2 ms·
I set up my most recent NAS using a TerraMaster unit. It's basically a nifty case (9x5x5 inches) around a low power Intel board with a USB stick for a boot devi
by kstenerud 4y ago
I set up my most recent NAS using a TerraMaster unit. It's basically a nifty case (9x5x5 inches) around a low power Intel board with a USB stick for a boot device (which I replaced with a mini 100gb USB SSD).
I don't know and don't care about TerraMaster's software (it might be awesome - I have no idea). I just rolled my own NixOS install with ZFS so that I could have a deterministic installation (I've heard good things about the TrueNAS OS as well, but I'm a control freak and like being able to rebuild the entire server with a single command and a config file, so I stick with NixOS).
The nice thing is that I essentially got a motherboard, CPU, PSU, and compact case for $350 (for the F2-422). All I had to do was upgrade the RAM (SO-DIMM) and add the drives.
I've long since reduced to only two drives for my NAS. At one point I was up to 7 drives before I realized my madness. It's cheap enough to get the storage I need with two mirrored drives, is quieter and uses less energy (I can keep it in the same room), and when I finally outgrow them in 5 years or so, the old drives will be re-purposed as backup via an external USB enclosure I keep around.
- aborsy 4y agoCan you install TrueNAS on it? It’s unclear if one could install TrueNAS on a Synology, QNAP, Teramaster etc. Sometimes hardware is not supported.
- kstenerud 4y agoI don't know, but if I could install NixOS without difficulty, it should be possible. I installed Ubuntu server on it at first and that also worked fine. No tweaking necessary at all. You just flash the standard x64 installer on a USB stick, plug it in, and install like you would on any PC (because it basically is a PC - it even has a working HDMI port). Edit: Looks like someone did a writeup for TrueNAS on a TerraMaster: https://joelduncan.io/freenas-on-terramaster-f2-221/ https://joelduncan.io/freenas-on-terramaster-f2-221/ Also: https://mightygadget.co.uk/how-to-upgrade-the-terramaster-f4-422-to-truenas/ https://mightygadget.co.uk/how-to-upgrade-the-terramaster-f4...
- aborsy 4y agoIt’s an attractive option, because it might be cheaper than a TrueNAS mini from iXSystems (which is also difficult to ship outside US) or a DIY NAS. You get an affordable TrueNAS server.