Need help building the first NAS system

[Enquiries]

Hi,

I am currently planning to build NAS system for my home use. This is for multi purpose use. The major element is that I want to use this as a home-lab for my cybersecurity lab. This will involve having multiple virtual machines that can built for experiments and torn down when needed. The other uses will involve using it as storage element for photos and videos (and movies) for my family. They should have access to these storage content via the internet.
The main requirement is that the home-lab part of things should be isolated from the storage part of things (i.e., the home-lab should be a sandbox). I am not looking to have any RAID 2 level backup and availability but I wouldn't say no to a RAID 1 setup.
This is my first time building a NAS and I didn't want to get a pre-built NAS so I can try to learn by building it.
Any help or suggestions building this NAS system will be much appreciated.


Thanks,
Saran.

[millionhoopoe]

Implement RAID 1 for media storage drives to ensure data redundancy. Use ZFS snapshots in TrueNAS for point-in-time backups of data. Consider cloud backups or external drives for offsite data protection.

[ed]

Thanks for reaching out—and great to hear you're diving into building your own NAS! It sounds like you’ve got a clear vision: a powerful home-lab NAS that also serves as secure family storage. With your $1500 budget and minimum 16TB requirement, you're in a solid position to build something capable and future-proof.

Based on your goals, here’s a suggested approach:
1. Hardware Recommendations
Since virtualization is a major use case, you'll want strong CPU and RAM specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G or Intel i5-13500 (both have integrated graphics and solid multi-core performance for VMs)

Motherboard: ATX or mATX board with multiple SATA ports and at least 2 M.2 slots. Bonus if it supports ECC RAM.

RAM: 32GB DDR4 minimum, ideally ECC if you can.

Storage:

OS Drive: 500GB NVMe SSD (for speed and VM storage)

Bulk Storage: 2×16TB NAS-grade HDDs (e.g., Seagate IronWolf or WD Red Plus) in RAID 1 for basic redundancy

Case: Look at something like the Fractal Node 304, Jonsbo N3, or SilverStone CS381—compact but drive-friendly

PSU: 500W+ from a reliable brand (modular, if possible)

2. Software:
For your use case, I suggest:

Proxmox VE as the base OS — excellent for virtualization and lightweight

Use ZFS for the storage pool (Proxmox supports it natively)

Create VMs for your security lab using Proxmox’s web UI

Set up TrueNAS SCALE in a VM or container if you want a dedicated NAS interface for family storage

Or, directly configure Samba/NFS shares in Proxmox for simplicity

3. Network Isolation
To isolate your home-lab from family storage:

Use VLANs or separate virtual NICs in Proxmox to sandbox traffic

Assign one physical NIC to your lab VMs, and another to your storage interface if your motherboard supports multiple NICs

Optionally, run pfSense as a VM to manage internal network segmentation

4. Remote Access
For your family to access files remotely:

Set up a secure reverse proxy (like NGINX Proxy Manager)

Use Tailscale or WireGuard for VPN access—much safer than exposing ports

Enable HTTPS and user authentication for any web-based file interfaces