HexOS NAS Software – Review of the BETA

HexOS NAS Software Beta Early Review – TrueNAS for Noobs?

HexOS is a NAS operating system in its infancy, introduced as a beta product with the aim of revolutionizing how home users, small businesses, and creative professionals manage data storage and applications. Unlike established solutions such as TrueNAS Core or Unraid, HexOS prioritizes simplicity and accessibility, targeting users who find traditional NAS setups too complex or time-consuming. While it is built on the reliable foundation of TrueNAS Core, HexOS diverges significantly in its approach by emphasizing automation and guided workflows. This overview explores HexOS Beta 1, analyzing its current features, usability, and areas for improvement. We will evaluate the feedback it has received from the community, compare it with competing solutions, and provide insights into its potential as a mainstream NAS option.

TL;DR: HexOS Beta Overview (2/12/24)

What’s in the Beta:

  • Setup Wizard: Streamlined configuration for home servers, including automatic storage pool setup and system health analysis.
  • Storage Management: Basic tools for managing storage devices, replacing failed drives, and expanding pools incrementally.
  • Apps: One-click installation of Plex and Immich, with automatic folder and permission setup.
  • Dashboard: Web-based Command Deck for monitoring CPU, memory, network, and storage usage, designed for mobile and desktop.

What’s Missing:

  • Advanced Features: No custom RAID setups, snapshots, or replication yet.
  • App Ecosystem: Limited to two curated apps (Plex and Immich); no Docker or third-party app catalog.
  • Local UI: Currently relies on a cloud-based interface, with no offline management options.
  • Additional Tools: Lacks SMART testing, email/SMS alerts, and advanced data import/export tools.

Planned for the Future (2025):

  • Snapshots and Replication: Data protection features, including innovative “Buddy Backups” for encrypted peer-to-peer storage.
  • Virtual Machines: Simplified hybrid VM setup for Windows desktops or media players.
  • Expanded Apps: Larger catalog via partnerships with developers and container creators.
  • Local UI: Full offline management for system configurations, even during cloud outages.
  • Cloud Backups: Integration with StorJ/TrueNAS for enhanced remote data protection.


What Is HexOS?

HexOS is built on TrueNAS Core, a well-known and robust open-source storage operating system designed for enterprise and advanced home use. However, where TrueNAS Core excels in power and flexibility, it also requires technical know-how, creating a barrier for casual users. HexOS seeks to bridge this gap by offering an intuitive and simplified interface tailored to individuals who want the benefits of a NAS without a steep learning curve. For example, HexOS automates the creation of storage pools based on best practices. If a user connects two hard drives, the system automatically configures them in a mirrored layout, providing redundancy without requiring the user to understand RAID or ZFS. Similarly, its Command Deck interface consolidates system health, resource monitoring, and storage management into a unified dashboard accessible via web browsers or mobile devices.

While the beta release of HexOS shows promise, it lacks some advanced features that TrueNAS Core users might expect. For instance, custom RAID configurations are not yet supported, and the app ecosystem is currently limited to two curated applications. These trade-offs reflect HexOS’s focus on accessibility at the expense of flexibility, positioning it as an entry-level NAS solution.


Feedback on Initialization of a TrueNAS Scale server with HexOS?

One of HexOS’s standout features is its guided setup process. The system’s initialization wizard walks users through the configuration of their NAS, automating tasks such as hardware detection, storage pool setup, and network configuration. For many users, this is a welcome change from the often intimidating, multi-step setup processes of traditional NAS software.

For instance, a Reddit user who transitioned from TrueNAS Core to HexOS highlighted how the initialization process “took under 10 minutes, and I didn’t even need to Google anything.” This simplicity is particularly beneficial for individuals who are new to NAS systems or who have limited technical knowledge. The software also alerts users to potential hardware issues, such as SMR drives, ensuring that they are aware of potential performance bottlenecks before proceeding.

However, some users have noted the lack of customization during initialization. Advanced users who require specific RAID configurations or filesystem layouts may find HexOS’s automation limiting. For these users, the inability to manually override the default settings can be frustrating, though the development team has promised greater flexibility in future updates.


App Installation in HexOS?

HexOS currently supports one-click installation for Plex and Immich, a personal photo library application. These apps are designed to integrate seamlessly with the system, with HexOS automatically creating storage folders and assigning appropriate permissions. This streamlined process is ideal for users who want their NAS to “just work” without having to navigate the complexities of manual app setup.

For example, installing Plex on HexOS involves selecting the app from the Command Deck and clicking “Install.” Within minutes, the app is ready to use, and users can begin uploading and streaming media. Similarly, Immich allows users to back up photos from their smartphones to their NAS with minimal configuration. A Reddit user praised this simplicity, stating, “I uploaded my entire photo album to Immich within an hour of setting up HexOS. It just works.”

Despite these advantages, the limited app catalog has drawn criticism. Competing platforms like TrueNAS Core and Unraid offer extensive app ecosystems, supporting everything from Docker containers to virtual machines. While HexOS does allow users to manually install apps via the TrueNAS interface, this process undermines its goal of accessibility. Expanding the app catalog will be crucial for HexOS to compete with established NAS solutions.


Web GUI at the Moment and Long Term Access?

The HexOS Command Deck is a web-based interface that serves as the control center for the NAS. It is designed to be user-friendly and mobile-responsive, allowing users to manage their system from a variety of devices. Key features include real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, and network usage, as well as tools for managing storage pools and connected devices.

While the interface is visually appealing and intuitive, it is currently cloud-dependent, requiring an internet connection for access. This reliance has raised privacy and reliability concerns among some users. One Reddit thread criticized the cloud-based design, with a user stating, “What happens if the server goes down? I need a local option for peace of mind.” In response, HexOS has committed to introducing a local UI/UX in its 2025 release, ensuring that users can manage their systems even during Command Deck maintenance windows.

For now, the Command Deck provides a solid foundation but lacks some advanced features, such as detailed SMART testing or granular network configuration. These omissions are expected to be addressed in future updates.

Access issues during the HexOS beta have become a significant pain point for some users, as highlighted in threads like the HexOS community post. A frequent problem revolves around servers getting “Stuck on Connecting” during the initial claim process, preventing users from completing their setup. While some users have suggested network misconfigurations or hardware compatibility issues as potential causes, a larger consensus points to HexOS’s cloud servers struggling to scale with the sudden surge of early adopters.

It appears that the system wasn’t adequately prepared to handle the level of interest generated by the Black Friday promotion, leaving some users unable to connect their devices to the Command Deck. Although a few have found workarounds, like reassigning static IPs or power cycling their network, many remain stuck without clear guidance from HexOS. The issue has led to frustration, especially since the beta depends entirely on remote server access. This situation underscores the challenges of scaling a cloud-based platform to meet demand and raises questions about HexOS’s readiness to handle a wider audience as the beta progresses.


Costs, Early Access Pricing and Value?

HexOS adopts a tiered pricing model, starting at $99 for a lifetime license during the early access phase. This price will rise to $199 and eventually $299 as the software approaches full release. The company also plans to introduce subscription options for features like integrated remote access, which will be optional. Compared to other NAS software, HexOS’s pricing is competitive. For example, Synology’s solutions often require significant hardware investment, while TrueNAS Core is free but demands more time and expertise. HexOS strikes a balance by offering an affordable entry point with minimal setup effort. However, some users have questioned whether the limited features of the beta justify even the discounted pricing. For budget-conscious users, the current pricing represents good value, especially if the promised features materialize. However, those seeking a more comprehensive solution may prefer to wait for the 1.0 release.

