NAS Server Operating Systems: Features and Compatibility

We currently have at our disposal a large number of NAS servers from different manufacturers, in addition, we also have the possibility of mounting a complete NAS server ourselves if we use operating systems oriented for this task. Although all the operating systems for NAS servers are based on Linux or FreeBSD, the main characteristic of all of them is that by default they have a large amount of software to act as a server, in addition, they have a very graphical user interface via the web. intuitive so its configuration is not too complicated. Today in this article we are going to talk about all manufacturers’ NAS operating systems, and also about operating systems for any hardware we have.

Due to the fact that we have several operating systems for NAS servers from manufacturers, which generally cannot be used on any hardware that we have, and we also have operating systems focused on being able to install it on any hardware, we have divided this report into two well differentiated parts . In the first part we will talk about all the operating systems for NAS from manufacturers such as QNAP, Synology and ASUSTOR, in the second part we will talk about the operating systems that any of us can install regardless of the hardware we use and that do not depend on the large manufacturers.

NAS Server Operating Systems

Manufacturers’ NAS operating systems

These operating systems are the ones that the different manufacturers incorporate in their already purchased NAS servers. Many of these NAS servers come with specific hardware, and only allow the possibility of expansion in RAM memory and through PCIe ports. Depending on the NAS server model we choose, we will have more or less expansion possibilities, so we must take it into account before buying a NAS server. Currently there are three major manufacturers of NAS servers, QNAP, Synology and ASUSTOR are the three largest and with continuous support for their operating system.

QNAP QTS

The QTS 5.0 operating system is one of the most advanced that we can find within the large manufacturers. This operating system focuses both on data security to protect our files, as well as on the security of communications and access to the NAS server from the outside. This new version of the QNAP operating system has a Linux 5.10 kernel with all the improvements in security, stability and also in speed when transferring files over the local network and the Internet. QTS, thanks to the QVPN3 software, will allow us to configure different types of VPN servers, among which the popular WireGuard stands out, one of the fastest and safest VPN protocols that we can currently use. Other very important features are the SSD cache acceleration through NVMe, in this case the compatibility with different SSD units has been improved as well as its efficiency, as well as the possibility of extending the useful life of the SSD units. QNAP has worked very hard to make the new version of its operating system very fast and fluid, in addition, the graphical user interface is very friendly, so the user experience will be optimal.

This operating system uses the EXT4 file system, of course, we can also create different types of RAID (storage pools) and configure the volumes in thick, thin and static. QTS will allow us to encrypt the volumes created with a password, to encrypt all their content and have additional security. The operating system will allow us to create storage pools with hard drives and also with SSD, in addition, we will have at our disposal Qtier for tiered storage, and also the possibility of using SSD cache in reading and writing.

Regarding the services incorporated by default, we have a Samba server, NFS, WebDAV, Telnet, SSH, SNMP, DLNA media server, web server, LDAP, RADIUS, TFTP, NTP, a database with MariaDB and many other services. that we can install through the App Center application store. Thanks to this application store we will be able to virtualize complete operating systems with Virtualization Station, configure Docker with Container Station, download the advanced FTP server with QuFTP Service, configure VPN servers thanks to QVPN and many more tools related to backups.

QTS is one of the most complete operating systems and in which we can install a large amount of additional software, in order to satisfy the needs of users.

QuTS hero by QNAP

The manufacturer QNAP has an operating system very similar to QTS called QuTS hero, the basis of the operating system and all the applications are exactly the same, in this aspect nothing has changed. The only difference we have is that the QuTS hero operating system uses the ZFS file system with all that that implies. The rest of the configuration options, compatible App Center software and so on, work exactly the same as in QTS 5.0.

The ZFS file system is much more advanced than the popular EXT4, thanks to this new file system, we can have real-time compression to save storage space, we also have real-time deduplication to save a lot of disk space, although this functionality it consumes a large amount of RAM. Other very important characteristics of ZFS is the incorporation of almost unlimited snapshots or snapshots, and that is that we will be able to take up to 65535 snapshots with this file system.

