openmediavault—also stylized as OpenMediaVault—is a free and open-source storage program that allows you to work with Debian Linux. Developed by Volker Theile, this is a Linux distribution designed for network-attached storage (NAS) that’s based on the Debian operating system. It contains various services and lets you use it without requiring much knowledge about this OS. With this, you can create your own homemade NAS device instead of buying one.

What can you do with OpenMediaVault?

If you happen to have a lot of data to store but nearly not enough space with the conventional storage servers, you may be looking to try out network-attached storage or NAS devices. These are file-level computer data storage servers connected to a computer network specialized in serving files either by its hardware, software, or configuration. They’re usually already manufactured as computer appliances, but with open-source software, you can create your very own.

openmediavault is one of these and is considered one of the most popular since 2009. It’s also active in its development, which assures frequent updates and bug fixes. This tool was created as a successor to FreeNAS but based on Debian. Compared to the other, this one doesn’t have some advanced features. However, it can run on lower-end devices since it’s primarily designed for home environments or small home offices.

With this app, you can access services like SSH, FTP and SFTP, SMB/CIFS, DAAP media servers, RSync, and BitTorrent client. It also has some crossover features with FreeNAS, such as storage monitoring, Samba/NFS file sharing, and RAID disk management. If you find its set of functions limiting, you can install your choice of plugins to enhance its capabilities—whether it’s to change the default file system or add cloud integration.

Continues to be a popular option

All in all, openmediavault is a great choice for DIY network-attached storage devices. It’s open-source, active in its development, versatile with plugins, and only requires low-end specs for its platform. Beginners at Debian itself may find it tricky to use at first, as well, but there are multiple guides available to help them understand this highly-useful software. This is a recommended Linux storage program to try out.