Network-Attached Storage devices work well when you want to expand the data-storing capacity of your local network. Aside from fulfilling your file-hoarding needs, these neat systems can even double as file-sharing and backup servers, making them useful for pretty much every type of user.
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But when you're just starting out, the NAS ecosystem can feel treacherous to navigate. So, we've put together a list of ten useful tips to help you level up your NAS game, regardless of whether you've purchased a pre-built enclosure or built a storage server yourself.
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10 Label your drives
Feel free to go nuts with the naming schemes
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Once you start building the storage arrays for all your data, it can be hard to identify the drives containing certain files. Considering that even the most premium NAS drives can die out after years of rigorous use, you could end up spending hours finding the failed drive, especially if your NAS server is armed with multiple disks.
As such, it's a good idea to label your drives when you first buy them. Depending on your specific use cases, you could go from something as simple as naming them after their pools to full-on records involving a combination of their manufacturer name, storage capacity, and physical size.
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9 RAID is quite useful when you have spare drives
But you should never rely on it for backup
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A Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive, depending on who you ask) Disks configuration involves slotting multiple drives into your NAS and using them in tandem. Depending on your specific configuration, you could see improved transfer speeds, better reliability, heightened fault tolerance, or even all three features at the same time.
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Of course, each RAID type has certain perks and disadvantages. For instance, RAID 0 (striping) can improve transfer speeds by writing files to two (or more) drives simultaneously, though the error possibility also goes up, as you have to contend with multiple drive failures. RAID 1 (mirroring) does the opposite by creating copies of data on separate drives - at the cost of reducing the overall storage capacity in half. The higher RAID levels introduce parity bits to the mix while providing a mixture of different provisions, so they're worth checking out if you have extra disks lying around and want a more robust storage server. That said, you should keep one golden rule in mind: RAID isn't a substitute for proper backups.
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8 Schedule automatic snapshots, scrub tests, and S.M.A.R.T. monitoring
To add an extra layer of protection to your data
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Most NAS operating systems, be it the cool distros you can run on top of DIY rigs or the proprietary ones shipped with pre-built NAS, include multiple features and failsafes to keep your drives and data secure. This includes snapshots -- or records of the state of your data at a specific point in time -- akin to save points in video games, that can help you reload a safe state in case things go wrong.
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Then there are scrub tests, which can scan your data for corruption and, in some cases, even repair the afflicted files. In a similar vein, S.M.A.R.T. tests can generate detailed error reports to help you gauge whether a drive needs to be replaced. Thankfully, most operating systems let you automate these facilities, but you may have to sift through the UI in case they're not enabled by default.
7 Configure SSD caching on HDD-laden setups
Make sure you have enough RAM for this purpose
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SSDs are miles ahead of hard drives as far as transfer speeds are concerned, though their exorbitant prices restrict their utility in hardcore NAS workloads. Luckily, you can run the SSD caching facility to bump up the responsiveness of your HDD-heavy NAS... for the most part.
If you're someone who accesses small-sized documents and files rather frequently, it's worth purchasing a cheap SSD or two for a snappier experience. In fact, when you're running your NAS as a home server (which we'll get to in a bit), an SSD is a rock-solid way to enhance your experience. But if you're using your NAS to archive bulky files, you probably won't see much utility in SSD caching, especially when this feature can hog some extra memory.
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6 Experiment with different storage-sharing protocols
File-sharing and block-sharing standards have their pros and cons
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For a simple file-sharing machine, an SMB, NFS, and other file-sharing protocols can serve your needs. Besides providing decent performance, these shares can be accessed by multiple devices without causing any corruption-related issues. However, an SMB drive isn't always the best option, with certain games outright refusing to boot on a network drive.
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That's where iSCSI and other block-sharing protocols come in handy, as they allow you to map the NAS drives as local volumes, making them particularly useful when you want to store your ever-expanding video game library inside your NAS. But the trade-off here is that only one device should access the storage volume at a time. Otherwise, you could end up with irrecoverable, corrupted blocks of data.