In the operating system it will allow us to create a set of storage with the different hard drives that we install, when it tells us to create a RAID 0 it will actually be creating a “Stripe” of ZFS, with similar functionalities, in the case of selecting a RAID 1 it means that we will have a «Mirror». The same thing happens with RAID 5 (which is a RAID-Z1) and a RAID 6 (which is a RAID-Z2), the manufacturer QNAP has wanted to keep the usual nomenclature so that users do not make mistakes. In the case of volumes, QNAP has called it “Shared Folders”, which are really Datasets inside a Vdev, as it always happens with ZFS. In these Dataset we can configure data encryption, quotas and many more advanced options.

Finally, a very important detail is that the QuTS hero operating system requires ECC type RAM (with error correction), therefore, all NAS servers that support this type of RAM will be able to run QuTS hero without problems. QNAP models that have ECC memories will be able to choose whether to install the QTS operating system (with EXT4) or QuTS hero (with ZFS), since the functionalities are the same in both operating systems.

Synology DSM

Synology’s DSM operating system is one of the most valued by users, it has a very friendly graphical user interface, it is fast, efficient and has a large number of well-made applications, in addition, it has compatibility with all protocols network and with a large number of cloud storage services. Thanks to Synology DSM we will be able to centralize all the multimedia content of photos, video and music, and enjoy them locally or from the Internet thanks to the applications that we have available. We can also use a very advanced file management thanks to File Station, in addition, we have specific tools to work together with other members of the company in a collaborative way.

Synology’s DSM operating system supports both EXT4 file system as well as Btrfs, it has the ability to configure software snapshots to protect data against ransomware attacks. We must also bear in mind that it supports different types of RAID, including its own RAID to make better use of hard drives when their capacity is not the same.

Another very positive aspect of DSM is the virtualization of entire operating systems, or using Docker for lightweight virtualization. The software that manages Docker containers is very fast, intuitive and efficient, ideal for quickly lifting and deploying containers.

Another very remarkable feature of Synology is the number of packages available in its application store, we have dozens of tools created by the brand itself, but also from third-party developers. The manufacturer Synology with its DSM 7.0 operating system has taken a leap in terms of the private cloud, and it is focusing on providing a hybrid solution (private and public cloud) with its own service. Some users will find it positive, and other users will find it negative because they want to escape the public clouds.

Something that we would like to highlight about Synology is the good functioning of its operating system and its software, it has very few malfunctions, few security flaws, and if they appear, they fix them really quickly, taking the safety of its users above any thing.

ASUSTOR ADM

The manufacturer ASUSTOR has a very good operating system, the manufacturer focuses a lot on launching continuous updates, both of the software that we can install through App Central, as well as the operating system itself to correct bugs and CVE security flaws found in the kernel itself or typical tools installed. The latest ADM is the ADM 4.0 version that is in beta, and will be released very soon. This new operating system has a dark mode that provides a very good aesthetic, in addition, it is really fast because it is highly optimized, a remarkable aspect is that we can configure custom themes and we can also configure a customizable login page.

ADM 4.0 has the latest OpenSSL update, in order to provide the best possible security via Samba, FTP, or using Rsync and web servers. Thanks to these updates to the library par excellence, we will have better performance, compatibility and security in communications. The Samba server has also been updated, improving performance and Time Machine compatibility, making backups really fast. In the event that you are interested in configuring a web server on your NAS, thanks to the Web Center application we can do it very easily, and we can choose between Apache2 or Nginx to configure our web server with advanced configuration options.

The file system used by ADM 4.0 is EXT4, but you can also use the popular Btrfs file system, which incorporates many improvements regarding data integrity. The latest version of ADM is updated to Kernel version 5.4, and improves both the performance and stability of the entire system. This new kernel enables safe and efficient data cleaning and self-healing of files, and ensures that snapshots are saved correctly and reliably.