The $99 Black Friday deal for lifetime access to HexOS has elicited a variety of responses from the community, particularly due to its requirement for participation in the beta program. Discussions on platforms like Reddit reveal a divided opinion. Some users view the pricing as an appealing entry point for a NAS solution that aims to simplify server management, especially with promises of future feature expansions. However, others express reservations about paying for a beta-stage product, emphasizing the current limitations, such as a lack of advanced RAID options, a minimal app catalog, and the absence of a local user interface. Proponents highlight the potential long-term value of securing lifetime updates at a reduced cost before prices increase to $199 or $299. Nonetheless, skeptics question the practicality of paying upfront for software that is still maturing. The discourse reflects broader concerns about the trade-offs between early adoption and investing in a software solution that may not yet fulfill the expectations of more experienced users.


What’s Missing

As a beta product, HexOS is far from feature-complete. The app catalog is one of its most glaring shortcomings, with only Plex and Immich available for one-click installation. Additionally, the software lacks support for custom RAID configurations, making it unsuitable for users with specific storage needs.

The absence of a local interface is another drawback. While the Command Deck simplifies remote management, it does not cater to users with unreliable internet connections or those who prioritize local control for privacy reasons. Advanced features like snapshots, replication, and detailed SMART testing are also missing, though these are planned for future updates.

These limitations mean that HexOS currently appeals more to casual users than to enthusiasts or professionals. As the development team continues to refine the software, addressing these gaps will be crucial for broader adoption.


Feedback from Reddit Users

Reddit discussions about HexOS reveal a polarized community. Supporters praise its simplicity, with one user summarizing, “HexOS is for when you don’t have time for TrueNAS and just need the NAS to work.” This sentiment resonates with users who value convenience over customization. However, critics have been vocal about the software’s shortcomings. Threads often highlight the limited app catalog and the reliance on cloud-based management as major drawbacks. Some users have also expressed skepticism about HexOS’s pricing, questioning whether it offers enough value compared to free alternatives like TrueNAS Core. These mixed reactions underscore the challenge HexOS faces in satisfying diverse user needs. While it appeals to beginners, its limitations may alienate more advanced users.


What Is Planned on the Roadmap Later

HexOS’s roadmap for 2025 includes several significant updates. The introduction of a Virtual Machine Manager will enable users to run hybrid setups, combining physical and virtual hardware for applications like media servers or dedicated workstations. This feature could make HexOS more appealing to tech-savvy users. Snapshots and replication are also on the horizon, providing advanced data protection and synchronization options. The planned “Buddy Backups” feature, which allows encrypted data sharing with trusted peers, reflects HexOS’s focus on community-driven solutions. Other planned updates include an expanded app catalog, local UI support, and integrated cloud backups. These features aim to address current shortcomings and position HexOS as a versatile NAS solution.

Read HERE for the latest post from HexOS on their ‘Road to 1.0’ Roadmap article.


Verdict of the Beta So Far

HexOS Beta 1 delivers on its promise of simplicity but is not without its flaws. While it excels in accessibility and ease of use, its limited features and reliance on cloud-based management highlight its beta status. For now, HexOS is best viewed as a foundational product with significant room for growth. HexOS is ideal for home users, small businesses, and creative professionals who prioritize ease of use over advanced customization. Its guided setup process and intuitive interface make it an excellent choice for beginners. However, advanced users may find its current limitations restrictive. For families and hobbyists, HexOS provides a straightforward way to manage data and applications. Its focus on accessibility makes it a valuable option for users who want a hassle-free NAS experience. As the software evolves, its planned features could make it a strong contender in the NAS market. For users willing to experiment with a beta product, HexOS offers a glimpse of a promising future. However, those seeking a complete solution may prefer to wait for the 1.0 release.

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      258 thoughts on “HexOS NAS Software – Review of the BETA

      1. I was seriously intending to pay for the lifetime early access, until I started watching this interview, and I realized that HexOS goals are not what I am looking for long-term.

        Local access should not be an after thought. I would have preferred that the local access interface was created FIRST. And even if they wish to focus on the hosted one first (I don’t mind, but I am not planning to use this product or recommend it to anyone until local access is available and a complete solution for all use cases that don’t absolutely need to rely on a hosted service).

        Also, is this open source? Is the license AGPL? While AGPL would be my preferred license, I understand why they might choose something else. However, I don’t want the company behind HexOS to have constant admin privileges on my server.
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      2. I’m increasingly more excited that it’s literally not trying to hide TrueNAS at all and that it’s so easy to switch back and forth. I consider myself a bit more knowledgeable than what HexOS is targeting exactly, but TrueNAS and systems like it are sometimes needlessly cumbersome for smaller tasks. That makes sense, like there’s all these options and the system doesn’t know what you need, so it’s marking all these things as “optional” for example, however that does make certain tasks feel tedious.

        The fact that I can just have this for my basic day to day stuff, but can jump into TrueNAS easily if I need to do some more complex things is great.

        Thanks for the runthrough. I’m pretty positive about my purchase so far.
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      3. The build team is way too small at the moment, and it will be increasingly more demanding on their development time to catch up to the outstanding issues and continue to balance that with future growth. In 6 months of its release, they’re going to be hit with a new challenge called customer service and dealing with technical issues with each user who will ultimately have different systems, with different sets of issues. It will drown the company and leave a bitter taste on the target audience, who will be forced to learn TrueNas despite wanting to avoid it in the first place. There are now more robust options out there if Synology isn’t preferred, and to be honest, the dreamers out there best come back to reality and stop trying to get into building their own systems if they don’t have the skill or will to deal with enterprise grade operating systems.
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      4. HeX OS is for a mum and dad user who is not comfortable with the bare install of TrueNAS Scale themselves. (like me 3 years ago)
        What I see coming down the pipe looks interesting and cloud hosted interface will become locally hoated
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      5. This is not even a skin over TrueNAS, it’s just a proprietary dashboard that makes API calls to TrueNAS, so you’re basically paying $300 to access a webpage, that you can also access for free by just using TrueNAS. This is such a scam.
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      6. Paying $299 for what is essentially a skin over TrueNAS feels like a ripoff. Instead, consider donating to FreeBSD, investing in unRAID, or putting that money toward additional hardware—it’ll provide far more value
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      7. I was very tempted by this at $99, but I don’t like the dark pattern that HexOS are implementing with the pricing. I’m not putting any money down without any kind of real reviews, and no pipeline for what other apps are going to be supported going forwards.

        I want Home Assistant and Pi-Hole support for this to be useful to me, but there’s no indication as to whether they’ll be supported any time soon.

        I think I’m going to look into learning TrueNAS instead.
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      8. Great introductory video, thank you! I’m fairly new to NAS and appreciate the preview of “products/things on the horizon.” I’m a Kickstarter owner of a UGreen 6800 Pro, so I would say I am someone who’s comfortable taking risks (for the right price) with new technology. The UGreen unit is a little further along in software than HexOS (today), but I do like the GUI on HexOS and find it comforting that they are building it on top of a seasoned platform such as TruNAS. 

        As a beginner I’m not ready to dive straight into TruNAS or Unraid as I’m just getting my feet wet with the UGOS, but that being said, I am a fast learner and I can already see with just a couple of weeks of ownership of my UGreen NAS how HexOS could be the best of both worlds down the road for someone like myself (Beginner level look & feel, underpowered by deep customization capability of a seasoned brand). I suspect HexOS is 2 to 4 years away from being a prime time product, but for $99 for a lifetime license I decided to take the plunge. I figure that’s about how long it’ll take me to become a more advanced user anyways, so why not.

        Pricing wise, given that both TruNAS and Unraid range from free/$50 to $249 USD, I can see how they came to $99. If they are smart they will run “sales / deals” on the stated $299 full price as consumers “always love a sale/good deal.” I just grabbed a second UGreen unit (DXP4800 Plus) as a backup unit to my 6800 Pro, but in a year or so I could possibly see installing HexOS on it and it giving it a go earlier since it is not my primary NAS. Most importantly, I’m excited to see new players like UGreen, HexOS, and others entering the market to raise the bar for companies like Synology and QNAP who I feel have gotten comfortable in the marketplace.
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      9. Mixed size drives have been almost the number one requirement in most of my setups and the reason I today run bare metal Linux. But I hop e HexOS can be a good solution and I actually bought lifetime licenses (meant to buy one but accidently bought two) in case my use case changes.
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      10. I have been looking at running a NAS for a while, and now my wife has just upgraded her PC I have a free system for it. I know computers, a little bit of Linux but nothing about network storage, so I’m probably the target audience. $100 for easy set up of network folders and Plex, thats like 90% of what I was looking to do anyway, so after a little thought I got the early version. Still waiting for the invite, but looking forward to giving it a go, and there are lots of guides for TrueNAS so I should be able to work my way through the remaining 10% of what I want (minecraft server).
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      11. I’ve worked with EMC, Pure Storage, and TrueNAS, though I haven’t touched Unraid yet. My take on HexOS? It looks promising but honestly, I might have spent the $99 if I’d known about it sooner.

        That said, at the current $199 price point for what feels like a half-baked product, I’m not convinced. Would anyone really drop $199 on a beta to store critical data, even if it’s just for a home network? For me, the pricing feels off, and the fact that it’s still in beta with too many TBDs makes it hard to justify the risk versus value.
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      12. While the idea is great, it seems like a profit making business off the back of open source software, $300 for license, With prices like that I get the feeling they will ride this apple cart until they are no longer selling licenses then drop it, Money seems the real motive here
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      13. If you’re not able to take the couple of hours to learn about how to set up truenas, then by all means… I still mean it’s way overpriced and the online only portal is a gaping security hole. won’t touch it
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      14. $300 for this? My goodness. I am not opposed to running a custom OS – I still have a 4 year old Asustor nas at home that I am reasonably happy with, but $300 for a frontend gui on top of TrueNAS? That’s crazy talk, if you ask me.
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      15. been looking into tinkering with a NAS for awhile now and this seems perfect for me as a beginner
        but that price tag for what is essentially a front end in beta with lackluster feature support that might get better however long into the future is *currently* off putting
        but I see the potential
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      16. Pretty confident I’m damn near their exact target market.
        Currently a synology owner, but want to shift to my own chosen hardware soon. Also wanting a basic setup for Plex essentially with spending as little time as possible setting up. It comes with TrueNAS Scale under the hood so if/when I ever do wan to take a look at anything more complex I can.

        Assuming they can hit their release goals this would be essentially my perfect NAS OS. Totally happy to pay for a couple of licenses now in the hopes it will help them realise v1.0 goals.
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      17. I like what I see on a conceptual level, but my absolute biggest criticism at this point in time is the pricing. I feel like there’s just a massive disconnect between the pricing and their target audience.

        Clearly this is not for me, and I’d argue not for most people watching your channel, but we’re also the people more likely to be able to justify dropping 300 on a lifetime license to an OS. But this isn’t aimed at us, this is aimed at people who really aren’t as familiar with all this. Something you might recommend to your friend photographer after seeing their mountain of external drives sort of thing. Convincing someone completely new to the space to drop that much money on an OS (in addition to the hardware, I may add) just doesn’t make much sense at all when you’d be better off just recommending they grab a qnap or synology.

        Honestly what I feel would be a much better path for them to take going forward, is to 1) reduce the price to be more reasonable but also 2) work out a vendor solution where they could mass sell licenses to companies like say Aoostar so they can come preloaded with something like this, because they would be a fantastic match.
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      18. That’s a lot of maybe, perhaps, and in the future. It might be better to just describe things as they currently are. You said you’re biting your tounge a lot because simplicity is the point. But isn’t the point of this channel to get your full informed opinion and useful information? Don’t hold back.
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      19. This is terrible, especially with the pricing, most of the turn key nas solutions are just as simple to use, synology for example, much better to put that $300 towards something like that, i can’t see hexos lasting once they run out of investor money.
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      20. I think I’m on the edge of being target audience. Anyone looking for a NAS solution is already going to be somewhat technically savvy. Very comfortable with gaming PC hardware, but having done nothing in Linux, hypervisors, or any NAS softwares, this seems to be a pretty easy starting point. If this was fully mature and all promises already implemented, I think I’d be interested. I really like the idea of the buddy backup.
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      21. This is a cashgrab with future subscription grab, theres no other explanation for it, they made it online only, and only after a backlash, said they gonna do the offline ui as well, which im pretty sure, linus or someone, said, its gonna be worse than the online only version, i had high hopes for this, but as soon as they revealed thier intentions, everything is clear and a big no for me.
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      22. It definitely is not ready for primetime. I looked at the beta and was willing to try it until I saw they expected me to pay for the privilege of being their Software QA team. Instant turnoff.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      23. I know enough to get in trouble lol. I bought the beta AND I don’t even have a machine to put in on yet!

        Video idea!

        What machine would be best for someone like me to install this OS.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      24. Thank you very much for this video. Much more deep than the LTT one, and with many more thoughts. That one convinced me to do a thing… Buy an Unraid license with 15 bucks off.

        For me these prices are a bit off the rails.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      25. My issue was they didn’t even let anyone try it before they had to purchase it at that discounted price. They also priced themselves out of the niche that they initially targeted. At $100 i could easily recommend it for friends that want to get into the nas game but at $300 its a lot harder to convince a non-techy friend this is the answer for all your storage needs.
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      26. They should have made the beta free and given early adopters a choice to upgrade to release 1 with a discounted lifetime license. The way they’re doing it they’re very likely severely limiting their tester base right out the gate.
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      27. Uhh no … 299$ or even 99$ for a simplified TrueNas dashboard that is not even my own and not available without internet is crazy.
        I get it, more futures are coming, but without LTT noone would even care about it.
        Which customers are they aiming at? Those with technical skills will still use free TrueNas, those without will either not even hear about it or pickup some Qnap/Synology/Asustor ready solutions.
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      28. I was tempted by the $99 lifetime license, but decided to get 2 more Unraid licenses instead. I’ll stick with what I know and what works now. Not willing to wait for promised features. ????
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      29. Waited for this, but I talked myself out of buying a license over the weekend. The reduced price was tempting, but I’m just too much of a tinkerer to like that much handholding. I’d rather just “git gud” with TrueNAS Scale and ZFS.
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      30. This guy talks like VPN doesnt exist. Having a cloud service to remotely manage my NAS also introduces the possibillity of my NAS getting hacked if their service gets compromised. As long as that service isnt optional, many if not most people interested in this are not going to buy it.
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      31. I know this video is 3months old, and he is saying no local gui in version1, Linus said yesterday there will be a local gui at launch so what is it?
        Did he convince them local gui is a must?
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      32. They seriously need to rethink the online vs local thing. My internet usually goes down 2-3 times each year, and many times it happens on a Friday (of course) and then it will be out until Monday. During that time I do local stuff, a setup of new hardware would be one of those things. So I would expect to be able to setup a NAS even if internet is down. Anything else is ridiculous. Last year I bought Zyxel WiFi System, it required Internet to be able to setup. Ridiculous!!! I reflashed them with OpenWrt as fast as I could. This “must have internet” hardware is a virus that needs to be rooted out. Local, and pure local mode should be the default, always!
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      33. Sorry, but I can’t follow why the online UI is good. If you cannot klick the https warning locally away, you should not build a NAS yourself! And on TrueNas (which is heavy hardware compatibility) on top.
        What is it used for, that is not possible locally? You name plex but that works on its own without presenting the whole NAS to the world.
        Also I dont think we still would have control over the data. Since mainly the UI MUST have access to the hardwarelayer or truenas layer beneath. To the volumes to add folders, to Add pools and vdevs and to implement ACL. So you get everything you need to access the data and we get a “we will not do that, its save”.

        I also only see a fancy UI for a lot of money! While TrueNAS is the base for it and shoulders the hard development. Are you just generating value of of TrueNAS? Are you paying them for development out of the funding?

        For people not having experience with PC where should hexOS be installed? On a self-build Box? Well if you buy a NAS for this OS you basically you get a UI like with synology what will accomodate all the might need.

        Also paying 199$ for a license while this is still pre-beta AND the main functionality comes from TrueNAS AND an OS that leaves you out of it if their servers go down (because the funding is running out and they close), sorry I dont think many will pay for that. You can have Unraid for this price btw. Which is easy enough for all people building NAS themselves.

        The only hope for people buying it and when you go down is that it is basically TrueNAS, is that you can load your pool in truenas after.

        From company perspective, it would be best to sell boxes incorperating hardware and the OS. So there would be a market for the people using qnap, synology etc.
        Also funny you said you don’t support mixing and matching drives as if you have even anything to say in that matter since it is TrueNAS under the hood which you do not develop and
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      34. As a (reluctant) TrueNAS Scale user, I came into this hoping that HexOS was for me, was initially disappointed to find out that it isn’t really for me, but do REALLY appreciate the strong focus on their target market, and reducing the friction to get those users on board. Though I do think the eventual $300USD pricing will be a bit restrictive.
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      35. The concept of deploying apps sounds like what Yacht do. Basically give a pre-defined set of diretory(s) and those directory is going to be used in various docker containers making it like, choose a app, click deploy, done…
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      36. Gonna be interesting to see their price model, lets not forget that the average joe or jane, can get 1T of storage from $6 -> $10 a month, from the usual big tech storage providers 🙂
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      37. Only hosted UI? Now I lost the interest in it. Making changed to the server when the internet is down is not the issue. What if the Hexos developer just disappears? What then? How can I export my pools so I can save my data? No way I will use a NAS SW that requires connection to the internet. There are so many examples of Cloud connected devices becoming paperweights just because the online services stopped working. The only thing I can accept is a license check once a month.
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      38. Thing is, them keeping k8s is kind of a turn off since I’ve had so many issues with k8s than with docker-compose with stability and deployment issues on scale. Importing a zfs pool also I think should be a thing if you setup someone’s nas on zfs via truenas scale or something and need to give them an easier method to manage their nas (hexOS). There is also no info about setting up a cache drive for this. Will there be options during setup to get that going to help those people who may want cache.
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      39. so we have to trust that HexOS never gets compromised and never is hacked of which they can then infect every new install since it requires online and gives full access to HexOS’s remote server.
        or internet goes down, the HexOS has something happen and now you have to reinstall the OS to get your stuff that needs the NAS or data on it to run but doesn’t need the internet. this company talks all about privacy and then builds an OS that is the complete opposite.
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      40. They want an only UI so they can make it a subscription service. No thx.

        If they go under, and then my personal server is hosed. Again. No thx

        They will also be a major target for hackers. Again. No thx.

        There are 100s of reasons this is a bad idea. But like they said. Their target isnt the tech savy. They are targeting idiots.
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      41. If 80% of their customers are 14:20 “oh noes, nasty HTTPS certificate warning!” , they made the right decisions.
        But if this 80% are 18:20 “I need GPU passthrough in this docker VM..” , they can start working on the local UI right now 🙂
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      42. I’m not thrilled about having access to my NAS be dependent on a third-party. I get that the HexOS mission is user friendliness, but my concern is HexOS announcing one day they are going out of business and will be shutting down their servers. The UI looks amazing, I just don’t know if it is the right NAS OS for me.
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      43. Thanks for this interview! I look forward to where this goes live. I’m a developer and honestly I don’t want to deal with figuring out NAS I have other things I prefer to spend my time on. Just wish this was already out since I’d like to build it out now, but again I don’t want to figure it out.
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      44. Thanks for the interview. I stuck with truenas for quite some time, but the learning curve amd tinkering took the toll. I am looking forward to this, hope to return to truenas.
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      45. I really love your taste and style always so chic. My faves would be the kislux leather backpack and the Swarovski pave diamond ring so gorg. Thank you for your recommendations.
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      46. RND on HexOS be like; We want a way to remote support our non-tech savvy friends that want a NAS, always forced to be online… We, the other 99% that tinker ourself goes “Wtf did you just say?”
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      47. I am sorry Linus I think you lost your money this time as this reads like a bad investment. To have to connect to your own NAS via some online hosted service is a no go for me and I think many others and just removes the purpose of having a NAS. Him explaining why they went this route and making up dumb excuses gives me bad vibes about future monetization. Also it looks ugly AF. What a disaster.
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      48. I don’t get all the complaints. My takeaway is that HexOS is a UI hosted webpage making API calls to TrueNAS scale – that’s it.

        It doesn’t sound like they are adding any additional capability/functionality that doesn’t already exist in TrueNAS (the caveat being for people that don’t understand what they are configuring its making some recommendations), even the remote management is nothing more than a port forward, an ssl from letsencyrpt (no need to use self signed ssl) and a DDNS service.

        TLDR:
        Want local UI? Use TrueNAS local original UI, heck don’t even install the HexOS (90% TrueNAS iso) zero benefit.

        Have no idea what a NAS is or how to use one? Go HexOS and deal with a few caveats with internet outages etc, HexOS going bust etc. sounds like the TrueNAS UI is there and you’ll have a learning curve not a complete loss of all your data or management.

        ———

        To be clear, I’m an IT professional in a enterprise IT environment, I’m not advocating for anything like this nor would I ever use anything like this but equally I’m not their target audience and what this guy from HexOS probably failed to really hon in on was this is nothing more than TrueNAS with a “user-friendly” front end.
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      49. Yeah can’t wait till they get hacked and every connected NAS is toast and all those analytics they’ve been collecting are utilized for further nefarious means. No thanks.
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      50. I was really excited for this project, however main driver for people doing self-hosting: Privacy. I dont want some cloud hosted UI. I mean its a small project, much love, but als small projects means higher risks for vulnerabilties. Thus I would just feel bad to have an open flank which can be attacked permanently. So yes, the same could happen with hacked Updates for TrueNAS, however these are due maybe 4-6 times a year and nor permanently. I would have gone the other way round: Have a local UI, and make it a paid hosted version for the ones who need it. I might consider this on my third or fourth nas in a separate DMZ for PLEX (aka data which can be encrypted)
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      51. @28:00 So I manage a TrueNAS scale server for a church I attend. While I am comfortable administrating TrueNAS it might be easier for me to teach others how to administer HexOS. This is one example of where being able to import an existing truenas scale config into HexOS would be beneficial.
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      52. This representative can’t even define what an operating system is, when the definition of it is very much clear. He’s calling a UI an OS, it’s like calling KDE an OS when it’s clearly not. HexOS has no foundation to run indipendently of Truenas therefore it is NOT an operating system, therefore he’s lying straight up. It was also never clarified if they’re gonna keep up with Truenas with updates. Instead he went on saying they’ll follow “stable releases” which we all know means being behind with updates. I’ll keep this thing at arms lenghts at a minimum!
        Thanks for the Q&A, it really showed what kind of project this is.
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      53. So I’ve watched all of the video, it looks like a few of my own questions weren’t answered (I didn’t submit any, don’t have Twitter), but I am curious. @hexos_jon if you can I’d love to know the answer to my questions because I’m in the process of selecting my OS for a NAS I plan to build by end of the year for Plex, video editing, & storage/backup of personal media. Gonna be picking up a lot of stuff on Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

        1. Will there be complete privacy of the data on the drives even with the online management UI or would you need to encrypt your drives to keep data private?
        2. Will Da Vinci Resolve (free & Studio) or other video editing programs be supported?
        3. Will you be able to configure 1 SSD be the boot drive, 1 be an L2 Arc cache/scratch drive, and then be able to configure the HDDs with a RAID pool+parity drive setup?
        4. Is there a way to lower the power profiles to an optimal minimum if you’re using hardware that ordinarily would suck up a lot of power to help lower the overall cost of running an always on NAS or will that just be something you bite the bullet on with your own hardware choices? (For example, I have a spare 3080 I intend to use for Plex transcoding & for video editing/processing to offload things from my gaming PC which currently basically pulls double duty, is there a way to use HexOS power profiles or something similar to help lower the power draw of the GPU?)

