In this three-part series, I'll explain how to set up a simple, useful NAS (network attached storage) system. I use this kind of setup to store my files on a central system, creating incremental backups automatically every night. To mount the disk on devices that are located in the same network, NFS is installed. To access files offline and share them with friends, I use Nextcloud[1].
This article will cover the basic setup of software and hardware to mount the data disk on a remote device. In the second article, I will discuss a backup strategy and set up a cron job to create daily backups. In the third and last article, we will install Nextcloud, a tool for easy file access to devices synced offline as well as online using a web interface. It supports multiple users and public file-sharing so you can share pictures with friends, for example, by sending a password-protected link.
The target architecture of our system looks like this:
Hardware
Let's get started with the hardware you need. You might come up with a different shopping list, so consider this one an example.
The computing power is delivered by a Raspberry Pi 3[2], which comes with a quad-core CPU, a gigabyte of RAM, and (somewhat) fast ethernet. Data will be stored on two USB hard drives (I use 1-TB disks); one is used for the everyday traffic, the other is used to store backups. Be sure to use either active USB hard drives or a USB hub with an additional power supply, as the Raspberry Pi will not be able to power two USB drives.