If something characterizes ASUSTOR’s operating system, it is the incorporation of dozens of applications that we can install easily and quickly, in addition, we will be able to integrate highly advanced solutions such as video surveillance, virtualization and much more.

Operating systems for any hardware

These operating systems can be downloaded from the different official websites, they are operating systems based on FreeBSD or Linux but specifically focused on acting as a NAS server. They incorporate by default the possibility of configuring a RAID or ZRAID, they also have a large amount of software installed so that in a few minutes we have it working. The main characteristic of these operating systems is that we can use them on any hardware, we must also indicate that most of them are completely free, although there are some that are paid.

THUNDERSTORMS CORE

The TrueNAS CORE operating system is one of the most used for years, if this name does not sound familiar to you it is because it used to be called FreeNAS, but the company that bought the project has renamed it after several years where it was under the old name. This operating system can be installed on any x64 machine, the base operating system is FreeBSD in its different versions, however, the development team always takes the latest version of FreeBSD Stable available as a base. TrueNAS CORE has great support for motherboards, network cards, RAID controllers, and much more.

The main characteristic of this operating system is that it incorporates the ZFS file system (OpenZFS), with all that this entails to protect the integrity of the data contained on the disks. This file system allows us to have compression in real time with different algorithms, configure deduplication (it consumes a lot of RAM), we can also configure thousands of snapshots (up to 65535) and has the possibility of encrypting the datasets (data volumes) with AES-XTS among many other advanced functions. Of course, we can configure different levels of RAID-Z to protect our data and / or to increase performance in reading and writing, it also allows configuring SSD drives for cache acceleration per SSD, ideal to have a very high sequential and random performance.

TrueNAS CORE has many services by default, although we also have the possibility to install additional software easily and quickly. Some of the services installed by default are Active Directory, LDAP, NIS, Kerberos, AFP, iSCSI, NFS, WebDAV, Samba, FTP / FTPES server, Dynamic DNS client, OpenVPN client and server, Rsync and even has support for S3 to create a hybrid cloud. The most remarkable thing about TrueNAS CORE is that we can install Plugins to install additional software easily and quickly, in addition, we will have the possibility of using Jails that are isolated from the main operating system, it also has the possibility of configuring virtual machines of any operating system and much more.

The IxSystems company that is behind the TrueNAS CORE project updates it continuously, so we will have full support for this operating system. We will not only have bug fixes in the system, but also updates to the base operating system that is FreeBSD. The graphical user interface is really fast and very intuitive, so we can configure our server in an advanced way without having to execute a single command.

Thunder SCALE

While TrueNAS CORE is based on FreeBSD and inherits everything from FreeNAS, this operating system from the same company iXsystems is based on Debian Linux in its latest versions, including the latest version of the Linux kernel. This new Debian-based operating system has compatibility with OpenZFS, therefore, we will be able to continue using the ZFS file system in order to provide the maximum possible data integrity, in addition, we must remember that OpenZFS is in a stable version and it is perfectly compatible for Linux-based systems such as this TrueNAS SCALE. Thanks to the fact that the base of the operating system is Debian, we will have at our disposal the possibility of configuring Linux Containers, virtual machines based on KVM and we can even make use of Kubernetes and Docker containers very easily and quickly.

This new operating system has the same graphical user interface as TrueNAS CORE, but based on Debian Linux with all current virtualization technologies, in order to further squeeze the hardware of the NAS server. A very important point in any business NAS is the support for the ZFS file system, in addition, we have all the security measures, a very advanced VPN management and also all the necessary services to make the most of this operating system, such as Samba servers, FTP / FTPES, SSH, SFTP, NFS and much more that we have available in this operating system.

Currently this TrueNAS SCALE version is in beta, so it is not recommended to put it into production in companies, but it would be a very good idea to install it in a test environment and check its stability and operation.

