So my relative’s Microsoft Sirface Pro 3 wasn’t connecting, Windows 10 reached End of Life, amd 4 GB of RAM is not enough for Windows 11, so she gifted it to me. Linux Mint fixed it all.
I have a DXP 4800 Pro and I’m quite happy with it. Saw the DH-2300 at a really good price at a local chain store and pulled the trigger.
I know the DH-2300 is severely limited (2 bays, 4GB of non-upgradable RAM, one LAN port, limited app selection), but I decided to embrace those limitations and then work around them.
It’s cool that it recognized my samba shares so I can add those shares to the theater, music, and photos app. It’s cool that there’s a workaround to get Docker installed and so far I installed Tailscale and another app and both are working fine within the CPU and RAM constraints.
Aside from using it as storage and backups, what else have you managed to do successfully with your DH-2300? I’m quite curious to know and find out.
Have you ditched UGOS and installed another OS on it? How did it go? Share your knowledge here so we all can benefit or commiserate.
My latest ZimaBlade build. This one’s pretty much Frankensteined from 2 old 2.5” 2TB SSD’s I had in storage on a RAID-1 array, a renewed 256 GB m.2 nvme ssd, spare screws, a leftover PCI nvme/sata PCI card, and a leftover ZimaBoard 2 hard drive caddy. I got a reverse PCI adapter to secure the PCI card and two 2.5” to 3.5” enclosures for the 2.5” SSD’s. Got the 256 GB nvme SSD a heat sink with thermal pads. I successfully tested a USB wireless adapter in case I want it to connect wirelessly. Got a little USB battery powered fan to help with cooling.
My latest ZimaBlade build. This one’s pretty much Frankensteined from 2 old 2.5” 2TB SSD’s I had in storage on a RAID-1 array, a renewed 256 GB m.2 nvme ssd, spare screws, a leftover PCI nvme/sata PCI card, and a leftover ZimaBoard 2 hard drive caddy. I got a reverse PCI adapter to secure the PCI card and two 2.5” to 3.5” enclosures for the 2.5” SSD’s. Got the 256 GB nvme SSD a heat sink with thermal pads. I successfully tested a USB wireless adapter in case I want it to connect wirelessly. Got a little USB battery powered fan to help with cooling.
Hello. I have gotten a bunch of 2.5 hard drives through the years and I’d rather put them to good use than have them in storage doing nothing. Not gonna lie probably ten of them. So what would be the best use for them on a DAS situation? JBOD? Build several 750 GB/1TB RAID arrays? Is that even possible on a DAS unit? Are there DAS units able to hold that many hard drives at a reasonable price? Sound off good people! Thanks!
Hi. I have some remote samba shares in another box in my local network as well as a RAID-1 array on a USB external drive that I connect to my DXP-4800 Pro. I connect via SSH, use nano as a sudo user to edit add them to my /etc/fstab file, save it, mount them, they are recognized, no issues.
My problem is they every time I need to reboot it, those entries are gone and I have to copy/paste them to my /erc/fstab file, and mount them again. Is there a way to permanently save that file without going through that hassle?
Am I missing something? Thanks in advance.
From a single DXP-4800 Pro now with a ZimaBlade, a ZimaBoard2, a switch, an Orico Mini-Tower for additional storage, and an USB wireless antenna in case I want to take the ZimaBoard or ZimaBlade for a stroll.
Hi there! Getting an Orico Mini-Tower (quite cheap on Amazon these days). The plan is to install an nvme SSD and 2 SATA HDD’a on a hardwired RAID-1 array for additional storage to my main UGreen NAS via the USB-C cable. I wonder if it could provide an effective secondary storage to my Jellyfin library or if the USB-C connection is slow, maybe move the storage for my Immich , Kavita, and music libraries there. What do you think?
Hi there! Getting an Orico Mini-Tower (quite cheap on Amazon these days). The plan is to install an nvme SSD and 2 SATA HDD’a on a hardwired RAID-1 array for additional storage to my main UGreen NAS via the USB-C cable. I wonder if it could provide an effective secondary storage to my Jellyfin library or if the USB-C connection is slow, maybe move the storage for my Immich , Kavita, and music libraries there. What do you think?
Hi there! Getting an Orico Mini-Tower (quite cheap on Amazon these days). The plan is to install an nvme SSD and 2 SATA HDD’a on a hardwired RAID-1 array for additional storage to my main UGreen NAS via the USB-C cable. I wonder if it could provide an effective secondary storage to my Jellyfin library or if the USB-C connection is slow, maybe move the storage for my Immich , Kavita, and music libraries there. What do you think?
My first homelab. Have at it! DXP-4800 Pro, ZimaBoard2, ZimaBlade, a small switch to send it to my router and one of the ports goes to a desktop that’s sitting pretty on my desk.
What creative solutions you’ve come up with? Please share with pictures if you want.
Meet Sparkbox. This is what I'm using on my Dell Inspiron on top of MX Linux. So far so good and very user-friendly. Let me know what you think.
Got some heatsinks to the external mvme’s. Should lower the temps
I was curious about ZimaOS as an OS to handle NAS. Pretty user-friendly GUI and one of the best ways for a new user to install and familiarize yourself with Docker. I installed it in another NAS and it was good. However, that other NAS's hardware usage of the hard drives, and their customer service and technical support was a total pain, so I ended up returning that device. So, I really like ZimaOS, and learned about the ZimaBoard 2's specs,power requirements, and price. Bought a license because the license price was quite reasonable and they deserve the love. I have 2 1 TB nvme SSD's and 2 4TB ssd 2.5" SSD's (remember when those were affordable?) that I was planning to repurpose to build a NAS.
So, got the ZimaBoard 2 1664 Starter Pack this week from ZimaSpace. Love the packaging. I have 2 criticisms:
Once I sorted that out, got 2 RAID-1 arrays for the SSD's. Figured i use 1TB to migrate Apps, App Image, and User Database from the internal eMMC storage as well as Docker apps, The 4TB one for content storage. Already installed Tailscale for an alternative way to access it remotely as well as use it as an exit node and access my other machines. Ssh remote access and enabling wake-on-lan and hotswapping via the BIOS is nice.
Use case: NAS, a MiniPC, host AdGuard, Immich, Jellyfin (which I have successfully installed and use in another NAS), and play with some router software. I might buy a wireless USB dongle if I go for the router as well as a firewall. Otherwise, it will stay at home.
My challenges are making the most efficient use of the resources and keeping temps manageable. Also find and buy a case for it so t can be properly protected.
All in all, I'm happy with my purchase and look forward to see what I can play with. Enough ranting.
UPDATE: Bought 2.5" to 3.5" enclosures, got rid of the zip ties and used the enclosed screws to secure them to the hard drive mount. Looks much better now.