NAS -- what protocol?
To those running NAS, I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS. What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"?
That's a loaded question, it all depends on your use case after all. Myself, I use NFS and iSCSI, I don't use CIFS/SMB because I have no use for it at this point (The only Windows machine in this house is the company laptop) So.. what is your use case? Maybe then we'll discuss. On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 2:52 PM William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
To those running NAS,
I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS.
What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/KAMKL6J...
Both Linux and Windows10 should be able to use the NAS. That's all. On 2026-01-22 14:55, Nick Accad wrote:
That's a loaded question, it all depends on your use case after all.
Myself, I use NFS and iSCSI, I don't use CIFS/SMB because I have no use for it at this point (The only Windows machine in this house is the company laptop)
So.. what is your use case? Maybe then we'll discuss.
On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 2:52 PM William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org <mailto:talk@lists.gtalug.org>> wrote:
To those running NAS,
I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS.
What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org <mailto:Talk- unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org> Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org <mailto:talk@lists.gtalug.org> This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/ talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/KAMKL6JBVWM5WD3VAWWO5ZGAIKJX2YDU/ <https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/ message/KAMKL6JBVWM5WD3VAWWO5ZGAIKJX2YDU/>
https://xigmanas.com/xnaswp/ On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 3:01 PM William Park <opengeometry@yahoo.ca> wrote:
Both Linux and Windows10 should be able to use the NAS. That's all.
On 2026-01-22 14:55, Nick Accad wrote:
That's a loaded question, it all depends on your use case after all.
Myself, I use NFS and iSCSI, I don't use CIFS/SMB because I have no use for it at this point (The only Windows machine in this house is the company laptop)
So.. what is your use case? Maybe then we'll discuss.
On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 2:52 PM William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org <mailto:talk@lists.gtalug.org>> wrote:
To those running NAS,
I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS.
What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org <mailto:Talk- unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org> Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org <mailto: talk@lists.gtalug.org> This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/ talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/KAMKL6JBVWM5WD3VAWWO5ZGAIKJX2YDU/ <https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/ message/KAMKL6JBVWM5WD3VAWWO5ZGAIKJX2YDU/>
I haven't used NFS since the days of NFS3. It was manageable then, but I get the impression NFS4 is harder to administer? But it has in-transit encryption, a huge step up from NFS3. I could be wrong about the difficulty as I haven't actually tried to set it up. My house has only Linux boxes, but I have an SMB server because A) I find it easy to manage (you may not, but I have many years experience with it), and B) I have Windows-based visitors who (rarely) use the share. The machine in question isn't what most would think of as a NAS: it's just a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4G memory and a single 1TB SSD attached. It's been excellent and entirely stable for a couple years now. However ... my backups from my main computer to another machine are done over SSH to an `rsnapshot` server (with two ZFS mirrored 6T spinning drives). I don't use the Samba share for backups, partly because I have less faith in its in-transit encryption. If I were starting over, I would probably try to set up NFS4 - it allows Unix user/group management and Linux file systems, which aren't really possible with a Samba server. But you seem to have Windows in the mix, so I think Samba is the better choice? Samba is old, stable, and maintained: I think it'll work well for you. A lot of people use bundled NAS software, which usually has checkboxes to decide what underlying FS, or what network protocol. I've found installing and managing them worse and more complex than doing a regular Linux install and firing up Samba. As always, YMMV. I hope this helps. On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 at 14:53, William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
To those running NAS,
I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS.
What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/KAMKL6J...
-- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr@gmail.com
I found it. "SSHFS for Windows" - https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win - https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager Long story: 1. I tried OpenMediaVault and Rockstor. They are (mini) Linux distros based on Debian and OpenSUSE, respectively. They are more for fresh disks, because they keep insisting me to format and mount the disks. But, I already have data on my disks and already mounted. All I need is GUI frontend to SMB/NFS. NFS was easy. But, just can't get SMB working for Windows10 laptop. The laptop sees the remote host in the "Network" portion of File Explorer, but can't get inside. 2. I was expecting more like "router" webpage. But, no. They require way too many clicks, and you have to "Apply" every change. 3. I knew about SSHFS on Linux, but didn't know you can do it on Windows. You can connect from - File Explorer (\\sshfs\user@server\path), - command line (net use ...), - "SSHFS-Win manager" -- very much Windows way. On 2026-01-23 12:33, Giles Orr via Talk wrote:
A lot of people use bundled NAS software, which usually has checkboxes to decide what underlying FS, or what network protocol. I've found installing and managing them worse and more complex than doing a regular Linux install and firing up Samba. As always, YMMV.
