Network Attached Storage or NAS devices can be used to overcome space and storage issues and provides a centralized place for your data. Here users can access as well as share their data 24/7 through the network. Many companies in the market offer software plus hardware boxes which are out-of-box solutions, like Synology and Qnap are two different veteran vendors. We are sharing the 6 of the best NAS software 2022 that can be used with any operating system and are 100% free.
Cost depends upon the number of features such as RAM, CPU, storage and many others. If you do not wish to spend all of your money then there is an easy solution to your problem. This is a light Linux Distribution that carries enough problems to handle the storage issues of users. For small businesses, one can build their very own NAS server with help of server or PC hardware. We have compiled the best options available on the net.
This can be used with some software such as OwnCloud to make a personal home cloud storage solution. With this one can easily sync their files even private ones from desktop to mobile phones. Moreover, also can listen to their favorite songs, watch online movies on phone those saved on NAS or personal desktop with obviously using the network connection.
The 6 Best NAS Software For Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi
NAS4Free (XigmaNAS)
An open-source distribution which is based on FreeBSD, previously it was called NAS4Free but in 2018 its developer renamed it. This one can share across Apple, Windows and UNIX-like systems.
It comes with:
- Software RAID (0,1,5).
- Disk encryption.
- ZFS v5000.
- M.A.R.T/ email reports and many more.
It carries the following protocols:
- CIFS/SMB, Active Directory Domain Controller (SAMBA), FTP, NFS, TFTP, AFP, RSYNC, Unison, iSCSI (initiator and target), HAST, CARP, Bridge, UPnP, and BitTorrent which by its web interface is configurable.
This provides support for encryption and ZFS services. It does not come with much of a user-friendly interface and can be difficult to handle while navigating and extending functions via plug-ins.
ALSO READ: Is Google Drive Better than local NAS Storage?
FreeNAS (TruNAS)
This one has a lot of popularity among users which carries some best features and enterprise-ready ZFS open source file system. Virtually install this on hardware as well to make a centralized data environment. It provides users with quite an intuitive web interface.
This one provides support to:
- Windows sharing SMB/CIFS, NFS and Apple file shares (AFP), FTP, and iSCSI.
To extend its functions it also supports the following plug-ins:
- CouchPotato, SickBeard, SABnzbd, Maraschino, HTPC Manager and many others.
Keep one thing in your mind that before installing this operating system on any old specs system it requires a good amount of RAM to work properly especially when the user wants to get a ZFS file system.
READ ALSO: Windows Server 2019 Security Best Practices.
OpenFilder (Community Edition)
This is yet another enterprise-level or SAN distro kind of FreeNAS with which users can easily convert their old systems into IP-based storage. It carries one of the best features like:
- iSCSI target for virtualization.
- Block-level replication.
- Fibre Channel target support.
With its update, users might face some issues. It is based on the rPath Linux distro which was last updated in 2008 which makes it a bad choice but if you wish to learn or fork out some new NAS software distro then go for this one.
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Nexenta – Large storage support
This is a community version of a commercial storage product that comes for free. The best thing is that the free version can support almost 18TB of storage. It comes with ZFS support and is based on open Solaris known as Illumos. Don’t worry about stability, support and updates as it is only a strip version of a commercial product.
For small businesses and home users, this is quite useful but it carries limited features. If you are someone who is looking for a big enterprise grip function then you need to select commercial Nexenta.
TurnKey File Server – Easy to setup
If you wish to have a simple server like simple network attached storage then you need to pre-build a Turnkey solution that would be an option to mull on. It supports and is compatible with the following:
- SFTP, SMB, NFS, WebDAV as well as rsync file transfer protocols.
Users are able to manage both private as well as public storage on Samba and SambaDAV using its file server. Moreover, it comes with quite an easy web graphical user interface.
What it can do:
- SSL support.
- It can manage SAMBA Webmin module integration.
- Access WebUI as well as WebDAV.
- It supports DOS and UNIX.
- Access file server through samba on the command line.
- It provides support to rar, compression zip as well as bz2 tools.
READ ALSO: Linux Server Security (Best Checklist).
OpenDedupe – Open Source and Cloud Compatible
This is an open-source cloud storage gateway as well as a file system. Since 2010 it has been in the market and was developed by filesystem SDFS and Datish NAS appliance.
This is an inline deduplication file system that is based on NAS operating system for local as well as cloud storage purposes along with attributes as followed:
- Storage optimization.
- Scaling in order to secure and deal with massive data.
Honorable mentions:
- XigmaNAS: One of the stealthy ones that have its own management dashboard. It is very reliable and also used in HA environments. It includes all modern stats and features including SMART and email alerts along with updates by a passionate community.
- OpenMediaVault: This is a complete operating system design for the sole purpose of being used as network-attached storage! This is a great choice if you are a beginner and do not have much knowledge and experience with such systems.
Final Summary
Network-attached storage solutions are great and a cheaper way to have your own cloud at home. The most obvious benefits are privacy and security. You know you are in control of your data and no one else has access to it. This is why we have put together the above list of the 6 best NAS software for Windows 10, Linux and Raspberry Pi. We have only provided links to free and open-source options and alternatives with community editions.