how to build a Raspberry Pi NAS (it’s AWESOME!!)

NetworkChuck Technology Careers Career & Money

About this video

NetworkChuck builds a portable network-attached storage device from a Raspberry Pi so he can carry movies and offload camera footage on a family road trip. He recommends a Raspberry Pi 4 with four or eight gigs of RAM, the usual power supply, SD card and reader, plus a USB hard drive or SSD. Using the Raspberry Pi Imager, he writes the Lite (headless, no desktop) version of Raspberry Pi OS, pre-enables SSH and sets a password via a hidden settings shortcut, then boots the Pi wired to Ethernet and finds its address from his router. After updating the system, he installs OpenMediaVault with a single script pulled from GitHub, logs into its web interface, changes the default admin password, mounts the USB drive, creates a shared folder, and enables both SMB (for Windows) and NFS (for Linux/Mac) access. When NFS throws an error, he fixes it by wiping the drive and recreating the filesystem as ext4 before redoing the share setup. He then connects from Windows File Explorer and tests copying files. In part two he installs Plex Media Server by adding the Plex repository and key, points Plex at a movies folder on the share, and plays video through the web interface and phone app. He finishes by moving the same Pi into an optional Geekworm case with an internal two terabyte SSD. A sponsored segment pitches Bitdefender Total Security, including an offer he cites of five devices free for 120 days.

Key takeaways

A Raspberry Pi running the Lite OS headless, with SSH pre-enabled in the Imager, can serve as a cheap NAS once OpenMediaVault is installed via its one-command script
The core OpenMediaVault workflow is: mount the drive, create a shared folder, set user privileges, then enable SMB and/or NFS shares and click Apply for changes to take effect
If NFS fails on an existing drive, wiping it and recreating the filesystem as ext4 resolved the error in this build
Plex installs on the same Pi by adding the Plex repository and key, then running the apt install for Plex Media Server and browsing to the Pi’s address on its web port
Wired Ethernet is strongly preferred over Wi-Fi for this project, and the Pi’s IP address can change during setup, so check the router when a connection drops

Episode details: published October 2, 2021 · 24:13 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: this device is HACKING my network!! (I’m letting it happen) · Next: i bought a new SERVER!! (VMware ESXi Setup and Install) →

All NetworkChuck videos · NetworkChuck profile · NetworkChuck on YouTube