I am sure it is my shortcomings, but I found NFSv4, especially 4.1 too complicated, particularly when it comes to Kerberos authentication. I *preferred* SMB/CIFS authentication, AD was a lot simpler for me with Samba-AD, I have an internal AD that is used exclusively for SSO, but I don't use fileshares because like I said, I have no use case for them. When I suggested XigmaNAS, it was because it is honestly a good system, even if it is not Linux (It is FreeBSD). Xigma is the original FreeNAS/TrueNAS before someone bought the name and went commercial. There is a point when the DIY solution can get too complicated and you need the GUI with the "many clicks" to simplify things. These days for anything that needs to be shared, I use some sort of "cloud", right now, I am using OpenCloud and Paperless. And for media, Jellyfin and just plain old http. -nick On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 1:20 PM William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
I found it. "SSHFS for Windows" - https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win - https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager
Long story:
1. I tried OpenMediaVault and Rockstor. They are (mini) Linux distros based on Debian and OpenSUSE, respectively. They are more for fresh disks, because they keep insisting me to format and mount the disks. But, I already have data on my disks and already mounted. All I need is GUI frontend to SMB/NFS. NFS was easy. But, just can't get SMB working for Windows10 laptop. The laptop sees the remote host in the "Network" portion of File Explorer, but can't get inside.
2. I was expecting more like "router" webpage. But, no. They require way too many clicks, and you have to "Apply" every change.
3. I knew about SSHFS on Linux, but didn't know you can do it on Windows. You can connect from - File Explorer (\\sshfs\user@server\path), - command line (net use ...), - "SSHFS-Win manager" -- very much Windows way.
On 2026-01-23 12:33, Giles Orr via Talk wrote:
A lot of people use bundled NAS software, which usually has checkboxes to decide what underlying FS, or what network protocol. I've found installing and managing them worse and more complex than doing a regular Linux install and firing up Samba. As always, YMMV.
Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/ZA3HYV3...
On 2026-01-23 13:28, Nick Accad via Talk wrote:
I am sure it is my shortcomings, but I found NFSv4, especially 4.1 too complicated, particularly when it comes to Kerberos authentication.
I *preferred* SMB/CIFS authentication, AD was a lot simpler for me with Samba-AD, I have an internal AD that is used exclusively for SSO, but I don't use fileshares because like I said, I have no use case for them.
It is not likely to matter in this case but I found that the SMB interface on windows acts differently depending on the product you have purchased and the licensed features. I spend a number of late nights looking at TCP dumps in industrial L.A. to learn this lesson. -- Alvin Starr || land: (647)478-6285 Netvel Inc. || home: (905)513-7688 alvin@netvel.net ||
I admit it's been a long time since I tried it, but I found sshfs: to be distinctly unstable. It was prone to disconnecting even when it had a 24x7 network connection, and didn't seem to have a reconnect mechanism. And that left errors and disconnected shares lying around. Whereas SMB is incredibly forgiving about network outages, including reconnecting after hours disconnected. I love SSH, and really, really wanted sshfs to work (more secure than SMB, and a technology I'm even more familiar with) but it sure didn't for me. My experience, YMMV, etc. etc. Should you wish to pursue the SMB thing, I recommend `smbclient` for command line debugging of SMB shares (this probably applies to Linux and Mac with Homebrew, but not Windows). It behaves very like an FTP client (I realize how few people know what that is these days, never mind have history with it). It's fairly good for coughing up the configuration errors that are blocking your GUI clients. In searching for "smbclient for Windows" I saw this quote "[from] Windows 10, new Installs of Windows disable SMB1 by default in an attempt to prevent security vulnerabilities (which SMB is known for) ..." That triggered a memory that may help: in the "[global]" stanza of the smb.conf file, you'll want to have "min protocol = SMB3_00" - which Samba should, but does not yet, default to. At least not under Debian. It still defaults to SMB1, which is insecure and won't work with any modern Windows. On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 at 13:20, William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
I found it. "SSHFS for Windows" - https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win - https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager
Long story:
1. I tried OpenMediaVault and Rockstor. They are (mini) Linux distros based on Debian and OpenSUSE, respectively. They are more for fresh disks, because they keep insisting me to format and mount the disks. But, I already have data on my disks and already mounted. All I need is GUI frontend to SMB/NFS. NFS was easy. But, just can't get SMB working for Windows10 laptop. The laptop sees the remote host in the "Network" portion of File Explorer, but can't get inside.
