Node - RaspberryPi (retired)
An early Raspberry Pi NAS experiment. Retired when Node - Hades came online.
For the full cluster architecture, see the Home Server Infrastructure Overview. The NAS role is now handled by Node - Hades.
At a Glance
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Role (at the time) | Early NAS / low-power file server |
| Hardware | Raspberry Pi 3 B+ → Raspberry Pi 4 (8 GB) |
| Storage | USB external docking station + 4 TB HDD |
| OS / Software | Raspberry Pi OS, OpenMediaVault, SMB/NFS |
| In service | 1st-generation lab (before Hades) |
| Current status | Retired — role moved to Hades |
One-line summary: The 1st-generation node where I ran a NAS hands-on to test, on the cheapest possible hardware, what it could actually be used for.
What I Tried
The primary goal was to verify whether a low-power, low-cost board could make a usable NAS.
- Installed OpenMediaVault — put OMV on Raspberry Pi OS and configured SMB/NFS shares.
- Mounted a USB external HDD — connected a 4 TB HDD over USB and mapped shared directories in OMV.
- Separated users/permissions — organized an account/permission model assuming concurrent use from Windows and MacBook.
- Compared two boards — started on the Raspberry Pi 3 B+, then upgraded to the Raspberry Pi 4 (8 GB) to compare I/O characteristics and network speed. The Pi 3 B+ had USB 2.0 / 100 Mbps Ethernet, while the Pi 4 had USB 3.0 / 1 Gbps Ethernet, allowing transfers at the HDD’s maximum supported speed.
What Broke / What I Learned
It worked from the start, but the limits for 24/365 operation were clear.
- I/O limits of USB-attached storage. Throughput was inconsistent on large file transfers, and the USB controller occasionally produced a temporary disconnect.
- Long-term stability. Minor faults accumulated more in the USB/power/external-HDD combination than in the board itself. The pattern was: once “running fine” passed a week, the next week it would wobble at least once.
- No backup. A single disk with no backup path → a structure where one disk failure could wipe out all data.
Key lesson: I learned firsthand that for network storage, reliability and a recovery plan matter more than capacity, and this became the foundation for the next node (Hades).
Why It Was Retired
I decided to run the same NAS role on hardware worth keeping always on.
- Judged it risky to depend on a USB external HDD for a year-round workload — a machine with proper SATA bays was needed.
- Needed a node that could also host other workloads like VPN and internal services → a machine capable of virtualization.
- Moved the role to the HPE MicroServer Gen10 Plus → Hades, which supports the free VMware ESXi license range + an official HPE image + 4-bay hot-swap together.
At the transition, data was migrated from the USB external HDD to a new internal 4 TB HDD (ext4), using a strategy that kept the ext4 disk as-is.
What Carried Over
The 1st-generation Raspberry Pi node retired, but the following still live on in the current home lab.
- The OpenMediaVault operating model — Hades runs the same OMV on a VM. The permission/share design experience was reused directly.
- “single disk = no backup” — the direct motivation for building the Main (4 TB) + Backup (6 TB) + daily
rsyncstructure on Hades. The detailed backup policy and its limits are covered in Hades · Operations & Incidents.
Korean version: Node - RaspberryPi