What is kci-nas2?

KCI-NAS lets you turn an old, unused computer into a home network storage server, using cheap secondhand parts like an old hard drive and as little as 8 to 16 gigabytes of memory. The README says the whole setup can cost as little as about 20 US dollars in used parts, and the goal is something you can build once, turn on, and then largely forget about while it quietly protects your files. Unlike many commercial NAS devices, which often refuse to work with cheap hard drives, KCI-NAS is designed to run well on inexpensive or older disks, using an SSD as a cache to keep things responsive. It is also built so you rarely, if ever, need to open its admin control panel: it works in the background instead of requiring ongoing management. Like other NAS software, it offers standard features such as file sharing from computers, phones, and Macs, RAID so multiple disks work together and can survive one drive failing, snapshots that let you undo accidental deletions, scheduled automatic backups, remote access from outside your home, and the ability to add extra apps like a media server or camera recording software. Where KCI-NAS puts extra focus is on protecting data rather than simply storing it. It watches disk health and warns you in plain language before a disk is likely to fail, detects suspicious file activity that could indicate a ransomware attack and automatically makes shared folders read only to limit damage, regularly checks files for quiet corruption that could otherwise go unnoticed, verifies that backups have not changed unexpectedly, and can confirm a disk has been properly wiped before you get rid of it. It also includes a search feature that can find documents even when the wording used to search does not exactly match the text, in both Japanese and English. To install it, you run a single command on a fresh Ubuntu Server installation. The README is direct that this is a do it yourself project provided with no warranty, and that you should always keep backups of important data in more than one place. It is free for personal use, while commercial use requires a separate paid license.