The Linux platform can do quite a lot of things; it can be just about anything need it to be and function in nearly any form. One of the many areas in which Linux excels is that of storage. With the help of a few constituent pieces, you can have a powerful NAS or cloud storage solution up and running.
But, what if you don’t want to take the time to piece these together for yourself? Or, what if you’d rather have a user-friendly, web-based GUI to make this process a bit easier. For that, there are a few distributions available to meet your needs. Once such platform is Rockstor. Rockstor is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) and cloud solution that can serve either your personal or small business needs with ease.
Rockstor got its start in 2014 and has quickly become a solid tool in the storage space. I was able to quickly get Rockstor up and running (after overcoming only one minor hurdle) and had SMB shares and users/groups created with just a few quick clicks. And, with the inclusion of add-ons (called Rockons), you can extend the feature set of your Rockstor to include new apps, servers, and services.
Let me walk you through that process (as well as how I solved one tiny hiccup), so you can decide if Rockstor is the solution for you.
A word on requirements
I managed to easily get Rockstor running as a VirtualBox VM. Whether you’re installing as a VM or on dedicated hardware, the minimal installation requirements are:
- 64-bit Intel or AMD processor
- 2GB RAM or more (recommended)
- 8GB hard disk space for the OS
- One or more additional hard drives for data (recommended)
- Ethernet interface (with Internet access – for updates)
- Media drive or USB port (for installation on dedicated hardware)
Installation
Based on the Anaconda Installer, the installation of Rockstor is incredibly simple. In fact, once you start the installation process, the only thing you have to do is configure a root user password; there is no package selection, no set up of systems or servers. Once the installation completes, reboot, and you’re ready to go.