        I’ve been torn between TrueNAS & Unraid because TrueNAS seems/feels way too overwhelming to me and yet seems to have features I like while Unraid has to use a USB drive to boot which I really hate as a concept but seems slightly more user friendly when it comes to navigating how to setup stuff. HexOS coming along just as I’m gathering hardware & trying to learn what steps to take feels quite lucky, but I’m a bit nervous because of how new it is. Watching this video has helped me feel less nervous, but I’m still concerned even with your previous Unraid experience because new can easily mean new/unique bugs. I snagged a Plex lifetime license and have gotten far more than my money’s worth by multiple orders of magnitude over the last few years since I got it, so I don’t mind paying a lifetime license fee (though free is nicer since TrueNAS is typically funded by its enterprise clients). Just please don’t make the lifetime license something like $300-$400 if you can, that’s a major chunk of change for a lot of people. 🙂
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      54. I think its great the OS focuses on it being easier for the end user. Allowing a outside connection on Unraid was a massive learning curve for me and its easy for something to break along the chain. That being said not allowing mixed disks seems to go against this ease of use. So its not going to really please either group, which places it in a harsh middle ground. Id be tempted to juat pick one side or the other.
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      55. While I get the thinking of the hosted OS management rather than the local OS management I believe the reasoning to be highly flawed.

        The home user will generally *not* have the resources to deal with multiple failure. They rarely have 2 disk redundancy let alone hot spares for storage. So if I’m “here” now and the internet is down, it stops me putting back my redundancy. I need go out while that happens you can be losing *ALL* of your data.

        The priority, as I hear it, *ISN’T* maximising data protection, it’s on being easier, and makes this a 100% no go. Ask the question… does the user want to prioritise their data and set up or that its a bit easier.

        I think it’s asking for trouble.
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      56. Thank you! Brilliant video. Just what I was looking for. Have a UGREEN Dxp6800 pro and the Ugreen software just isn’t cutting it. Was thinking of learning TrueNAS but the learning curve seems to be steep. Almost went with Unraid until I heard about HexOS. May be the best of both worlds. A well tested OS with a simple shell to provide the basic functionality eg setting up a Plex server and backing up documents and photos. I’m in ????
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      57. I sort of agree with your answers given justifying your focus on a hosted UI at the expense of a local one,
        But, the number of times that Unifi, Plex, HomeAssistant, etc. have their hosted connection break for whatever reason temporarily is non-trivial. It’s never an issue though because I can fall back to the local UI and not miss a beat. HexOS not being able to do that feels lacking.

        I’m still critical of the project overall, but most of that comes down app support. In my experience recommending NAS’s, the appeal of the non-FreeNAS/TrueNAS operating systems like Synology, Unraid, CasaOS, UmbrelOS, OMV, etc. comes from their native app support being robust enough to spark interest for some use beyond “this is a place to backup your data”. Will be interested to try out your beta when it launches regardless.
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      58. Wow, thanks for doing the interview. I stopped at 12 minutes in though, a web UI is precisely the reason I no longer use PLEX. What is the purpose of self hosting if my services still rely on internet access? I live in an area that can lose internet access from time to time, self hosting insulates me from that. Looks like this one is off the table, I’ll stick with TrueNAS. Thanks!
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      59. Really great videos. Now, I m getting a F4-424 PRO, i would like to ask you about capacity:

        -what are the max capacity for the nvme M.2 ssd, and what generations should it be, I m seeing to buy, gen3,4,5 and capacities from 500GB to 8TB each. What would be the largest capacity m2ssd that would be compatible/recommended for the F4-424 PRO?
        -Now, for the HDDs the compatibility is max 22tb for each HDD right?,
        -lastly are there some brands for HDDs and M2.SSDs better than others, which are the best ones?

        Thank you so much, and congratulations for the really best channel about NAS
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      60. i head from this lady that now no longer are you necessarily keeping those private files in some file cabinet thats locked in the basement of the house. its on your laptop and its then therefore up here in this cloud that exists above us, Right?
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      61. My main concern with hexOS is what happens when my server is full? – With unRAID, Synology SHR or even a Drobo (RIP) I could just pull out the smallest drive and put in a new larger one and make use of that new space. With this being ZFS I would have to just keep adding drives? moving my server to a newer and larger chassis each time I run out of slots? – What if I start off with 4 x 10TB drives because that’s within my budget, 5 years go by now the 20TB drives are affordable, I can’t just pull out the 10TB drives and replace them? – This is what I think home users want, shove in any sized drive and use it. Having to only buy the same sized disks to me feels limited and too enterprise-like. There’s a reason unRAID is still unbelievably popular today and its this flexibility.

        Also at 48:00 he mentions unRAID now has the array be a part of a pool and deactivated by default in unRAID 7 and he thinks this is indicative of them moving away from mixed drives. This is not at all true, if you speak to the unRAID folks this is all about providing flexibility. They want to be able to allow users to have multiple unRAID arrays (thus it becoming like any other pool which is not limited in how many you can have) and they have it disabled by default because they don’t want to force users to need to make an array just to use VM’s and Dockers, expanding the use of unRAID so it’s not storage-first in its focus.

        He shouldn’t be talking about the unRAID project if he doesn’t understand what they’re doing and why since he left them and is obviously very busy with hexOS to be able to keep up with unRAID properly.
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      62. He’s got it backwards at the “why online?” portion. A local UI is far more important than a hosted UI. His reasons were not very good. There’s a reason they want it hosted that they are not saying, in my opinion.
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      63. Personally, I’m not too upset about the host UI if I can still directly access the trueNAS local UI. I do mostly agree with the sentiment that it would probably not be needed the majority of the time. With tech, I usually know enough to screw it up, and personally want a NAS OS with training wheels, so I feel like I fall in their target audience on that. I also like that it is targeting the lowest common denominator of people who would consider building or repurposing a computer as a NAS. I enjoy tinkering, but want to do that when I choose to, not because I borked a configuration or drive install as a newb in the topic.

        I do have a few questions that weren’t completely answered.

        If my install is on a device with ECC memory, will it detect that and notify of ECC incidents?
        If I don’t have ECC, will it recommend it but let me continue without?

        I have family that would allow me to keep my own NAS plugged in at their house, and I have an older (intel 6th gen) system I plan to repurpose for this. Rather than buddy back-ups, I’d like to know how will the web management handle 2 systems that are on different networks but owned by the same individual. Can I simply designate it as a back-up for the primary NAS and it recommend a set-up, will I need a curated app for it?

        Will support the ability to schedule power off/on times like many “off the shelf” NAS options within the UI? This would be something I’d like as there’s not much point to my off-site backup running 24/7.

        With respect to offline systems, is the configuration saved in the host UI in a way that changes made while offline could be pushed once it powers on (scheduling an update or installing an app)?

        This is less important, but please tell me Plex won’t be the only curated media server application. Having a default installation profile for Jellyfin and Embry would be huge.
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      64. 26:07 It’s in the username, Bendigo Councillor. The technical wizard for city council of Bendigo, Australia is perhaps hoping to add a useable interface for the non-techie employees of the city council of Bendigo, Australia.
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      65. Our regional internet is slow af, the only reason I’m wanting to setup an easy to use NAS for less techie family members here is because local is faster than accessing anything over the internet, locallly hosted UI is critical for that. Pings back to any service tend to time out and if our local interface has to check upstream over a slow connection then that’s adding significant lag and adding to a bottleneck for anything else that is purely cloud.
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      66. Lost me on cloud hosted anything! Lifetime subscription is something that should be considered 1-2 years on. How will I determine value when i don’t know how long the company will last (or me for that matter).
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      67. A cloud connected NAS that has full API access to delete my pool? NO F-ING THANKS! The only cloud connected service I have on my NAS is Plex and it only has Read access to my files and is in a container. Synology and the like being proprietary is one thing. This is a whole new level of NO THANK YOU!

