this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2025
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Right now I have a NAS running 24/7 for some self hosted apps (p2p, *arr...) and as primary storage for my multimedia files.

This NAS has some limitations because it has a low spec hardware and the OS is "propietary", so sometimes I have issues with docker or I miss some random feature that "standard" Linux distros have.

I work in IT and deal with the technology at home sometimes feels like a second job. I'm thinking that maybe I could simplify my home hardware avoiding NAS servers and use only my main desktop running 24/7 . This could give me a lot of flexibility (a standard OS, VMs, standard docker, better hardware, faster file operations because no LAN involved...) and less hardware to deal with.

Does anybody went this way? Any recommendations in favor or against it?

Sorry for my english.

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[–] FreedomAdvocate 6 points 2 hours ago (7 children)

Yep I changed my whole setup recently - had a Synology DS920+ running with docker containers for everything. I had started moving stuff off to a NUC because the NAS was starting to struggle.

What I ended up doing was buying a Mac Mini M4 and a DAS, and just running everything on the Mac with it running 24/7, and the DAS just acts like a giant HDD (and it’s running in RAID). Performance of everything is out of this world better, while power draw is significantly less. The Mac Mini M4 is unbeatable as a home server imo.

[–] salacious_coaster@infosec.pub 2 points 1 hour ago (3 children)

The Mac Mini M4 is unbeatable as a home server imo.

How do you figure that?

[–] FreedomAdvocate 2 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

It's insanely powerful yet sips power like a raspberry pi.

It has a full OS that is mainstream so it's easy to find any help you need.

It's the best bang for your buck machine on the market.

It can run everything you want a home server to run.

Do you disagree? Why?

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 4 points 33 minutes ago

Well, it's apple hardware and runs macos, so it's a bit kneecapped. It's not as flexible. But it is solid and you can run almost anything you can on Linux.

[–] salacious_coaster@infosec.pub 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I wouldn't have even thought to purchase a new Mac anything as a server. That is definitely not their target use case.

What are you running at home that requires "insane power?" I'm running a servarr stack on an old Xeon that cost a fraction of a Mac mini and it works just fine. And I have room in the case for full size HDDs.

I've heard of people using old Mac mini as servers, and I guess whatever makes you happy. I definitely don't see how they're the ultimate home server.

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