Executive TL;DR

• Build a minimal ZFS NAS without Synology, QNAP, or TrueNAS
• Use a Jonsbo N6 case with an 8x SATA backplane and drive bays
• Consider using shucked 14 TB WD Elements Desktop drives for a cost-effective solution

The Internet’s Verdict: 70% Hyped, 30% Skeptical

Introduction to ZFS NAS

Building a minimal ZFS NAS can be a cost-effective solution for storing and managing data.

Forum Voices

Many users have shared their experiences with building a ZFS NAS. For example:

Not a great time price-wise to be building a NAS, but I have been doing so for the last two weeks. Inside a Jonsbo N6 case, which is pretty nice with an 8x SATA backplane and drive bays (unlike the earlier Jonsbo variants).

Another user found that using shucked drives can be a cost-effective solution:

I ended up on shucking 4x the 14 TB WD Elements Desktop. They contain helium drives, the WD140EDGZ in my case, and are about a third cheaper than 4x the 12 TB WD Red Plus drives (which are air-filled).

Managing Your ZFS NAS

Once you have built your ZFS NAS, you will need to manage it. Some users have found that using a dashboard like Cockpit can be helpful:

I found cockpit to be incredibly useful for managing NAS and VPS. Even though any configuration is not an issue with LLMs, having a dashboard with toggles, formatted logs and such is helpful, and I can even run shell commands on phone without ssh.

Conclusion

Building a minimal ZFS NAS can be a cost-effective solution for storing and managing data. By using a Jonsbo N6 case and shucked drives, you can create a powerful and efficient NAS.

Focus Keyword: ZFS NAS