        Can’t wait to read the news in 1, 3, or even 10 years when HexOS gets hacked and ransomeware groups takes control of X thousands / millions of consumer NAS devices hostage. Going to be the most obvious “I told you so” ever.

        I am mind blow that someone thinks that the consumer NAS community wants ANYTHING to do with the cloud. That was the whole movement in the first place lmao.
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      68. Typical. Canada here…… I’ve heard these stories 1000x. Highjacked an open source product and trying to answer overly simplified questions and coming up with a D- at best, and that’s being generous. – saying you’re going to build your own apps in house is the death of your venture. .. lastly LTT needs a spokesman and they definitely need to deliver on a solid foundation if they’re going to be taken seriously. …. I don’t know if the rep is a typical representation of Canada as developers, but I can tell you we have the best coders this side of Swiss. …. Linus needs serious venture capital to get past this position and I have every expectation that we will not be hearing from HexOs in the very near future.
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      69. Not at all happy that this proposed product is not 100% local. Probably will not use it as a result. Will wait and see. As a hobbyist, TrueNas Scale costs me nothing beyond my own hardware. They make their money on enterprise offerings. Will HexOS cost money? That web infrastructure cannot be free, I wouldn’t think.
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      70. In regards to the online-interface, I just fear what will happen when HexOS’s website goes down (for whatever reason)
        That is why I would rather want a LAN-first NAS.
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      71. For the target market he described, not allowing a user to add larger drives when capital becomes available is a disappointment, that matched drives requirement of truenas is a deal breaker for a lot of folks starting out.
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      72. i’m at 11:52 so maybe there is something later on but for me, offline is a must, if offline is not possible this product is automatically out of my choice/option, anyway continuing to watch
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      73. As an experienced self-hoster who runs unraid, truenas and proxmox, I don’t think I’m the demographic the HexOS team is looking for. But I do want to echo other comments and express that I don’t think a cloud only UI is the way to go for a product like this. I respect the fact that the team is trying to make an easy to use product but I don’t think exposing your UI like this is a wise thing for security.
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      74. Thanks for this Q&A! it really got me more interested in HexOS than I was before! I have 2 “main” questions that came to my mind while watching the video.
        I was wondering if TrueNAS/OpenZFS would benefit from this partnership, for example you were waiting for the RAID-Z Expansion, in it’s current state the old data keeps the old parity and only new data gets the new parity. I would expect that in your approach, there will be a warning or something that informs the user about it. But if in the future you develop something that helps to rebalance a pool, would it be proprietary or would it be made usable by others (Truenas/OpenZFS) (and I’m not talking about rebalancing between 2 vdevs).

        I also wonder if I will be able as a TrueNAS (tech savvy) user be able to be a “backup buddy” for a friend, and/or will a friend be able to use my TrueNAS as a backup destination. (I think the latter is a bit harder to implement without an app or something that acts as a VPN). Would I be able on Truenas to set either a zfs replication or select HexOS as a cloud provider or vice versa?
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      75. The online only UI is a non-starter for me. Why I want a home setup is to not be reliant upon a company to maintain a working service and take it away, steal my data, or lock it behind a paywall in the future.
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      76. Great interview. I manage all my stuff with Docker Compose and have been planning a move to TrueNAS Scale whenever I build a NAS. I have a reverse proxy and a domain, no issue setting up remote access with Tailscale etc. I have not used TrueNAS Scale but I am confident I could learn it quickly.

        Would you say HexOS would be a good fit if I decided I just didn’t want to bother with a lot of the grittier details? Though I ask this knowing myself and knowing I’d probably be getting my hands dirty anyway.
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      77. The online webui is really a big deal breaker. I understand it might be a easier sell to a more newish users, but what about the security?. If they have a security hole in the code that now effects me also. Witch can make it easier for a bad party to come in. And the points regarding a dead drive and when the internet is down, sadly sounds like marketing speak and not how ppl really deal with a situation like that.
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      78. Was going to watch until I saw all the comments about hosted UI… no longer that interested. A lot of people who have their own NAS is because they DONT want to rely on another company to access and configure MY OWN DATA.

        This is a dealbreaker for a TON of your early adopter audience. I can understand this being a more mainstream tool than TrueNAS… but getting off the ground in this niche market will be very difficult without the “techy family member” to suggest it.

        Edit: ty NASCompares for the interview. Not a ton of coverage of this topic.
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      79. Was going to be pretty awesome, but without a local UI – Not valid for me.
        Would love to see Linus’ thoughts on this 🙂
        The whole point of doing something like a NAS is to reduce your reliance on the cloud and it’s even hosted within AWS – Lovely.
        There are some truly amazing NAS OS’ out there that I honestly thought this would disrupt, but it’s bringing in the complicated moving pieces of TrueNAS and all of the things it’s trying to replace.
        OMV is probably the easiest of these that’s truly free and Open Source, TrueNAS Scale is an amazing piece of software and Unraid if you’re really all in on the NAS only thing.
        Synology and QNAP I think are sighing huge sighs of relief – I think Linus is probably going to have a hernia 🙂
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      80. I’m an OTR truck driver and I have a small 6 Bay NAS in my truck for local media and paperwork and general file storage. And alot of the time I have no internet or bad internet. Also since I have cellular internet I have alot of issues with double NAT and carrier grade NAT so local UI is a must 16:10
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      81. It looks like the intentions are pretty sincere, I do wish the best to them. I’ve used TrueNAS since 2024 (so 4 years) for business and personal, I think this has the right approach, and it’s got a nice short name too.
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      82. Thanks @nascompares for hosting this Q&A. I fully appreciate all the comments about the hosted UI and we absolutely understand that they come from a good place. Creating a local UI option in the future to supplement the always-available TrueNAS UI/CLI is something we can do after we release our 1.0.
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      83. If the UI is in the cloud, then you don’t own it. At any time your servers could get shutdown, or the company sold, new management, and all your storage/data is then hostage to that company. It also open vulnerabilities because we have to worry about your cloud security.
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      84. I guess I won’t be looking at HexOS at all. It’s *my* server, *my* rules. I love unraid as it is plenty simple and offers defaults, but it never “corners” you into its own decisions. You can always proceed as you wish regardless. And no local web ui = bye bye
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      85. Was looking forward to this but after hearing about the hosted web ui, this not an option for me anymore. I don’t want to connect to ANY type of cloud. There needs to at least be an option to be local only
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      86. I’m excited to try this out. The hosted vs. local thing is an interesting caveat, but I agree that in most cases you’re going to be connected to the internet anyway. My only concern is about longevity of this company and what happens if they go under.
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      87. no mixed drives? HARD PASS. I have perfectly good 3 and 4Tb NAS drives from WD and Seagate. only recently supplemented by a few 12Tb exos drives I got on a good deal. NO WAY I’ll dumb those 3 and 4Tb drives. Its unnecessary E-waste and I’m not shitting gold either. At least now I know I dont have to waste time watching more youtube vids on this subject to see if its something I want to check out.
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      88. Man this guys answers for Hosted vs Local UI are just pure marketing speak and non-answers.

        They are going to have to show how secure their side of things are, also the whole Plex model allows them to make this a subscription service or be like plex and revoke your access if they detect things they don’t like.

        In an era of massive data breaches and user information being leaked like a sinking ship, this is not the great win they think it is.
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      89. It’s a really strange decision to make it reliable on a webservice…
        Why even own a NAS when you need a webservice for it to control it?
        Looks like a really hard sell…
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      90. *Apologies* for my ‘shakey cam’ in the course of this Q&A. My primary camera during the recorded developed a fun framedrop periodically (likely the heat), so I had to revert to my backup camera that was mounted on the desk (rather than the wall bracket)! Still, better to have a backup than nothing at all!
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      91. The hosted UI is a dealbreaker for me. I have very reliable fiber internet. Never fails so I’m not afraid the internet will go down. If they get hacked/attacked or go out of business I cannot manage my server.
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      92. I’m with @moto-rambler and if he’s put his money on it, I guarantee that this is a subscription model.

