I currently have a 10-year old off-the-shelf NAS (Synology) that needs replacing soon. I haven’t done much with it other than the simple things I mention later, so I still consider myself a novice when it comes to NAS, servers, and networking in general, but I’ve been reading a bit lately (which lead my to this sub). For a replacement I’m wondering whether to get another Synology, use an open source NAS/server OS, or just use a Windows PC. Windows is by far the OS I’m most comfortable with so I’m drawn to the final option. However, I regularly see articles and forum posts which frown upon the use Windows for NAS/server purposes even for simple home-use needs, although I can’t remember reading a good explanation of why. I’d be grateful for some explanations as to why Windows (desktop version) is a poor choice as an OS for a simple home NAS/server.

Some observations from me (please critique if any issues in my thinking):

  • I initially assumed it was because Windows likely causes a high idle power consumption as its a large OS. But I recently measured the idle power consumption of a celeron-based mini PC running Windows and found it to be only 5W, which is lower than my Synology NAS when idle. It seems to me that any further power consumption savings that might be achieved by a smaller OS, or a more modern Synology, would be pretty negligible in terms of running costs.
  • I can see a significant downside of Windows for DIY builds is the cost of Windows license. I wonder is this accounts for most of the critique of Windows? If I went the Windows route I wouldn’t do a DIY build. I would start with a PC which had a Windows OEM licence.
  • My needs are very simple (although I think probably represent a majority of home user needs). I need device which is accessible 24/7 on my home network and 1) can provide SMB files shares, 2) act as a target for backing up other devices on home network, 3) run cloud backup software (to back itself up to an off-site backup location) and, 4) run a media server (such as Plex), 5) provide 1-drive redundancy via RAID or a RAID-like solution (such as Windows Storage Spaces). It seems to me Windows is fine for this and people who frown upon Windows for NAS/server usage probably have more advanced needs.
  • will592@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I haven’t seen a home share the single reason I think is the most important - if you’re using Linux as your server OS you are virtually guaranteed to find an answer to any problem you run into with almost zero effort. A lot of the answers for windows server related problems are going to be directed at professionals who are working in relatively complex IT organizations because these are the people using windows server.

    You’ll find you can quite literally paste whatever error you’re getting on your Linux host into Google and someone will have seen the problem and there will 5 different solutions which will probably all work.

    You’ll fine yourself in a situation where you say, “I wonder if I can do with my server,” and not only will someone have already done it before they’ll have a source code repository you can download their solution from and have it up and running in 10 minutes.

    I know right now you’re at, “all I want to do is run a simple NAS,” but even just doing that you’re likely to run into some issue where a file copy won’t happen or a backup is failing and you need help. With Linux you’re likely to find a bunch of people who know how to fix it (or have already fixed it) and are willing to help you. If you’re using a windows server you’re much more likely to run into people saying, “idk bro - you should be using Linux.”