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PCLinuxOperating SystemUnixNASFile ServerServerBSD

What are the best operating systems for a NAS/File server?

15

Options
Considered

615

User
Recs.

3 mins

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 14 OptionsWhy?

Best operating systems for a NAS/File server	Price	Based On	Init-System
94 OpenMediaVault	Free	Debian stable	Systemd
77 EasyNAS	FREE	openSUSE	systemd
-- TrueNAS (formerly FreeNAS)	Free	FreeBSD	BSD-init
-- Proxmox	Free/Paid	Debian stable	Systemd
-- DietPi	Free	Raspbian/Debian Stable	Systemd

OpenMediaVault

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Top Pro

Fully debian compatible

You can use all debian packages. See More

Top Con

Not many plugins

There are not many plugins available so you either need to run their Debian packages or you have to set up a Docker container. See More

DecisiveKhnum's Experience

easy to install and awesome gui See More

Specs

Based On:Debian stable

Init-System:Systemd

Default Desktop Environment:NA

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Top Pro

Easy

It is very easy to install. See More

Top Con

Extras not integrated by default

omv-extras.org is not integrated by default. See More

NeighborlyCromCruach's Experience

Works like a charm. The only issue is that there are not many plugins available so you have to run them in docker. See More

Top Pro

Clean UI

Has a clean and simple to understand Web interface. See More

Top Con

Installer breaks

If you go back a step in the installer it breaks and you have to restart from the beginning. See More

EnchantingEpiales's Experience

Installation was not able to install the OS on my Samsung SSD, ciritcal error when trying to install the Boot Manager. Also errors occured before when trying to create partitions. See More

Top Pro

Good documentation.

Top Con

No way to customize partitions

The installer will always create one boot, one root and one swap partition. See More

HarmoniousAinina's Experience

it is easy installation and a lot help on web See More

Top Pro

debian based

all debian tools can use ncurses dialogs, so everything works in ssh sessions. See More

NiceTlilhua's Experience

it is great and one of the best. See More

Damiano G. Preatoni's Experience

Using il since 2015 al home, placed into production (30 people small office) in 2018. Always preferred first installing a stock, Minimal Debian, then apt omv. See More

13 Other Options Considered

EasyNAS

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Specs

Based On:openSUSE

Init-System:systemd

Default Desktop Environment:NA

TrueNAS (formerly FreeNAS)

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Top Pro

Native ZFS support

It has full support for the Solaris ZFS filesystem. See More

Top Con

Permissions and sharing is not user friendly

For example, WebDAV access is limited to the single "webdav" user. Also, no other folks can log in to the main NAS UI besides the admin. See More

Holo Deck's Experience

Personally I wouldn't use anything else for my home NAS See More

Specs

Based On:FreeBSD

Init-System:BSD-init

Default Desktop Environment:NA

Top Pro

Traditional Init-system

It uses a traditional UNIX init system. See More

Top Con

Limited hardware support

BSD has less support for newer hardware compared to Windows or Linux. See More

Top Pro

Solid BSD core

It runs on the stable FreeBSD kernel. See More

Top Pro

No systemd

So if some errors appear on boot the system will still boot and you can repair it via ssh. See More

Top Pro

Can use plugins

It's able to use Plugins. See More

Top Pro

VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) supported natively in SMB (Samba)

Unraid

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Top Con

files randomly disappear

Top Pro

Expandable

Easy to expand storage since it uses their own parity protection system. Mixing drive sizes is possible as long as parity drives have the highest or equal to highest capacity. See More

HumorousFukurokuju's Experience

So far I like it much more than OMV or FeeNAS/TrueNAS. It definitely is worth the cost. See More

Top Con

Not free

Cost depends on how many drives you have (6, 12 or unlimited). See More

Top Pro

Big app (docker) library

Docker images are specially set up for unraid and easy to install and manage. See More

Top Con

SSD cache needed

To achieve optimal speeds you need SSD cache. See More

Top Pro

Stable

XigmaNAS

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Specs

Based On:FreeBSD

Init-System:BSD-init

Default Desktop Environment:NA

Rockstor

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Specs

Based On:CentOS

Init-System:Systemd

Default Desktop Environment:NA

FreedomBox

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Specs

Based On:Debian

Init-System:Systemd

Default Desktop Environment:N/A

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Openfiler

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NexentaStor

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Specs

Based On:OpenSolaris>Illumos

Init-System:SMF-init

Default Desktop Environment:NA

OpenNAS

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