Using a HP Proliant N36L Microserver and FreeNAS to build a home media server.

As a media centre enthusiast I have a bunch of different devices running either XBMC or PLEX and I use DNLA for streaming to others. There are several Android phones and tablets, a smart TV as well as Windows and Macs and all these devices need to connect to a central storage hub containing all my media. 

This hub was on my N36L running Ubuntu which provided SAMBA and NFS shares as well as running Sabnzbd, Sickbeard, Plex Server, SubSonic and Logitech Media Server. My storage was 4 x 2GB drives set up as 2 x RAID1 pairs using the N36L RAID controller.

After some thought I've decided to change track and go for a dedicated NAS device and a new server to run ESXi for my OS needs. I'd looked at a few dedicated NAS devices on the market but most are out of my meagre price range. I've known about FreeNAS for some time so gave it a look. It ticks most of my boxes.

• Affordable
• CIF and NFS shares
• Plugins
• Great online support

I was a little apprehensive about using ZFS as its not as easy to recover from as a simple UFS mirrored disk but I enjoy playing with new tech so gave it a go.

So my plan is to use the N36L as a NAS and a new N50L for ESXi

N36L hardware and installing FreeNAS to a USB flash drive