NAS - Network Attached Storage

The NetYeti’s Storage Pillar: NAS

Network Attached Storage (NAS) is the “heart” of your data ecosystem. It provides centralized storage for all your machines, containers, and VMs.

Why a NAS?

• Centralization: One place for all your data, backups, and media.
• Redundancy: Protecting against single drive failures.
• Access: High-speed storage accessible via NFS, SMB, or iSCSI.

Storage Stack Choices

1. TrueNAS: The gold standard for ZFS-based storage. Reliable, feature-rich, but hungry for RAM.
2. Unraid: Great for mixing drive sizes, simple to set up, but not as performance-focused as ZFS.
3. Proxmox + ZFS: Great if you want your storage and virtualization on the same box (but “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”).

PACE Plan for NAS Data

• P (Primary): The NAS itself (with RAID/ZFS).
• A (Alternate): Offsite backup (to a second NAS or Cloud).
• C (Contingency): Cold storage (USB drives or Tape).
• E (Emergency): Critical documents on an encrypted “survival” USB.

Knowledge Check:

• Are your backups automated? (If not, they don’t exist!)
• Have you tested your drive failure recovery?