Hi 45Drives Community,
With a background of IT for over 20 years, I’ve been more and more active in the homelab space over the last few years, working with a variety of partners including Western Digital, Kingston Technologies, IceWhale, Zettlab, and DeskPi — all with a focus on bringing high-performance, cost-effective storage and compute solutions to the home lab environment.
While my setups have generally leaned toward compact, lower-power NAS and server builds, I’ve always had a real appreciation for what 45Drives brings to the table — especially in terms of open design, community engagement, and the ecosystem around Cockpit tooling. I regularly use parts of the 45Drives Cockpit suite for managing drive arrays and folder shares in my current builds.
One project that’s stuck with me is the Storinator JR — the smaller-scale NAS concept that was previously explored with Jeff G. I feel like it’s time to re-open that conversation, especially considering the progress we’ve made in embedded systems and modular storage hardware. I’m currently prototyping something in that spirit and would love to get your feedback, suggestions, and thoughts on the direction.
Current Build Concept:
- Board: ZimaBoard 2.0 (rear I/O layout)
- HBA: Dual-port internal SFF card (model TBD)
- Backplane: IBM 46W9187-02 — 8-bay 2.5" SAS/SATA backplane (originally for x3650), floor-mounted (need to buy this still)
- Power: 12V 10A PSU
- Connectivity: Breakout cable from ZB2 to power backplane
- Chassis: 3U rackmount case (likely 3D Printed
- Boot Drive: Vertically mounted SSD
- Cooling: Dual 80mm front intake fans
This is still very much in the “mad scientist lab” phase. I’m testing fitment, power distribution, airflow, and compatibility between components (as they are what i have laying arround here). The end goal is a compact Storinator-style NAS that could offer:
- x86 hardware & dual 2.5gbe
- Support for 6–8 hot/warm-swap 2.5" drives
- Open-source OS with Cockpit integrations
- Rack-mountable form factor for shallow-depth homelab racks
- Minimal power draw, low acoustic profile
While it’s not intended to compete with the traditional Storinator lineup, I think there’s a real opportunity here to fill a niche for those of us running smaller setups — a “baby Storinator,” if you will.
I’d love to hear what the community thinks — especially from anyone at 45Drives who was involved with the original JR design. Would there be interest in reviving a community-led project around this concept? Anyone already building similar setups?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas!
Best,
Sabitech