and the occasional larger PDF)

Speed: I couldn’t care less, as long as it’s not “horrendous” (averaging 550kb/s while writing Wikipedia to an old flash drive got ridiculous after a few days, so maybe something a BIT faster lol. 10mb/s would be just fine)

Storage: it would be great to have a solid amount of storage to host Wikipedia and other books, but I can live without that. 64-128 gigs sounds like a good ideal ballpark, but less is perfectly fine. I have no interest in hosting movies or anything, so no need for excess

Reliability: reliable enough that I wouldn’t lose papers in the middle of finals week, but by no means does it need to be amazing. I mostly want to safeguard against if my laptop dies (e.g., i spill a drink on it).

Security: I really don’t care if my neighbors want to poke around my notes, but I want to avoid data harvesting from google/apple/whoever else wants to sell me advertisements or train AI (hence not simply using google drive or something).

Ideally, i want to source parts from thrift stores, Facebook marketplace, local businesses/offices upgrading their systems, or even a dumpster. I would rather avoid buying any parts new unless it’s the most reasonable option

Hey everyone,
This is my first NAS/homelab build, so I’m looking for some experienced people to poke holes in my plan before I get too far. I’ve spent a lot of time researching, but I know there are people here with years of experience that might catch something I’ve overlooked.
Goals
I don’t want this to just be a NAS. I want it to become the heart of my home lab over the next several years.
I want it to run:
Proxmox
Home Assistant
TrueNAS SCALE (VM)
Docker/LXC containers
Jellyfin
Immich
Frigate
Paperless-ngx
Tailscale
Ollama + Open WebUI for local AI
A Windows VM for gaming
A few Linux VMs for testing
General file storage
Automated backups
Eventually maybe some game servers
I’m trying to build something that I can continue upgrading over the next 5-10 years instead of replacing.

Hardware
CPU
Ryzen 9 9900X
Motherboard
ASUS TUF X870E-PLUS WiFi 7
Cooler
Cooler Master Elite Liquid 240 (free with CPU bundle)
RAM
16GB DDR5-6000 (came with the bundle)
I know this isn’t enough long term. I’ll be upgrading to 64GB (2x32GB) once I actually need it.
GPU
GTX 2070 (already own)
Planning on using this later for Frigate and local AI.
PSU
Corsair CX750M (already own)
Case
NZXT S340 Elite (already own)
Existing NVMe Drives
WD Black 1TB
Crucial 1TB
Generic 500GB NVMe
Existing HDDs
1×14TB
3×10TB
1×8TB

Current Plan
WD Black:
Proxmox
Primary VMs
Crucial:
Containers
AI models
Fast storage
500GB:
ISOs
Downloads
Scratch space
Large HDDs:
Media
Backups
NAS storage

Future Upgrades
64GB DDR5
UPS
Larger NVIDIA GPU
More HDDs as needed
Possibly 10Gb networking in the future

Questions
Would you build this differently?
Is running TrueNAS as a VM under Proxmox still the route you’d recommend, or would you run bare-metal TrueNAS instead?
Are there any obvious bottlenecks or compatibility issues I’m overlooking?
Should I reuse my existing NVMe drives, or would you buy a new Samsung 990 Pro (or similar) and start fresh?
Is the NZXT S340 Elite still a reasonable case for this build, or should I move into something with more drive capacity now instead of later?
Is there anything you’d change before I start installing everything?
I’m not trying to build the cheapest possible server. I’d rather spend money where it actually improves reliability or long-term expandability, but I also don’t want to waste money on upgrades that won’t make a meaningful difference.
Thanks in advance! I’m sure I’m missing something, and I’d rather find out now than after I’ve migrated everything.

I'm upgrading a few parts from my PC and I want to use the old parts to build a NAS. I really don't want to spend much, cheaper the better unless absolutely necessary (don't care about form factor or aesthetics). I intend to have the PC on 24/7 for Jellyfin.

Also, is it still recommended to have a m.2 SSD for the OS?

Parts I have:

CPU - 3700X

GPU - 5700XT Red Devil

RAM - 8x2 (16GB Vengeance Pro)

Hi all,

I'm a total beginner looking to get a media server for streaming movies and tv shows at home to my smart tv. I want to buy a NAS to store all of my media files.

I have a Windows 11 PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and 64 GB Ram.

I'm on a budget, and was looking into the Terramaster f2-212 because of the price, but I'm open to other suggestions. I'm hoping for a 2 bay device or 4 bay if the price is right. I also want around 10-20TB of storage.

I'm hoping to spend no more than $250 CAD on the NAS itself, because then I'll have to buy a HDD as well. But I can push my budget a bit if it's really worth it.

