06-22-2026, 12:07 PM
Looking at putting together a proper NAS for home use and wanted to hear what people are actually running. The TrueNAS vs Unraid vs OMV debate seems to go on forever online.
My requirements:
What I'm considering:
TrueNAS SCALE - ZFS is the gold standard for data integrity and the Dragonfish release improved the app ecosystem significantly. The UI has gotten better. Requires more RAM than alternatives (ECC ideally). App management via Kubernetes under the hood which adds complexity.
Unraid - flexible parity setup means you can mix drive sizes without rebuilding the array, which suits home use where you add drives over time. Docker/VM support is straightforward. License fee ($59-$129 one-time) which isn't a lot but it's not free.
OpenMediaVault - lightweight Debian-based, low resource requirements, good for older hardware. Plugin ecosystem is decent. Less polished than the others but it works.
Hardware I'm looking at: Either a used Synology 4-bay (DS923+) or building something with a N100 mini PC and a DAS enclosure. The Synology is more turnkey; the build is more flexible and cheaper.
What are you running and what would you change if you started fresh?
My requirements:
- Media storage (movies, music, photos) - around 10TB currently, growing slowly
- Time Machine target for a couple of Macs
- Plex media server running on the same box
- Some light VM/container capability for self-hosted stuff
- Low power consumption since it's on 24/7
What I'm considering:
TrueNAS SCALE - ZFS is the gold standard for data integrity and the Dragonfish release improved the app ecosystem significantly. The UI has gotten better. Requires more RAM than alternatives (ECC ideally). App management via Kubernetes under the hood which adds complexity.
Unraid - flexible parity setup means you can mix drive sizes without rebuilding the array, which suits home use where you add drives over time. Docker/VM support is straightforward. License fee ($59-$129 one-time) which isn't a lot but it's not free.
OpenMediaVault - lightweight Debian-based, low resource requirements, good for older hardware. Plugin ecosystem is decent. Less polished than the others but it works.
Hardware I'm looking at: Either a used Synology 4-bay (DS923+) or building something with a N100 mini PC and a DAS enclosure. The Synology is more turnkey; the build is more flexible and cheaper.
What are you running and what would you change if you started fresh?