Network Assisted Storage Distros
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
Last updated on 8th May 2026
For a long time, I was under the impression that any operating system catering for Network Assisted Storage servers either came with the devices or was based on BSD. A review in Linux Voice changed that understanding, and a spare PC was set up using OpenMediaVault.
Previously, I had tried FreeNAS with no success because the installation CD's that I had made would not boot up the machine, most likely because it did not have an Intel processor. FreeNAS is now TrueNAS but the BSD basis remains and that puts it into the UNIX, so it is listed among those rather than these Linux-based options.
After positive comments from Linux Voice, I went and gave this a go. It is based on Debian, so there was a certain familiarity with the underpinnings anyway. Once I had watched a video on YouTube, the interface became clearer, and I was able to make it work as it should. There are plugins too, so functionality can be extended with the likes of ownCloud and other tools. OMV-EXTRAS.ORG has a good selection that adds to the ones included in the standard installation. It still runs my cold backup system (it is switched off when no backups are being made) to this very day.
It may sell itself more as being a cloud server, but it also can act as a NAS too, and it is good to have a range of possibilities. The file system is BTRFS rather than EXT4, which normally is used with Linux, but that is done with the intent of offering features comparable to ZFS for more solid file storage.
It is the File Server variant that would power a NAS, but it does look like that are a lot of interesting other possibilities available from the website; there are ones for WordPress, Drupal and Joomla!, for instance. Debian is the basis for this one too.