Why I moved away from traditional NAS setups
Most home or small office NAS setups follow the same pattern:
A SATA-based NAS device
A separate router
Limited network flexibility
This works, but once you start running mixed workloads (file storage, services, routing), bottlenecks appear quickly.
I wanted something more flexible — especially on the network and storage side.
The idea: combine networking + storage into one node
Instead of splitting everything into multiple devices, I started testing a compact setup with:
multiple LAN ports
NVMe-based storage
enough CPU to handle routing + services
The goal was simple:
One box that can handle NAS, routing, and lightweight services reliably.
Hardware approach (multi-LAN + NVMe)
The platform I used is a multi-port mini PC (in my case, a Qotom Q31100G4 type system).
Key characteristics:
4 × 2.5GbE LAN (Intel I226-V)
4 × M.2 NVMe slots
Intel low-power CPU (up to i5 class)
What makes this interesting is not raw performance — but structure.
Network design: physical separation instead of only VLANs
Instead of relying only on VLANs, I used multiple physical NICs:
WAN → internet
LAN → client devices
NAS → storage traffic
This had a noticeable effect.
When large file transfers happen:
LAN traffic stays responsive
storage traffic doesn’t interfere as much
It’s a simple idea, but in practice it improves stability.
Storage layout: NVMe changes everything
Instead of a traditional SATA pool, I split NVMe roles:
OS → dedicated SSD
data → separate drives
cache → independent drive
This reduces I/O contention significantly.
Compared to SATA-based NAS:
faster response
smoother multi-tasking
better handling of mixed workloads
Running router + NAS together
This is where things get interesting.
The setup runs:
pfSense (routing + firewall)
NAS system (storage layer)
Docker (services)
All on the same hardware.
The key is separation:
network interfaces
storage roles
service boundaries
Without that, it becomes messy quickly.
Thermal considerations (often overlooked)
Compact systems like this have a hidden challenge:
multiple NVMe drives
multiple NIC controllers
Both generate heat under sustained load.
What I noticed:
NVMe drives are usually the hottest components
airflow matters more than CPU cooling
sustained workloads require proper ventilation
What this setup is actually good for
This type of system is not for everyone.
But it fits very well for:
homelab environments
small office setups
edge nodes
developers running multiple services locally
Final thoughts
This isn’t about replacing every NAS or server.
It’s about a different approach:
using a multi-LAN + NVMe mini PC as a flexible infrastructure node
The biggest takeaway for me:
network structure matters more than raw speed
storage layout matters more than capacity
and simplicity still wins when done right
Top comments (0)