piNAS - Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W NAS with Secure Remote Access

Samba + Tailscale · Low‑Power · Home Lab Friendly

This project turns a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W into a minimalist NAS (Network Attached Storage) with SMB file sharing on the local network and secure remote access via Tailscale, without exposing SMB to the public internet.

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✨ Features

• Ultra‑low‑power NAS on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
• SMB (Samba) file sharing for Linux (and later Windows/macOS/mobile)
• Secure remote access over Tailscale (no SMB ports exposed to the internet)
• Headless setup: SSH‑only, no monitor required after first boot

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🏗 Architecture Overview

High level:

• Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W running Raspberry Pi OS Lite
• Storage initially on the boot SD card (128 GB) for simplicity
• Samba exports a share (e.g. /home/your-username/nas-share) over the LAN
• Tailscale connects the Pi, a Linux laptop, and (later) mobile devices into a private mesh network
• Clients access the NAS via smb://<tailscale-ip>/nas or //<tailscale-ip>/nas

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Prepare the Raspberry Pi

1. Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite to the SD card using Raspberry Pi Imager.
2. In the Imager advanced options, configure:
   • Username: your-username
   • Password: your strong password
   • Wi‑Fi SSID + password (2.4 GHz)
   • Enable SSH
3. Boot the Pi and SSH into it from your main machine: ssh your-username@<pi-ip-or-hostname>

2. Update system

sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade -y

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📁 Local NAS via Samba

1. Create a NAS directory on the SD

2. Install and configure Samba

• Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf and add at the end:

3. Test from Linux on the same LAN

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📱 Future: Mobile Access

Planned (documented but optional for v1):

• Install Tailscale on Android/iOS.
• Install a file manager with SMB support.
• Configure a new SMB share pointing to the Pi’s Tailscale IP (100.x.y.z), share nas, user your-username.

This allows secure file access from phones, again without exposing SMB to the public internet.

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🔒 Security & Design Notes

• SMB is LAN‑only; no port forwarding of 445/139 on the router.
• Remote access is handled exclusively via Tailscale, using authenticated devices.
• Storage v1 uses the boot SD card for simplicity and low cost:
  • Good for learning and light personal use.
  • Not ideal for heavy write workloads due to SD card wear.
• Future improvement: move data to a dedicated USB SSD/HDD for better endurance and throughput.

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✅ Status & Next Steps

Current state (v1):

• Pi Zero 2 W configured with Raspberry Pi OS Lite
• Local NAS via Samba on the boot SD
• Secure remote access via Tailscale
• Linux client mounting over both LAN IP and Tailscale IP

Planned next steps:

• Add Android/iOS access instructions
• Move storage to USB SSD/HDD
• Add a simple backup script and/or status page
• Include architecture and screenshot assets in assets/