Building Your Own NAS with TrueNAS Scale: A Comprehensive Guide
If you’re considering building your own Network Attached Storage (NAS) system, TrueNAS Scale is an excellent choice. However, diving in without proper planning can lead to regret and unnecessary expenses. My current setup serves as an interesting example, driven by cost constraints and some mistakes, like using a Mini PC and relying on some USB-attached drives.
In this article, we’ll explore the primary uses for your NAS, the speed and type of disks you’ll need, network speed, disk configurations, levels of redundancy, CPU, and RAM considerations, and any secondary uses for the NAS. Towards the end, we’ll compare two different setups to help you determine which might be the best option for you.
Understanding Your NAS’s Primary Use
The first step in building a NAS is establishing its primary use. This might seem obvious, but there are significant differences between using it as a central data hub versus just a backup system for existing devices. If your NAS is for backups, having one NAS gives you two data copies, which is a good start, but ideally, you should have three copies. Synchronizing with services like Google Drive or Dropbox can help achieve this.
If your NAS will be your primary data storage, then you effectively have no backups. In this scenario, snapshots and redundancy aren’t going to save you and you need to have a think about places you can keep copies of your data.
Estimating Your Data Needs
Once you know the primary use, estimate how much data you currently have and how much you’ll accumulate over the next year. This could range from a few gigabytes to many terabytes. Categorize your data by access frequency and speed requirements. This will help determine whether you need spinning hard drives, SSDs, or NVMe drives.
For basic tasks like document access and music streaming, spinning hard drives might suffice. However, for tasks like 4K video editing, faster SSDs or NVMe drives are essential. Remember, you will need at least one boot drive for TrueNAS, ideally in a mirror configuration.
Networking Requirements
Networking for your NAS can be straightforward, but it’s crucial to get it right. Consider your data transfer needs. For example, transferring files at 350MB/s requires at least a 3Gb connection, making a 10Gb network necessary. Alternatively, if multiple users are transferring files simultaneously, you might use dual 2.5Gb network cards, which are cost-effective and power-efficient.
Data Redundancy
TrueNAS uses the ZFS file system, offering mirrored and RAID configurations for data redundancy. A mirrored setup duplicates your data across drives, offering protection against drive failures but at a higher cost. RAID Z1, Z2, or higher spreads data across multiple drives, allowing for drive failures without losing data and improving performance. This can be more cost-effective for larger setups.
Backup Strategies
Redundancy is not a backup. For comprehensive protection, consider additional backups, such as an external hard drive kept offsite or cloud storage. Another option is a second TrueNAS instance, ideally in a different location, to ensure data safety in case of disasters.
Snapshots in TrueNAS provide a way to protect against data corruption and ransomware attacks. They create incremental backups, storing only changes since the last snapshot, allowing easy data rollback.
Performance and Caching
Improving performance in TrueNAS involves several strategies:
- ARC (Adaptive Replacement Cache): Uses system RAM for caching frequently accessed files, improving read speeds.
- L2ARC (Level 2 ARC): Uses a fast disk, like an NVMe drive, for additional caching, beneficial for read-heavy tasks like video editing.
- SLOG (Separate Intent Log): A dedicated drive for temporary write data, improving write performance under specific conditions.
Have a watch of my YouTube video for more detail on these topics!
Choosing the Right Hardware
Your NAS’s CPU and RAM needs depend on its use and workload. A typical NAS might run fine with 16GB of RAM and a quad-core CPU, but more demanding tasks require more robust hardware. TrueNAS Scale also allows for running apps like media servers or home automation platforms, which might necessitate more resources.
Cost Considerations and Real-World Scenarios
After determining your ideal setup, cost it out. High-end configurations can be expensive. My setup, driven by cost constraints, includes two TrueNAS instances with limited redundancy. This approach provides some data protection and is upgradable over time.
Let’s explore a few disaster scenarios to highlight the benefits and limitations of different setups:
- Power Outage: Every setup can benefit from having a UPS to ensure safe shutdowns.
- Disk Failure: Redundant setups (e.g., RAID Z2) handle drive failures with ease, while non-redundant setups require more manual intervention.
- Hardware Failure: A secondary TrueNAS instance provides access to data even if the primary instance fails.
- Ransomware Attack: Properly configured snapshots can protect against data loss.
- House Fire: Offsite backups or a second TrueNAS instance in a different location ensure data safety.
- Software Corruption: Updating one system at a time minimizes risks, making dual NAS setups advantageous.
Conclusion
Building your own NAS with TrueNAS Scale involves careful planning and consideration of your specific needs. By understanding your primary use, estimating data needs, planning for redundancy, and considering backup strategies, you can create a robust and reliable storage solution. Performance enhancements and hardware choices will further tailor your NAS to your requirements. Always balance ideal configurations with budget constraints, and prioritize data safety and redundancy.
For more detailed guides on installing and setting up TrueNAS, consider subscribing to my channel and checking out the related videos. Happy NAS building!