Reading time: 1 minute, 51 seconds
Having a central point on the network for a NAS (Network attached storage) is vital in today's world when working on multiple systems and sharing information / files between them. This project in not meant for long term storage or backup in anyway as there is ZERO redundancy and is only meant for fun or something quick, cheap and easy to share data that is not important if it's lost.
MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP YOUR DATA!
So, lets build the cheapest NAS, what you'll need:
A power supply is totally optional as most things (including routers) have USB ports.
Flash the MicroSD card with the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS Lite, using the Raspberry Pi Imager:
Give the pi a couple minutes to run through its initial boot sequence and attempt to connect to the Pi via SSH from another machine:
ssh [username]@zeronas.local
If you are unable to use the above hostname, it's probably because you have a slow DNS server,
exchange [zeronas.local] with the devices IP address.Ensure you make sure your installation is fully up to date:
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Create a folder that will be used for the NAS:
$ cd / - Takes you to the root directory
$ sudo mkdir nas - Creates a folder
$ sudo chmod -R 777 /nas - Sets the permissions to all
Install Samba:
$ sudo apt install samba -y
Configure the network share:
$ sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
Add below to the bottom of the smb.conf file.
[share]
comment = Pi shared folder
path = /nas
browseable = yes
writeable = yes
only guest = no
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777
public = yes
guest ok = yes
Once this is complete, press: Ctrl - X - Enter twice and restart the Pi:
$ sudo reboot
You will now be able to access the network share by typing:
\\zeronas.local From a Windows machine connected to the same network.
For Apple, try: