OpenMediaVault
OpenMediaVault (OMV) is a next-generation network attached storage (NAS) solution based on Debian Linux. Thanks to its modular framework design, it can be extended with plugins to provide services such as SSH, FTP, SMB/CIFS, NFS and Docker, all managed from a straightforward web interface. Rock-solid and mature, OpenMediaVault is a long-standing favourite for building reliable home and small-office NAS servers, released under the GPL-3.0 licence.
Key Features
- Web-based administration — Manage the whole NAS from a browser: disks, shares, users, services and plugins
- Multiple file-sharing protocols — SMB/CIFS, NFS, FTP/SFTP, rsync and WebDAV for access from any device
- Docker support — Run containers on your NAS via the Docker/Portainer plugins for self-hosted apps
- Flexible storage — Software RAID (mdadm), LVM, ZFS (via plugin), SMART monitoring and disk management
- Modular plugin system — Extend functionality with official and community plugins
- Built-in monitoring — System statistics, notifications and scheduled jobs keep the server visible
- Debian-based — Built on a stable, widely deployed Linux foundation
Why Use OpenMediaVault?
OpenMediaVault is a dependable choice when the job is storing and serving data. It turns commodity hardware into a serious NAS with professional features like RAID and snapshots, without the licensing costs of commercial appliances. The active community and plugin ecosystem mean you can grow from a simple file server into a full home-lab host.
Use Cases
- Building a home or small-office NAS for centralised file storage and backups
- Running a media server (Jellyfin, Plex) alongside traditional NAS shares
- Self-hosting Docker-based services on dedicated, storage-focused hardware
Platform
Debian-based Linux on x86_64 and ARM (Raspberry Pi, ODROID and other SBCs)
Licence
GNU GPL-3.0