UnRAID

UnRAID is an operating system that has been making a very good impression in recent months. This operating system is designed to provide the best performance of the hardware that we have, in addition, it is not only capable of performing NAS server functions with a large number of configuration options at the RAID and services level (Samba servers, FTP / FTPES, SFTP, NFS and much more), but it is also capable of acting as an application server and we can even perform virtualization of other operating systems within the UnRAID operating system itself.

This operating system can be installed on a USB device and is fully loaded into RAM. UnRAID is based on the latest Linux kernel that supports a lot of new hardware, UnRAID is able to work on any 64-bit system with x86 architecture, and the consumption of RAM memory is minimal. All the data about the operating system configuration is saved in the USB FLASH memory and loaded in real time in the operating system that is in RAM memory.

One of the strengths of UnRAID is its graphical user interface, this graphical interface is very fast and intuitive, it has basic options for less advanced users, but it also has a complete advanced configuration menu to adjust to the last parameter that we want. This operating system allows us to configure different functions so that it adapts perfectly to us.

This operating system will allow us to have a complete application server, and we can run any Linux or Windows x86 application to have even more options and possibilities, these applications are placed in a totally isolated environment to avoid any conflict with other applications or with the base operating system itself. The graphical user interface will allow us to configure the applications through the graphical user interface.

Another very important feature of NAS is virtualization, UnRAID will allow us to perform full virtualization of operating systems, these virtualized OS will be isolated and we will be able to provide them with the CPU, RAM, disk and more resources that we want, since it is very configurable. We must also bear in mind that we have container virtualization through Docker, so we can have dozens of applications on our NAS server.

Something that has especially caught our attention and that is very important both to get started in UnRAID and to continue using it, are the tutorials that are available in English on the official website of the project, in addition, we also have different forums in different languages where users UnRAID and its developers publish some really interesting information. If you want to try UnRAID, our recommendation is that you first visit these forums and also the official documentation. Unlike other operating systems oriented to NAS servers, UnRAID is not free, we have a “Basic” version that costs 59 dollars and that will allow us to have up to 6 hard drives or SSDs connected, the “Plus” version costs 89 dollars and we will allow you to have up to 12 hard drives / SSDs connected, finally we have the “Pro” version for $ 129 with unlimited drives.

XigmaNAS

XigmaNAS was previously called NAS4Free, and it was a fork of the popular FreeNAS project that has been used in home and professional environments for so many years. This operating system is a distribution aimed specifically at NAS servers, and is based on the FreeBSD operating system. This operating system can be installed on any hardware platform to share files and data on a local network, the consumption of resources is really very low, although logically it will depend on the use that you are going to give the NAS, you will need a greater amount of RAM and power of processor, but in principle, with normal or advanced use, it is rare to need more than 8GB or 16GB of RAM, unless you use ZFS deduplication or operating system virtualization with the integrated tool.

This operating system has compatibility with the ZFS file system, we can also create different levels of RAID with the UFS file system, in addition, we have the possibility of encrypting the data on the disks, so we will have additional security if someone accesses physically to our NAS server. Regarding the configuration options and services available, we have at the network level the possibility of making Link Aggregation, configuring VLANs and Bridges, we can also configure Jumbo Frames, different network interfaces, configure an advanced firewall and also the proxy. Regarding user and group management, we have the same configuration options as always, but in this case we have groups that are specifically created for SSH, FTP and more. Regarding the built-in services, we have a web server with HTTP and HTTPS, FTP / FTPES server, SSH and SFTP server, we also have NFS, BitTorrent client (Transmission), DLNA media server with Fuppes and MiniDLNA, and many other services that come by default like Rsync, AFP, iSCSI support, HAST, CARP and more.

This operating system allows the creation of “jails” to install additional software easily, quickly and isolated from the default tools of the operating system. It also has virtualization for full operating systems through the built-in tool.

Although it may seem that the graphical user interface is very old and unfriendly, the truth is that the project is updated quite regularly, although the last update was in June 2021, so, possibly, they are involved in full on XigmaNAS using the FreeBSD 13 operating system as a base, as the current operating system is based on FreeBSD 12.

