Hi selfhosters,

I would like to expand my server storage and I am confused now. For a bit of context, I have a mini pc running several Docker containers and I am pretty happy with it.

Right now I want to expand my server storage and after going though some options, this is my current understanding:

  • NAS: it is a real PC with its own chip/memory/OS and we can connect to the storage via network mount. Some are powerful enough to run docker containers on them and are generally not cheap.
  • HDD enclosure/docking station: it is just some enclosure to hold a lot of HDDs together and I could just plug it into my server like an USB.

I would like to ask:

  • Is my understanding above correct ?
  • Since I still have some resource left in the mini pc and want to save some bucks, is it safe to go with the HDD enclosure ?

Thank you very much and have a nice day :D

  • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.techEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    HDD enclosure is a fine way to start, as long as you know it has limitations. Eventually you’ll probably need more storage, and it won’t scale. That being said, you can get 26TB hard drives now, it’ll be a while. Just make sure you plan out how to back it up. Remember the rule - if you can’t afford to buy a backup then you can’t afford to do the project. Make sure you have backups in mind.

    If you decide to upgrade to a full NAS solution later also remember that during that migration you probably will need to use new hard drives while migrating as your current ones will need to be copied from to the new NAS, meaning you will probably end up with a few redundant drives. Not a huge thing, but there will be no “in-place” upgrade. It all depends on where you want your homelab to go in the future.