Category Archives: Storage

Building Your Own Storage System from Scratch and Why You Shouldn’t Do it.

Posted on by

There are some incredibly well-built storage platforms, like TrueNAS SCALE, that allow you to take your own hardware and turn it into a complete, turn-key storage solution. These platforms remove the complexity of building a storage server manually. I use TrueNAS SCALE for all things storage in my homelab, and it’s great. But this got me thinking—could I build my own complete storage system myself? What would that even look like? Let’s find out!

Defining the Features of a DIY Storage Server

If I want to build a storage system that competes with solutions like TrueNAS SCALE, Unraid, or OpenMediaVault, it needs to have a solid feature set. Here’s what my storage server must include:

  • File Serving: Support for both SMB (Windows) and NFS (Linux/Unix).
  • Virtualization: Ability to run virtual machines (KVM/QEMU).
  • Containerization: Support for running containers (Podman/Docker alternative).
  • ZFS Support: Protection, snapshotting, and performance benefits.
  • Hardware Monitoring: Ability to view system temps and sensor data.
  • Web GUI: A graphical user interface for management.

Choosing the Operating System

For my project, I need a Linux-based operating system. I have always been a heavy Debian/Ubuntu user, so naturally, I chose Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS for its long-term support and security updates. While there are many Linux distributions available, Ubuntu has the right balance of stability and flexibility.

Installing Key Software Packages

Once the OS was installed, the next step was to install all the necessary software packages:

  • Samba (SMB support): apt install samba -y
  • NFS Server (NFS support): apt install nfs-kernel-server -y
  • Virtualization tools (KVM/QEMU): apt install qemu-kvm virt-manager libvirt-clients bridge-utils libvirt-daemon-system virtinst -y
  • Containerization (Podman): apt install podman -y
  • ZFS Utilities: apt install zfsutils-linux -y
  • Hardware Monitoring: apt install lm-sensors -y

To enable hardware monitoring, I ran sensors-detect and confirmed the configuration. Say ‘YES’ to every option until it completes.

Selecting a Web GUI for Management

A storage platform must be easy to manage. Instead of using CLI for everything, I explored two main web-based management tools:

  1. Cockpit: A lightweight, modular server management tool with a modern interface.
  2. Webmin: A powerful but older tool with support for more services but lacking ZFS integration.

Since my project relies on ZFS, I opted for Cockpit. I installed it with:
apt install cockpit -y
systemctl enable --now cockpit.socket

Installing Additional Cockpit Modules

To extend Cockpit’s functionality, I installed additional modules:

  • Cockpit Virtual Machines: apt install cockpit-machines -y
  • Cockpit Podman Containers: apt install cockpit-podman -y
  • Cockpit Diagnostic Reports: apt install cockpit-sosreport -y
  • 45Drives ZFS Manager:
    git clone https://github.com/45drives/cockpit-zfs-manager.git
    sudo cp -r cockpit-zfs-manager/zfs /usr/share/cockpit
  • 45Drives File Sharing:
    curl -sSL https://repo.45drives.com/setup | sudo bash
    apt update
    apt install cockpit-file-sharing -y
  • 45Drives Identities: apt install cockpit-identities -y
  • 45Drives Navigator: apt install cockpit-navigator -y
  • Cockpit Podman Module: apt install cockpit-podman -y
  • Cockpit LM-Sensors:
    wget https://github.com/ocristopfer/cockpit-sensors/releases/latest/download/cockpit-sensors.tar.xz && \
    tar -xf cockpit-sensors.tar.xz cockpit-sensors/dist && \
    mv cockpit-sensors/dist /usr/share/cockpit/sensors && \
    rm -r cockpit-sensors && \
    rm cockpit-sensors.tar.xz

Troubleshooting & Challenges

  • RAID1 for Boot Drive: Creating a software RAID1 for Ubuntu’s boot disk turned out to be far more difficult than expected.
  • Cockpit Software Updates Bug: The updates module failed with a Cannot refresh cache whilst offline error. The fix involved modifying the netplan configuration.
  • Container Issues: Updating Podman caused conflicts, requiring manual intervention.

Final Thoughts: Is a DIY Storage Server Worth It?

Building this system from scratch was a great learning experience, but it reinforced my appreciation for turn-key solutions like TrueNAS SCALE and Unraid. Here’s what I learned:

  1. Turn-key solutions exist for a reason. They save time and effort.
  2. GUI management is still fragmented. Even with Cockpit, a truly unified experience isn’t possible.
  3. Troubleshooting issues is time-consuming. Maintaining a DIY storage server requires constant attention.

Would I recommend doing this yourself? If you enjoy tinkering and learning, absolutely. But if you just want a reliable storage solution without the headaches, stick to a purpose-built storage OS.

Watch the Full Build Video!

If you want to see the entire journey, check out my YouTube channel 2GuysTek where I document the full setup and troubleshooting process!
What do you think? Have you built your own storage server? Let me know in the comments!