TERRAMASTER F8 SSD Plus NAS - 8 Bay All SSD, i3 8-Core 8-Thread CPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 10GbE Port, Compact High Performance Network Storage

I have had the F8 SSD Plus for about a month. I mainly use it as a Plex server, and Plex works flawlessly on this unit - it even does hw transcodes! One of the first things I did was upgrade the RAM to 48GB (with a Crucial RAM 48GB DDR5 5600MHz card); technically, this unit only supports 32 RAM, but the 48 GB seems to be working fine, so far. The next thing I did was replace the operating system - I played around with TOS for a bit, but I am used to Linux and the OS just seemed...foreign, to Linux, almost like it was wearing a skin suit of Linux. I oped to install TrueNAS Scale (which is Debian-based) and it works almost flawlessly - the only thing you gotta do to get it to work is go into the BIOS and change: Security → Secure Boot → Secure Boot → Disabled Chipset → North Bridge → VT-d → Disabled Once you change those BIOS settings, you can install TrueNAS Scale (be warned that turing off Secure Boot can potentially lead to security issues, but that is the only way you can install ANY another OS and imo TrueNAS Scale is worth it). The 8 bays for SSD are great, but it comes with a caveat - you will need one bay for the OS, and for both TOS _and_ TrueNAS Scale, that _entire_ SSD disk is used for the OS, and all other space on it is 'lost'. You have two options - simply buy a cheap 128GB SSD and use that for the OS, OR you can find out how to use the remainder of that space on the NAS. I didnt look into it for TOS, but I do know that can be done for TrueNAS Scale (although it requires editing some python scripts, currently). TL;DR The physical unit itself is great; I wasnt a fan of the installed operating system, but you can - with just a very minor bit of work - install another OS (I installed TrueNAS Scale, and I have seen others install Unraid or even Windows). I highly recommend this unit, especially if you are using this for something like a Plex server.

Using this for Plex and iSCSI, it's fast with a 10G NIC. I can saturate the link with this NAS. Fast, quiet, lightweight and portable if you need it to be. Turn off DoS protection to save yourself headaches with ICMP and Proxmox.

The F8 SSD Plus is exceptional hardware for a TrueNAS SCALE installation. The i3-N305, 16GB DDR5, and 10GbE make it a compelling platform, and setup is straightforward. RAM: The stock 16GB SODIMM can be safely upgraded to 32GB, and some users report successful 48GB installations as well. BIOS settings required for TrueNAS: Before installing, make three changes in the BIOS: Security > Secure Boot > Disabled Chipset > VT-d > Disabled Boot > TOS Boot First > Disabled The boot drive issue -- read carefully: The unit ships with a 4GB USB drive in an internal USB 2.0 header that Terramaster uses to boot TerraMaster Operating System (TOS). Many guides recommend replacing this with a SanDisk Ultra Fit or similar thumb drive to boot TrueNAS. Do not do this. TrueNAS performs continuous write cycles to the boot drive -- logging, system dataset operations, audit files -- that will kill a consumer USB thumb drive within months. Mine died during a routine TrueNAS update. The best solution is to use one of the three external USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps ports on the rear panel (two Type-A, one Type-C) with any external drive (barring a USB thumb drive). A traditional HDD or 2.5" SSD will work, but an M.2 SSD makes the most sense as it requires no additional power cables. I chose a M.2 2230 SSD because of its smaller form factor, along with a 2230 enclosure. As of current date, it's still possible to find an inexpensive 128GB 2230 drive here on Amazon for around $50, with the enclosure adding another $20. You do not need to sacrifice ANY of your 8 NVMe bays for the boot drive. Media server performance: The unit runs completely silent and stays cool as a combined Plex/Jellyfin server. It can be kept out of sight inside a closet without an attached monitor (assuming ethernet connectivity in there). However the i3-N305 is weak for transcoding even at 1080p. If transcoding is important to your workflow, consider running your media server on a beefier machine and using the Terramaster purely as SMB/network storage - it excels in that role. Bottom line: TOS is less than satisfactory, and the hoops required to reach a reliable, well-performing NAS are considerable. Installing TrueNAS is what makes this platform truly excel -- but it takes work to get there. Four out of five stars: exceptional hardware let down by a subpar default OS and a boot drive situation that needs to be solved out of the gate.

I’ve been using at home for mostly ProRes 4444 UHD files and it performs very well, allowing me to edit without lag. I get speeds close to the 10Gbps theoretical maximum. Getting cutting-edge drives isn’t necessary, the limit will be the network, not the SSDs. Over the first 90 days, I needed to power cycle one time when it dropped off the network. The web GUI is more than enough for what I need. In my opinion, the biggest perk is the exceptionally low power draw. This can be run on a very cheap UPS. It’s also quite small, it looks a lot like the classic WD My Book. It’s also pretty quiet, which is good because I’m sure a lot of SOHO users won’t want to upgrade their whole network to 10G. I’m sure this will be a popular way to manage very large files from cinema cameras on location and in studio. I’ll be recommending it for projects creating TBs of data daily.

Well designed hardware. Elegant case and construction. Quiet fans. Easy to open for service. Still fighting with the software. I had immich running nicely in Docker on TOS6. Wasn't really happy with TOS6, because I did not see a way to run python processes as a normal user. Decided to update to TOS7 Beta. That broke Docker, and immich. Docker Manager and Docker engine appear to be stuffed by permissions problems, according to what I see in the user forums. It appears that we do not have a way to fix it ourselves. I'm talking with support via email. We should be getting a newer Beta image this week. Maybe it will fix it? Was surprised to discover that new users cannot post a new topic or bug report in the User Forums. I can only reply to other people's posts. I may toss TOS and install TrueNAS, OpenMediaVault, or UNRaid instead?