On its own, OpenMediaVault is a decent OS if you want to build a NAS out of a low-spec device. After all, it has the holy trifecta of a simple UI, lightweight nature, and compatibility with ARM systems. However, hidden under that beginner-friendly exterior is a highly customizable operating system that can be outfitted with powerful plug-ins to extend the functionality of your NAS. So, here’s a quick list of my favorite add-ons every OpenMediaVault user needs to try out.

10 openmediavault-anacron

Not as precise as Cron, but still pretty useful

If you’ve ever worked with Linux systems, you may have heard of the Cron daemon. Designed to execute tasks periodically at precise intervals, Cron scripts let you automate complex home server operations. But if you tend to use your NAS sporadically instead of running it 24/7, you can try using the openmediavault-anacron plug-in instead of Cron jobs, as the former ensures your automated tasks get executed the next time you turn on your NAS.

9 openmediavault-apt and openmediavault-apttool

When you want to add more packages to OMV

Included with most Debian-based distros, APT is a top-tier package management tool in the Linux ecosystem. However, using it is a bit of a pain on OpenMediaVault. Unless you’ve connected a display to the OMV machine, you’ll have to SSH into the server using a terminal emulator and run commands to work with advanced packages.

You can simplify package management on OpenMediaVault with the help of the openmediavault-apt and openmediavault-apttool extensions, with the latter allowing you to install, delete, and update packages from a simple menu-based interface from the web UI.

8 openmediavault-ftp

To access OMV directories over FTP/SFTP/FTPS

Although OpenMediaVault lets you create shared folders, it’s hard to access the underlying Debian files from your local devices. Perhaps you want to tinker with the operating system's config files, or maybe you're looking to transfer data to your containerized services and virtual machines. Thankfully, you can utilize openmediavault-ftp to send and receive files from your host machine to the more inaccessible directories on your OpenMediaVault NAS.

7 openmediavault-zfs

The king of file systems

By default, OpenMediaVault supports a host of file systems, ranging from BTRFS and XFS to EXT4 and JFS. However, it’s clearly lacking ZFS, which is often considered one of the best file systems for hardcore workloads – and for good reason. Besides delivering solid performance in everyday NAS workloads, it’s equipped with Copy-on-Write, snapshot, and checksum provisions to safeguard your data. And that’s before you include the extensive support for RAID configurations. If you’re as big of a fan of ZFS as I am, you’ll be glad to know that the openmediavault-zfs plug-in lets you integrate Zpools into your OMV server.

6 openmediavault-tgt

Add block storage to your NAS

SMB and NFS are amazing file storage protocols for ordinary NAS workloads. However, their block storage counterparts have their own niche use cases in consumer storage servers. If you want to store your video game library on a NAS, setting up an iSCSI target and using it as a local drive can help prevent random crashes and minimize in-game latency. Plus, iSCSI is a great option for tinkerers who want to create a dedicated ISO drive for their self-hosting/experimentation server. Since OpenMediaVault doesn’t support iSCSI by default, you can use the openmediavault-tgt add-on to integrate this useful storage protocol into the OS.

5 openmediavault-filebrowser

Access your shared folders over the web UI

Let’s say you’ve transferred some files to a shared folder on your OpenMediaVault. Whenever you wish to access them, you’ll have to open the File Manager utility on your local device, search for the NAS using its hostname/IP address, and sign in with your user credentials. This can get rather tedious, especially when you’ve already got the web UI open inside a browser. The openmediavault-filebrowser plug-in lets you access the shared folders right from your web browser, making it easy to create, upload, and download files from your NAS – provided you’ve got the admin credentials.

4 openmediavault-bcache

Speed up your HDDs

Despite their higher TB-per-dollar ratio, hard drives are noticeably slower than SSDs, and the discrepancies in transfer speeds go up once you start considering ultra-fast PCIe drives. But if you’re a data hoarder who needs better transfer speeds in NAS workloads, you can try setting up a block cache on your SSD using the openmediavault-bcache add-on. Just remember: SSDs have limited write cycles, so you could end up lowering their lifespan by subjecting them to cache-related operations.

3 openmediavault-backup, openmediavault-rsnapshot, and openmediavault-diskclone

For all your backup needs

NAS devices are often used for backing up your essential data. That said, you shouldn’t just rely on your storage server to safeguard your precious files. Creating redundant copies of your OMV documents using the openmediavault-backup plug-in and storing them on different devices can help prevent drive failures, data corruption, and other mishaps that render your precious files inaccessible.

Likewise, the openmediavault-rsnapshot add-on comes in handy when you want to save space by creating incremental snapshots instead of full backups. Meanwhile, openmediavault-diskclone copies all files from a drive to a different storage volume, which is useful if you want a quick means to store the contents of your NAS disks on external drives.

2 openmediavault-kvm

Bring the power of VMs to your OMV NAS

Virtual machines are perfect for a variety of tinkering projects, be it hopping between different Linux distros or setting up cool packages and apps inside isolated environments. Unlike its rivals, TrueNAS Scale and Unraid, OpenMediaVault doesn’t feature built-in virtualization provisions, though you can turn the tide in its favor by installing the openmediavault-kvm extension. This will equip the underlying Debian distro with KVM, a Type-1 hypervisor that provides the perfect balance between performance and functionality.

1 openmediavault-compose, openmediavault-podman, and openmediavault-k8s

Containers galore!

Although VMs are better when you want enhanced security and superior isolation measures, it’s hard to beat the low-performance overhead of containers, especially on weaker systems like the Raspberry Pi. This makes containers suitable for self-hosting workloads – to the point where you won’t encounter performance issues even with dozens of containerized apps running at the same time.

But since OpenMediaVault doesn’t feature native containerization provisions, you’ll have to install openmediavault-compose and openmediavault-podman to tinker with Docker and Podman containers. Better yet, you can even deploy a Kubernetes instance with the openmediavault-k8s plug-in and manage your containerized apps like a pro!

Which OpenMediaVault plug-ins are your favorite?

Although I’ve highlighted ten (okay, there might have been a few more than that) of my favorite OMV extensions, the OS has plenty of other useful add-ons worth checking out. For instance, you can add the openmediavault-flashtools plug-in to set up the OS on an SD card or flash drive. In case your NAS gets excessively hot mid-operation, you can use openmediavault-hddfanctrl to control the speed of the system fans. There’s also the openmediavault-snapraid extension, which can prevent data loss from drive failures by helping you create parity drives for your OMV NAS, though you shouldn’t use it as an alternative to regular ol’ backups.