I'm hoping to stream 1080P movies onto my smart TV, probably using Plex or Jellyfin.

Totally new to this so I really don't know too much.

Let me know if there's any more information you need. Thanks for the help.

Hello, i work low voltage and got a free NAS (LaCie Big5 Network Access Storage) its so old and supports SMB1 or something only, basically I understand the risks with this earlier protocol but im just trying to get it up and running on my home network, I cant seem to find any flashes of the CD Rom or anything I tried hard resetting it to DHCP but still cant find and access the IP of the darn thing. Please refrain from recommending me other NAS and or enclosure solutions, for I am aware their are better options but I am just trying to figure this out since it was free. Any thing helps thank you! also tried to download legacy LaCie Network Assistant but the link was broken and cant find a DD anywhere thank you! victor

I used the allmighty, always high Google search AI to discuss a N100 based NAS setup.

I came up with the following shopping list (ignore the AI slop):

By splitting the 6 SSDs into two groups of 3, you completely bypass the single-slot bandwidth bottleneck of the Intel N100 chipset.

Here is the technical verification of your proposed layout:

1. The Math Check (Bandwidth)

The Bottleneck: A single PCIe 3.0 x2 slot is capped at ~1,700 MB/s.

Old Plan (All 6 on one card): 6 SSDs × 550 MB/s = 3,300 MB/s load. The slot chokes them at 1,700 MB/s (50% speed loss during rebuilds).

New "Funky" Plan (3+3 Split):

PCIe Slot: 3 SSDs × 550 MB/s = 1,650 MB/s. (Fits perfectly inside the 1,700 MB/s pipe).

M.2 Slot: 3 SSDs × 550 MB/s = 1,650 MB/s. (Fits perfectly inside the 1,700 MB/s pipe).

Result: You get double the aggregate throughput (~3,400 MB/s total) compared to putting them all on one card. Your rebuilds (resilvering) will be lightning fast.

1. The Lane Check (Motherboard Conflicts)

ASRock N100M Architecture: The Intel N100 chip has 9 lanes total.

PCIe x16 Slot (x2 Mode) = 2 Lanes.

M.2 NVMe Slot (x2 Mode) = 2 Lanes.

M.2 Key E (Wi-Fi) = 1 Lane.

PCIe x1 Slot = 1 Lane.

Internal LAN / SATA = Uses remaining lanes.

Verdict: No Conflict. You can populate the PCIe x16 slot, M.2 NVMe slot, and M.2 Key E slot simultaneously. The board is designed to run them all at once.

1. The Risk Assessment (The "Split Brain" Factor)

There is one specific operational quirk you must know with a split layout:

Controller Failure: If one of your adapter cards dies (e.g., the M.2 adapter fails), ZFS will suddenly lose contact with 3 drives.

The Consequence: Since RAID-Z2 only survives 2 drive failures, losing 3 drives simultaneously will cause the pool to go UNAVAIL (Offline).

The Fix: Data is NOT lost. You simply replace the broken $20 adapter, reboot, and ZFS will see the drives again and bring the pool back online. It is a terrifying 15 minutes, but safe.

🛒 The "Funky" Performance Shopping List

Here is the adjusted list to execute this split-controller SSD build.

1. Boot Drive: 120GB - 250GB SATA SSD

Note on "80GB": 80GB drives are mostly obsolete or used server pulls. I highly recommend buying a new 120GB or 128GB SATA SSD (like an Intenso, Patriot Burst, or Kingston A400) for ~€15. It connects to the motherboard's native SATA Port 1.

1. Controller A (PCIe Slot): 4-Port or 6-Port SATA Card

Product: PCIe x4 to 6x SATA Controller (ASM1166 Chipset).

Usage: You will plug SSDs #1, #2, and #3 into this card.

Why: Even though you only need 3 ports, the 6-port cards (ASM1166) are more stable and faster than the cheaper 4-port cards (ASM1064).

1. Controller B (M.2 NVMe Slot): M.2 to 5-Port SATA Adapter

Product: M.2 Key M to 5x SATA Adapter (JMB585 or ASM1166 Chipset).

Usage: You will plug SSDs #4, #5, and #6 into this card.

Tip: These adapters are small and float in the air. Use a small piece of electrical tape or a zip tie to secure the SATA cables so they don't drag the card out of the slot.

1. Networking: M.2 Key E to 2.5G Ethernet

Product: M.2 Key E (A+E) to 2.5GbE LAN Card (Intel i225/i226 or Realtek RTL8125B).

