nas-storage

name	nas-storage
description	Turn any machine into a network-attached storage server. Share files across every device on your network — Windows, Mac, Linux, phones, TVs.

Network Storage (NAS)

Turn any machine into a network-attached storage server. Share files across every device on your network — Windows, Mac, Linux, phones, TVs.

Category: home API Key Required: No

What It Does

Sets up Samba file sharing so any device on your network can access shared folders like a USB drive. Perfect for family photo storage, backups, shared documents, or feeding media to Plex/Kodi. Your agent handles the full setup and ongoing management.

Setup

Step 1: Install Samba

sudo apt update && sudo apt install samba samba-common-bin -y

Step 2: Create shared directories

# Public share (anyone on network can read/write)
sudo mkdir -p /srv/shared
sudo chmod 777 /srv/shared

# Private share (password protected)
sudo mkdir -p /srv/private
sudo chmod 770 /srv/private

Step 3: Configure Samba

sudo tee -a /etc/samba/smb.conf << 'EOF'

[Shared]
   path = /srv/shared
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = yes
   create mask = 0666
   directory mask = 0777

[Private]
   path = /srv/private
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = no
   valid users = @samba
   create mask = 0660
   directory mask = 0770
EOF

Step 4: Set up users (for private shares)

# Create a Samba user (uses existing Linux user)
sudo smbpasswd -a USERNAME
sudo usermod -aG samba USERNAME

Step 5: Start Samba

sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd
sudo systemctl enable smbd nmbd

Step 6: Connect from devices

Windows: Open File Explorer, type \\SERVER_IP\Shared in the address bar Mac: Finder > Go > Connect to Server > smb://SERVER_IP/Shared Linux: File manager > smb://SERVER_IP/Shared or sudo mount -t cifs //SERVER_IP/Shared /mnt/nas -o guest iPhone: Files app > three dots > Connect to Server > smb://SERVER_IP Android: Use a file manager like Solid Explorer > SMB connection

Mounting External Drives

Find connected drives

lsblk -f

Mount a drive

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/drive1
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/drive1

# Auto-mount on boot (get UUID first)
blkid /dev/sda1
echo 'UUID=YOUR-UUID /mnt/drive1 ext4 defaults,nofail 0 2' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Format a new drive

# WARNING: destroys all data on the drive
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1

NTFS drives (from Windows)

sudo apt install ntfs-3g -y
sudo mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /mnt/drive1

Agent Commands

Check share status

smbstatus 2>/dev/null || echo "Samba not running"
testparm -s 2>/dev/null | grep -A3 "\["

Check disk space

df -h /srv/ /mnt/ 2>/dev/null

List shared folder contents

ls -lah /srv/shared/
du -sh /srv/shared/*/

Check who's connected

sudo smbstatus -b 2>/dev/null

Add a new share

sudo mkdir -p /srv/NEW_SHARE_NAME
sudo chmod 777 /srv/NEW_SHARE_NAME

sudo tee -a /etc/samba/smb.conf << 'EOF'

[NEW_SHARE_NAME]
   path = /srv/NEW_SHARE_NAME
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = yes
EOF

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Remove a share

Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf and remove the share block, then:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Check drive health

sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda 2>/dev/null || echo "Install smartmontools: sudo apt install smartmontools"

Monitor storage usage

du -h --max-depth=1 /srv/ | sort -rh

RAID Setup (Optional — for redundancy)

For important data, use two drives in a mirror:

sudo apt install mdadm -y
sudo mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/md0
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/raid
sudo mount /dev/md0 /mnt/raid

This mirrors data across both drives — if one dies, the other still has everything.

Constraints

• Samba requires the devices to be on the same network (or VPN)
• Performance depends on network speed (Gigabit ethernet ~100MB/s, WiFi varies)
• External USB drives may disconnect — use powered USB hubs for reliability
• SMART monitoring needs smartmontools package
• For remote access outside your network, use a VPN (WireGuard/Tailscale)