NAS
Recently, I felt that x86 devices were lacking freshness, so I have been experimenting with ARM devices (ARM devices and flashing). I recently got my hands on the “lightweight NAS” Shiguang Dock N3 standard version, mainly used as a downloader, home server, and to integrate cloud storage resources.
What does “lightweight NAS” mean?
Lightweight NAS mainly refers to: lightweight system, low power consumption, and simple functions. Old NAS players may look down on lightweight NAS, but they overlook the principle of “matching devices to needs.” For example, if you want to buy an SUV suitable for family travel, even if a Ferrari is a good car, its price and functions are not a match. Lightweight NAS meets the data management needs of 4-8TB because some friends really only need to back up data from their phones and computers for easy management and access, while casually playing with a downloader and Docker.
The advantage of low power consumption: For old NAS players, a 4-bay enterprise RAID is considered entry-level, with a power consumption of about 50W; while a lightweight NAS with 1 4-8TB mechanical hard drive has a total power consumption of less than 10W. The energy consumption difference is over 5 times, and the annual electricity cost difference is significant.
A lightweight system and simple functions mean that lightweight NAS is not complicated and easy to use. Common functions of lightweight NAS are positioned as: cloud storage integration tool, downloader, home server, media server, book server, and synchronization backup tool. The software required is shown in the table below:
How to play with lightweight NAS? Let’s use the Shiguang Dock N3 standard version for a complete explanation.
Shiguang Dock N3 Unboxing Display
The Shiguang Dock N3 has a book-like appearance, about the size of a book. The plastic shell has ventilation holes on the side, and there is no active cooling inside, so I do not recommend using enterprise-level hard drives; I suggest using a 4-8TB purple drive.
The front has 4 indicator lights for power, system, network, and hard drive. If you dislike light pollution at night, you can turn them off:
External interfaces include: 1 Gigabit Ethernet port, 1 USB 3.0 port, 1 SD card slot, and 1 HDMI port. Internal interfaces include: 1 SATA interface (recommended to install a 4-8TB purple drive). The wireless card specification is dual-band AC (WIFI5):
The device supports power-on auto-start; it is recommended to use a smart socket for management (which can be turned on remotely):
The processor is RK3566 quad-core A55 (RK3566 performance is roughly equivalent to RK3568 used in Q2C and T2, RK3566 is just a weaker extension), supporting 4K60 frame decoding. Memory is 2GB, flash storage is 4GB.
The overall running power consumption is displayed, with hard drive read/write status at less than 8W. And ARM NAS also supports Docker, making such low power consumption very suitable for setting up a home server via Docker.
The Shiguang Dock N3 Starlight version is a PCDN type NAS, which requires deploying PCDN services. If your home network does not support PCDN, you can choose the standard version like I did (the standard version allows you to choose whether to deploy PCDN). After installing the hard drive and powering it on, bind your account to start deploying the following software functions.
AList Cloud Storage Integration
AList is one of the best cloud storage integration tools available. The Shiguang Dock comes with AList pre-installed, allowing for one-click deployment. After deployment, access it via IP + port 50002, with the default username and password being admin and 123456:
First, in AList storage management, add “local storage,” filling in the root folder path as /n3_storage, and the rest can be filled in as you like. This binds the local storage space of the Shiguang Dock to AList:
Other cloud storage options like Baidu Cloud and Alibaba Cloud can be mounted following AList’s official documentation.
Deploy Personal Homepage Sun-Panel
A NAS is incomplete without a personal homepage to integrate all service links (after all, it’s hard to remember too many ports). I recommend using Sun-Panel on the Shiguang Dock. First, enable Docker functionality on the Shiguang Dock. As there is no SSH access, you need to deploy it using the official Docker manager. Here, I will explain how to convert Docker commands into Docker manager deployment parameters. Below is the deployment command for Sun-Panel:
docker run -d --restart=always -p 3002:3002
-v ~/docker_data/sun-panel/conf:/app/conf
-v ~/docker_data/sun-panel/uploads:/app/uploads
-v ~/docker_data/sun-panel/database:
--name sun-panel
hslr/sun-panel /app/database
Key parameters to extract: mount path -v, port mapping -p, image name hslr/sun-panel. Create a sun-panel folder in the hard drive according to the mount path, and then create three subfolders: conf, uploads, and database within that folder:
Pull the hslr/sun-panel image from the image store based on the image name:
Once the image is pulled, create a container in the image management section, and in the “Path Settings,” map the local folder to the mount path:
Then in the port settings, set the container port for local mapping (if you do not modify the access port, both will be the same):
Start the container and you can access the deployed Sun-Panel service via IP + port 3002. Then, like I did, set it up simply to get your NAS homepage:
Deploy Media Server Jellyfin
Jellyfin is a well-known open-source media server. Below is the Jellyfin deployment command; similarly, extract key parameters for deployment:
docker run -d --restart=always -p 8096:8096
-v /path/to/config:/config
-v /path/to/cache:/cache
-v /path/to/media:/media
--restart=unless-stopped
jellyfin/jellyfin
Create a jellyfin folder on the local machine and create two subfolders, cache and config, and then create a media folder, mapping them to Docker’s config, cache, and media paths, with the port mapped to the default 8096:
Then run the Jellyfin container and create a login account to set up your media library. I tested it, and the Jellyfin built on the Shiguang Dock can decode 4K videos without any pressure.
The Shiguang Dock also supports poster wall functionality. Click “Applications” – “Media Library” and set the scraping listening folder in the media settings, and the poster wall will be automatically generated in the media list.
Deploy Syncthing
Deploying Syncthing is to allow the lightweight NAS to automatically sync data with other devices. The Syncthing deployment command is as follows (after the above two cases, I believe everyone can deploy containers using the Docker manager):
docker run --name syncthing -d -p 8384:8384 -p 22000:22000
-v /users/syncthing:/var/syncthing
syncthing/syncthing
After deployment, you can install Syncthing on your computer and phone, allowing you to sync data that needs to be backed up to your Shiguang Dock NAS anytime.
After deploying 5 containers, the total system memory usage is only 440M. I must say that the lightweight NAS has very low resource usage. However, since the memory is only 2GB, it is not recommended to deploy too many infrequently used containers (my suggestion is to keep the total number of containers below 10, and the resident memory usage should not exceed 70%).
Setting Up a Downloader
The Shiguang Dock has already set up the aria2 download service, allowing you to create download tasks remotely via your mobile device. You can also one-click deploy Qbittorrent for BT downloads:
In terms of cloud storage, it supports binding to Baidu Cloud (you can also mount more cloud storage through AList). After binding Baidu Cloud, local files can also be right-clicked for one-click upload to Baidu Cloud. Due to the low operating power consumption of the Shiguang Dock, it is a great tool for downloading and is very suitable as a downloader.
Enabling SAMBA Service
In the cloud storage service, you can choose between Samba or WebDAV sharing modes, and of course, the most commonly used is Samba.
With Samba sharing, Gigabit speeds can be fully utilized, allowing you to mount the Shiguang Dock on your computer as an online disk.
This concludes the introduction of basic functions. The Shiguang Dock actually has many interesting features and functions, such as built-in DDNS resolution, where purchasing the Shiguang Dock gives you a free second-level domain name (I will not expand on the DDNS feature here). There are also one-click setups for Qinglong Panel and Ubuntu, which you can tinker with as needed.
Of course, the Shiguang Dock also has some areas that need improvement, such as UI layout design; improving the Docker manager (the lightweight NAS Docker manager is best done by the open-source casaos); and enhancing the data migration function for single-disk NAS.
In Summary
As an ARM-based lightweight NAS, the Shiguang Dock does not compromise on functionality and playability. It also has advantages in low power consumption and low resource usage. It is suitable for NAS users with lighter data management needs who wish to maintain diverse functionalities. The Shiguang Dock is more like a localized cloud storage + a low-power Linux host + a lightweight NAS, with distinct features and characteristics.
That’s all for sharing, welcome to discuss and consult~
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