TechFuel HQStorage & NAS
The NAS decision layer: which OS, which drives, which RAID, and what it costs to run 24/7 — with calculators and honest build guides.
A NAS is the one homelab box that is not allowed to be an experiment. It holds the photos, the backups, the documents — the stuff you actually cannot lose. That raises the stakes on every choice around it: the OS, the drives, the RAID layout, the backup plan behind the RAID.
This section is the decision layer for all of it. The comparisons state their criteria, every load-bearing claim cites the project’s own docs or a dated first-party number, and where we have not measured something ourselves, the page says so instead of pretending.
The OS Decision
Unraid vs TrueNAS vs OMV vs Proxmox: NAS OS Pick (2026)
The August 2026 state of the four NAS-thread names: real prices, RAM floors, storage models, and why Proxmox in this list is a category error.
homelabProxmox vs TrueNAS vs Unraid: ZFS, btrfs, and Homelab IOPS
Unraid vs TrueNAS vs Proxmox in 2026: which storage platform to pick, how their ZFS and btrfs backends really differ, and the IOPS and rebuild tradeoffs.
ComparisonDAS vs NAS in 2026: Which Storage Setup Do You Actually Need?
DAS vs NAS in 2026, decided by the numbers. USB/Thunderbolt vs 2.5GbE/10GbE throughput, real power and cost, RAID vs ZFS, and a use-case decision guide.
Builds
Best Budget NAS Build 2026: 4-Bay DIY in the Drive + RAM Crunch
Budget NAS build 2026: a 4-bay AOOSTAR WTR Pro barebone under $400, plus the HDD and DDR5 price squeeze, recert drives, and TrueNAS/Unraid/OMV.
HomelabHow to Build a NAS From an Old PC (2026 Guide)
Build a NAS from an old PC in 2026: does your desktop qualify, OMV vs TrueNAS vs Unraid, SATA ports and HBA cards, and the honest power and ECC caveats.
Buying GuideBest NAS for Plex & Jellyfin 2026: Which Ones Actually Hardware-Transcode
The best NAS for Plex and Jellyfin in 2026 turns on one spec most guides miss: hardware transcoding. Which models still do it, and picks by tier.
Drives & Capacity
Best NAS Hard Drives 2026: Picks by Use Case + Real $/TB Math
The best NAS hard drives for 2026 by use case: the CMR-vs-SMR history from the spec sheets, a live-priced $/TB table, and what recerts really cost.
Buying GuideSeagate IronWolf vs IronWolf Pro vs Exos (2026)
Seagate's IronWolf, IronWolf Pro, and Exos compared for a home NAS in 2026: workload, warranty, noise, real $/TB, and whether Exos is the same drive.
DataHDD Price Index: Dated $/TB for 8TB NAS Drives from Direct US Retailers (Pilot)
Dated $/TB observations for 8TB NAS and desktop drives at named US retailers - strict acceptance rules, raw CSV, CC BY 4.0.
ToolNAS & RAID Capacity Calculator
RAID capacity calculator: usable storage, parity overhead, and fault tolerance for RAID 0/1/5/6/10 and ZFS RAIDZ1/2/3, compared side by side.
Keeping It Alive
The 3-2-1 Backup Rule for Homelabs (2026)
The 3-2-1 backup rule for a homelab: three copies, two devices, one off-site — why RAID and a snapshot are not backups, and how to choose your three copies.
ComparisonRestic vs Borg vs Kopia: Which Backup Tool (2026)
restic vs Borg vs Kopia on verified 2026 docs: restic has had compression since v0.14.0, and where the backup lands decides the tool.
TutorialZFS on Proxmox: Pool Setup, ARC Tuning, and Scrubs (2026)
Practical ZFS guide for Proxmox VE 8: create RAIDZ1/mirror pools from the CLI, tune ARC for a shared host, set compression, and schedule scrubs and snapshots.
Homelab24/7 Homelab Idle Power Costs: What It Really Costs to Run
Real idle power draws for common homelab hardware: mini PCs, NAS, switches, and tower servers, with annual cost math and a region-by-region breakdown.