I have an old Alienware r8 and several 2-4 TB HDDs gathering dust in a closet. The Alienware actually runs remarkably quiet and it occurred to me I could turn it into a DIY NAS.
I’m not entirely sure where to start though. Some immediate questions:
- What’s a good NAS OS to install?
- Any fun things I can do besides plex transcoding with a 1080 GPU?
- Would it make sense to run a Pixelfed/Mastodon server off this guy?
- Can I run a RAID on it without buying a separate HDD bay?
Background:
I already have a Synology NAS running Plex. It transcodes 1080p fine which is really all I need it for.
Other than a Plex port forward, I have zero experience putting services out on the public web (but would like to learn!).
- I like Unraid myself. It has some handy features, like being able to simulate the data on failed drives until you can bring the system down to replace them.
- Install the Servarr apps and set them up according to the TRaSH guides.
- Sure, why wouldn’t it? It’s more than capable of handling it.
- IDK, I use Unraid, so my system isn’t a traditional RAID, hence the name.
https://www.freedombox.org/apps/
Whatever you end up doing immediately after you finish setting it up, throw some files on it you don’t care about and practice breaking and reassembling your RAID a few times before you put anything important on it. You want to understand the basic process before things fail.
That’s a wonderful idea. Wish I had done that when I first started. I know the basic process behind recovering from hardware failures on my NAS, but I’ve never actually gotten any practical experience in doing it, which will probably increase my downtime when it inevitably happens.
- What’s a good NAS OS to install?
TrueNAS Scale is the go to. Unraid is another popular option.
- Any fun things I can do besides plex transcoding with a 1080 GPU?
Local LLM. Look up Ollama.
- Would it make sense to run a Pixelfed/Mastodon server off this guy?
You could. That could potentially use a lot of space or be very annoying you having to manage and moderate the instances.
- Can I run a RAID on it without buying a separate HDD bay?
What do you mean? Are you talking about a hardware RAID card, or can you physically stuff more than one disk drive into the chassis? For the first, it’ll depend on whether it has any open PCI Express slots. For the second, what do you see when you open it up? Are there 3.5" or 5.25" bays open?
Other than a Plex port forward, I have zero experience putting services out on the public web (but would like to learn!).
Wanting to learn is an admirable goal. I’ve not done it myself, but the Linux Upskill Challenge might be a good place to start. Either that, or figure out something you might want to host yourself, then come back and ask for input when you run into trouble or have a question.