5 Be careful when choosing a file system
Research them thoroughly before settling on one
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Unlike the ZFS-only design of TrueNAS Scale, your average NAS operating system supports multiple file systems ranging from the ol' reliable XFS to the (comparatively) new BTRFS and EXT4 configurations. However, they're vastly different - to the point where a file system may fit certain NAS workloads, only to get wrecked by its rivals in other tasks.
Take ZFS, for instance. In addition to its amazing RAID provisions, self-healing tendencies, and amazing data integrity facilities, ZFS also provides snappy performance in hardcore NAS projects. But the inability to downsize your ZFS storage pool is its Achilles Heel. In contrast, BTRFS lets you shrink pools at will, though it lacks on the RAID front. And that's just two of the most popular file systems in the consumer NAS space. So, it's a good idea to conduct your research in advance to avoid getting caught off-guard by the lack of certain features in your chosen file system.
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4 Arm your NAS with containers
And voilà, you've got a killer home server
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Modern NAS devices - including those of pre-built origins - have plenty of firepower under the hood, and can double as decent home lab machines. With the average containerized app requiring minimal resources, your budget-friendly storage server can run an array of self-hosted services.
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What's more, most operating systems include their own app stores to help you spin up containers for your favorite applications using pre-created templates. And if you're using a decent desktop-grade processor or a powerful NAS enclosure like the TerraMaster F4-424 Max, you can expect decent performance even with some virtual machines thrown into the mix.
3 Always follow the 3-2-1 backup rule to mitigate the data loss risks
Better safe than sorry
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We've already talked about backups a lot in this article, but the 3-2-1 policy is worth following even with snapshots and RAID provisions in place. This rule stipulates that you should have three separate copies of your data stored on at least two different devices, with one of these copies running on an offsite storage device.
In practice, the 3-2-1 rule may seem rather overkill, as you're running multiple redundant copies of the same data on separate systems. However, it's one of the most robust means to safeguard your critical documents and files in case your NAS gets compromised. Trust me, it's always better to have extra backups than rebuilding everything from scratch.
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2 Upgrade the Ethernet provisions on high-end setups
To ensure your network bandwidth isn't a bottleneck
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Since you'll conduct all your storage operations over a network, the Ethernet provisions become the kingpin of your NAS setup. Considering that even a single HDD can choke a 1 Gigabit channel, upgrading your NIC and network switch is easily one of the best upgrades you can make to your NAS server.
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If you wish to use high-speed PCIe SSDs to store data, you'll want to aim for a 5GbE connection at the very least. Heck, the Ethernet speed is just one aspect of your NIC. If you're planning to interface multiple devices to the NAS, you'll want to check out network cards with multiple Ethernet ports for their link aggregation and port failover provisions.
1 Harden your NAS as much as you can
And be very cautious when exposing it to the Internet
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Although your NAS isn't as susceptible to viruses as the average Windows machine, it still houses a treasure trove of data that should be kept out of reach from malware and hackers. Restricting it to your local network is a solid precautionary measure, and so is setting up multi-authentication for all your accounts.
But if your workloads require you to access your NAS from outside your home network, you should harden the rules in your local firewall to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the storage server. Blocking IP addresses after a certain number of failed connection attempts can also help out greatly, and you can add extra layers of security by setting up a VPN, reverse proxy, and SSL certificates for your NAS.
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Some other tips to keep your NAS in tip-top shape
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If you're still looking for more ways to improve your NAS experience, we recommend installing an extra drive or two as hot spares to avoid unnecessary downtime if one of your storage drives bites the dust prematurely. When you're in the market hunting for new HDDs, be sure to pick CMR drives over their SMR counterparts, as the latter have abysmal write speeds and should be avoided like the plague in nearly every use case. Alternatively, if you've ordered some new drives, it's a good idea to monitor their S.M.A.R.T. and run a handful of stress tests to confirm whether they aren't old HDDs or SSDs repackaged as new drives.
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