I attended my very first Texas Linux Fest in 2024 and had a really good time at the festival. The keynote speeches and talks that I attended were insightful, with the highlight being Alex Kretzschmar’s nefarious foil as he gave a talk about easily accessing your self-hosted services using Tailscale without exposing them to folks like me!
My favorite part of Texas Linux Fest wound up being the interactions I had with all the other attendees. I really enjoyed hearing what brought all the attendees to Texas Linux Fest.
So, for Texas Linux Fest 2025, I asked myself, “Why not set up a booth?” I worried that I’d miss out on talks on topics that were interesting to me, but sitting at a booth and letting the conference come to me sounded fascinating. I swapped a few emails with TXLF’s leadership team and became one of Texas Linux Fest’s community exhibitors. I wanted to find a way to contribute back to Texas Linux Fest and asked the leadership the best way to accomplish that goal. They responded with a really interesting suggestion of bringing a DIY NAS and doing a giveaway!
I couldn’t resist their awesome suggestion, and I immediately started working on a custom TXLF-themed, 3D-printed DIY NAS that was incredibly similar to the DIY NAS: 2025 Edition.
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My goals in building the DIY NAS: 2025 TXLF Edition
In the booth, I wanted to talk about the things that showcase my most popular topics: DIY NAS servers, 3D-printing, and a tiny amount of my own 3D-designs. The first thing I did was set out and 3D-designed and created TXLF-themed customization that would make this NAS unique. I created this insert that would end up in the case, and since it wound up conveniently coaster-sized, I printed dozens to give away to TXLF’s attendees.
A couple of factors–primarily my budget–led me to leave the six 3.5” drive bays empty. However, I also wanted the NAS to be functional, so I opted to include some storage that the winner could use as they see fit once they got home. With six empty 3.5” drive bays, this could be an excellent start to somebody’s homelab!
Basically, this NAS build’s inspiration came from three sources:
- The DIY NAS: 2025 Edition
- The 3D-printed off-site NAS that I built back in 2024
- A desire to make something specific to 2025’s Texas Linux Fest
If you’re interested at all in this DIY NAS build, make sure you check out the prior builds which I drew inspiration from!
DIY NAS: 2025 TXLF Edition
| Component | Part Name | Qty | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | Topton N18 N150 NAS Motherboard | specs | 1 | $229.99 |
| CPU | Intel Processor N150 | specs | 1 | N/A |
| Memory | Crucial RAM 32GB DDR5 5200MHz SO*DIMM (CT32G52C42S5) | specs | 1 | $109.99 |
| Case | TXLF-themed NAS CASE 6-bay (+3 SSD) | specs | 1 | $12.00 (plus materials) |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Technology SX500-G 500W SFX PSU | specs | 1 | $134.99 |
| Boot Drive | Teamgroup MP33 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD (TM8FP6256G0C101) | specs | 1 | $26.99 |
| Storage Drive | Crucial P310 4TB M.2 NVMe SSD (CT4000P310SSD801) | specs | 1 | $229.99 |
| SATA Cables | ADCAUDX 6pc .5M SATA Cable Bundle | N/A | 1 | $12.99 |
| Total Price: | $756.94 | |||
Once I had it built, ran 10+ passes of Memtest86+, and loaded TrueNAS Community Edition (25.04.2.4) on the NAS, I started to get pretty excited about showing it off at Texas Linux Fest and seeing what its attendees would say they’d do with it if they win the giveaway.
I’m still pretty excited about the hardware that I picked out for the DIY NAS: 2025 Edition and let that excitement also serve as a testament to the longevity of DIY NAS hardware!
But wait, there will be more at TXLF!
There’ll be more than just the NAS at our booth at Texas Linux Fest. I’m bringing along the whole butterwhat.com crew with me, too! Pat of patshead.com fame is going to be there and he’s bringing some of the Li’l Magnum Ultralight Fingertip Mouse and No-Sew Backpack Hooks. Maybe I’ll even bring a few of the products that I’m selling on eBay and Tindie, if there’s room in the car! And if you’re curious about the new North Texas Makers group, we can tell you all about what they’ve been up to!
Whatever your reason, swing by our booth at Texas Linux Fest this week in Austin, TX, and at the very least enter the giveaway! I’m looking forward to seeing you!