I’ve reviewed a few NAS drives previously supplied with their own dedicated (and proprietary) Linux-based operating system. A significant chunk of the retail price of a NAS is factored into the software development costs. And users feel almost compelled to keep using the operating system given that software cost built into the price. It’s like buying a PC where there’s no option to avoid paying the Windows tax. What a waste of money when Windows is immediately wiped.
How about a DIY NAS where you don’t pay anything for the operating system, where you have freedom to choose the operating system that meets your needs and requirements, and configure the system exactly how you want. Does that sound enticing?
If this floats your boat, you could put together your own custom NAS, starting from scratch where you choose all the individual components such as the case, motherboard, processor, cooling fan, and disks. That requires a modicum of hardware knowledge although it’s an exciting project. But for many people life is too short for this approach. An alternative is to get a hardware ready solution that isn’t tied in any way to a specific operating system.
One option is the Aiffro K100. It’s an All-SSD NAS with an Intel N100 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 4 M.2 2280 NVMe slots. The machine retails for £227. You buy the SSDs separately, and choose whatever operating system you want to install. That could be something like TrueNAS Community Edition, Proxmox, or even a regular Linux distribution like Ubuntu Server. For the first few articles in this series, I’m actually going to use Ubuntu Desktop 25.04, but I’ll switch distros.
My review unit came with four 256GB NVMes pre-populated.
Design
The case is exquisite. A big thumbs up for build quality. It’s a metal case which is described as ‘aluminum alloy’. The unit is very compact measuring a mere 117 x 112 x 34 mm, so it’s about the same size as the original slim Intel NUC. It’s also very portable.
You get the machine and a small USB-C power adapter. My machine came with a US style plug connector so I needed a USA to 3 Pin UK Plug Adapter. The PSU is rated to 65W, which is more than sufficient to power this system including any external devices attached.
The front of the machine hosts the power button, nothing else. It makes the NAS feel suitable for any room.
The other sides have ventilation holes. The rear of the machine hosts (from left to right) a 2.5GbE ethernet port, HDMI 1.4, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, two USB-C ports which are USB 3.2 Gen 2 (1,000 MB/s read and write), and a Type-C DC port.
I connected an ethernet cable, HDMI cable, and a USB-C power. I’m only using one of the two USB 2.0 ports as that’s connected to my USB switch selector.
The machine doesn’t have Bluetooth or WiFi and there’s no audio jack. But the machine isn’t intended to be used as a desktop machine so their omission is probably of little consequence. I might want to use Bluetooth on the machine, but the spare USB 2.0 can host a Bluetooth dongle.
I didn’t need to install any NVMes as my review unit already had all 4 slots occupied. But accessing the interior looks simple. Pull off the rubber feet to reveal four screws. Once inside, there are screws to remove the heat spreader. Ideally, I’d prefer a tool-free access method but you’ll probably only install the NVMes once.
Next page: Page 2 – Getting Started and Initial Impressions
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction and Design
Page 2 – Getting Started and Initial Impressions
Page 3 – Interrogation of the System
Complete list of articles in this series: