This could've been called "Learning Kubernetes the hard way", because that's basically what I was trying to achieve here. It wasn't so much about learning how to use Kubernetes via its ingenious API as it was about learning about its individual components. If you want to just run Kubernetes locally, there's Minikube, that will give you nice VM with everything already set up.

What I've wanted to achieve is to have a set of components, all nicely isolated with a well defined connection between each other so I can add them, remove them and break the connections and see how this affects the cluster. To put it simply I was interested in Ops side of running Kubernetes. This is why I took Hyperkube and mixed it with docker-compose and tried to stand up Kubernetes "from scratch".

Let's get started..

So our build is now done. I'm still thinking about making some improvements, like a proper ports panel or some air circulation control, but it's already very usable NAS box. The only missing part is installing something like freeNAS or some other user friendly NAS OS, but there's a ton of howtos out there, so I'm not going to create another one.

Feel like building your own NAScrate? Here are all the files you'll need.

Finally there🔗

I pinky swear it doesn't take 4 months to build the NAScrate. I actually had it done and dusted in couple weeks - most spent waiting for the components with couple evenings spent with Onshape trying to figure out how to fit everything in a small crate. I just didn't have enough time to properly document it, hence the delay in updates.

This last step only took couple hours at most - and that's including re-designing and re-printing some of the parts. Building next one with all the parts ready is 30 minute job easily. So let's give it a go.

Prototyping🔗

Is this even feasible? There's one way to find out! Well.. there's probably more than one way, but here's what I did. First thing I tried was to model and print rough miniature models of all the components I need to fit inside the case. (which I've printed as well) This gave me general idea, how to put the components in, but it's not accurate enough to see if we have enough free space around the components to actually fit in mounting brackets and all that other stuff. As we'll see later on, in reality there's just few millimeters gap between the components, so anything in the 1:10 scale just isn't going to be accurate enough.

The idea🔗

The idea is simple really: Build a NAS out of readily available PC components inside Knagglig crate sold by IKEA. As for "why?" - it's the usual answer - to see if it can be done in a practical way. The other part of that motivation was, that I can now print parts of the construction, so it was a good training for my design and construction skills, that are, honestly, quite lacking.