Without a doubt, a NAS is one of the most useful additions you can make to your home or small office. A NAS will open the door to always-on file sharing, backups, and independence from the cloud, and much more.

If you’re convinced of the benefits of a NAS, you may be wondering what path to take. There are, of course, off the shelf NAS units you can go and buy, but as a technology enthusiast, you can do better.

Repurpose old hardware

The creator's hand can bring new life and meaning to what was once gone

As an enthusiast, you’ve probably looked at the sleek all-in-one NAS enclosures from the likes of Synology and QNAP. These offer a tantalizing buy and forget it experience, but it's just more hardware which might end up in the trash sooner than you think.

It’s okay, we know you didn’t throw it out, your secret is safe with us.

Any self-respecting technology enthusiast is sure to have some old hardware lying around. It’s okay, we know you didn’t throw it out, your secret is safe with us. Be that an old PC or perhaps a Raspberry Pi, if you’re thinking of setting up a NAS, it’s time to push these devices into action for a new job.

The requirements for a NAS operating system along with all the apps and services it may run are very low. As an example, a quad-core PC from 10 years ago will not only be fine, but it’ll probably outperform most dedicated NAS units. You’ll also have the advantage of an open PC platform, meaning you can give it lots of RAM and install additional SATA controllers should you be building a storage monster.

If you like projects, then there’s nothing quite like building your own NAS. It’s a great way to learn about Linux, file systems, and storage technologies. Building it with parts you long since left for dead can likewise be very gratifying, with less e-waste for the win. Starting out with building a NAS in this way can simply give you an idea of performance and utility before going on to bigger things.

Build the ultimate NAS

Why settle for less when you can build your best

Repurposing old hardware for your NAS project is all very well and good, but you may not have that kind of equipment around, or you may just want to start fresh. Whatever the reason, starting from scratch or upgrading from a DIY NAS you started with means you don’t have to work within the constraints of your old hardware or kit.

You’ll want to ensure you start with a high performance CPU, lots of RAM, and plenty of space for multiple drives to be housed in your case

Most NAS operating systems such as Unraid or TrueNAS SCALE have fairly low initial hardware requirements. However, if you’re building something you intend to run lots of apps, services, and virtual machines on, you’ll want to ensure you start with a high performance CPU, lots of RAM, and plenty of space for multiple drives to be housed in your case.

As an enthusiast, building a system from scratch can mean a project in itself just choosing the components for the build. As with any PC build, you’ll be able to make choices regarding power consumption, graphics cards, memory capabilities, and more. Creating a system which has lots of CPU power and memory also means you’ll be able to run more apps, services and virtual machines for home labs.

Build a super-efficient low power NAS

Creating a NAS which uses hardly any power is a challenge for any enthusiastic builder

We should all be thinking about power consumption these days. Installing a wind turbine and a solar array to feed your power-hungry NAS might not be an option, but other routes are available to lower the power your always-on NAS consumes.

Creating a NAS from the ground up which consumes very little power can be a solid challenge for experienced and novice builders alike. Instead of choosing a high consumption CPU, motherboard, and power supplies, you can base your system around parts which consume the least amount of power.

Going down this route will be a very different adventure to choosing the most powerful parts. Creating and tuning a self-built NAS to consume the least amount of power possible can be incredibly in-depth as well as rewarding mentally and financially.

Building a system with a tight power budget will mean choosing a highly efficient power supply along with CPU and motherboard, which can present challenges for its future expansion and upgradability. You’ll need to carefully judge what workloads you want to run now and potentially in the future. Going beyond the hardware, you can also further fine-tune consumption of a NAS by limiting power to the various components through the UEFI/BIOS or through the operating system itself.

What's wrong with off-the-shelf NAS devices?

Absolutely nothing at all, there are some incredible pre-built NAS devices out there. Buying an off the shelf job is most certainly something we’d recommend for anyone who doesn’t enjoy a little project. If you are game for building your own, there are distinct advantages to not going this route.

Firstly, it can be incredibly cheap. If you have some old equipment to use, you’re probably 90% towards having a NAS build.

Dedicated NAS units aren’t particularly cheap, you’ll be paying a premium for the convenience of a one-stop solution. It can get expensive as you move to the high end NAS boxes which come with better CPU and expansion capabilities. If you’re able to build your own, you’ll almost certainly be able to save money whilst building something more powerful and expandable. Even if money is of no concern, as an enthusiast, you’ll have a lot more fun building it yourself.