        Linus’s mask has been removed. He’s a narcissist and all about $$
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      93. I think this could have been a desirable product to me a year ago, but in that time I’ve learned that a free challenge is more enjoyable to me than a paid ride down easy street. Truenas for me.
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      94. Fingers crossed I guess… Like most things in the world of Linux TrueNAS. FreeNAS, OMV, Unraid are a lot like putting lipstick on a pig and claiming it’s beautiful. Yes you could get intimate with a pig in makeup, but most would call that “Unnatural behaviour”.
        My NAS (running in a VM) is an x86 copy of DietPi as the lightest functional Linux distro I could find, with CasaOS on top – great? No… but most importantly relatively free of the sub-surface ugliness and an idiotic lack of sensible defaults that is ‘normal’ Linux.
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      95. This is pretty much made for me, like I know a bit about NAS software and all of that but I care more about the hardware. So having something easy to set up would be great for me.
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      96. This is something i would love myself. As is finding myself learning linux after moving away from windows, it’s a huge change and takes A LOT of time commitment to learn with such a step learning curve. As is this, if i could have a more user friendly version to springboard myself into how it works, and apply the application, I can tinker with a working product, rather than tinker for days if not weeks on a product that isn’t fully working, or breaks. Especially more so i’ve held off any backup software as when i want to back everything up, i want it done right the first time. I only have one set of hardware.
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      97. There’s a huge question of WHO are they going to get to beta test this? If they’re targeting novices, are they going to be able to trust them to NOT store the only copies of their files on a beta version of an OS? And why would experienced users want to bother beta testing something that isn’t for them?

        Especially with the reach of LTT, I can imagine a scenario where a lot of people put too much trust in a beta product and a LOT of data gets lost forever. Scary stuff.
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      98. Wonder how long it will be updated. I mean how long term they are thinking about supporting this software. With other option they are on the market for some time now.
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      99. The UNVR and UNVR Pro (Ubiquiti) will suggest a RAID config based on the drives you’ve installed. They ‘simplify’ it well but also provide the technical terms in the ‘finer print’ to appease both armatures and pros alike
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      100. I understand about the importance of complexity especially with the NAS
        My biggest disappointment with my Synology is it’s inability to differentiate between EXPLICIT and IMPLICIT permissions.
        With a standard FTP server app (such as windows FTP server or Filezilla FTP server)
        I can create on over arching folder schema and just give certain users access to specific subfolders
        without having to give everyone access and then create a boat load of denial permissions .
        Example:
        Users: joe, schmo, curly, mo to give joe access to Users/joe I have to give everyone access to the entire path and deny schmo, curly, & mo to joe’s folder
        Instead of just giving everyone access to the users folder and ONLY giving joe access to his folder.
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      101. This looks awesome ! I am not a savvy Linux user but I want to use a nas os on a rig I’m building and I’ve looked at a few options so far and many of them simply look intimidating. This is the first one that looks easy as a non Linux enjoyer. I know people who are in this space already are hardcore Linux lovers but I’ve tried hundreds of times to give Linux a shot and I never really fully enjoy it and find it a bit out of my realm. I like a clean and super simple gui. If you make me use a cli I just end up dipping out. I’m very very dyslexic and have a hard time spelling and also remembering commands and simple codes so I suck so bad it’s not even funny with just remembering and typing in simple commands.
        Is there any other options for a nas os that will be simple ? I’ll be running 2 14tb sata drives and 2 2tb nvme drives. CPU I’ll be running is a 12400f, 16gb ddr5, z690 chipset with 2.5gb lan. Main goal is network storage and backup for both me and my wife and have a way to maybe learn about some apps and if any of them can help us in anyways. All this is super overwhelming lol.
        I thought about buying a synology nas but the model I want with nvme support is out of my price range and I’ve been told all other brands are too risky and get hacked all the time.
        Any advice would be very much appreciated. I have watched 2 dozen or more of your videos so far trying to learn about the features and what your thoughts are on different nas units. Thanks for all you do ❤
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      102. I would love to have this as I like to tinker on things and learn the ins and outs of more complex concepts but I haven’t found a NAS or NAS OS that, as Apple puts it (I believe), “Just works!” so I need something that I can basically just set and forget and should any problems happen I can take 20 minutes to an hour or less to set up instead of a complex potentially many day process to get things working again.
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      103. A simple backup os would be a killer for a lot of people. If you are mad and double down on truenas, this OS is not for you. OMV and TruenasCore are the only “easy” diy solutions, and even this have a learning curve. Let’s agree to disagree and be happy there is competition.
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      104. as a noob the most crucial thing for me is the mobile apps. It is one thing to set up the Synology NAS, install Plex, download station, photo station, etc etc, but the mobile apps allowing you to do so much from your mobile are great. I’ve often been thinking that I should just build my own, but then so many of them don’t have the mobile apps you get from Synology. Or maybe they do and I just have no idea.
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      105. That UI is equally as bad as TrueNAS. How hard is it to just look at Synology, UmbrelOS, etc. Even Terra-Master nailed it.

        It’s one thing if it’s an unfunded project – but if they are a funded company with the goal of making a good UI, they failed.
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      106. Thanks so much for this video. I’m looking at buying a new NAS to replace my 10+ years old Microserver Gen8 running DSM through Xpenology that has been dead reliable that entire time, but I was holding out until more information became available about this OS so thanks for this initial look at it.
        I get what they’re trying to do with HexOS and I think a younger version of me would’ve been all over this, but I think given my experience with DSM and my need for something hands-off, I’ll probably stick with what I know. Great that there’s more competition in this field though. Especially with these Ugreen devices for example coming on the market recently, where long term reliability and support is still an unknown.
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      107. I think the Hex OS needs to be preconfigured and provide detailed settings, give options to fix, have secure and ready to go settings, with guide in menues for advanced folder permisions, and users, configure custom secure remote access priveleges, and focus on reliability. Truenas is awkward with connecting shares with users and permisions, and lacks native secure remote access and auto backups. I mean something like Synology OS for custom hardware is an unleashed NAS software i imagine users like me would appriciate.
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      108. Can you make a quick video with NAS suggestions for newcomers? I am looking at starting a home system for file storage and some Plex, and I am wondering if it’s a good time to go to Synology, or if I should wait a little longer to see what Ugreen does.
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      109. I am saving to deploy something big, EOY, I’m planning a hybrid thing not just SSD and HDD pools. Before I might have considered it, but I have worked it all out on trunas, been pretty happy on a smaller scale Lab. Also this is new software, built on ture nas I guess, I’m sure this will be pretty solid or whatever, but let someone else canary it.
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      110. Problem is, Linus and his team are all sacks of s. How quickly people forget. I can’t imagine any scenario where they deserve our support. Novice users can use whatever’s built into their retail NAS, and advanced users can just use TrueNAS, UnRAID, Proxmox, etc. After watching their fake (monetized) apology video tour, I swore them off forever. Plus all the stuff coming to light about his commentary on ‘science’ just is not appropriate for a tech review channel.
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      111. Oh man the Plex install was what really got me when I was trying to setup my own Debian based home server. As a Windows person, im trying to move everything away from Server 2019 and the damn file permissions on Linux are NUTS… Thanks for answering my question though since its been burning a hole in my brain for months. I figured it was a file permissions issue but, again, using Debian, its not that simple either. Im going with ProxMox and TrueNAS Scale for my main OS running the machines since they seem to be the best for what I need to do. It was “fun” trying to config my own setup but also a hair pulling experience. Cheers!
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      112. People keep talking about ZimaOS as it’s something special but it’s just CasaOS with a new name and CasaOS started life back in sep 26 2021 progress on ZimaOS is slow.
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      113. I’m just not convinced that there are a lot of people outside who are willing and capable to build their own NAS but than use a very restricted OS because they are not techsavy enough.
        In my view they just buy a synology or qnap
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      114. Honestly I’ve switched to omv after years of setting stuff up. I just needed something stupid simple… Im actually also installing cosmos cloud on top of it. I have to assume this is very similar to that. I just don’t see the benefit for me atm.
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      115. It’s the same as Symantec Beestation – making NAS for the masses. Any average user who wants a simple NAS system with all of the Geeky settings hidden from sight is completely put off by channels like this !!! Listen to how you are trying to complicate and find potential issues in everything Hex is clearly trying to simplify and it hasn’t even been released yet ! Synology and others have deliberately made NAS systems a geek fest so it serves them right that they have left a gaping hole in the market for other disruptors to take advantage of.
        By the way there is one negative – I can’t stand Linus.
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      116. You could simplify truenas with use-cases and some user-friendly autodetection.
        e.g. “Is this for streaming movies for home?” vs “Is this for editing video?” That makes a difference between selecting HDD and SSD drives. Backup hosts… “How much data is being backed up?” and “how fast is the network?” might change your drive layout from performance to capacity focused. It could make suggestions, “you’ll need 3 drives of size X to migrate the data on your current array.”

