I built the perfect home server to quit all my subscriptions (72tb)

One Sentence Summary

A hands-on guide to building a feature-rich NAS with ZFS, caching, redundancy, and practical hardware/power considerations.

Main Points

• Boot.dev offers gamified, RPG-style backend/CSE learning with helpers and practice grounds.
• The speaker uses SQL course on Boot.dev to refresh database skills for projects.
• NAS goals include storing old footage, backups, media, books, and project data.
• Emphasis on hard drives for bulk storage due to cost-to-capacity advantage.
• Choose CMR drives over SMR for NAS reliability and performance.
• SSDs can be used as a cache to improve random I/O on hard drives.
• Use a VDEV to store metadata for enterprise-grade reliability.
• Redundancy via RAID (RAID-Z2) sacrifices capacity for data safety.
• Power, processor, and RAM choices depend on use-case and energy costs.
• File systems: ZFS preferred for data integrity; alternatives include ext4, XFS, Btrfs depending on needs.
• Budget and space considerations: more storage often means higher upfront cost but better long-term utility.
• Physical build notes: case design, cooling, and vibration isolation can impact drive lifespan.
• Planned backups include off-site copy for important media (3-2-1 rule).
• The speaker envisions NAS-centered life integration (Japanese media, coding, video editing).

Takeaways

• Plan storage with RAID-Z2 for dual-parity protection against multiple drive failures.
• Use SSD cache to accelerate random reads/writes on a large HDD array.
• Pick CMR over SMR for NAS reliability and predictable performance.
• Consider cooling, power efficiency, and a modest CPU to balance performance and energy use.
• Implement a 3-2-1 backup strategy to protect critical data.

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Below are five highly regarded books on Amazon that will directly strengthen the exact areas covered in the NAS build: ZFS, RAID design, storage architecture, Linux systems, and home/enterprise storage reliability.

I selected these based on:

• ZFS & filesystem depth
• Storage architecture theory
• Linux systems knowledge
• RAID & redundancy best practices
• Practical NAS deployment guidance

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1️⃣ The ZFS Book

Book:

• FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS (IT Mastery) (Kindle) (Paperback)
• FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS (IT Mastery) (Kindle) (Paperback) Authors: Allan Jude & Michael W Lucas Best For: Deep ZFS implementation knowledge Level: Intermediate → Advanced

Why This Is #1 for Your Build

You’re using:

• ZFS
• RAID-Z2
• ARC
• L2ARC
• VDEVs
• Enterprise-style metadata storage

This book covers:

• ZFS pool design
• VDEV layout planning
• ARC/L2ARC tuning
• ZIL/SLOG concepts
• Redundancy math
• Performance implications
• Expansion limitations (why RAID-Z isn’t expandable)
• Real-world failure recovery

If you’re serious about ZFS, this is mandatory reading.

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2️⃣ FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS

Book:

• FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS (IT Mastery) (Kindle) (Paperback)
• FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS (IT Mastery) (Kindle) (Paperback) Author: Michael W Lucas Best For: Practical ZFS tuning & troubleshooting Level: Intermediate

Even if you're running:

• TrueNAS
• Linux ZFS
• Debian ZFS

The ZFS principles are the same.

This book explains:

• ZFS internals clearly
• ARC memory planning (relevant to your 32GB vs 48GB discussion)
• Scrubbing strategy
• Snapshots & replication
• VDEV failure behavior

Much more concise than The ZFS Book.

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3️⃣ Designing Data-Intensive Applications

Book:

• Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems, 1st Edition (Kindle) (Paperback)
• Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems, 2nd edition (Paperback) Author: Martin Kleppmann Best For: Understanding storage & reliability at system level Level: Advanced

This isn’t a NAS book — it’s a systems architecture book.

But it teaches:

• Replication theory
• Consistency models
• Checksums
• Fault tolerance
• Data durability tradeoffs
• Why ZFS integrity matters
• Backup strategy theory

If you’re building enterprise-grade infrastructure (as you hinted), this book upgrades your thinking.

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4️⃣ UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook

Book: UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook, 5th Edition (Kindle) (Paperback) Authors: Evi Nemeth et al. Best For: Operational excellence Level: Intermediate

Covers:

• Disk subsystems
• RAID basics
• Monitoring
• Backup strategies (3-2-1)
• Power consumption considerations
• Filesystem comparison (ext4, XFS, etc.)
• Enterprise sysadmin workflows

This fills the operational gaps beyond just hardware.

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5️⃣ How Linux Works

Book: How Linux Works, 3rd Edition: What Every Superuser Should Know, 3rd Edition (Kindle) (Paperback) Author: Brian Ward Best For: Deep understanding of Linux internals Level: Beginner → Intermediate

You mentioned:

• ext4
• XFS
• mergeFS
• ZFS
• ARC memory use
• CPU efficiency

This book explains:

• Kernel I/O
• Filesystems
• Storage layers
• Block devices
• Page cache vs ARC
• Systemd & boot process
• Disk performance fundamentals

It makes you smarter about every decision in your NAS.

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🎯 If I Had to Rank by Impact for this Build

1. The ZFS Book (Directly applicable)
2. FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS (Operational clarity)
3. UNIX & Linux Sysadmin Handbook (Holistic ops thinking)
4. Designing Data-Intensive Applications (Architecture maturity)
5. How Linux Works (Foundational depth)