2. I was expecting more like "router" webpage. But, no. They require way too many clicks, and you have to "Apply" every change.
3. I knew about SSHFS on Linux, but didn't know you can do it on Windows. You can connect from - File Explorer (\\sshfs\user@server\path), - command line (net use ...), - "SSHFS-Win manager" -- very much Windows way.
On 2026-01-23 12:33, Giles Orr via Talk wrote:
A lot of people use bundled NAS software, which usually has checkboxes to decide what underlying FS, or what network protocol. I've found installing and managing them worse and more complex than doing a regular Linux install and firing up Samba. As always, YMMV.
Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/ZA3HYV3...
-- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr@gmail.com
I finally got NFS and SMB working on *OpenMediaVault*: - I configured NFS v4, v4.1, v4.2 on server side, and my new CachyOS desktop mounted using v4.2 automagically. - For Samba, you have to create "user" through its web UI, not command line (as I did). Then, you can go below the top level. I think, it goes through "smbpasswd" behind the scene. - I was able to export NFS/SMB both from same directory. - Most important for me, you can mount an existing filesystem, but it expects you to create a top level directory. You can't use the mountpoint directly. No big deal. - OpenMediaVault also offers SSH and RSYNC. So, you can use SSHFS. Whether SSHFS is better than NFS/SMB, only "real use" can tell. On 2026-01-23 13:20, William Park via Talk wrote:
I found it. "SSHFS for Windows" - https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win - https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager
Long story:
1. I tried OpenMediaVault and Rockstor. They are (mini) Linux distros based on Debian and OpenSUSE, respectively. They are more for fresh disks, because they keep insisting me to format and mount the disks. But, I already have data on my disks and already mounted. All I need is GUI frontend to SMB/NFS. NFS was easy. But, just can't get SMB working for Windows10 laptop. The laptop sees the remote host in the "Network" portion of File Explorer, but can't get inside.
2. I was expecting more like "router" webpage. But, no. They require way too many clicks, and you have to "Apply" every change.
3. I knew about SSHFS on Linux, but didn't know you can do it on Windows. You can connect from - File Explorer (\\sshfs\user@server\path), - command line (net use ...), - "SSHFS-Win manager" -- very much Windows way.
On 2026-01-23 12:33, Giles Orr via Talk wrote:
A lot of people use bundled NAS software, which usually has checkboxes to decide what underlying FS, or what network protocol. I've found installing and managing them worse and more complex than doing a regular Linux install and firing up Samba. As always, YMMV.
Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/ talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/ZA3HYV3ILGLVZGCL34YVIBBR3KM3ECJW/
On Thu, Jan 22, 2026, at 2:52 PM, William Park via Talk wrote:
To those running NAS,
I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS.
What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"?
I run a Synology as my NAS (which offers both NFS/SMB), and just like many people I have found SMB to be faster than NFS on my Mac while reading data off the NAS. However, this discussion reminded me of this article from an year or two before. https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/macos-finder-still-bad-network-file-c... It is a bit Raspberry specific about its discussion, but I liked the variety of tools Jeff used to debug his transfer speed. I have found it useful enough for my needs. I now have a NUC running Ubuntu directly attached to my ISP router running an iperf3 to test transfer speeds to my wifi/ethernet clients. As well as an iperf3 on my synology, to compare iperf3 numbers with smb numbers to see how much the protocol needs as overhead (not a lot for sustained transfers, if I recall correctly). - Sandip
FYI. Distrowatch.com has an article on "Sharing files on a home network" (https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20260209#sharing). On 2026-01-22 14:52, William Park via Talk wrote:
To those running NAS,
I'm thinking about turning my current i3-4170 desktop into NAS.
What protocols do you use? Do you run both "NFS" and "SMB" on it? Or, just "SMB"? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/ talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/KAMKL6JBVWM5WD3VAWWO5ZGAIKJX2YDU/
participants (5)
-
Alvin Starr -
Giles Orr -
Nick Accad -
Sandip Bhattacharya -
William Park