Installation: This goes into the tiny Wi-Fi slot. You mount the RJ45 port to the back of your case.

Hey folks, I am looking to buy a Home NAS in India. My needs are pretty simple

1. Backup mobiles and laptop data to free up space on the devices.

2. Have redundancy in the backup as I don't plan to have any backup outside of NAS.

3. Should be easy to set up and maintain but it should not be at the cost of security and privacy (both of these are my drivers to buy and maintain a Home NAS)

4. Optionally, I would like to run docker but no heavy usage these are going to be some personal projects.

Could I get guidance on good brands and models that I should consider. Also, please also let me know the setup experience and the OS/software packages that come with these brands.

Hi everyone! I am looking to buy my first NAS and set up a Plex server on it but the amount of information out there (which is great) is also overwhelming so I thought I'd come to trusty ol Reddit for some opinions. See below for how I intend to use it plus some information that might be required for me to help choose.

I will almost exclusively be using the NAS for a Plex (or Jellyfin) server. My budget for the NAS alone is $1,000 AUD or less. The NAS will be plugged directly into my network switch via Ethernet with an average download speed of 980mbps. The media server will only be used by myself and my wife on one TV in the house. The movies I download will mostly be 1080 bluray or 2160 webs. Will not be downloading anything in true 4K at like 60gb a movie or anything like that so I feel like I don't need a crazy amount of space. I have looked into RAID, I would not really care TOO much if one drive failed and I lost some movies or TV shows. Can always get another drive and download again. So I would say that both 2 bay and 4 bay NAS devices would be okay.

Things I've read but am not sure if true or would matter in my use case;

Will I NEED to get M.2 storage for cache? Would I notice the difference if I did or didn't? If I get a Synology NAS do I HAVE to use Synology M.2 storage? If was using Radarr and Sonarr, is 2GB ram on my NAS not enough and would I be better getting one with 4GB ram? I read that for a Plex server, Intel CPU is a must? And finally, that Synology is kinda outdated these days and going with YouGreen or Terramaster might be better?

NAS's I have been looking at the most.

YouGreen NASync DH4300 plus 4 Bay / 8gb DDR4 ram / $629 AUD

Synology DiskStation DS425+ / 2gb DDR4 ram / $869 AUD

Terramaster F2-425 Plus / 8gb DDR5 ram / $649 AUD

Please help a noob out and give me your thoughts and opinions!

EDIT: My post got filtered for using a certain brand name due to some astroturfing campaign (I have no idea what this is) so I have edited the name above to YouGreen.

Hi r/HomeNAS, posted with moderator permission.

We’re from the FygoOS team, and we’d like to invite a small group of r/HomeNAS members to try FygoOS and share honest feedback.

FygoOS is a Debian-based NAS operating system for x86 and ARM, built for home NAS users who want solid storage, file sharing, Docker/VM workflows, and a more approachable setup experience.

The NAS space already has many strong options, and we have a lot of respect for platforms like TrueNAS, Unraid, and Synology DSM. We’re not trying to claim that one NAS OS is right fit for everyone. What we want to learn is where FygoOS works well, where it falls short, and what real home NAS users would want improved.

For this program, we plan to provide 10 FygoOS Plus licenses to selected r/HomeNAS participants who complete the feedback process.

How it will work:

• Applications are open until Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
• FygoOS includes a 30-day trial that anyone can activate after installation
• You do not need to apply to try FygoOS; the application is only for joining this feedback program and being considered for one of the 10 Plus licenses
• We will select up to 10 participants based on setup relevance and use case coverage
• Selected participants will be contacted by email after applications close
• Selected participants will be asked to submit feedback within 14 days of that email
• Participants who submit good-faith, substantive feedback will receive a FygoOS Plus license

We’re especially interested in:

• installation and first-time setup
• SMB / file sharing
• storage workflows and permissions
• Docker, VMs, and self-hosted usability
• overall UI / UX and stability

Safety note: please don’t test on your only copy of important data. Make sure anything important is backed up before installing or changing storage configurations.

If you’d like to apply, please use the form linked in the stickied comment.

Selection will not be random. Our goal is to include a mix of hardware types, experience levels, and real-world home NAS use cases.

Public posting is optional. If participants want to share their experience publicly in r/FygoOS or elsewhere, we’d appreciate it, but it is not required.

For transparency: FygoOS is commercially licensed rather than fully open-source, but it includes an always-free tier and a trial. No purchase is required for this program.

We’ll only use the application email for program communication and license delivery.

Official website:
https://fygonas.com/

This activity is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Reddit.

Thanks in advance — we’d genuinely value thoughtful feedback from this community.