We have been using XigmaNAS since NAS4Free came out, that is, for more than 7 years we have been using this operating system as the main NAS, although recently we have switched directly to QNAP for several reasons: old graphical user interface, installation of additional software it is somewhat complicated and time consuming, and also does not support container virtualization with Docker.

OpenMediaVault

OpenMediaVault is a Debian-based operating system that performs the functions of a NAS server, this system supports a large amount of hardware, both storage and network. Thanks to OpenMediaVault we will be able to create RAID easily and quickly, without the need to execute any command. The graphical user interface is quite intuitive with dozens of advanced configuration options, in addition, we have a large number of plugins to increase its default functionalities easily and quickly, without the need to manually install all the software, however, Being based on Debian we can install any software compatible with Debian, which opens up a great world of possibilities, including the possibility of installing Docker for light virtualization.

It has all the typical services to share files in local network such as Samba / CIFS server, FTP and FTPES server, SFTP, DLNA media server, Rsync, integrated BitTorrent client, support for Link Aggregation, Jumbo Frames and IPv6, as well as notifications by email to let us know what is happening on the server.

If you are currently a Debian operating system user, OpenMediaVault is still a really complete graphical user interface to manage all the storage and network services of the NAS server. This operating system is completely free, and has a continuous update and support by many people, yesterday was the last update with version 5.6 of this operating system and its operation is very stable.

QuTScloud

The manufacturer QNAP has the QuTScloud operating system, to install it on any VPS server that we hire and even on virtual machines that are in Microsoft Azure, Google or Amazon. This operating system is still the same old QTS, but modified to be compatible with a large amount of hardware both at the processor and storage level. If you have a server purchased by you such as an HP ProLiant Gen 8 or similar, and you want to have QNAP’s QTS operating system installed with all its functions such as automatic update, a large number of applications thanks to App Center, advanced copy software security and advanced storage management, QuTSCloud may be what you are looking for.

QTS and QuTS hero from QNAP are completely free since we have bought a NAS server from the manufacturer, however, this operating system is paid, and we will have to buy a subscription depending on the hardware we have. Unlike UnRAID that the payment was based on the storage, with QuTScloud the payment is based on the CPU cores that we are going to use, specifically the annual prices are the following:

If our server has a total of 4 cores, logically we must acquire the 4-core version and not a higher one because we are not going to take advantage of it. In the case of buying a lower subscription, we will not be taking full advantage of our server hardware, therefore, it is absolutely necessary that you adapt the QuTScloud license to the number of cores or cores that your server’s processor has.

XPEnology

XPEnology is an open source bootloader that allows us to install Synology’s DSM operating system on any hardware, as if it were a NAS server from the Synology manufacturer. Many users who love Synology’s DSM operating system will now be able to have it on any computer or server dedicated to NAS functions, without the need to buy a device from the manufacturer itself. XPEnology really is a bootstrap script that will allow us to run DSM on any hardware, generally on more powerful hardware than a similar Synology one that is generally much more expensive.

On the official XPEnology website you can find a large number of tutorials and guides to install and configure the DSM operating system on your computer, in addition, we must remember that it is completely free. Another strong point is that we will have tutorials related to making the most of the server, how to install a Pi-Hole to block ads, the popular WireGuard VPN and much more.

The installed DSM operating system will be exactly the same as the official one, so we can install additional software without any problem. Many users still prefer to use this operating system on their own computers instead of using TrueNAS, XigmaNAS, UnRAID or the like, because DSM is very easy to use and really intuitive.

As you have seen, we have a large number of operating systems for NAS servers, whether they are NAS servers from large manufacturers such as QNAP, Synology or ASUSTOR, as well as other servers with the hardware that we want, to make the most of its potential. The best operating system you can choose is the one that meets your needs, and that also suits your knowledge of Unix / Linux, thanks to the fact that we have many possibilities, you can choose the one that best suits you.