Thinking about building a NAS.. first question can I do it with this mini-ITX case?

[Scam]

I have spent the last year renovating my first home with my partner and we're almost getting onto the fun stuff Which means I'm looking at a home NAS server for three main reasons;

1. Backing up my files (duh) and playing nicely with Google Drive
2. Acting as an FTP server/backup for my new Reolink video doorbell clips
3. Messing around with Home Assistant

So, this thread might descend into talking about all of the above points.. but as it stands I'm doing some research into building my own, or buying something off the shelf.

First question; I have a leftover Lian Li PC-Q03B case. In the spirit of recycling and re-using things, I'd like to use it if possible. It'll look nice But can I fit the appropriate number of drives? I don't need a lot of space. I'm not a media hoarder, but I would like to feel a little more secure in backing up my photography. For example, my PC boot drive I'm only using 130GB, my media drive 200GB, my games drive 500GB. That's it. So that's only like 1TB which is nothing at all.

Then I'll also need to look at what distro to use if I'm DIY'ing. TrueNAS, UnRAID etc.. there's a lot out there. Any pointers?

 

[Hades]

A few points of consideration come to mind:

1) Do you want to "fire and forget" with minimal setup and maintenance? If so then consider a commercial NAS.

2) If the NAS is online most of the time then power consumption becomes an issue. So choose hardware appropriately.

3) If you're OK with a little more setup and maintenance then either TrueNAS or UnRAID would be great options. The pro's and con's of each are:
TrueNAS = Faster than UnRAID but needs drives of matched size.
UnRAID = Slower than TrueNAS but you can mix and match drive sizes.

I went with UnRAID on an old HP N40L but leave it powered off 99% of the time. I only turn it on when needed (wake on LAN).