        For VMs, “I automatically enabled PCI pass-through in the kernel” would be nice. Then, “I did some driver detection on your PCIE devices… would you like this graphics card/NIC/blueray writer passed through to the VM?”. Maybe some network scanning… “I found a TV but no media server, would you like one?” “I found some ubiquiti network kit, would you like me to install the manager and walk you through the install?”

        Or to address some of truenas scale’s deficiencies… “click here to select a user which will always be used to run this kubernetes application, even if it updates.”
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      117. Interesting. I’m gonna check this out. I’m a big fan of Unraid. My adoption hinges on docker and VM support. IMO a major strength of Unraid is its implementation of virtualization
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      118. Some aspects of truenas are abominably awful. Potentially this may be a fantastic option. Especially if it works like gl.inet’s GUI works on top of openwrt in the router world (with the option of going into the full openwrt GUI for advanced features).
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      119. I would rather have Windows 11 as a daily driver than have anything to do with LTT or the hot pile of garbage that is the user interface and permissions/user setup of Truenas.
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      120. what kind of person will have the knowledge to build a hardware NAS but be so stupid to need a 0 level OS??? yes there are people that cant put gas in their car, but they didnt build the car to start with.
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      121. It’s funny how a UI can suddenly be a whole new OS? We don’t talk about Gnome OS or KDE OS when we are talking about which DE we are running. Call it HexUI or something.
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      122. As with many things I always have to ask, “Who is this even for?”

        Seriously. If we’re talking about an “accessible” and “simplified” NAS and then throwing a UI on top of something like TrueNAS, then throwing in features like VMs and containerized Apps into the mix then you’ve already lost your target audience in favor of the competition. It’s already trying trying to do too many things at once, outside of basic NAS functionality.

        Then you have in the screenshots and specs of this utterly ridiculous example environment in their marketing. An AMD R7 7700X with 32GB of RAM and a friggin’ RTX 4070 ti 12GB and 10GBe NIC? WTAF?!? Exactly what “enthusiast” is running this kind of setup on a dedicated box and then looking for streamlined “simplicity” and “accessibility” in their NAS environment? If you’ve committed to that kind of setup, you’re already committed to and looking for the kind of complexity, scalability, and feature rich environment of actual TrueNAS Scale or UnRAID.

        Also for that kind of money, you’re waaaay into upper tier Synology territory. The price of Ryzen and RTX alone would already bag you a 12 Bay Synology DX1215II. Trow in a chassis, mobo, the 32GB RAM and NIC and you’re most of the way into some serious storage territory too.

        Again. Who is this for? Someone with the money and tech knowledge to build a dedicated custom gaming level rig, yet can’t figure out UnRAID, TrueNAS, OMV, Ubuntu Server, or a host of other similar new and old solutions (already saturating the market) over a weekend? I’m just not seeing it.

        Look, I love the idea of competition, innovation, and choice, but this seems more like solution in search of an audience, rather a solution to an actual problem or gap in the market.
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      123. Lol! Hadn’t heard W4nkers Facebook before, but it’s nice to hear I’m not alone in not liking it. ????

        In my opinion it really looks like photoshopped images since the image where the ethernet jacks was shown said 10Gbit on one and 2,5Gbit on the other, but it still said 8.5 Mbit/s on both. Correct me if I’m wrong.
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      124. As former truenas and currently Unraid user I can only say that I am not looking any further for other nas os. Unraid simply has it all with easy to set up manner
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      125. As result of this association with LTT, I have created and sent a circular to all of our associates to not purchase this product and that we will not be doing business with anyone that does not choose to comply.
        I will NOT allow LTT in my companies nor associates. Ever. LTT is a terrible company for which one of high moral stance must take a stand.
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      126. I realize funding is important and needed here, but doesn’t this being LTT-backed erode perception of a quality OS (based on LTT history)? Is this just a skin, kinda like buying a screwdriver and slapping your logo on it. I’d be very cautious about trusting critical data here until long term support is proven. Maybe viable in 2029 or so.
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      127. Honestly not a bad idea for those who want what TrueNas offers but don’t need the whole kit. I’ll stick with Truenas personally but I can see this as a viable option instead of unraid for some depending on price.
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      128. I think the hardest part of truejas scale is just the steep beginning lvl learning curve, it plateau very quickly the that first spike is really scary. Also people really aren’t a fan of only being able to expand pool in chunks. At my work it baffled people that u couldn’t just add a drive so I had to explain to them how raid worked
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      129. I think the hardest part of truejas scale is just the steep beginning lvl learning curve, it plateau very quickly the that first spike is really scary. Also people really aren’t a fan of only being able to expand pool in chunks. At my work it baffled people what. Could just add a drive
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      130. Anything backed by ltt automatically makes me pause and reconsider if it’s really a good product. Since it’s been shown that ltt’s attention to detail is lacking due to deadlines that are way too short, and it would seem to leak into all their investments.
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      131. So it’s a custom GUI that hides all the advanced features and stuff that a novice user wouldn’t normally need to use and adds in some scripting and wizards to make setup easy? I dig the idea. Especially setting up the remote backup stuff. Rolling your own remote backup setup isn’t the hardest thing in the world but definitely outside the normal reach of a large percentage of the normal PC user space so automating that process could be a very popular option!
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      132. I used to like Truenas Scale until they removed docker. Unless you run it in a vm, which defeats the purpose. k3s is huge hassle for little gains for home lab. I hope HexOS doesn’t go down that path, but I have a feeling they will have to unless they are continuing development completely separate. I do like their goal though. Most OS’s are gibberish to people and don’t need to be.
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      133. I have had many challenging experiences with ZFS (SSD) (instability/corruption/performance lower than expected). It would be beneficial to support MDADM with BTRFS on top.
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      134. Not enough info. Also never be the beta. I will wait. Also how much will it cost? True nas is not free and licening it sounds pretty expensive. Do i have to pay for truenas then hex skin? I hope its not a subscription.
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      135. Looks like it’s just an overlay for TrueNAS that just sets specific switches for TrueNAS automatically. Basically preset templates. Until it’s on my test server, that’s all I can make of it.
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      136. Linus talked about that Backups are too hard for novice users and he wants to build a system where you can easily make backups to frieds/family outside of your network and having that secured so your friends cannot access your backups (and of course they can backup to your nas).

        That would be the killer feature for me .. backups, especially external, are quite hard to plan and most don’t talk about that.
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      137. Looks promising! Would be very welcome in this arena, I do believe.
        A user-friendly “shell” that would benefit DIY and home-users would significantly help those adapting and “rolling their own”, building their homelabs.
        Watchout Synology, here they come! (evil grin)
        I myself would be interested (somewhat) repurposing my older (QNAP) hardware, if that is a possibility in their arena…
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