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Over the years, I have tried enough NAS operating systems to know that most of them are designed to cater to a particular kind of user. Some are made to be beginner-friendly, while others are better suited for experiments. But all of them want to lock you down to their own ecosystem, which is especially true for pre-built NAS models that you get off the shelves. When you want to try something even mildly unconventional, you will start to notice the constraints.
Most NAS operating systems set up the rules and boundaries for you — similar to how Apple decides what you can do on your phone and how. They dictate which apps you can run, which filesystems will work trouble-free, and when you get updates. That’s not the case with Ubuntu Server.
You can pick up the hardware you want, design your own storage, choose whichever filesystem suits you the best, and run whatever app or service you need. Without any proprietary tech locking you in, you can easily switch hardware by simply using the same drives. This way, your NAS won’t go obsolete after a fixed term when the company decides to stop supporting it.
